[manu08]

I tried that but it just doesn't seem to go past the 34 minute mark. Anyway, I'm leaving in about 30 minutes to catch my flight. When I get back I think what I'll do is install XP onto my 40GB HDD, recover all my data from the 80GB SATA HDD and then format both and install a fresh copy of XP on my 80GB HDD. Will be quite a lengthy process but what to do. The thing is my 40GB HDD is IDE but my other two HDDs are SATA, how will I make the IDE the primary HDD?

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You could do the install with just one drive in, then add the others

[Retired Tech]

You could do the install with just one drive in, then add the others

[manu08]

Ok so I disconnected all except my primary hard drive and all except my primary optical drive. Now in the "installing windows" section I've got a 'copy error' for literally every file that needs to be installed. I'm installing Windows XP Home Edition SP1 btw. I've also got a Windows XP Pro SP2 cd with me so whenever a copy error came up I removed the HE cd and inserted the Pro cd and the copy error would go away and I would be asked to reinsert the HE cd. Once I reinsert the HE cd again another copy error would come and I'd insert the Pro cd to fulfill the installation of the necessary files. I've been doing that for a very very long time. Now it doesn't seem to work with the next copy error I'm getting which is
"Setup cannot copy the file comrepl.dl_.
Ensure that the disk labeled 'Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM' is in the drive selected below, or provide the location where this can be found."

Now inserting the Pro cd when this error has come for the files before this has worked. I've tried making a copy of the HE cd and using that instead of the original and that hasn't helped. I've also tried copying all the files from the HE cd to a external hard drive to try and install it from that and that hasn't worked either. I cannot switch the computer off cause going through that process for all the previous files is way too time consuming. What can be done? Can I skip installing this file?

[Retired Tech]

If you skip it then you will likely end up doing a repair install, it's a choice between restarting this, or skipping any files to see what you end up with

[manu08]

Ok but what's the reason this is happening?

[Retired Tech]

Did you check the Ram Memory

[manu08]

Yes I did and it showed no problems. I had SP2 on my computer before I attempted the repair. Could that have anything to do with this?

[Retired Tech]

Did it get you to remove SP2 first, and give a long list of things which wouldn't run properly

[manu08]

Nope nothing like that. I've restarted the repair process a few times also. As in, boot from the cd and restart the repair process from there? Is this a major hardware fault? Or maybe just something with the cd or hard drive possibly.

[Retired Tech]

You could try it with the other drive

You could remove the video card and soundcard, leave one stick of ram memory in, disconnect everything but the monitor keyboard and mouse then try it

[manu08]

Yes I remember you had mentioned this before as well. The thing is, how would I know whether the installation has completed if the video card is removed because there would be no display. I do not have an integrated video card. I think I'll try installing XP HE on my 40GB HDD.

[Retired Tech]

If there is no mention of onboard graphics then you would have to leave that in

[manu08]

Well, my computer started giving bigger problems than I expected. It wasn't getting past the Intel BIOS splash logo. So I took out the heatsink and it was absolutely clogged with dirt. Cleaned it up and placed it back. The thing was I remember the processor heatsink came with a thermal pad on it instead of thermal paste. Now when I removed it, it had all been melted and lets just say if you looked at it there is no way a normal person would be able to say there was a pad on it. I looked at the top of the processor too and it jus had markings of the pad all over it. I kind of ignored that and connected back the heatsink. Now the computer loads without the BIOS splash logo for some reason and instead goes to the POSTS and it says "the computer was shut down due to the processor overheating" and the computer switches off automatically after about 5 - 10 seconds. Tomorrow I'll get some thermal paste and clean off all the markings of the pad from the processor and heatsink and apply the paste. That should work right?
Hoping that works I should be able to proceed so please tell me about this. I have an Intel D875PBZ motherboard. I have 3 hard drives. 2 are SATA and one is IDE. The IDE is currently connected as Secondary Slave. My OS was on one of the SATA hard drives previously but now I want to install the OS on the IDE hard drive, for this, do I need to remove the other two hard drives? Also, once the OS is installed on the IDE hard drive will it always be the boot option?
What I'm going to do is, keep all softwares on the IDE hard drive (it's the smallest of the three having only 40GB as opposed to the other two having 80GB each) and install my games on one of the other drives and store my music, pictures etc on that other drive too basically leaving the IDE hard drive ONLY for Windows files, softwares I install and Windows Updates. Will this be fine or would I get better performance keeping the OS and games and stuff on just one hard drive?

Edited by manu08, 19 April 2007 - 02:11 PM.

[Retired Tech]

With the problems the PC is having I would settle for installing with only the IDE drive, once you get the PC to run then you can add other drives

You want Windows and programmes on one drive

Audio / Video / Images and documents etc can be on any of the drives

[manu08]

I'm attaching pics of what the heatsink and processor look like right now. Can you please tell me how exactly I should clean the heatsink? Remember, there was a *thermal pad* on it before. Or do I not need to clean it and can just place it back like this? Also, nothing needs to be done with the processor right?
Sorry for the quality of the pics, I couldn't locate my digi or vid cam and had to use my phone instead.

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