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Dell All-in-One Printer 944 Problem (Resolved)

Dell Printer

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#31
Channeal

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Lol! I have passed beyond the point of getting stressed by all this now and am just finding it slightly amusing at the moment! :-)

Yes, best to wait until such time as I (hopefully) get the computer back again! In answer to your question though,I do not actually remember it being specifically mentioned that the shop would install the same operating system. What I do remember though is that when my husband was on the phone to them before taking it into the shop, they asked whatoperating system we had and we just told then Windows XP Media Edition. I had no idea then that there was more than one version of it! It does clearly state 'Media Edition 2005' on the label on the top of the tower (the one shown in your picture) though.

One thing I am not clear about, but I am sure you will know the answer. When we first turn the computer on, we get the Dell logo screen. Is that just programmed in to come up automatically on a Dell computer, or does it mean that they used a Dell CD? I am just speculating here that guy in the shop who said he had owned a Dell
Dimension 9150 might have used his own disk.

The chkdsk thing is at 94 per cent now.

Cheers,
Chris.
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#32
phillpower2

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Re the reinstallation of the OS by the tech store, a memory error on my part, from your malware topic;

I realised that when we had the new hard drive put in last year the guy in the shop didn't take our CD, but presumably used his own.

 

 

The Dell logo aka the splash screen is integrated into the BIOS chip and it is not a part of the OS

One particular reason why the Dell drivers need to be installed in the correct order is because the BIOS expects them to be btw.

 

Interesting that Speccy reports the OS as XP Pro, it was the main reason why your update #2 jumped out at me.

 

254.pngOperating System
 
Windows XP Professional 32-bit SP3
 
Computer type: Tower
 
Installation Date: 01/06/2013 11:50:37
 
Windows Security Center

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#33
Channeal

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It is me again, back with my latest tale if woes!

The monitor seems to have given up the ghost completely now! I cannot get the floating box when I try to test it...... and the green power light is flashing all the time and can only be stopped by turning off at the mains.

Luckily, it lasted long enough to let me see that the chkdsk thing had completed. I wasn't able to read whether it had found any errors though.

It is interesting what you say about Speccy showing that we are running XP Professional. When I am trying to log into Safe Mode and have to ok the operating system, it always says XP Professional. I am not absolutely certain, but I believe that this was the case even before the new hard drive was installed. I have never understood it - but then I do not understand very much as far as computers are concerned! :-(

So, now we presumably have to buy a new monitor. We have never purchased a monitor by itself before, both our computers have come as a package with the monitor. Does any monitor work with any computer? Is there anything particular we should look for when buying one? I have no idea on any of this!!!!!!!

Thanks again for all your help..... and for being patient with my incoherent ramblings!

Cheers,
Chris.

PS I plugged the monitor back into the computer - and now I am getting the picture for about 2 seconds again!

Edited by Channeal, 06 May 2014 - 08:53 AM.

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#34
phillpower2

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and the green power light is flashing all the time and can only be stopped by turning off at the mains.

 

Which green light please, Dell have green diagnostic LEDs, a green LED on the power supply and no doubt a green LED on the monitors :mellow:  

Does the back of your computer have two video ports as in one that is an add on video card and one that is integrated into the motherboard, like the sound card one may be at the bottom of the case and one at the top, if the MB has a video port it may look like the one in the attachment and the add on card as in the link here

 

We can come back to a new monitor if it is determined that the present one has expired.


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#35
Channeal

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Yes, I was testing the monitor with it disconnected from the computer, so was talking about the green LED light on the monitor. Sorry, don't use that term very much.

I struggled a bit working out the answer to your video port questions. The monitor lead is plugged into a port like the one in your picture.The set-up is pretty much the same as the one in the Amazon picture, with the bigger port to the left of it.

Below these - to the right of where the speakers are plugged into the different coloured sockets to the sound card - is another port about the same size as the one to the left of where the printer goes. It is different though. It has 3 rows of 9, 9 and then 8 holes.

I don't know how to make this any clearer, so hope this is okay.

PS With regard to the XP Professional issue, Wikipedia says that all versions of XP Media Center Edition are based on XP Professional - whatever that means!

Edited by Channeal, 06 May 2014 - 10:30 AM.

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#36
phillpower2

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It unfortunately does appear that the Dell display is on its last legs so the video port question may be irrelevant  :(

 

If you do not have two of the blue VGA ports then the computer does not have an integrated video chip on the MB, it has only an add on video card, monitors for these are readily available, has the screen been reconnected but is still blank.

 

Thanks for the XP information  :thumbsup:


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#37
Channeal

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The monitor is reconnected now. The LED switch has stopped flashing again at the moment, but I can only get a display for about 2 seconds after turning it off and back on again.

Okay..... so we look for a monitor with a VGA port. Bearing in mind that one way or the other, we will probably end up having to buy a new computer in the not-too-distant future, is it possible to get a monitor with a VGA port, plus whatever might be required by a more modern computer. I am trying to find out if I can avoid buying a new monitor and then having to buy another one when our computer either blows up, or else I give up on trying to solve it's many problems and throw it away!
:-)

It is probably a very silly question, but I assume we do not have to buy a Dell monitor, do we? Just checking in case there is a problem using a Dell computer with a non-Dell monitor.

