Having a computer problem- need some help

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #30 on:** October 03, 2007, 10:18:47 PM

No floppy drive on that machine- can I use an SD card, or burn a CD?

Def

665ae · **Reply #31 on:** October 04, 2007, 08:05:28 PM

Hey Def... I don't know if this helps or not. I was having trouble loading XP Pro on one of my machines. It would do the initial format, then copy windows, and when the system restarted it wouldn't go into windows to finish the setup, it would just stall out.

It turns out the drive was too big (I'm assuming too big for my Bios... could be wrong) Once I broke the drive up and formatted it (in FAT32 as opposed to NTFS) the setup took off without a problem.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #32 on:** October 04, 2007, 08:17:23 PM

Interesting suggestion. Maybe XP is to blame!

Def

cryptrick · **Reply #33 on:** October 04, 2007, 09:51:35 PM

Quote from: Defender on October 03, 2007, 10:18:47 PM

No floppy drive on that machine- can I use an SD card, or burn a CD?

Def

I don't think you can. I have always used an external Floppy drive when I've needed to load SATA drivers onto someones PC. You could try it i suppose but I believe Windows only searches for the floppy drive when you press F6, it might be worth a try though.

If that don't work just disconnect the floppy out of your other PC and pop it into yours, it will only take a few mins.

I'm not saying this will 100% solve it, but by the sounds of it your Windows Setup seems to crash just after it ha put the files into RAM then searches for the Hard Drive, which is what makes me believe it could be the SATA drivers (or lack of). Have you ever made past that bit. Has Windows Setup ever displayed your HDD or said "No Hard Drives are installed" at any time??

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #34 on:** October 04, 2007, 10:13:23 PM

Honestly, I don't remember. I've been having similar problems with another computer as well, and I can't remember which errors go to what machine!

Def

Roadie · **Reply #35 on:** October 05, 2007, 12:02:45 AM

Join the club! I have 5 computers on the go at the moment and i keep losing track of which files are on which machine! I do tend to run out of monitors aswell so i end up having them running on VNC and tryin to remember which computer i am on and which i should be on is a nightmare, but now i think i have everything setup as i want it so its not too bad anymore. (for those that are interested, 1. main computer 2. legocomputer (for playing music) 3. tablet pc for taking with me 4. Media Centre downstairs for the whole house to use. 5. laptop that is being converted into a digital photo frame.)

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #36 on:** October 05, 2007, 01:07:50 AM

Sounds like my jumble...

I have my main machine that I do most of my work on. I've always had a second machine doing some of the heavier loads that don't require a user- stuff like Skype, bit torrents, Kazaa, Limewire, you name it. That machine is also in pieces right now. It worked when I left for vacation, and my house/dog sitter disconnected it (she swears that's all she did) to hook hers up, and now I haven't a clue why it won't work. I wanted to hook up a third desktop to the TV/cable to use as a PVR. The I have my laptop, which is useless for just abotu anything but word processing, but then that's all I need it for. Still, be nice to have a wifi card for it...

Def

tomcrx · **Reply #37 on:** October 09, 2007, 02:12:24 AM

Dont know if you fixed the problems but things to try:

1. BIOS up to date?
2. Is the motherboard able to handle SATA drives?
3. License issue see http://www.biermann.org/philipp/STOP_0x0000007B/

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #38 on:** October 09, 2007, 02:20:55 AM

I am picking up a few dollars from some extra work this week, and I'm going to hand it off to a pro to see what can be done. Otherwise, I'll throw it off a bridge.

I hate canned machines.

Def

tomcrx · **Reply #39 on:** October 09, 2007, 03:33:37 AM

What model HP is it? We have a gold service contract with HP at work for our Tru64's. I may be able to finagle an answer out of our rep, he does go the extra mile for us.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #40 on:** October 09, 2007, 03:52:29 AM

Pavillion a1016x

Def

tomcrx · **Reply #41 on:** October 09, 2007, 07:42:38 AM

I sent an email to support they may help but they are the UNIX part of HP. Talked to a desktop support person here and he said to check:

1. Format and wipe the drive before install. Using disk utility from hard drive manufacturer. Aborted installs may
leave corrupted files

2. Double check your power and SATA cable connections

2. Enter the BIOS and set to defaults.

3. Remove any secondary connected CD, ZIP or Hard drives before install

4. Try new install media or CD drive

5. Install through the recovery console - press "R" when is says Welcome to Setup - check the web for details

eodtech · **Reply #42 on:** October 09, 2007, 11:36:48 AM

Quote from: Defender on October 09, 2007, 02:20:55 AM

I'll throw it off a bridge.

I hate canned machines.

Def

Can I say it now

Buy a MAC !!!

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #43 on:** October 09, 2007, 12:34:36 PM

I may give those a shot before handing it off to a pro, just to be absolutely 100% certain.

As for buying a Mac, well those are canned machines too, aren't they?

