[eolcheski]

I have a dell 8100 the tech suppport there told me in order to bring the machine back to day one (cause it was running too slow) to uninstall XP. well the directions from the microsoft site it said after this the other operationg system will coem up... well that never happened now i just have a white screen... i try to hit f2 to get into the BIOS to change the boot sequence so it will boot from the ME CD the PC came with but the BIOS dosent seem to come up either now i am stuck. any ideas? i have no statup disk... i have the full version on ME but no idea how to make it work.

Edited by eolcheski, 23 August 2005 - 05:21 PM.

[Advertisements]

Try to get into a command prompt and use of these tutorials:

Installing Windows 95/98/ME

or this

Installing Windows XP

If you can't get into a command prompt or get into the BIOS, then you may have damaged some of your software or hardware, I've never heard of a white screen coming up.

If you can get into a command prompt your set, then you can start reinstalling Windows XP/95/98/ME.

If no avail, or your feel uncomfortable messing around with your PC, then call a computer technician to repair it.


Hope you get it to work,
Ethan

Edited by GoCompute, 23 August 2005 - 04:50 PM.

[GoCompute]

Try to get into a command prompt and use of these tutorials:

Installing Windows 95/98/ME

or this

Installing Windows XP

If you can't get into a command prompt or get into the BIOS, then you may have damaged some of your software or hardware, I've never heard of a white screen coming up.

If you can get into a command prompt your set, then you can start reinstalling Windows XP/95/98/ME.

If no avail, or your feel uncomfortable messing around with your PC, then call a computer technician to repair it.


Hope you get it to work,
Ethan

Edited by GoCompute, 23 August 2005 - 04:50 PM.

[wannabe1]

Hi eolcheski...Welcome to G2G!

Twenty Questions time...
Have you put your ME disk in the drive then powered the machine off (not reset or Ctrl-Alt-Del) and then powered it back on? If your ME disk is an OEM restore disk it may require this.
Have you tried tapping F1 or Delete to enter the BIOS settings?
Do you have a Start-up Disk (Floppy)?
Is your XP disk a full install or an upgrade version?

wannabe1

[eolcheski]

yes i have tried that witht he OEM diski didnt try f1 but have tried f11 and f12 none of which brought up the disk.. no i dont have a startup disk... no i dont have the fulll version of XP but i do of ME that came with the machine..

[eolcheski]

i get a message from windows saying it deected my video and then the white screen comes on... can u damage a machine by removing its operationg system... cause i think thats what i did...

[wannabe1]

eolcheski....

Oh yeah...the operating system is definitely gone and I'm betting that the XP had formatted to NTFS rather than FAT32. If your ME disk is retail version, we should be able to get you running again...nothing to loose in trying.

First, we need to get you into the BIOS settings and set your cdrom to first boot drive. Try tapping F1 repeatedly during the initial boot attempt...If that doesn't work, try the same thing with the Delete key. Try it a couple of times each...timing is everything.

wannabe1

[Tyger]

wannabe1's advice is very good, but you might want to download a boot floppy for win98, because the winME foppy doesn't have the format function, and use it to repartition and format your disk first. Also it will have cd-rom drivers so you don't have to make changes in the BIOS.

You can get them at

www.bootdisk.com or

www.allbootdisks.com

note the the cd-rom drive letter is R: for the allbootdisks.

[eolcheski]

Thank you guys! i think this will help... i will try it out tonight....

[eolcheski]

got 98 disk wprkin... trying to partition but not sure what to choose... need to know how to format the disk... please help

[wannabe1]

Hi eolcheski...

Put the Startup disk in the drive and power your machine on...or restart it if it's on. When given the options screen, press F5 to get the prompt...when you have the A prompt type fdisk and press Enter.

On the next screen you will be presented with 4 options...One of them will be the option to delete a partition...select it and press Enter. Type "Y" Enter to continue. Delete all partitions on the drive...Primary Dos and Logical...and reboot.

This next part can be tricky...Formatting the drive to work with Windows...you may want to download formatting software from you HD mfg's website (Preferred Method)...OR...
With the Startup disk in the drive, power your machine on...or restart it if it's on. When given the options screen, press F5 to get the prompt...when you have the A prompt type format C: /s /v (Note the spaces before the /) and press Enter. If that doesn't work, type format C: /s and press Enter. If we get to format this way, it will take a while...

Let us know how you do....

wannabe1

Edited by wannabe1, 24 August 2005 - 08:08 PM.

[eolcheski]

Got it formated... now i cant seem to get any of my video drivers working i get all kinds of errors... but it did boot up... one problem is i actually have 2 video cards, since at one time i had 2 monitors... cant get the thing on he internet either... blah... my friend is going to get me XP he said it will fix evrything... u think so?

[wannabe1]

Hi eolcheski...

my friend is going to get me XP he said it will fix evrything

XP will certainly be a big step forward and it does include a lot of drivers that may run your devices...I would not try to disuade you from installing XP. Make sure, though, that your machine's specs are up to XP's Requirements.

Glad you got through the formatting! And it sounds like you have an Operating System as well...Good Job!

Do you still use two monitors? If you're not, it might be a good idea to remove one of your video cards...computers can get kinda fussy about that. Then install the drivers for the one that is left. If you don't have the software for the video card, you can probably get them from the manufacturer's website. Get the latest drivers available for your device. Do the same for your modem or Network card (depending on how you connect).

Keep us posted on your progress...

wannabe1

Edited by wannabe1, 25 August 2005 - 01:50 PM.

[dsenette]

my friend is going to get me XP he said it will fix evrything... u think so?

this is probably not a good idea unless your friend is planning on buying you a copy of xp...xp cannot be used on two machines at once, and if it's an illegal copy we WiLL not help you install it

[eolcheski]

FYI when u buy XP it is able to be installed on 3 machines... but really if u have nothing useful to say just be quiet..

[wannabe1]

Hey eolcheski...

I wholeheartedly agree with dsenette on the illegal XP install...You will have to convince us that it is a legal copy that can be registered to you with Microsoft in order for our help to continue. Piracy is a big problem these days and neither I nor G2G will be complicit to it.

From the Microsoft Website

"1. GRANT OF LICENSE. This AGREEMENT grants you the following rights:

* SOFTWARE. You may install and use one copy of the SOFTWARE on a single computer for your internal use provided that you maintain the copyright notice on all copies of the SOFTWARE. Microsoft may provide you with SOFTWARE, via Remote Access, to assist with problem diagnosis and/or resolution. Such SOFTWARE is the property of Microsoft and you must return it to Microsoft promptly upon request. You may not modify, reproduce or distribute the SOFTWARE. Any modification, reproduction or redistribution of the SOFTWARE may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.

Let's continue to work with the current OS and get that working correctly....If you want to purchase and install XP later, it will go onto a working machine just that much easier.

wannabe1

Edited by wannabe1, 25 August 2005 - 03:34 PM.