G
Guest
A computer (Dell Dim4300S about 3 yrs old) was given to me to fix. It would
start with the menu to choose Safe Mode, Start normally, etc. Any choice
would end up just going to a black screen w/ a movable mouse. (Safe Mode
would have "Safe Mode" in corners.)
I tried to reinstall OS CD; it would see original OS and I'd hit R for
repair (vs. a fresh install). It got to about 22 mins left on Installation, I
left the room, and upon returning, saw the black screen again. Nothing would
happen, so I tried again, doing the exact same thing. The black screen came
up again, so then I tried a fresh install w/ CD, but I kept it on the C drive
and just renamed folder "Windows2" to try to avoid losing files she had. This
went through, but the only way I see her old programs is through Windows
Explorer. If I click on them, I only get various files/folders with the
program; it doesn't start up on its own. If I click on a main file (ex
Microsoft Works) thru Prog Files, it usually says a file is either renamed,
missing or deleted. Through Windows Explorer, I also see the original
Windows folder, but at the top of its expanded list, there are a bunch of
blue items: ex., "$NtUninstallKB828741$" and 11 others w/ different KB
(Knowledge Base?) numbers. The last item is "$xpsp1hfm$".
What I was trying to do is figure out if I can get Windows Xp running here
(as in a re-install) and not lose all the programs she has installed. This
is not emergency situation, but I'd like to know if it can be done. After I
first did the Windows2 install, I thought I could just delete the original
Windows folder and then rename the 2nd folder back to "Windows". But it
looks like parts of the programs somehow get tied up in the Windows folder.
Is that why something always seems amiss when I try to get a program to run?
Also, I installed AdAware, SpyBot and AVG on the Windows2 OS. When I go
thru Prog Files and click on AVG Setup, it starts, but I figure that's
because I installed it on Windows2 and that's the OS I'm running. (On
starting the computer, I get the "dual OS" choices - both Win Xp Home, of
course.
Any ideas?? If I have to, I can just do an overwrite, or I could reformat
the drive and start completely fresh. I have her OS CD; I don't need any
kind of boot floppies for Xp, do I? I'm more accustomed to doing 98 with a
reformatted hard drive; haven't done Xp yet.
Thanks for help. Hope I've been clear enough.
start with the menu to choose Safe Mode, Start normally, etc. Any choice
would end up just going to a black screen w/ a movable mouse. (Safe Mode
would have "Safe Mode" in corners.)
I tried to reinstall OS CD; it would see original OS and I'd hit R for
repair (vs. a fresh install). It got to about 22 mins left on Installation, I
left the room, and upon returning, saw the black screen again. Nothing would
happen, so I tried again, doing the exact same thing. The black screen came
up again, so then I tried a fresh install w/ CD, but I kept it on the C drive
and just renamed folder "Windows2" to try to avoid losing files she had. This
went through, but the only way I see her old programs is through Windows
Explorer. If I click on them, I only get various files/folders with the
program; it doesn't start up on its own. If I click on a main file (ex
Microsoft Works) thru Prog Files, it usually says a file is either renamed,
missing or deleted. Through Windows Explorer, I also see the original
Windows folder, but at the top of its expanded list, there are a bunch of
blue items: ex., "$NtUninstallKB828741$" and 11 others w/ different KB
(Knowledge Base?) numbers. The last item is "$xpsp1hfm$".
What I was trying to do is figure out if I can get Windows Xp running here
(as in a re-install) and not lose all the programs she has installed. This
is not emergency situation, but I'd like to know if it can be done. After I
first did the Windows2 install, I thought I could just delete the original
Windows folder and then rename the 2nd folder back to "Windows". But it
looks like parts of the programs somehow get tied up in the Windows folder.
Is that why something always seems amiss when I try to get a program to run?
Also, I installed AdAware, SpyBot and AVG on the Windows2 OS. When I go
thru Prog Files and click on AVG Setup, it starts, but I figure that's
because I installed it on Windows2 and that's the OS I'm running. (On
starting the computer, I get the "dual OS" choices - both Win Xp Home, of
course.
Any ideas?? If I have to, I can just do an overwrite, or I could reformat
the drive and start completely fresh. I have her OS CD; I don't need any
kind of boot floppies for Xp, do I? I'm more accustomed to doing 98 with a
reformatted hard drive; haven't done Xp yet.
Thanks for help. Hope I've been clear enough.