Failure to Reinstall Windows XP

[Tom _Hyde]

Since my original posting seems to have disappeared I am sending another
copy with the subsequent contribution.

21/08/07

To date, the reinstall of XP on my Inspiron has only been partially
successful, that is, I can still use it but the programs which needed to be
repaired do not function. These are the problems:

1. The Autorun feature on the system disk failed to download the C:I386
folder. (I have since installed I386 manually).
2. Internet Explorer was only partially downloaded and cannot be used.
3 The Help and Support routine cannot access the internet.
4. The Automatic Update fails to work correctly and about 75 KB's fail to
install.

I have inspected some of the log files and these list an astronomical number
of non-functioning items.I have also searched elsewhere for advice, e.g.
Microsoft Support websites and Dell User Forums here,
http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=sw_winxp&thread.id=194367To
date none of the advice given has solved my problems. If you look at the
contributions on the Forum page you will see that, initially, I raised the
problems last year when they occurred on my Dimension desktop, but they have
proved to be much more difficult to solve on the Inspiron.

I would be pleased to receive your comments.

T.Hyde



As reported below, I have finally downloaded Windows XP from disk but it is
still faulty. I have compared the systems files between the faulty
computer (Dell Inspiron laptop) with a fully-working desktop (Dimension
4500) and there are considerable differences. For example, there is no
C:/I386 folder on the laptop and Internet Explorer does not work. Also
the automatic update which was required after the repair/reinstall of
Windows XP fails to download a large number of updates.

If/when I make any progress I will report back.

T.Hyde

 

[Daave]

Since my original posting seems to have disappeared [snip]

Your postings haven't disappeared; they're still there.

Since your problem seems to be with the clunky Web interface to this
news server, why don't you use a news client instead? And since you
already have Outlook Express, have a look at:

"Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express"
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

1. The I386 folder (which contains the Setup files) is not normally copied
to the hard disk during a standard WinXP installation. The files are used
directly from the CD. Dell put that folder onto the HD to make things
easier. You putting it on your HD won't help much unless you locate all the
pointers in the Registry from the {CD}:\I386 folder to C:\I386

2. You keep saying "downloaded". Files are copied from the CD to the HD, not
downloaded. And your reasoning is simplistic. I doubt very much that IE
isn't working because the files weren't copied from the CD. If that
happened, or if the files were corrupted during the copy operation (or on
the original CD) you would have received an error message.

3. It makes sense that Help can't access the internet, since it uses IE to
do so.

4. Same as above.

I don't understand what is going on, but that long delay isn't a good sign.
Usually, I'd blame hardware, but that might not be the case here. Since this
is a Dell, I presume you've contacted Dell Support? You should continue that
support incident until the thing is fixed. Have you tried a new Repair
install?

 

[Tom _Hyde]

Tto Gary S.Terhune. Thank you for your response which gave some important
information about the content of the Windows Reinstallation disk.

Rather than bore you with the complete history I now seem to have managed
to make the system work. I did some housekeeping and removed some
programs I had not used such as Fresh Devices and the corpse of the Avant
browser which had also stopped working. This seemed to enable the failed
IE7 to splutter into life. I also found this program which I installed
and ran:

http://wiki.djlizard.net/Dial-a-fix

This was recommended in the Internet Explorer newsgroup which I entered via
the Microsoft website not via Outlook Express. I carried out the advice
about preparation and checking the hard disk and my XP problem was solved.
On re-booting, Windows downloaded the 70+ updates which it had refused for
weeks. Help and Support is now back

I wish I had found Dial-a-fix a few weeks ago.

T.Hyde

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Glad to hear you're back on your feet, Tom. And thanks for the feedback.
Hadn't heard of dial-a-fix, and though I tend to shy away from such
utilities, I'll take look at it.

 

[Guest]

For a review of Dial-a-Fix see here:

http://www.softsea.com/review/Dial-a-fix.html

T.Hyde