[hansformat]

Ztruker:

Here is the last one.

Thanks for having a look.

Jason.

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You are missing several (many?) critical services, for instance:

• COM+ Event System
• DHCP Client
• DNS Client

There are probably others. I don't know how they were deleted but have to assume it happened during the malware cleanup. I have not been able to find any way to fix this kind of catastrophic damage.

At this point I'd say your best bet is to do a Repair Install of Windows XP. That will replace system files and registry entries but leave your personal data intact.

Event though this should not affect your data, it would be a very good idea to back it up first.

Remember Murphy's law. If something can go wrong, it will and at a time sure to cause the most damage.

[Ztruker]

You are missing several (many?) critical services, for instance:

• COM+ Event System
• DHCP Client
• DNS Client

There are probably others. I don't know how they were deleted but have to assume it happened during the malware cleanup. I have not been able to find any way to fix this kind of catastrophic damage.

At this point I'd say your best bet is to do a Repair Install of Windows XP. That will replace system files and registry entries but leave your personal data intact.

Event though this should not affect your data, it would be a very good idea to back it up first.

Remember Murphy's law. If something can go wrong, it will and at a time sure to cause the most damage.

[hansformat]

Ztruker:

I am all backed up so I started this "Fix XP" procedure.

However, I can't get the system to boot from my Dell XP CD. I changed the boot order as the instructions suggested, but it still won't boot from the CD. The CD itself is fine...once Windows comes up I can get it to bring up a windows screen that has an XP Install option...but when I tried that it gave a stern warning about erasing everything (something about the version of XP it was installing being earlier than the one I had).

I want to do a repair...not a full install.

Any suggestions?

Jason.

[Ztruker]

You need to boot the CD. Following is from the Users Manual:

2. Shut down and restart the computer.

When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> immediately.

If you wait too long and the Windows logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.
NOTE: The next steps change the boot sequence for one time only. On the next start-up, the computer boots according to the devices specified in system setup.

3. When the boot device list appears, highlight IDE CD-ROM Device and press <Enter>.

4. Select the IDE CD-ROM Device option from the CD boot menu.

5. Select the Boot from CD-ROM option from the menu that appears.

[hansformat]

Ztruker:

I followed these instructions, and I was able to get the CD to boot.

I got into Windows setup, but it didn't recognize any installed XP. I figured out from the instructions that the reason must be that I have RAID drives, so I followed the directions and pressed F6 at the proper time. It asked me to put the drivers in A:.

Here's the problem. There is no A: drive on this system. The hard drive is C:, the RAID backup drive is D:, and the rest of the devices are E:, F:, etc.

What do I do to get it to read the CD with the drivers on it?

Thanks

Jason.

[Ztruker]

Jason, I don't know how to get around that. I would suggest a live tech chat with the Dell folks, see if they have instructions. I've used it several times with good success. It's also free.

http://support.dell....o...&redirect=1

[hansformat]

Ztruker:

I have looked and posted on the Dell site, and looked on the MS site, and I don't think they are capable of doing anything so that i can get these drivers accessible from something other than an A: drive.

What I can conclude from this experience is:
1. Microsoft's OS is quite simply pathetic.
There is no excuse why this program can't be patched to allow me to enter a new drive (instead of A:) so these RAID drivers can be accessed. There haven't been floppy drives on new computers for 3 years now. Duh!
2. Microsoft itself is simply pathetic.
I am absolutely certain that my OS was trashed by a Microsoft triggered web update for XP.
3. I will never buy a Dell or Microsoft computer again.
My wife and I have already discussed that the next machine is an Apple.

I am probably going to have to completely wipe the system and reinstall XP now, and also have to figure out how to get the RAID up and running again. This will take days and is a total waste of time. I already have everything backed up on an external hard drive and will probably buy another this weekend to do another backup before starting this process. That's a total waste of money as well.

Thank you for all your help. Despite ending with no workable resolution I appreciate your efforts to help me. You guys didn't create this Cluster F of an operating system...you just try to deal with the fallout.

Jason.

[Ztruker]

Jason, I can understand your frustration, but doing a clean install isn't going to fix it. Since there is no way to install RAID drivers perhaps the mother board already has support. What ever you do, this needs to be resolved.

Why not give the live chat a try. It really does work quite well.

[hansformat]

Ztruker:

It looks to me that the live chat requires that i am on maintenance. This computer is several years old and isn't on maintenance any more.

Jason.

[Ztruker]

Rats, sorry Jason, you're right, I didn't see that before.

According to the Users Manual, you press Ctrl+F11 immediately when you see the blue bar during boot to start the Dell restore process. It is destructive. Looks like this is the only way to reload XP on this computer unless you add a diskette drive.

[hansformat]

Ztruker:

I have also independently asked this question of another resource I found on the web (someone with instructions to restore XP) and he said the A: drive is nonnegotiable...incredibly stupid but what can you do!

So...
1. Are floppy drives available anymore that I could install as the A: drive?
2. Is this a relatively easy process?

Jas

[happyrock]

yep one
here...
they are simple to install too..guide is here...
as for

the A: drive is nonnegotiable...incredibly stupid

I agree....
I put in a floppy in everything I build because of the raid problem...also good for flashing the bios though

[Ztruker]

Off topic I know, but did Vista solve this stupid restriction?

[happyrock]

Off topic I know, but did Vista solve this stupid restriction?

I still don't use vista...gonna wait until its more stable and has more drivers ...might post this in the vista forum

[hansformat]

Ztruker & Happyrck:

Thanks you guys for sticking with this. For $20 I'll give it a try. Not much to lose. If it doesn't work I'll either do:
1. a) Just leave the computer alone and use it for my scanning/photoshop darkroom computer. I'll check that I can scan, photoshop, and print all the way through and if I can I just might leave it.
b) Buy an Apple and move all the ipod support and web surfing to that machine.
2. Use the Symantec Dell thingie to try and restore the entire machine back to factory spec and then use my backup to restore key files. I'd then have to reinstall everything as well.

In any case, as I have said, I am done with Microsoft. My wife tells me at her place of employment they don't even take MS auto updates any more (like the one that has trashed my entire system), and Vista is a nonstarter (all I hear about are nightmares).

After decades of work what MS has provided is quite simply a joke. A completely unmaintainable OS that any high school kid can write a virus and trash. Even MS apparently can't get their own updates to work reliably. As for Dell, they have provided a system with RAID that cannot be maintained because they never bothered to perscribe a floppy for such a system. In essence, their "safe" system (with RAID) is the most unsafe system you can buy. I won't be buying from Dell either...but from what I can tell I am hardly unique on that one...Dell is in rapid decline.

Jason.