[togatown]

I just got the XP disc and will be home at the infected machine in about an hour. Should I still just follow the repair instructions here - http://www.geekstogo...air-windows-xp/ or should I do a full restore?

[Advertisements]

I would recommend a full restore - that way it will be fixed, whereas a repair may not cure it

Reinstall tutorial here

[Essexboy]

I would recommend a full restore - that way it will be fixed, whereas a repair may not cure it

Reinstall tutorial here

[togatown]

I am planning on doing the restore tonight. Can you recommend any anti-malware, anti-virus, or any other software that I should have installed and running on my machine from now on to help protect it from more issues. I had Symantec Endpoint Protection running before for anti-virus/spyware protection but it never caught anything and bogged my machine down. Would like to find another option - maybe something free I can download. Any recommendations?

[Essexboy]

Anti - malware ; current leader of the pack Malwarebytes.

Antivirus - there are two reasonable lightweight choices Avast and Avira

Firewall is a bit more problematic as I use a suite and have not tried any of the current recommendations Comodo and Outpost

[togatown]

Thanks!

Any thoughts on using Windows for firewall?

[Essexboy]

Xp firewall is one way only - so a third party one would be the recommendation

[togatown]

OK - well I never thought I would have a problem at this stage but I can't seem to repair or restore from the disc. I insert the disc and restart. After the Dell logo appears, a black screen comes up and says:

Please select the operating system to start:
The options are:
Microsoft Windows Recovery Console
Do not select this [debugger enabled]
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

If I select XP Pro, it just boots up my computer as normal. I have not tried the option that says "Do not select this". If I select the Recovery Console option, I get a blue screen that reads:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check for viruses on your computer, remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF78D2524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

I restarted and get the same screen everytime I boot backup and select the recovery console option. I ran the CHKSDK command and it didn't seem to help.

I have made sure that the "CD/DVD/CD-RW" option is first on the list in the boot order in the BIOS setup and saved that setting. I have even hit F12 when booting up and manually selected the option to boot from the cd disc drive.

Any other thoughts on why this isn't working or what to try?

[Essexboy]

Ok definitely a weird one - when you boot from CD you should get the install windows prompt

Try this, with windows running insert the CD, this shoudl bring the install screen up. Then run from there

To reinstall Windows XP by using Windows XP CD, follow these steps:

1. Start your computer.
2. Insert the Windows XP CD in your computer's CD drive or DVD drive.
3. On the Welcome to Windows XP page, click Install Windows XP.
4. On the Welcome to Windows Setup page, click Upgrade (Recommended) in the Installation Type box (if it is not already selected), and then click Next.
5. On the License Agreement page, click I accept this agreement, and then click Next.
6. On the Your Product Key page, type the 25-character product key in the Product key boxes, and then click Next.
7. On the Get Updated Setup Files page, select the option that you want, and then click Next.
8. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to reinstall Windows XP.

Taken from the MS KB

[togatown]

Well this is weird...I must not have the right disc somehow.

When I insert the disc with windows running, it still does not bring up the install screen. I have to open the folder on the disc and manually run the setup app. When I do that, I select Install Window XP and then get an error message that says: Setup cannot continue becuase the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD. TO erase the newer version and install the older version, restart the computer, boot from this CD, and follow the instructions for a new installation.

Of course, I can't do what it says with booting from the CD so I guess I am stuck? Not sure what newer version of windows they could be talking about. It's a Windows XP disc. Could it have something to do with a service pack or the fact that my computer is a Dell? I'll check with the person I got the copy of the CD from but they confirmed that it was the right CD when looking at the product key I gave them.

[Essexboy]

This is intriguing as when you boot from cd it should go straight to the setup programme

Your recovery partition is for Vista is it not ?

[Essexboy]

Due to lack of feedback, this topic has been closed.

If you need this topic reopened, please contact a staff member. This applies only to the original topic starter. Everyone else please begin a New Topic.