Cheers,
Chris.

Edited by Channeal, 06 May 2014 - 12:37 PM.

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#38
phillpower2

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If you are not able to run the Dell monitor test then it does suggest that the monitor is bad, I was hoping that it was the video card that needed reseating.

 

An example monitor here and here

 

Any brand of monitor will work with a Dell PC as long as it has the correct input and output ports.


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#39
Channeal

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Just to make sure - and because the LED green light is not flashing at the moment - I tried the monitor test again. This time the floating box did appear for about 3 seconds and then went away. I had to turn the LED. switch off and on again to get it back. Earlier though, I was unable to get it at all.

Thanks for the links to a couple of monitors. Are these all likely to work with more modern computers too? Or do we have to look for any additional attributes to ensure that they will work with any computer?

Chris.

Edited by Channeal, 06 May 2014 - 01:31 PM.

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#40
phillpower2

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I would say that the Dell display is broken and that it may not be financially viable to repair, it could be overheating, have a bad power board or switch and/or the inverter or backlight if one is present may have failed.

 

HDMI is the one other port to look out for on monitors, some info on computer cables etc here


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#41
Channeal

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Okay, we will get another monitor........... maybe we can get one tomorrow. I found another helpful link about monitor/computer connections on the Tesco website, of all places!

Thanks very much for all your help today: it is very much appreciated.

Chris.
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#42
phillpower2

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Tesco used to carry a good range of screens in their larger outlets but I am not sure if they still do.

 

One at Argos that is worth a look is the wall mountable LG here

 

You are most welcome btw  :)


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#43
Channeal

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Hello again,

I exchanged a couple of emails with the shop that put in our new hard drive and they now tell me that the reason the SFC will not work on my system is that the addition of service pack 3 means that the only disc that would make it work is one with the service pack 3 edition on it. Computers are such confusing things to someone without much technical knowledge!

We have not had a chance to go out and get a new monitor today; we have been busy dealing with other different problems! I wanted to ask you though whether you still think I am likely to be able to solve the problems on my computer with the printer installation and the sound. The SFC thing was trying to reinstall dll files, so there are obviously errors in the registry. Is it possible that these issues are causing the other problems?

Also, with regard to these problems in the registry, would a computer expert in a shop be likely to be able to correct these errors without being able to utilise the SFC thing?

We do not really want to have to buy a new computer at the moment because we have had a lot of unexpected expense in other areas recently...... but part of me is beginning to wonder whether it might not be the best option, rather than constantly banging my head against what increasingly seems to be a brick wall.

We miss having the printer more than anything! Perhaps we should buy a new one of those at the same time as the monitor. I wonder if even that would install okay though!

Bye for now,
Chris.
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#44
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal, 

 

What the store have said has certain merit but in truth it would depend on what part of XP was missing or corrupted, that is why it is possible to edit the registry so that the source path is changed so that SFC looks for any files that it needs to repair the OS on the C: (HDD) as opposed to an OS disk that would normally be in the optical drive and commonly has the drive letter D:.

 

At present you are aware that a new monitor is required and that is all that I would replace for now, worse case scenario is that you use your own XP disk to format the HDD, do a fresh installation of the OS, install all of the Dell drivers in the correct order, install all XP updates (including service pack/s) and then make your own back up image of the HDD.

 

Once you have a working monitor I can provide you with details for Puppy Linux, this will allow you to try the printer with an alternative OS, which just happens to be free btw.


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#45
Channeal

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Hello again,

We got a new monitor and I connected it up to the computer okay. When I first turned the computer on, it seemed to be telling me that it needed to run chqdsk again to check one of the disks for consistency, so I was prepared for it to take forever again. However, it actually only took a few minutes before Windows started to load normally. So, we seem to be back in business again! :-)

You scared me yesterday lol! First of all, I have never heard of Puppy Linux.... it sounds more like a family pet to me! Secondly, it sounds a bit beyond me when you talk about installing XP from scratch with all the drivers etc. Although actually, I have done it before....... but always while on the phone to technical support ( I think I did it at least once with Dell and also with our first computer which was with Gateway UK) I have had some very-close-to-having a nervous-breakdown moments with Technical Support lines in the past..... and always said that I would never do anything complicated ever again, but would take it in to a shop to do. :-) But then, I guess I could at least try!!!! The worse part would be if I did have to do it without having a printer to print out instructions (though luckily I do have my phone now, so at least I could shout for help on there if I got stuck!) Hopefully, it won't come to that anyway!

I have a CD for the new monitor but haven't put it in yet. Do I need to? It seems to be working okay without it, although the screen looks a lot brighter than we are used to. It took me ages just to work out how to fix up the stand - and then it took another age to get the monitor turned on because I hadn't connected the power cable to the transformer thing properly! (And you think I would be capable of reinstalling the operating system!!!!!!)

By the way, we got a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion 22xi in the end. We got it from PC world because there just happens to be one not that far from us and it was the only place I could think of!

Bye for now,
Chris.

Edited by Channeal, 08 May 2014 - 01:27 PM.

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