[NikkuKaze]

4. Eh, when I maximize a window; it's exceeds the bounds of my monitor; windows get slight cut off. Also, I get these vertical lines of "fuzziness" every inch or so. -_-

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Hmmm....video card driver?

[Broni]

Hmmm....video card driver?

[NikkuKaze]

"nVidia GeForce 9500 GT", version 6.14.11.9621 ; same as prior to the initial issue.

Edited by NikkuKaze, 21 February 2010 - 01:25 AM.

[Broni]

Restart computer in Safe Mode and see, if you have same cut off and fuzzy screen there.

[NikkuKaze]

Tell ya what, I'm going to try to ask around for a WinXP Professional disc and install again; on top of some of the problems I've already noted, it's been acting slow... -_-. Not sure why, but if my Prof. key won't work for Home, I'm gonna want to switch sooner or later. I'll get back to you with news. >_<

[Broni]

OK

[NikkuKaze]

Or...I'm suspecting that the original drive still works (physically) since this new drive is showing the exact same symptoms as the old one. Would a faulty Sata Cable or Sata Port cause the issues I've been seeing?

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And since I'm here, and before creating a new topic, my other computer had a virus attack. I know this is the improper form for this subject, but I was able to remove it successfully; however, no Windows system programs will "load". For example, if I try and open a Explorer window, it prompts "What program would you like to use to open explorer.exe?" (and by finding the .exe in question; I am taken to the same place) which is ...stupid since .exes 'run themselves'. It's as if the attack has caused the computer to stop accurately recognizing .exe files.

Do you have any knowledge on this subject or, if not, I'll defer it to a new thread elsewhere.

[Broni]

I simply have no authority to advice on malware related issues.

[NikkuKaze]

Alright; I obtained a Win XP Prof. SP2 disc; installed it on the drive, and when I start up I get either a blinking line on a black screen or (when I use the BIOS to directly boot the drive) "hal.dll file is missing or corrupt" message. I've looked around a bit for solutions but nothing I've found seems to have helped thus far; they either return me to the same errors or result in a (not too fatal) blue screen la death.

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So, I've learned that this problem sometimes stems from an issue in the boot sector (boot.ini) and could occur with hard drive movement (?). Would my adding/removing/moving of hard drives that I do not wish to boot from (either storage drives or the original yet dead drive) cause this issue? I doubt it considering its a brand new drive and the installation is fresh, but could say the Motherboard retain such "drive" information and, being as the setup is vastly different (the new drive is the only drive inserted atm), mess up the boot file?

[Broni]

Where did Windows CD come from?

[NikkuKaze]

A friend of mine, I was asking around and finally found someone with one. -_-

I was able to overcome the hal.dll problem so the drive boots now, but I think the CD may have been like a "company" disc or something because it will not accept my Product Key nor will it allow me to 'continue' to the 30 day grace period the Home disc allowed me to take advantage of. Should I assume that my key is a "SP3" key that the "SP2" installer won't recognize?

[Broni]

This is a total mess here.
I suggest you obtain genuine Windows CD and perform clean install as described here: http://www.michaelst...nxpinstall.html

[NikkuKaze]

Alright, I've been talking to a friend of mine and (all of his W7 suggestions aside) he brought up this point:

"This computer in question was a 'manufacturer's' computer; namely Systemax."

That, and I don't remember the computer coming with (or without) a disc; I assume this could explain the product key failure?

[NikkuKaze]

Right, there we go. -_- I needed a OEM disc; it's up and running now...

Now to just copy everything and hope for the best. ;3

Thanks for your help Broni.

[Broni]

Excellent!!