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Possible Laptop Purchase (Resolved).


Best Answer Channeal , 28 September 2016 - 09:06 AM

Hello Phill, Phew! I am exhausted!!!!  Some good news, some bad........ Dban completed okay. I eventually managed to sort out my ISO-to-flashdrive problems and got the Windows 10 dow... Go to the full post »


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#121
Channeal

Channeal

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Hello Phill,
 
Have been taking a break from travel preparations and looking at Windows 10 for the laptop (even though I have some concerns about the health of the laptop itself)
 
I downloaded the Windows 10 ISO file and put it onto a thumb drive. There was no 'create media for use on another computer' option. Don't know if that matters.
 
What I really wanted to ask about is the License Key. The link you gaVe me at https://www.amazon.c...MZC1DB9K50EV143 is no longer available. I found this (more expensive) option: http://www.rad-it.co...load/p/61562147
 
Is this what I need? And should I perhaps purchase it now, if the ways of getting it are likely to disappear?
 
Have a great day,
Chris

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#122
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,

 

While more expensive the key is what you need and still far less expensive than purchasing Windows 10 on disk.

 

Not sure why you did not get the Follow these steps to create installation media (USB flash drive or DVD) that you can use to install a new copy of Windows 10, perform a clean installation or reinstall Windows 10 option, was the download done on the Dell or the Sony Vaio, either way it could be because a clean install of Windows 10 would be needed on both/either before installing Windows 10 due to XP and Vista not being compatible with a straight upgrade.


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#123
Channeal

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Hello Phill,

 

 

 

While more expensive the key is what you need and still far less expensive than purchasing Windows 10 on disk.

 

Okay, will order it now in case the price goes up further! :)

 

 

Not sure why you did not get the Follow these steps to create installation media (USB flash drive or DVD) that you can use to install a new copy of Windows 10, perform a clean installation or reinstall Windows 10 option, was the download done on the Dell or the Sony Vaio, either way it could be because a clean install of Windows 10 would be needed on both/either before installing Windows 10 due to XP and Vista not being compatible with a straight upgrade.

 

Will wait and see if it works when I finally get to use it!

 

Chris.


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#124
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,

 

Hopefully Windows 10 will install without issue and quickly  :thumbsup:

 

Know I am a nag but don`t forget to check/change the boot sequence in the BIOS to USB device first and the HDD second, the USB device is sometimes listed as external HDD should that option appear.


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#125
Channeal

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Hello Phill.....

 

Thanks very much for the reminder (you are not a nag, btw; your reminders are always helpful!)  :thumbsup:

 

Will look forward to giving this a try at a later date, as long as I survive my travels in one piece! :)

 

Cheers,

 

Chris


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#126
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,

 

 

You are most welcome  :) enjoy your hols and will see you back here when you are ready  :thumbsup:


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#127
Channeal

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Hello Phill,

 
Hope you are well and no longer overworking! :)
 
I am back again after my long vacation - not at all happy at being back home, but trying to cheer myself up by once again turning my attention towards the Sony Vaio. :)
 
Was thinking about the laptop when away (I mean, what else would you think about when lying on the beach in the hot sun?!!!!). As previously mentioned, I am still concerned that it might really need a new hard drive and that I could find myself loading the new OS only to find that the hard drive failed soon after. 
 
I Googled how to check the condition of a hard drive and came across a page recommending crystaldiskinfo. As I am pretty sure that I have seen you guys using it here too, I downloaded it. It does seem to have found some problems, but it would be great if you could have a look at the results for me and let me know the bad news! ;)
 
CrystalDiskInfoForVaio.JPG
 
Thanks as always,
Chris.

 


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#128
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,

 

All good here, thank you for asking and likewise I trust that you and yours are well :thumbsup: hope you enjoyed your hols and remembered to purchase a thermal coat in duty free on your return  :lol:

 

Great tool is CrystaldiskInfo and the results normally reliable, anything to do with bad or reallocated sectors on a HDD do raise cause for concern but these can sometimes be resolved by wiping the drive with zeroes (0s) using a program such as DBan, doesn`t always work but it is worth trying before attempting any clean install.

 

Something else for you to have a look at is Qemu, this wiil confirm that your Windows 10 is bootable, you can download Qemu here 

 

NB: Took the liberty of giving myself a day off today so after a shower will be heading off for a pub lunch, nothing too feisty though as will need a clear head and a steady hand in the morning as doing a money no object gaming build for a local footballers offspring in the morning  :headhurt:


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#129
Channeal

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Hello Phill,

We are all okay thanks. They were clean out of thermal coats in duty free, I think! We are well used to bad weather though, as we had several tropical-style storms when away, as well as two small earthquakes! :)

Thanks for your recommendations. I will download and try Dban when next on the laptop. I will let you know what happens.

