Problems Reinstalling Windows XP on old computer

M

MrSkittlesMom

I sure hope someone here can help me here.
The CD on my old laptop went bad and I bought a new one so I could reinstall
Win XP Service Pack 1. There was a restore option and since I was really,
really hoping I could get everything back I have tried it.
When it got to installing Windows it said Files Needed: The file 'asms' on
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 CD is needed. Type the path where the
file is located, and then click OK.
So looking at the CD on another computer I see that there is a folder I386
and under that is another folder ASMS. This is on a Reinstallation CD MS Win
XP Home Edition Including Service Pack 1.
So I type in D:\I386\ASMS and nothing happens. In the background "it keeps
changing messages about "stay connected with family and friends" and so on,
and the progress bar keeps flashing...but nothing.
Can someone PLEASE tell me what I should do so I can continue? I am afraid
to start all over again but will have to I guess if I don't hear something
soon.
Thank you
 
P

Patrick Keenan

MrSkittlesMom said:
I sure hope someone here can help me here.
The CD on my old laptop went bad and I bought a new one so I could
reinstall
Win XP Service Pack 1. There was a restore option and since I was really,
really hoping I could get everything back I have tried it.
When it got to installing Windows it said Files Needed: The file 'asms' on
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 CD is needed. Type the path where
the
file is located, and then click OK.
So looking at the CD on another computer I see that there is a folder I386
and under that is another folder ASMS. This is on a Reinstallation CD MS
Win
XP Home Edition Including Service Pack 1.
So I type in D:\I386\ASMS and nothing happens. In the background "it keeps
changing messages about "stay connected with family and friends" and so
on,
and the progress bar keeps flashing...but nothing.
Can someone PLEASE tell me what I should do so I can continue? I am afraid
to start all over again but will have to I guess if I don't hear something
soon.
Thank you

Unfortunately, that problem indicates that the problem wasn't limited to
your CD. It can mean that the CD drive itself is failing - they do wear and
go out of alignment.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311755

You need to try another CD *drive*, which can be problematic on a laptop,
especially older models.

HTH
-pk
 
M

MrSkittlesMom

Patrick, I am really, really sorry. I meant to say I replaced the CD drive
with one that is almost identical to the original one.

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M

MrSkittlesMom

Patrick, I looked at the link in your post too. I think I am understanding
that the Setup program cannot communicate with the CD-ROM drive. But I don't
understand what to do now from reading that site. Please help.

:
 
M

MrSkittlesMom

Patrick,
Somehow I managed (scared to death) to follow the directions under Method 1
on the link you posted.
I deleted the UPPERFILTERS and LOWERFILTERS registry key. But I saw
UPPERFILTERS.BAK and LOWERFILTERS.BAK
I did not delete them because I was too afraid to without being told to do
so.
I typed the path I had before and still nothing.
I am not sure what to do next. Should I restart your computer and let the
Setup program resume? Or should I go back and delete the 2 .BAK registry
keys?
Now I am really scared to even go to bed and leave this mess. Please help as
soon as possible.
Thank you
 
M

Mark Adams

MrSkittlesMom said:
Patrick,
Somehow I managed (scared to death) to follow the directions under Method 1
on the link you posted.
I deleted the UPPERFILTERS and LOWERFILTERS registry key. But I saw
UPPERFILTERS.BAK and LOWERFILTERS.BAK
I did not delete them because I was too afraid to without being told to do
so.
I typed the path I had before and still nothing.
I am not sure what to do next. Should I restart your computer and let the
Setup program resume? Or should I go back and delete the 2 .BAK registry
keys?
Now I am really scared to even go to bed and leave this mess. Please help as
soon as possible.
Thank you
The install routine shows how many minutes left to finish the installation.
How many minutes are left when the install hangs? Sometimes this can give an
indication of what the problem is.
 
M

MrSKittlesMom

PA Bear,
I want to reinstall Windows XP because:
1. I know it talks to my sewing machine
2. The CD drive went bad. I found this out AFTER I accidentally deleted some
important files (and then Windows wouldn't start anymore)
My real hope is to repair because I had not backed up but I will do whatever
I can get now.
Thanks!
 
D

Daave

MrSKittlesMom said:
I want to reinstall Windows XP because:
1. I know it talks to my sewing machine

Okay, I gotta ask. What does the above mean?
2. The CD drive went bad.

If your CD drive went bad, reinstalling Windows XP won't bring it back.
I found this out AFTER I accidentally
deleted some important files (and then Windows wouldn't start anymore)

Which files did you delete and why did you delete them? Are you aware
that it is sometimes possible to perform a manual de-facto System
Restore of Windows XP? Information is here:

"How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from
starting"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545
My real hope is to repair because I had not backed up but I will do
whatever I can get now.

You should *always* be backing up your files! *Especially* before
attempting something like a Repair Install. It's not too late to save
your files now. Do you have an external hard drive?
 
M

MrSKittlesMom

Hi Daave
My new laptop has Vista and since my sewing machine software is very old I
know XP communicates with my sewing machine software.
If your CD drive went bad, reinstalling Windows XP won't bring it back.
I bought a new CD drive that is almost identical to the one that went bad, I
think it is just an updated one.
Which files did you delete and why did you delete them? Are you aware
that it is sometimes possible to perform a manual de-facto System
Restore of Windows XP? Information is here:

I checked this site and I am trying to reinstall from a Dell reinstall
Windows XP CD. I deleted NTLDR for one because I was STUPID. I thought it was
a trojan (somewhere on the internet I saw that) and it would help my computer
start faster. I also deleted something else but I can't remember what now.
You should *always* be backing up your files! *Especially* before
attempting something like a Repair Install. It's not too late to save
your files now. Do you have an external hard drive?

You are SO right there. STUPID again. I have learned a hard lesson. I just
bought an external hard drive for my new laptop. How can I save files now,
when I can't even get Windows to start. I have a 320 G external hard drive,
but I have used it to back up my new laptop which is 320 G.

Thanks for any help.
 
D

Daave

MrSKittlesMom said:
You are SO right there. STUPID again. I have learned a hard lesson. I
just bought an external hard drive for my new laptop. How can I save
files now, when I can't even get Windows to start. I have a 320 G
external hard drive, but I have used it to back up my new laptop
which is 320 G.

The easiest way is to use an emergency boot CD like Knoppix or UBCD4Win.
You boot off the CD and then use something like Windows Explorer to copy
the files. Then again, this is the easiest way if you already have one
of these disks. Otherwise, you need to create them.

Another way is to physically remove the hard drive from your and place
it a USB enclosure and then copy the files to another PC.

I would recommend the first method -- even if you have to create the
CDs -- because these emergency disks are always good to have on hand.

For Knoppix:

http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

For UBCD4Win:

http://www.ubcd4win.com/

BartPE is an option, too:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

If these above methods seem too daunting (I don't know the level of your
expertise), you should definitely find a tech to do this for you --
assuming you have valuable and/or irreplaceable data (photos, documents,
etc.).
 
D

Daave

MrSKittlesMom said:
My new laptop has Vista and since my sewing machine software is very
old I know XP communicates with my sewing machine software.

And in another post, you said:
The CD on my old laptop went bad and I bought a new one so I could
reinstall Win XP Service Pack 1.

It sounds like you are using an XP installation disk from an older
laptop on your newer laptop that came preinstalled with Vista. Am I
correct? If so, what are the makes/models of these two laptops?
 
M

MrSkittlesMom

Thanks Daave!
My level of expertise is very minimal. I would love to restore what I had,
but I guess it won't be the end of the world.
In the meantime, my old laptop is still at the screen of installing Windows,
and Files needed as stated in previos posts. I have deleted the registry keys
as someone else suggested and now I don't know what to do.
I sure would appreciate any instruction on what to do now as I would like to
get beyond this installing Windows screen.
THANKS!
 
M

MrSkittlesMom

No Daave,
I am trying to use the Dell reinstallation disk on the old laptop. The old
laptop is a Dell Inspiron 8200. I am only using the new laptop to communicate
here.
Thanks
 
D

Daave

I understand now. Thanks for the clarification.
No Daave,
I am trying to use the Dell reinstallation disk on the old laptop.
The old laptop is a Dell Inspiron 8200. I am only using the new
laptop to communicate here.
Thanks
 
D

Daave

MrSkittlesMom said:
I am trying to use the Dell reinstallation disk on the old laptop.
The old laptop is a Dell Inspiron 8200. I am only using the new
laptop to communicate here.

In addition to your reinstallation disk, do you also have the Dell
drivers CD?
 
D

Daave

MrSkittlesMom said:
Thanks Daave!
My level of expertise is very minimal. I would love to restore what I
had, but I guess it won't be the end of the world.
In the meantime, my old laptop is still at the screen of installing
Windows, and Files needed as stated in previos posts. I have deleted
the registry keys as someone else suggested and now I don't know what
to do.
I sure would appreciate any instruction on what to do now as I would
like to get beyond this installing Windows screen.
THANKS!

I would perform a repair install, using *this* guide:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Note that you need to boot off the CD-ROM drive! When you boot up,
*immediately* press the F12 key (that is, as soon as you see the Dell
logo) so that you can choose the CD-ROM drive to boot from.
 

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