Yikes! Help with Windows XP Home, please!

[gosta 0]

The 'Repair' CD will do it, as no reformat is needed.Cheers,Gosta.http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

[vgbaron 3,496]

Hi Mark - This may be off the wall but - can you get hold of an old DOS disk anywhere? Something that you could boot to? If you can, and boot to dos - go to the Winnt/System32/Config folder and look at all the files named system. Rename the "system" to "system.old" and look for one called system.sav - should be approx the same size as your "system" file. Rename that to system and try again.FWIW, I'm running xp pro and my system file is about 3M.Good luck - vgb

[gosta 0]

Hi Mark,>Try the MS site for Windows XP rescue floppy stuff?Try MS for a Windows XP install disk?If neither of those can be done, install a new HD, load it with Windows and try to slave the existing drive?http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg EDIT: Of course, you can always put your HD as a slave into your Win98 computer, and save your files from there, if anything else fails.

[Guest freequest]

>Sorry to say this but the only good windows version was and>still is windows 2000... >>Iv been running mine for about 2.5 years and no downtime no>errors and no BSOD's.>>Lets hope longhorn is better :(>>And i hope you get your problem fixed up.. reinstalling is a>pain in the butt.>>GLMan sorry about this... its kinda silly of my to have writen that as it dosnt give you any help.....(late nights i guess)

[Guest gasebah]

I feel for u Dark. I had to do this 4-5 times when I had a damned On-Board raid controller that killed my system files and also slowly my HDs time after time. U are right it is not possible to move 60GB of stuff to CDs. But HDs are very cheap now. What I finally did was get Drive Image and a 160 GB HD especially for backups.1. U can still make a backup of ur complete drive right now. So later u can copy all te stuff back especially all this modded FS2002 stuff).2. I make a complete image of my HD at least every two month. In case something goes wrong u can still go back to at least what was 8 weeks ago. If ur HD crashes ( and I had 3 HDs killed in 3 years) a repair install won't help u either.Good luck my friend,Alex

[Dark Moment 0]

Chapter 21 of the Saga-that's-probably-boring-for-most-but-useful-info-for-some ....Hi Alex, good to hear from you,Three drives gone on you? Jeez, what do you do to them? All that overclocking maybe ... perhaps you make them red hot and they melt, LOL.Where I am at now is despite talking to Compaq support online four times, CompUSA's tech people and researching various third party HD websites, I am a little wiser but not much. My computer is only two years old - and I only bought it just over a year ago - but of course now CompUSA say they have no compatibility information about it because it is no longer a current model on their shelves. Grrrr... that really makes me mad, particularly when they sold it to me and when they have the potential to make a new sale. Ah well. They did tell me that I could only use an EIDE drive, all of which have the same fitting (?) as Serial ATA drives as sold today supersede my model. Any experience on this issue?Compaq themselves would only give me info about their original manufacturer's equipment, of course, which is three times the price of say, Maxtor or Western Digital's stuff online, but at least it shows me I CAN add a drive. So I guess what I will now do is:1. Order another 80GB 7,200RPM drive from one of these guys. 8MB or 2MB buffer? I dunno. Do you?2. Remove the original drive. Fit new one. Stick in Compaq Quick Restore disk and format to original factory spec with Windows XP.3. Replace original drive as second drive. Use, or copy, data that's on it, ignoring the operating system on it.Will this work in your experience? Or will the motherboard go silly if I remove the original drive or anything? I have no idea what all the interfaces are. CompUSA want to charge me $130+++ just to fit a new drive but surely it can't be that difficult?Further comments grovellingly appreciated. I haven't been able to work or fly for three days already, and I'm not there yet.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

[Guest]

MikeIf Compaq fit it and make a mess then they will have to sort it out (and pay for it). In some ways that makes some economic sense provided they are going to set it all up properly so that you are put back in the same position you were before the failure rather than just slot a drive in, when $130 is a lot of money to pay for that. Your local computer store would do it for a lot less. I know my local store which is small (don't use PCWorld and the like) fit for free but that is the advantage of using a family run business.Rather than use Compaq's restore disk why not get, if funds allow, a pukka copy of XP so that you can do repairs if necessary. If you did this and used a new drive then everything would be set up as new and the system would sort what drives and peripherals there are.Bill

[Dark Moment 0]

<<>>That's tempting, now you mention it. I wouldn't be burdened by all those stupid "Welcome to Presario World" start-up screens and endless free offers for ISPs I don't want, you're right. And a fresh, clean version might save me all the probs I have with this bundled system in the first place, I guess. It's never run as well as my old Win98 system. Trouble is, upgrades are expensive enough at $100 but a virgin version (because it won't recognise any previous operating system, will it) is probably a lot more. Need to check.It's not Compaq quoting me $130 labour to fit a hard drive ... it's CompUSA. See no point going to a Compaq service center as they will only fit their own brand stuff.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

[gosta 0]

Hi Mark,$130 to fit a hard drive is quite steep. Have a look inside your computer, and see where the HD slots are, how they're connected, and then assess, if you really wouldn't want to do it yourself.As to the 8MB buffer, this will allow for quicker access of the data on the HD, which could improve performance in applications that access a lot of files from your HD (i.e. it's a little bit faster at getting the stuff into your RAM, but please don't expect some magic fps hike :)).But before you go out and get your new HD, I strongly recommend, that you double-check if the Compaq rescue disc really doesn't include an option to repair your Windows installation. Don't expect too much help on that from their customer service, though. *Rant mode on* I've now lived in Canada for two years and have found the attitude towards customer service in North America (US included) absolutely appalling. I call it the 'p*ss you off, rip you off' attitude. According to any service sector employee (public or private, makes no difference), getting what you want will involve being inconvenienced and invariably lead to you having to spend more money. I could give you countless examples, but suffice to say this attitude prevails in all types of institutions I've had the displeasure of dealing with, from government agencies to banks, phone and cable companies to computer shops, booksellers and academic institutions down to supermarkets, and even providers of most basic services, like coffee shops. I have now learned to work on the presumption that anything a service sector employee tells me is false. *Rant mode off*So, basically, now is a good time for you to learn a bit on how your computer works - it will save you a lot of money in the future :)Cheers,Gosta.http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