I tried Qemu, but ran into problems. It came up with the Windows 10 logo as I think it should do, but after a minute or two I got a message to say an unexpected error had occurred and I needed to run a repair. I got out of there quickly and tried the trial version of MagicISO which told me that the ISO is bootable. Out of interest, I just tried Qemu again and this time I got the Windows 10 logo, but no error message..... so I assume that the ISO is okay and is bootable. Phew!

Hope you enjoy your pub lunch and that the computer job goes well. You must be very well-know and respected in your local area if you are doing work for famous footballers! :)

Take care,

Chris.

 

EDIT. Have only just relised that the Dban program wipes everything from the drive. Duh! So once I have done it then, I will have to have a go at loading Windows 10 from the ISO. Before I do that, I still have to save the drivers as recommended by you in message #100. I have found a folder called 'Drivers'. Do I save it to a thumb drive now (and can it be the same one the Windows 10 ISO is on)?


Edited by Channeal, 26 September 2016 - 04:15 AM.

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#130
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,
 
Rain I can deal with but try to avoid earthquakes when possible  :yes:
 
Qemu showing the Windows 10 logo suggests that the ISO is all good, the run a repair message could have been the computer trying to boot from the ISO but cannot say for sure, your additional test with MagicISO was a good call and again suggests that the ISO is ok.
 
Glad that you realised what DBan does before it wiped the HDD  :thumbsup:
 
I would copy the drivers folder to a separate thumb drive from the ISO, install Windows 10, install the chipset drivers from the thumb drive and then test the system, most modern hardware gets along fine with Windows generic drivers with the chipset drivers being the only ones that can cause problems if not installed.
 
Hope you enjoy your pub lunch and that the computer job goes well. You must be very well-know and respected in your local area if you are doing work for famous footballers! 

 

 

It was very nice thanks  :) did not stay too long as had the son and grandson visiting after school, hopefully I am respected by those around me but the footballer concerned knows of me through my sponsorship of his sons amateur football team and local trade committee, incidentally it was my scaffolding company that sponsored the football team and I look after the TC computers etc.


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#131
Channeal

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Hello Phill,

 

 

Rain I can deal with but try to avoid earthquakes when possible 

 

Yep, probably a good idea to avoid them if you can! :) The two we experienced were fairly small  - just 4.5 and 4.7 on the Richter scale - so were not a problem. The area where we stayed did have a much bigger one back in 2014 though, so it was a little bit scary for a while in case we were in for another big one! My husband and daughter actually ran to the door on both occasions, in readiness to vacate the building. We were on the first floor though and I didn't relish the thought of going down 18 steps in the middle of an earthquake - so I just stayed tucked up in bed and hoped for the best! :)

 

 

 

 

I would copy the drivers folder to a separate thumb drive from the ISO, install Windows 10, install the chipset drivers from the thumb drive and then test the system, most modern hardware gets along fine with Windows generic drivers with the chipset drivers being the only ones that can cause problems if not installed.

 

Okay. I only possess one thumb drive at the moment, so probably need to buy a couple more. I suppose I could copy the driver folder to my external drive, but I think I am correct in saying that I will need another thumb drive fot the Dban download which I believe creates another ISO file (will be an expert at creating these by the time I am finished!). Might as well buy two or three thumb drives while I am at it, I guess!

 

Once those are puchased, I will try to install the Dban ISO and wipe the drive and then use my present thumb drive to (hopefully) install Windows 10. Should it be a fairly straightforward process, something even I should be able to do without too many problems?

 

 

 

 

hopefully I am respected by those around me but the footballer concerned knows of me through my sponsorship of his sons amateur football team and local trade committee, incidentally it was my scaffolding company that sponsored the football team and I look after the TC computers etc.

 

Great. Sounds as though you are a man of many talents! :) You obviously lead an extremely busy life though and I don't know how you ever get any spare time to help out on the forums here!!!! :)

 

 

Many thanks,

Chris.


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#132
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,

 

Still scary but glad to hear that the quakes were not as bad as others.