Def

jock1 · **Reply #44 on:** October 09, 2007, 05:45:25 PM

Can I recommend that you set fire to the thing or jump up and down on it (once took revenge on an awkward barbeque in that manner)instead of throwing off the bridge it's far more satisfying to watch the blasted burn /disintegrate before your eyes and you don't get fined for littering if the :police:see you

Mike, Lord of the Spammers! · **Reply #45 on:** October 09, 2007, 05:46:44 PM

Quote from: jock1 on October 09, 2007, 05:45:25 PM

Can I recommend that you set fire to the thing or jump up and down on it (once took revenge on an awkward barbeque in that manner)instead of throwing off the bridge it's far more satisfying to watch the blasted burn /disintegrate before your eyes and you don't get fined for littering if the :police:see you

There you go Def the fuzz have given you there permission ;D

Splat · **Reply #46 on:** October 09, 2007, 07:47:57 PM

You need to load the SATA drivers first, Def. You'll most likely need to get a floppy drive, copy the drives onto it. Hook the floppy up, then enable the floppy in the BIOS. Watch the bottom of the screen. When you see "Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver" press the F6 button, then XP might ask what drivers off the floppy to load. Pick the drivers for whatever RAID chipset you have. XP should load the drivers then proceed with the installation. After XP is installed reboot, go into the BIOS and disable the floppy in the BIOS, then boot up XP and it should be gone. You're good to go.
--
Splat

tomcrx · **Reply #47 on:** October 10, 2007, 06:34:01 AM

Quote from: Splat on October 09, 2007, 07:47:57 PM

then XP might ask what drivers off the floppy to load. Pick the drivers for whatever RAID chipset you have. XP should load the drivers then proceed with the installation.
Splat

I don't think he has a floppy. My support guy answered. The generic answer was check your cables, upgrade and set BIOS to default, use XP Pro SP2 (for driver support) if available, and check your install media. Also if you have the original recovery CD's use them they do have OEM drivers not included in a generic XP install. Sorry that's the best I could get from him given I did not have the machine in front of me.

If for some reason you HD does require a different driver then you can use a USB floppy or prepare your own install image. see http://www.maximumpc.com/article/How-To--Slipstream-your-XP-installation and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314479/

Splat · **Reply #48 on:** October 10, 2007, 05:17:46 PM

Quote from: Defender on October 03, 2007, 10:18:47 PM

No floppy drive on that machine- can I use an SD card, or burn a CD?

Def, you can try that. I forget if XP asks you for the location of the drives/files or does it just assume a floppy. You can try it again and see if you can select the location of the drivers. If it just allows a floppy then borrow a floppy drive from someone just for the installation. Once the install is done you can remove the floppy. XP won't complain about it.

Quote from: tomcrx on October 10, 2007, 06:34:01 AM

I don't think he has a floppy. My support guy answered. The generic answer was check your cables, upgrade and set BIOS to default, use XP Pro SP2 (for driver support) if available, and check your install media. Also if you have the original recovery CD's use them they do have OEM drivers not included in a generic XP install. Sorry that's the best I could get from him given I did not have the machine in front of me.
If for some reason you HD does require a different driver then you can use a USB floppy or prepare your own install image. see http://www.maximumpc.com/article/How-To--Slipstream-your-XP-installation and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314479/

It doesn't sound like a cable issue. I don't think he's got the HP setup disks, but he could definitely try that. Also, even if he's got SP2 that doesn't ensure having the correct drivers.

--
Splat

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #49 on:** October 21, 2007, 02:12:43 AM

Well I bit the biscuit and sent it to a pro to look at. It is now working, but I am going to have to reformat it on my own anyway because I am not happy with what the twit did.

According to him, the DVD drives are not strong enough to install XP. He plugged in a Pioneer DVD writer and it installed just fine. He gave it back to me, I gave him $35 for his trouble, get it home and it is not recognizing the sound hardware. No problem, I'll figure it out eventually.

The things that really piss me off is I had told him NOT to partition the drive, but he did anyway. He told me he made a "small" partition to make recovery easier. It's a 250g drive and the idiot gave me a 170g C drive and a 62g D drive. How the smurf is a 62g drive considered a "small" partition? Needless to say, I am not going back to him, but then I hadn't planned on it anyways.

The other thing that really gets to me, and I know, this is a small piddly thing, but he listed himself as the manufacturer of my PC. Oh yeah, and he listed my name wrong in the registry. Little, unimportant things I know, but frustrating to me.

So, this week I am going to pick up a new drive and start the whole process all over again.

Def

Splat · **Reply #50 on:** October 21, 2007, 02:26:48 AM

I hate it when businesses do that. I understand where they're coming from, but unless you ask them to put their name in there it's not right. $35 is pretty cheap these days, BTW.

Back in the old 486 days you might want a faster CD player to give you faster loads when playing games but for a Windows installation....that's just not needed. So what he told you Def, my friend, is a load of bullspit!

Partitioning a drive is only smart if the end-user uses the partitions wisely. What this means is Windows is on one partition, drive C usually, and you have your other partitions. If you save all your files to the other partitions this makes reinstalling Windows easier in the future. Also, you can point your email and browser apps to the other paritions to save their data their. When it's time to reinstall Windows for whatever reason you wipe the Windows partition and reinstall Windows to that same partition. All your saved data is still on the other partitions. Sure, you can backup everything and not worry about this at all, but this is another method easier for some. I'm glad you're up and running again.
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Splat

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #51 on:** October 21, 2007, 03:27:14 AM

I have two external drives- a 250gig and a 160gig. I don't need no steenkin' partitions.

I agree that the drive theory sounds dumb as a bag of rocks, but I could use a new drive anyway, and the bottom line is my drives wouldn't install it, and his would. Unless of course he was feeding me a line about the whole thing, but I don't think he's quite that intelligent.

Def

Splat · **Reply #52 on:** October 21, 2007, 04:27:33 AM

Quote from: Defender on October 21, 2007, 03:27:14 AM

I have two external drives- a 250gig and a 160gig. I don't need no steenkin' partitions.

Putting Windows' page file on another partition other than the Windows system drive can speed your system up and helps with keeping fragmentation down on the system drive. The recommended minimum size is equivalent to 1.5 times the RAM on your system, and 3 times that figure for the maximum size. But, it's your computer. If you're not doing too much other than surfing and email, then you'll be fine leaving Windows to handle your page file.

Quote from: Defender on October 21, 2007, 03:27:14 AM

I agree that the drive theory sounds dumb as a bag of rocks, but I could use a new drive anyway, and the bottom line is my drives wouldn't install it, and his would. Unless of course he was feeding me a line about the whole thing, but I don't think he's quite that intelligent.

Well, you must have been hungry because he fed you quite a load.

Still, for a measly $35 you're up and running. That's just a few bucks more than what I'd charge and a whole lot less than what Geek Squad or Firedog charges. Go have a beer.

--
Splat

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #53 on:** October 21, 2007, 04:58:23 PM

Well the good news is that this machine (the one that was repaired) is working fine. The bad news is that my other (main) machine suffered a catastrophic hard drive failure last night. I have numerous hard drives, so I'll be spending the day transferring info from the remaining drives to the removable drive, formatting and installing Windows.

Then, I get the fun job of trying to recover any information that was left on that drive, including emails and some photos I took on Friday. The good news is that I backed up most of the photos in the last week in preperation of replacing the drive that was old and starting to show it's age.

Can anyone reccomend a data recovery program?

Def

Splat · **Reply #54 on:** October 22, 2007, 06:11:47 PM

DON'T DO ANYTHING with that PC/drive. Take it out and on a working PC hook it up either in an external USB enclosure or as an internal slave drive.

See if you can see and read the drive. DON'T FORMAT IT or erase anything from it, etc... Even if you cannot read it try a recovery program. A few good ones I've had success with are Undelete 5 and Acronis Disk Director. They're both not free but worth it, IMO. Good luck.
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SplaT

cryptrick · **Reply #55 on:** October 22, 2007, 09:25:01 PM

I see you've got that PC installed now Def. Its a bit cheeky of him putting himself as the builder under the System properties. You can easily remove that but you're reformatting so no need to bother.

As for everything else (i get the feeling PC's don't like you much) just follow splats advice. I personally like GetDataBack, hardly ever fails. Acronis Disk Director is a very good piece of software but it isn't really data recovery. Like splat was saying never work/use a HDD that needs to be recovered. Always hook it up as slave or make a full image of it and work from that.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #56 on:** October 22, 2007, 11:25:08 PM

That's exactly what I had planned. I have a solid external HD and an external enclosure- the drive in question is 40g, and the solid one is 250g so copy space isn't an issue!

I really have to format it just so I can delete that idiotic partition the twit put there. Some days I wonder why I am not allowed to run people over...

Is that GetDataBack something I can download or is it one of thoise silly things that I'd have to pay for?

Def

Splat · **Reply #57 on:** October 23, 2007, 12:35:17 AM

GDB is $80 IIRC. I've heard of it works well, though I've never used it. You can pop the bad drive into the USB enclosure, hook it up to the working system and try to read it or use a recovery proggy on it. Good luck, Def.
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Splat

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #58 on:** October 23, 2007, 04:46:41 PM

The good news is that the drive is apparently still functional and it must have been a corrupted Windows component that caused it to crash. I have gotten all of my photos and stuff off it, but I'm having trouble pulling my emails and contact list off it. Any suggestions?

I use Outlook Express- please don't throw anything at me!

Def

Roadie · **Reply #59 on:** October 23, 2007, 05:13:19 PM

How are you trying to take the emails off? Have you tried going into the folder where they are stored and copying the file over, then importing it into a working copy of OE? The address book should be copyable in the same manner.

Email folder located
C:\Documents and Settings\USER ACCOUNT\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{SOME RANDOM LETTERS AND NUMBERS}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\
Address book folder
C:\Documents and Settings\USER ACCOUNT\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book

As for using OE i don't have anything against it i just prefer using Thunderbird from Mozilla, it does things that OE can't.
Hope any of that helps.
Roadie

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