Question:
Thanks for all of yesterdays replies to my pc is loading so slow thread but as the title suggests i've completely knackered the pc now
Nothing i tried yesterday had any effect on the 20 min to load XP so today i tried the reload cd again. bad idea, now the pc wont move on from the boot up page at all. It has been stuck there for about an hour now with the green light on constantly.
I dont suppose anyone has any ideas on how i could move it along do they? Or maybe someone would be able to give me any hints on what has gone wrong so we have some idea how much work it is going to take to get it fixed.
thanks for any help, MBM
Answers:
What exactly have you done, with what disk, what is on screen. If you installed XP, did you patch it with SP2 and windowsupdate, or didn't you get that far? Is it connected to the internet?
Answers:
Albertross, thanks for getting back to me, i really do appreciate your time.
I reloaded back to factory settings with the reload cd. I have done it a fair few times before but this is the first time this has happened. I cant get into windows now at all, it goes to the page with all the boot up details on it and the following at the bottom of the page:-
c/boot from cd
c/boot from cd
verifying DMI Pool Data ...........
and that is as far as it will go.
It is not connected to the internet at the moment as i unplugged everything except the keyboard and mouse before the reformat.
thanks for any help
MBM
Answers:
Is it still in the middle or at the start of the install, or has it installed, and this happened after a boot without the CD.
Presumably you have tried a reboot?
see point 3
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the reinstall has finished and it said it had been completed but since then i have not been able to get past the page i mentioned earlier. I have tried to get into safe mode but i cant get in there either. I had a look at the link you posted and went into the CMOS settings to have a look but couldnt see any option in there to '
Reset Configuration Data' or 'Force Update ESCD'
Today is a very bad day
Answers:
Well i finally found out how to 'reset configuration data' but it hasnt fixed the problem
Now on the boot up page it says
updating ESCD ... Success
verifying DMI Pool Data
but that is as far as it goes.
I tried the reload cd again after it failed the first time but it still didnt work. We dont have a windows home xp cd as it has always just loaded back on after the restore to factory settings. We have a genuine xp professional disc with the activation number but i think i would make even more of a mess if i tried to load that on cos of the windows home being pre installed on the machine.
i will try resetting the bios to factory settings but i think i have to except that the pc has gone to heaven. Even with it being a TIME pc i would have at least hoped it would last longer than 2 1/2 years!
Thanks for all your help in this albertross
MBM
Answers:
You could always try to load the XP proffessional disk so you could format the partition and totally erase the hard drive then just switch off when the format is done and try the reload cd... I think this would work to delete it all but I have never used my restore CD so dont know if it would need files from hard drive or what... I know my Time computer had certain files stored on a hidden partition that I deleted when I used the fdisk command
Answers:
Scooter,
Thanks for your advice but i'm not at all technical and i dont understand what you mean what is a fdisk command?
Albertross,
I tried resetting the default bios settings and it didnt help
MBM
Answers:
When you insert the windows XP disk it will ask if you want to delete a partition. doing this will erase your hard drive. You will then be asked to create a partition. and then format it. When this happens it should delete all information and repair any bad sectors it can. when complete you should be able to reinstall your restore cd onto a clean repaired partition. There is also a utility cd that does this as well (and could be simpler) but I cant remember the name and I have not used them but Im sure someone on this forum will have.
I will also say... My time computer came with my system held in a hidden partition on my Hard drive. Doing what I described erased the hidden partition and made the restore CD useless. This was no hassle as I have an OEM version of XP anyway and I just installed that with my Time product key and everything was fine.
Answers:
Scooter,
I think you may have found the reason why the reload cd failed
A few weeks ago, a family friend was having a look at the pc for us because of the slow to boot up problem. they upgraded the windows to windows xp professional. does it sound like they have erased the hidden partition so our reload cd is useless now? grrrrrrrrrr.
Oh well, i guess i will just have to try loading the xp professional back on.. i havent got a clue if that will help though?
MBM
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I've got the feeling that "copy" will give you long term problems with WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) as it will identify it as a illegal copy unless you have a valid COA
Answers:
Hi There just been looking at post, it may might be wise to check the drive using the makers utility before going any further, What make is it?
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bang goes loading the xp professional cd, i've just tried it and it says 'press any key to boot from cd' but nothing happens
MBM
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Browntoa, It is a genuine copy of windows professional!
Murk11, do you mean what make is the PC? red face moment coming up, its a Time PC
MBM
Answers:
If it were me i would start from here.
1. reset the bios. open the case and take the battery off the motherboard. about the size of a 10p coin. Wait a few minutes before putting it back in, make sure the power is off before you start though. This is better than just clearing the cmos itself.
2. Restart the computer and it should take you to the bios settings or ask you to enter setup by pressing f1 etc.
3.set the date, time etc and set the boot priority to
a.cd rom
b. hard drive
c. disable
and any other options to disable
it could be that the pc is trying to boot from the hard drive first and the corrupt xp installations are causing it to hang. You mentioned a dmi pool problem and see here
restart the pc and put the xp pro disk in and when it says boot from cd press enter go for it.
Wish i could pop round and have a look...and give you a hand sorting it out. Your doing ok so far but i think patience and perserverance will get you through.............
Answers:
Startrekker,
eeeeeek, i dont think i'm brave enough to open the pc I wouldn't even know what a motherboard looked like! Is there something about discharging electricity before going in, how do i do that?
thanks for your help, i really appreciate it
MBM
Answers:
HI there, I was kind of thinking looking at yesterdays post that it might be more of a hardware problem than software, So I would download the test utility for your harddrive and also a memory tester and check these first before attempting to load windows
a memory tester can be obtained from register and download
v2.2b :: FreeDOS Download For Win 2K/98 & XP
as for the harddrive it depends on the manufacturer
if you let me know what make it is I'll dig out a link for you,
these programs load independant of windows but you will need a floopy drive
Good luck, I'm off for a shower and a pint, I will have look at the post tomorrow and see how things are going
Answers:
Try This for the hard drive test its for maxtor hard drive but ive found it very reliable for most other Hard drive brands too.
Answers:
Murk11,
I hope you enjoyed your pint last night and are not suffering to much this morning lol.
I have no idea what make the harddrive is, where would i be able to find out that information?
MBM
Answers:
Spurs1234,
Thanks for the link but i dont know how i am going to test the hardrive without being able to load the pc at all
I saved the file you mentioned on a floppy disk and tried putting it into the pc before starting up but it didnt work, i just got the usual message that you get if you accidently leave a floppy disc in about removing it then striking any key to continue.
Thanks for you help though!
MBM