My computer is only 6 weeks old and I do have anything of importance on it, is there a way to put it back to the way it was when I received it?
Edited by at_wits_end, 27 February 2008 - 01:46 PM.
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Edited by at_wits_end, 27 February 2008 - 01:46 PM.
Use the Recovery process which is usually supplied with all new PCs. That will either be a Recovery CD which you boot the PC with, or look for a 'System Recovery' item or a similar name in Start-> All Programs. Don't confuse it with Windows built-in 'System Restore' function -- that's not the same thing and it won't return your PC to it's "as new" factory configuration in your particular circumstances. Only the 'Recovery' process can do that.
What is the make/model of the computer? Did it come with a restore CD or is there a hidden restore partition on hard drive?
The simplest solution would be to restore it to it new state and start over.
You say you backed up your files. How did you back them up? If you used Windows Backup then I don't believe you can select individual files. You should have used a program like Acronis True Image, Norton Ghost or a free program like DriveImage XML to do the backup with. They allow you to select a single file or folder as needed to restore.
If you bought a new computer, didn't it come with it's own hard drive? Are you using the hard drive from your old computer in the new one?
Windows XP: Dell PC Restore
Using PC Restore:
1. Turn on the computer.
During the boot process, a blue bar with www.dell.com appears at the top of the screen.
2. Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press <Ctrl><F11>.
If you do not press <Ctrl><F11> in time, let the computer finish starting, and then restart the computer again.
NOTICE: If you do not want to proceed with PC Restore, click Reboot.
3. Click Restore and click Confirm.
The restore process takes approximately 6 to 10 minutes to complete.
4. When prompted, click Finish to reboot the computer.
NOTE: Do not manually shut down the computer. Click Finish and let the computer completely reboot.
5. When prompted, click Yes.
The computer restarts. Because the computer is restored to its original operating state, the screens that appear, such as the End User License Agreement, are the same ones that appeared the first time the computer was turned on.
6. Click Next.
The System Restore screen appears and the computer restarts.
7. After the computer restarts, click OK.
Edited by pip22, 27 February 2008 - 05:10 PM.
Sounds like the HD is munged a bit. Download either of these and create a bootable CD from the .iso file
XP Recovery Console
Another XP Recovery Console
You don't burn the iso file itself to CD., you create a CD from the iso file using your CD burning software. There is a good freeware burner called DeepBurner which will do this.
Boot the CD and at the first opportunity, enter R to start the Recovery Console.
Next, choose which XP installation you want to login to. Normally this will be 1.
Lastly you will be asked for the Administrator password. Just press the Enter key as the Administrator does not have a password (unless you gave it one, then you would enter it).
From the command prompt, enter:
chkdsk c: /r
Let it complete undisturbed. The try Ctrl+F11 again.
Edited by at_wits_end, 27 February 2008 - 06:12 PM.
Sorry, I thought since you were running Knoppix that you had downloaded it's iso file and used that to create a bootable CD that you then used to install it with.
An iso file is an image of a CD disc, normally a bootable CD. Either of the links I gave you points to an iso file of the XP Recovery Console. You download it and save it to your hard drive. Then you start your CD burning software (Nero, Roxio, etc.) and chose the option create (or burn) a CD from a Disc image file.
If you don't have a CD burner then all this is moot. If you do, it must have come with some burner software. You can also use the DeepBurner program I also provided a link to.
More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_image
http://www.petri.co....files_to_cd.htm
Hope that helps. If not, post specific questions and I'll try to answer them. This is not difficult to do. You just need to go through it once to see the process.
Edited by at_wits_end, 27 February 2008 - 07:06 PM.
Crud, again, my fault. I forgot you only have Knoppix. I've not used any flavor of Linux for almost 5 years now so have forgotten almost everything I knew. I'm sure there are good, free burner programs available for that will work with Knoppix.
Can you get a friend to download and burn it for you?
Edited by at_wits_end, 27 February 2008 - 09:39 PM.
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