[geno368]

I am working on a Compaq which is having boot issues. I went to the HP site to try to get the current Bios version and I am getting nowhere. I currently have Bios ver 3.0 dated 6/06. I have been troubleshooting this desktop for 2 weeks. I have replaced the cmos battey (tested bad), replaced ram and tested with memtest, ran a hd test which showed good and finally cleaned mb h/sink. Still no re-installation of XP sp3. This old system is an elderly aunt who does not want internet so I am just trying to reformat it so she can do recipes. I am getting numerous bsods and hangups. I am thinking maybe the bios is corrupted??? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

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H geno 368,

 

1 Many of these old Compaq's shipped with Win XP Media Center preinstalled, and if your aunt's model is around 10 years old then its likely that there is a recovery partition that should restore the computer to factory condition, but in any event Compaq installed software to create one set of Recovery discs that will restore the computer to "factory" and using them may well be worth your consideration.

 

2 Its unlikely that an out of date BIOS would stop the machine booting up correctly, and a low voltage CMOS battery usually only results in the computer "forgetting" some details like for example the time and date. so unless someone has done something to corrupt the BIOS I would be inclined to leave it alone for the time being.... we can also come back to that at a later date if necessary.

 

3 Its good that your aunt will keep the computer isolated from the internet (don't forget to isolate  it from other data sources etc)

 

4 As a restore to factory will have the effect of removing any data files its important that before you start you make sure that all her backups work correctly and covers everything she needs..... if there is anything that needs to be backed up that has not already been done then a live distro of Linux Puppy should be able to pull off her files and put them on to an external hard drive/flash drive etc. You will need to download the Puppy distro burn the .iso to CD as an image and boot from it (amending the boot priority in the BIOS to suit if necessary) Puppy will run quite happily in RAM and will not write anything to the hard drive, unless you ask it to.

 

5 If you have made her a disc image in the past, using something like Macrium Reflect free or Acronis or Symantec Ghost etc then it may be worthwhile just reimaging and boot from the emergency boot disc that hopefully you made and which is to hand as this will enable you to access the  media where the disc image is kept.

 

6 A recovery to factory will usually on an older machine not include Service Pack 3, but fortunately its still possible to download it and install it...

 

7 Installation Media for win XP Media Centre are scarcer than hens teeth, although a few older workshops (like my own have kept copies for repair purposes and you may find a competent computer technician in your location who has done the same.

 

8 If its a plain Windows XP home version then there are many installation discs still available.... you can check the version you have quite easily by looking at the casing of the computer and you should see the Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity with the 25 character alpha numeric product code ( 5 groups of five in the format) XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

 

Post back with details of the OS and service pack installed and specific info on anything you may get stuck on and one of us will do our best to help.

 

Regards

paws

[paws]

H geno 368,

 

1 Many of these old Compaq's shipped with Win XP Media Center preinstalled, and if your aunt's model is around 10 years old then its likely that there is a recovery partition that should restore the computer to factory condition, but in any event Compaq installed software to create one set of Recovery discs that will restore the computer to "factory" and using them may well be worth your consideration.

 

2 Its unlikely that an out of date BIOS would stop the machine booting up correctly, and a low voltage CMOS battery usually only results in the computer "forgetting" some details like for example the time and date. so unless someone has done something to corrupt the BIOS I would be inclined to leave it alone for the time being.... we can also come back to that at a later date if necessary.

 

3 Its good that your aunt will keep the computer isolated from the internet (don't forget to isolate  it from other data sources etc)

 

4 As a restore to factory will have the effect of removing any data files its important that before you start you make sure that all her backups work correctly and covers everything she needs..... if there is anything that needs to be backed up that has not already been done then a live distro of Linux Puppy should be able to pull off her files and put them on to an external hard drive/flash drive etc. You will need to download the Puppy distro burn the .iso to CD as an image and boot from it (amending the boot priority in the BIOS to suit if necessary) Puppy will run quite happily in RAM and will not write anything to the hard drive, unless you ask it to.

 

5 If you have made her a disc image in the past, using something like Macrium Reflect free or Acronis or Symantec Ghost etc then it may be worthwhile just reimaging and boot from the emergency boot disc that hopefully you made and which is to hand as this will enable you to access the  media where the disc image is kept.

 

6 A recovery to factory will usually on an older machine not include Service Pack 3, but fortunately its still possible to download it and install it...

 

7 Installation Media for win XP Media Centre are scarcer than hens teeth, although a few older workshops (like my own have kept copies for repair purposes and you may find a competent computer technician in your location who has done the same.

 

8 If its a plain Windows XP home version then there are many installation discs still available.... you can check the version you have quite easily by looking at the casing of the computer and you should see the Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity with the 25 character alpha numeric product code ( 5 groups of five in the format) XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

 

Post back with details of the OS and service pack installed and specific info on anything you may get stuck on and one of us will do our best to help.

 

Regards

paws

[geno368]

Thanks for the reply.  When I picked up her system, I had to blow the dust off of it...lol...literally...The WD hard drive was unresponsive so I ran the WD diagnostics and it showed bad.  I then installed a used Seagate Sata drive I had here that had a licensed xp os.  It starts booting but then bsod.  I tried safe mode with command prompt and all other options with same result. I have an xp iso but it hang about 5 minutes into the install. I appreciate any help...

[paws]

Best Answer

Did you do a fresh install of Win Xp on the new hard drive?

 

If not this could be the problem....

 

A new hard drive needs a fresh install of Windows (or a good disc image if you have one) otherwise the system will likely be unresponsive.

 

Once you have installed Win XP afresh then its important to install the drivers, starting with chipset, then the video >audio etc.,

Regards

paws

[geno368]

Yes, Paws, I attempted o format several times...I finally figured it out..It was a faulty onboard video.. I installed a used video card and it loaded the os fine

Thanks for the replies.