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--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
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http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
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http://www.randem.com/discus/messages/9402/9406.html?1236319938
PS
After deciding to go with nlite, I have found it to be a relatively
expensive experiment (if I'm looking at the right thing). I have found
other
ways of making a slipstream CD, although it appears I would still need
to
reload my drivers. Is there a way I can create a Driver Recovery CD
from
my
computer before I start?
--
Cheers
cliff18
:
Wow! I thought someone may try to help but am blown away by the level
of
assistance offered. Thank you everyone! I should have given my reasons
so
I
guess I better get into the "gory" details as Anna put it.
My desktop has been putting up with about 5 years of my family and I
web
surfing, playing games, downloading past and presently used programs,
music
and anything else that looked half interesting and even runs VOIP. Its
doing
very well considering, but it has slowed up considerably. Now when we
start
it up, nothing can be done until I go into 'Task Manager' and locate
something called hprblog.exe (could be our printer, not sure) and hit
'End
Process'. I spent many hours yesterday removing things that I know
were
no
longer necessary, but there is a lot there that I don't know whether
they
are
required or not, so I thought I'd be better off with a clean rather
than
a
repair, and start all over again. I bought an external HD for backing
up
which I now try to keep up to date for both computers, so after the
success
with my laptop I thought it's what I should do here.
Daave has a point about having to install the drivers again though. It
was
no problem with the laptop, I guess because it was off the shelf, I
had a
Driver Recovery CD. This desk top computer was custom made for us, and
although I do have a few disks, I'm not sure that I have everything. I
was
hoping that I could download any drivers that I may not have but with
my
very
limited knowledge on the subject, I guess that's a dangerous
assumption.
I have the following info I got from nlite that Randem mentioned.
CPU. AMD Athlon XP2500+ 1830mhz L2 Cache 512kb 32 bit 1.7V
Main. nVidia-nForce2 by Gigabyte Tech Co. S/N Nvidia-42302e31 Bios
rel.03/01/2004 S/N
Mem. Bank 0/1: 256mb DIMM. Bank 2/3: 256mb DIMM. Tot physical mem:
536mb
Local Drives: IDE Secondary Master: HHD 75GB WDC WD800JB-00F C:[Boot]
75GB
(18GB free) S/N 68B7313E.
Vid Card: GeCube Radeon 9600se game Buster. Chipset: ATI Radeon 9600
Series
AGP(0x4151) 128mb.
I use Panda Antivirus pro 2009 (8.00.00) with the Windows Firewall.
The case has 'Age of Digital' on it.
Your right about my Home Edition CD as it states it includes Service
pack
1a. I hope I haven't forgotten anything Daave, but please ask if I
have.
I've done, and will continue to investigate, the 'Slipstreamed disk'
search
as Anna suggested and perhaps if made with nlite, is the correct
approach,
but as I don't know enough about what can be stripped from Windows,
and
can't
identify all the unnecessary files and programs on my computer now, am
I
correct in saying it may be an improvement but not ideal, as I would
still
have some unnecessary stuff on it? Still if this is the case, I guess
better
safe than sorry.
Sorry to be so long but trying to cover everything.
Thanks again to all who answered.
Cheers
cliff18
:
cliff18 wrote:
I want to repair and clean my desktop computer by, I thought,
reinstalling the Windows XP Home Edition CD, but when I click on
'Install Windows XP' I get a message saying 'Setup cannot
continue
because the version of Windows on my computer is newer than the
version on the CD' and if I delete the newer version, the files
and
settings cannot be recovered.
Is this just becuse I keep it updated, and if I go ahead and run
the
CD, then carry out the updates again, I will be able to reload
the
data I've backed up to an external HD, and all will work fine?
I cleaned up my laptop by reinstalling the Operating System CD I
have
with it, as it runs the XP Professional edition. I didn't recieve
this message and had no problem.
Several points, Cliff.
First, it seems you are confusing a Clean Install with a Repair
Install. A
repair install will not clean your desktop PC! In fact you can do
that
without *any* kind of install. A clean install wipes everything
off
your
hard drive, and you start with a fresh clean install of XP Home.
Of
course, all your programs and data files would be erased in the
process.
That is why it is important for you to make sure all your data is
backed
up (actually, backing up data is something everybody should do all
the
time in case of disaster). Additionally, you will need to
reinstall
all
your programs -- so you need to make sure you have all the
installation
CDs and standalone files for your programs. Finally, you will need
to
have
your hardware drivers handy so that you may reinstall them, too. A
clean
install takes quite a while! A repair install merely replaces your
OS
files, leaving data and programs intact. If there is something
specifically wrong with your OS *only*, a repair install may help
(but
it's not guaranteed to work), but it almost surely will fail to
improve
sluggish performance.
Second, *if* a Repair Install was the proper solution for you,
there
are
two things getting in the way. First, you are correct in that
updating (to
a higher Service Pack level) can give you the message you
mentioned.
The
other factor is that you chose to boot off your hard drive. It's
better to
boot off the CD itself. To do that, you would need to change your
PC's
BIOS settings. Actually, that just entails pressing a certain key
(e.g.,
F2 or Delete) immediately after turning on your PC (before Windows
even
has a chance to load). That key depends on your particular PC.
Third, since reinstalling the OS (Clean or Repair) is probably not
indicated, why not just tell us specifically what is going on so
that
we
may guide you to a practical solution? Be very detailed: make and
model of
PC and its specs (amount of RAM, size of hard drive and amount of
free
space on it, etc.). What is you particular performance problem?
What
security software are you currently running (i.e., antivirus,
antispyware,
firewall)? How long have you had this problem and can you trace it
to
a
particulat event?
cliff...
1. Without going into the "gory" details as to why you want to
"repair
and
clean (your) desktop computer", we'll assume you have good &
sufficient
reasons for taking this action, i.e,, you have a (hopefully!) mildly
corrupted OS that you want to "uncorrupt" by undertaking a Repair
install of
the OS. So that all your presently installed programs & personal
data
will
be retained in the event of a successful Repair install of the OS.
That's
it, right?
As Daave insinuates, a Repair installation affecting the OS may
*not*
be the
solution to whatever problem(s) you're experiencing. You've given no
indication why you believe a Repair install is necessary or
desirable
in
your circumstances.
But, as I've indicated, we'll assume that you've correctly diagnosed
whatever problem(s) you're experiencing, and a Repair install of the
OS
*is*
appropriate at this time.
2. As you've heard from Daave, et al., you're probably attempting to
run
(what amounts to) a Repair install from your Desktop by inserting
your
XP OS
installation CD and selecting the "Install Windows XP" option.
As you have heard, presumably your *present* installed XP OS
contains
SP3
and your XP installation CD contains an earlier SP (or no SP at
all).
Under
those circumstances the system will not permit you to undertake a
Repair
install of the OS - only a "fresh" install. No doubt that's the
reason
for
the Windows message you've received.
3. However, this restriction applies only if you're attempting to
run a
Run Task