win XP need help trying to recover from crash

[Guest]

hi-

i installed alpha software. i didnt do something right and crashed win xp.
i reinstalled xp leaving the file structure intact. i was able to start
windows and save all data. my current problem is that i cannot launch some
programs like netscape. i cant start abyss web server. i get a listening
problem. things are just kooky. abyss documentation says one reason a
listening problem occurs is the user doesnt have permission. when i go into
event viewer under administration tool found in the control panel under user
it says N/A and the computer name is bedroom.

what i did to save my settings was create a new user account. copy all the
files from the user accounts saved on my pc in documents and settings to the
new user account. i tried to call the user account owner like before but the
computer adds the computer name to the user name like this owner.bedroom.

i am almost tempted to bring my pc into the shop.

some programs work just great so it makes it that much more
frustrating/interesting.

any ideas?

thanks very much,
jim

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Try a System Restore back to a point before you installed the software.

 

[Guest]

Hi

Try a System Restore back to a point before you installed the software.

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP - Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

will-


i wish it were that easy. awhile back i had a problem where restore
conflicted with an application and i shut it off. i cant remember which
application but i wish i had that one back now.

is it the registry causing this? is there a way i can do a backup of my
data and start from the beginning or is that overkill. i have lots of
software saved and also have disks with software on them. the only problem
is there i probably will miss something and not do a perfect backup.

one thing that is ironic is i had just bought norton ghost on ebay and was
thinking i should do a backup (a week ago). software still hasnt arrived
(that figures).
i probably need a dvd writer for norton ghost anyways. i have a 30gb hard
drive with 20gb free. that would be a ton of cds wouldnt it (for the image)?

thank you,
jim

 

[Will Denny]

will-


i wish it were that easy. awhile back i had a problem where restore
conflicted with an application and i shut it off. i cant remember which
application but i wish i had that one back now.

is it the registry causing this? is there a way i can do a backup of my
data and start from the beginning or is that overkill. i have lots of
software saved and also have disks with software on them. the only
problem
is there i probably will miss something and not do a perfect backup.

one thing that is ironic is i had just bought norton ghost on ebay and was
thinking i should do a backup (a week ago). software still hasnt arrived
(that figures).
i probably need a dvd writer for norton ghost anyways. i have a 30gb hard
drive with 20gb free. that would be a ton of cds wouldnt it (for the
image)?

thank you,
jim

Hi Jim

With System Restore turned off, you won't be able to restore the Registry to
an earlier point in time. The 'alpha' software. Is that the name of the
program or the version of the program.

If need be, you can try a 'Repair' install of XP, which should leave your
files, programs and settings intact. That may be dependent on the type of
XP CD you have.

 

[Guest]

hi-

i just had an idea. what if i use partition magic to create an ntfs
partition and then copy the data i want saved from one partition to the
other. is that possible?

then i could do a complete format of c: and reinstall. after that i can
copy the saved data from the new partition. only problem is i'd lose my
settings. the data is important though.

will that work?

jim

 

[Guest]

"itIsMeAgain" wrote:

our posts crossed. great idea on the repair install. thanks.
i tried it last night but didnt read the screen right. i just found a
tutorial.
i was suppose to press enter first to get to the license agreement .
last night i was typing R before i was suppose to. look how much
time that would have saved me possibly (and frustration).

i will let you know how it turns out.

cant do anything right
thanks very much,

 

[Will Denny]

Hi Jim

You don't have to press the 'R' on the first screen. The following article
by Michael Stevens shows how to perform a 'Repair' install:

"How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install"
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[Guest]

:

hi Will-

thanks for all your help. i performed the repair install. abyss web server
is now working. netscape doesnt (oh well there are other browsers that work
fine).

the alpha software was phptriad. i am use to software prompting before
taking action. the install routine on phptriad just started overwriting
stuff on me. i wanted to install apache only. it went ahead and clobbered
my php and mysql directories as well as install apache. it trashed my mysql
data. and when i was screwing around trying to get it untrashed i probably
made the problem worse. i have to go to my website and make a backup of the
mysql tables and somehow put those tables on my machine at home. that is for
another day though. my goal was to have something easily install apache so i
could preview a program called apache rivet that just came out with a windows
binary. it is for web scripting with tcl/tk.

bottom line i did a couple of things wrong
1. now my system restore will stay on and if it conflicts with software i
wont use the software that is conflicting with it
2. etc. etc. need better backup system in place

thank you for all your help. i think i am in the clear.
jim

 

[Will Denny]

Glad your problem is sorted Jim.