reinstall

[ML]

hi
does anyone know how I can do a Winxp reinstall on a Dell Dimension?
The recovery CD says I have to restart the machine with the CD in which
I've done but it still starts Windows. I've put the CDrom first in the boot
sequence in the bios but that didn't work. There's a Boot setup (F12) but
when i choose CD it comes up with retry or start normally.
Thanks

 

[Malke]

hi
does anyone know how I can do a Winxp reinstall on a Dell Dimension?
The recovery CD says I have to restart the machine with the CD in
which I've done but it still starts Windows. I've put the CDrom first
in the boot sequence in the bios but that didn't work. There's a Boot
setup (F12) but when i choose CD it comes up with retry or start
normally. Thanks

Are you sure you are using the correct restore disk? Does the cd drive
work? You can try booting with another bootable cd to make sure. You
can also try the cd you are using in another machine to make sure the
disk isn't damaged. If you have two optical drives, try putting the
recovery cd in the other drive.

Since you didn't tell us why you want to reinstall, that's as specific
as I can get. Perhaps the machine has hardware failures.

Malke

 

[ML]

Hi. The reason for needing to reinstall is that the machine is riddled with
errors.
When the machinre reboots it comes up with constant messages
i.e.
isass.exe-bad image
The application or DLL c:\windows\system32\repairs303169590.dll is not a
valid windows image. Please check agains your installation diskette.

but there are tons of them and all have the same number like
services.exe
userinit.exe
igfxtray.exe
mclogCLn.exe
rundll.exe
explorer.exe
and another 10 more.

The cause was I think from viruses and maybe users (not my pc)
I've checked after what you said, there are 2 optic drives, the CD rom works
.. The DVD doens't
The CD says Windows Xp Reinstallation CD
thanks for any advice on this

 

[Malke]

Hi. The reason for needing to reinstall is that the machine is riddled
with errors.
When the machinre reboots it comes up with constant messages
i.e.
isass.exe-bad image
The application or DLL c:\windows\system32\repairs303169590.dll is not
a valid windows image. Please check agains your installation diskette.

but there are tons of them and all have the same number like
services.exe
userinit.exe
igfxtray.exe
mclogCLn.exe
rundll.exe
explorer.exe
and another 10 more.

The cause was I think from viruses and maybe users (not my pc)
I've checked after what you said, there are 2 optic drives, the CD rom
works . The DVD doens't
The CD says Windows Xp Reinstallation CD
thanks for any advice on this

I would start with hardware troubleshooting:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Troubleshooting

The DVD-ROM not working may be symptomatic of more issues.

Malke

 

[ML]

According to the diagnostics for the cd rom (JLMS DVD-rom XJ-HD166) it is
being detected and working but says no disk inserted with which ever disk i
try. Also it's the master drive.
Is there a way I can make the working cdrom the master so that it can boot
from the windows cd to reinstall?

 

[Malke]

According to the diagnostics for the cd rom (JLMS DVD-rom XJ-HD166) it
is being detected and working but says no disk inserted with which
ever disk i try. Also it's the master drive.
Is there a way I can make the working cdrom the master so that it can
boot from the windows cd to reinstall?

Sure. Open the computer and remove the non-working drive. Since Dells
like cable select, move the working drive to the correct position on
the ribbon cable.

Two other ways to check if the drive is working:

1. Boot with any other bootable rescue cd such as Knoppix or a Bart's
PE.

2. Swap the drive out for a known-working one. You can test the
questionable drive in another system.

Malke