[Guest SoarPics]

LOL Gosta, I like your perspective! What you say is exspecially true of the big computer retailers. Most of the time what one hears from them is exactly what will make a sale... not what will solve a problem.Mark... I also agree with Gosta's recommendation that you fit a second drive yourself. I would be surprised if your Compaq discs will be of any use to you (had some experience with their stuff in the past). You can go online to buy a 80Gb hardrive w/8mb cache for less than $90.00. I just checked newegg.com, and their price for a WD drive is $82.00. Now here's the best part... if you buy the drive from them you can purchase an OEM full install disc of WinXP for $100.00. Then you will own XP (which you should already, seeing as how you paid for it when you bought your computer. But that is another issue entirely).What he says about now being the time to learn more about your computer is right on the money!! You can add the second drive. And if you have problems, you know you can come here and gain plenty of help.$130.00 at CompUSA to install a the new hard drive? Not me!!! If they screw it up you're still no where. Even if they give you a guarantee that they'll do it right, where will you be if the muck it up? No better off than you are right now.Good luck,

[Guest DNelson]

If you happen to have the original install disk for Win98 or WinME still hanging around, you can get the XP upgrade version for about $100 less than the full version. You can still do a "fresh" installation, it'll just ask for the previous version disk to verify eligibility.Dan

[Guest WorkingStiff]

I'm think Compaq computers can only accept their proprietary hardware so you pay through your nose; I'm not 100 percent certain on that but I've heard that more than once.Maybe when you get this all sorted out and you're thinking about a new computer you should consider building your own. I've built many boxes now and the advantage is that you know exactly what you're putting in.But if your computer can accept off-the-shelf components, Sam's Club is currently selling WD 80 Gb 7200 rpm hard drives for $89.Sorry I couldn't be helpful.

[Dark Moment 0]

Thanks all for so many useful observations.<<<>>>And a VERY interesting one. Compaq have refused to send me a Windows XP disk to reinstall, saying their deal with MS only allows them to use their flipping restore facility. So, as you say, you are not really getting Windows XP at all when you buy a bundled product, despite the advertising blurb .... you are getting what it does, but you are not getting IT. Bet some of the more adventurous lawyers could have fun with that if they really wanted to or anyone could be bothered.80 Gb 7200 rpm hard drives for $89.>>>>Thanks. Yes, there are some deals out there ... but Compaq now tell me I HAVE to use a 5,400RPM drive. Hmmmm. Can't quite believe that.<<>>Oh, it does. But it isn't working. There are other issues involved, it seems, which Compaq say are unmendable. They can't tell me why, but say that when XP fails as it has done for me, it usually fails fatally. Oh, for Win98 again.....<<<<>>>>No. Idiot that I am, I have always bought bundled machines. 99% of the time they have worked well, but this XP machine of mine has all the charisma of an elephant with diarrhea. And the problem is, Compaq seem to "weld" stuff in; when I tried to add a graphics card and make it the primary card, I had no end of problems disabling the integral unit. So maybe, as one of you suggested, next time I'll build my own. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to find two computer "experts" to give me the same information about the same issue (this comment does not refer to you very helpful people - I refer to those who are PAID to know all this). One way or the other, I shall have a new drive by tomorrow night. Then we'll see if it fits! If it doesn't, it won't only be the Vinka and Marchetti that spin ... watch my computer fly out of the window, LOL!Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

[bob.bernstein 0]

Mark, 5400rpm drive is not a reason you can't buy at a store, that's just the older, slower, standard. You can still find a lot of hard drives at that speed. look at www.pricewatch.com, and search for 5400rpm harddrives...you'll find lots.Makes me wonder what compaq is thinking, thou. I wonder if the faster drives cause a heat problem, or perhaps draw more power?Installing a harddrive takes only minutes...and the only precaution I'd suggest is to ground yourself to the chassis (I use a wrist strap...very cheap at radio shack). You just set the drive jumpers to slave or master per the drive instructions, then screw it to the chassis, then connect power and data cable. Slaving nowadays is easier than when I learned, cuz I understand it doesn't matter which connector on the data line you connect to which drive. Standard data connector cables come with two drive connectors.Finally, you need windows to recognize the drive. This is nowadays pretty automatic...chances are you may not have to do anything, as the bios these days has an autodetect that usually works great. course, compaq could have used a special cable which is just on more reason to scream! My neighbor bought a compaq, and he wanted to add memory. He checked with compaq and they wanted him to ship it somewhere and pay a gob of money. He asked me what I thought. I showed him where to buy memory for cheap, and told him I could install it in 10 minutes, but he'd have to forgo future warrenty claims, if I open his case. A week later he invited me over...handed me a memory stick and said...go for it. 10 minutes later, he had his box running with the additional memory.Compaq is likely competing for your intial business, using the assumption that big bucks will flow on service. kind of a bummer for the user. Realizing that, my neighbor figured that losing his warrenty coverage was a good gamble, especially when the repair costs and hassles would likely outweigh the replacement costs of a given component and the installation of decktop components is so simple.Best,Bob Bernstein

[Dark Moment 0]

Another great post ... thanks, Bob.<<<<<<<>>Anyone else have a cut on this issue? From what I've read, the 7200 drives are MUCH faster and much the same pricewise. Anything to edge those FPS up (says he hopefully, ever the optimist ....)Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg