Paul wrote:
> Buffalo wrote:
>> Sid Elbow wrote:
>>> On 5/4/2012 6:59 PM, Buffalo wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yep, I have a backup to an external HDD.
>>>> But, I only have one HDD in my PC and it is a dual boot 98se-win2k
>>>> system and I would really hate to screw it up.
>>>> I am not familar enough with doing a complete deletion and format
>>>> of just one partition to justify possibly screwing up my whole
>>>> system.
>>> Respectfully, Buffalo ... just an observation, if you have that
>>> little confidence in your backup/restore process then you really
>>> don't have a reliable backup system. It would be worth addressing
>>> that as soon as you can, quite apart from your other problems.
>>>
>>> I have many OS partitions on many machines, all backed up (though
>>> perhaps not as up-to-date as they should be in some cases). I
>>> wouldn't think twice about wiping a partition for a re-install with
>>> a view to a possible later restore.
>>
>> You're probably right. I have never restored anything off an
>> external USB HDD, but I once used my Ghost image to restore my C:
>> partition and it worked like a charm. Course, it was on a partition
>> on the same HDD.
>> At least now I have it backed up on an external USB HDD.
>> I'm glad you reminded my to look up on how to use that backup. Damn,
>> I may need it sooner than I think.
>>
>> Thanks again,
>> Buffalo
>>
>> PS: I don't think I am the only person in the world that has that
>> problem with the AGP GeForce 7600GT 256MB vid card and Win2000ProSP4.
>
> I've had problems on Win2K before, but it was because I didn't remove
> the old drivers, before installing new ones. The machine had a Matrox
> card at one time, an ATI, and finally an NVidia, and the drivers were
> a mess. In particular, an inspection showed after Add/Remove of ATI
> driver, there were still ATI files in the system. What eventually
> happened, is I could no longer get accelerated video to work (no
> gaming), no matter what I did with drivers. I had to reload the OS
> and start from scratch. Worked fine after that. Moral of the story
> was - need "much hygiene"
> with regard to video card drivers. I even tried all the available
> "driver cleaners" at the time (like ones stored on guru3d). I couldn't
> figure out, what exactly was broken.
>
> Paul

I did have ATI drivers before this card (8500LE) and I did uninstall and
also used an ATI driver cleaner and a search for anything ATI, in files and
in the Registry.
I think you're probably correct that something is amiss in my Win2K system.
I don't believe that I will do a clean install of my OS since my backup was
made after the problem started and I have a lot of programs I would have to
reinstall if I did it,
Thanks again for your thoughtful input.
Buffalo
PS: If you can think of something else, let me know.
PPS:It is extremely difficult to install new (different) drivers as the
display gets so corrupted when I remove the previous drivers and reboot.The
display tears so bad when I move the mouse pointer that it is almost like
doing it blindly and from memory.
It didn't do that when I uninstalled the ATI drivers and rebooted to install
the GeForce drivers the first time.

On 5/4/2012 11:02 PM, Buffalo wrote:


> You're probably right. I have never restored anything off an external USB
> HDD, but I once used my Ghost image to restore my C: partition and it worked
> like a charm. Course, it was on a partition on the same HDD.

Risky ... if that HD dies everything's gone. If you are backing up on
the same machine, at least use a second HD.


> At least now I have it backed up on an external USB HDD.

Yes, that's what I do and I do it with a Ghost DOS boot disc (mini-cd).
On some machines, the BIOS USB driver won't work with my version of
Ghost so I have to force Ghost to use its own but that works well
enough. I also use Ghost's "check image file" on each backup after I
make it - wouldn't want to need to restore it and find that it's junk!

On 5/5/2012 10:18 AM, Buffalo wrote:

> I don't believe that I will do a clean install of my OS since my backup was
> made after the problem started and I have a lot of programs I would have to
> reinstall if I did it,

That's a common viewpoint and obviously it's your call but it can be
very rewarding to bite the bullet and most people who do so are glad
they did. I don't think it's an option that should be dismissed lightly.

It does need a bit of forethought and planning-ahead such as:

- gather all required drivers (latest versions)

- review your apps and determine which ones you want to keep (I'd be
surprised if you didn't find that half of them were unnecessary)

- prioritise the remaining apps into stuff that has to be installed
immediately; those that can be installed over a few days; those that can
be installed "as required".

- if you can, put all of the drivers and apps onto a single cd/dvd (that
really helps).

You'll probably lose the system for a day or so but when you finish
you'll have a "new" system - much cleaner and "perkier" than before.

Another possibility if you have the room is to create another partition
and do the fresh install in that while keeping the working original in a
multi-boot system.

Does my bias show? :-)

(Sorry - probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs).

Sid Elbow wrote:
> On 5/5/2012 10:18 AM, Buffalo wrote:
>
>> I don't believe that I will do a clean install of my OS since my
>> backup was made after the problem started and I have a lot of
>> programs I would have to reinstall if I did it,
>
> That's a common viewpoint and obviously it's your call but it can be
> very rewarding to bite the bullet and most people who do so are glad
> they did. I don't think it's an option that should be dismissed
> lightly.
>
> It does need a bit of forethought and planning-ahead such as:
>
> - gather all required drivers (latest versions)
>
> - review your apps and determine which ones you want to keep (I'd be
> surprised if you didn't find that half of them were unnecessary)
>
> - prioritise the remaining apps into stuff that has to be installed
> immediately; those that can be installed over a few days; those that
> can be installed "as required".
>
> - if you can, put all of the drivers and apps onto a single cd/dvd
> (that really helps).
>
> You'll probably lose the system for a day or so but when you finish
> you'll have a "new" system - much cleaner and "perkier" than before.
>
> Another possibility if you have the room is to create another
> partition and do the fresh install in that while keeping the working
> original in a multi-boot system.
>
> Does my bias show? :-)
>
> (Sorry - probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs).

If I do go through the trouble of formatting and a clean install, I believe
I will just install XP Home
instead of Win2KProSP4. Then, if that is successful, I may well just get rid
of my 98SE and change partition sizes.
Thanks again,
Buffalo