 

DBan on USB, something you will be familiar with here you could try a clean install of Windows 10 then run CrystaldiskInfo to see if the drive has been cleaned up, are you aware that there is a format option within Puppy. if you right click on the C: drive it should give you the option, if yes you could try that rather than waiting on USB thumb drives.

 

Work normally restricted to five days a week now and the forums 6 or 7 depending on other commitments, I never get tired of helping folk when I can  :)


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#133
Channeal

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Hello Phill,

Thanks for your message. I was already pretty sure that you cannot format the C drive from within it (I had enough trouble just trying to change the drive letter back in 2014!). I looked it up though and what I read seems to confirm that I was correct. I read somewhere that trying to format the C drive whilst booting from it is like trying to lift a chair in the air whilst sitting on it! :)

I have ordered a couple of thumb drives. However, I came across an old 2GB thumb drive that I have had for years, so thought I would try that. I put Dban on it and checked via Magic ISO that it is bootable and then tried to run it on the laptop. I ran into problems though (you probably already realised that I am very good at doing that!). All I got when the laptop tried to start up was an error message saying 'Disk error. Press any key to restart'. Pressing a key had no effect though until I removed the thumb drive. I tried it once more and got the same error.  Any ideas on what might be going on?
 
 

 
Work normally restricted to five days a week now and the forums 6 or 7 depending on other commitments, I never get tired of helping folk when I can  :)

That's great; it is always good to help others.  :yes:  I can certainly understand why you enjoy helping out on the forums here; for anyone with the expertise, I think it must be a really enjoyable and rewarding thing to do. Great stuff! :thumbsup:

I hope the build for the footballer's son went well, btw.

Chris.
 
EDIT: I made several later attempts at doing this. Read a lot about booting from ISO and it seems that I might not have done it correctly. When it tried again to do it in what I thought was the correct way, Magic ISO said it was not bootable! Should I be using a special version of DBan for USB drives as in here: http://download.cnet...4-10911312.html When I tried that, Magic ISO again said it wasn't bootable. Am getting confused!

Think the boot error thing was fixed though. It subsequently just told me that the boot failed.
 
Am out most of today, but will try again later. :)

Edited by Channeal, 27 September 2016 - 01:42 AM.

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#134
phillpower2

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Hello Chris,

 

Apologies for the delay getting back to you, got side tracked yesterday and had no time to myself (pretty much the same today  :( ).

 

I was already pretty sure that you cannot format the C drive from within it (I had enough trouble just trying to change the drive letter back in 2014!). I looked it up though and what I read seems to confirm that I was correct.

 

 

An error on my behalf :blush:  I should have said Puppy, more speed and less haste  :(

 

If you still need to format the HDD;

 

Boot into Puppy, right click on the desktop -> system -> gparted partition manager.
After gparted starts select all devices (scan all drives) from the message window click OK.
You should see your drive(s) under the main toolbar with total capacity preceded by /dev/sda (if you have only the HDD connected).
Right click/select your preferred actions from the menu bar e.g. partition - you can delete, resize partitions, format the disk etc.
Delete the existing partition table and format it a few times (you will have to click on the Apply button for the action to take effect) format the drive to NTFS filesystem.
Remove the Puppy media, insert the Windows 10 ISO, reboot, follow the on screen instructions to hopefully be able to install Windows 10.
 
NB: Build went good btw and thanks for asking  :thumbsup:

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#135
Channeal

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Hello Phill,

 

 

 

 Apologies for the delay getting back to you, got side tracked yesterday and had no time to myself (pretty much the same today  :( ).

No problem at all; I know you are are always very busy.

 

 

An error on my behalf :blush:  I should have said Puppy, more speed and less haste  :(

 
Lol! I thought it was strange you saying that. :) Actually, I had already thought of using Puppy, but never got around to trying it. I tried my Kapersky Rescue disk first - without success.

 

The good news though is that I have now succeeded in getting Dban to work; in fact, it is erasing everything at this very moment! I did it this time by creating a CD with Dban on.

I am concerned now - since it seems that I am useless at making a bootable thumbdrive from an ISO file - that the Windows 10 one will not actually work after all. We shall see though!

Can I ask you if you normally use Rufus for putting an ISO onto a thumb drive, or is there another program you would recommend? I am trying to work out where I went wrong with it. Even if I don't need it now, I just hate so much leaving a failed task without knowing what went wrong! :(

As always, thanks for you help thus far. I will no doubt return here with my latest tale of woe very soon! :)

Chris
 


Edited by Channeal, 27 September 2016 - 09:20 AM.

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