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Windows XP Startup Problems on eMachine


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#1
Hertzdoughnut500

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Hey,
I've got Windows XP Home Edition on an eMachines computer. I'm having a problem starting XP.
When I tried to use my restore disks(eMachines Restore CD Ver. 1.1, 3 disks) I am given the message, "Output A:\ghosterr.txt," I then click "Yes," and am given the message, "Cannot open Ghosterr.txt insert diskette." It's been doing this for a week, and still haven't had any luck, please any help will be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

Edited by Hertzdoughnut500, 19 April 2005 - 08:59 AM.

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#2
gerryf

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sounds like it is trying to write to a floppy to report errors in the restore process.
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#3
Hertzdoughnut500

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Umm... oook. Thanks, I think. Any suggestions?
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#4
gerryf

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did you insert a floppy disk in the floppy drive?
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#5
Hertzdoughnut500

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You mean a 3.5 inch?? No, but for some odd reason, when I run my recover program, the cd drive changes to A: instead of E: or F: (not sure which drive it normally is). But I will try a 3.5, and see what happens.
Thanks for now...
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#6
gerryf

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did a little more info and this is not a problem you alone are suffering.

in fact, no one I've found has resolved this issue because it appears the recovery cd is faulty.

http://www.emachines...ch_support.html

You may want to go to the live technical support site above and see if they can point you in the right direction
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#7
Hertzdoughnut500

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A little more info; same thing happens with a floppy, a message box comes up:

Appliation Error 29005

Write sector faliure result= 1,
Drive= 128,
Sectors 3719 to 3783.


Yeah, from looking online for the past week, I've seen the same thing come up alot...
I will try your suggestion though, thank you.
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#8
gerryf

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Write failure=1 typically means YES
Drive 128...not sure
Sectors...means it cannot write to those sectors, a sector is a block of space on the drive...so it cannot write to 64 sectors...why?

That looks for all the world like your disk image does not match your harddrive--or the drive is bad.
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#9
Hertzdoughnut500

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gerryf,
Thank you so much for your help, I went to the eMachine web site tech help and it seems to be resolved!! I appreciate it so much... If anyone else has that problem(with an eMachine), direct them to the tech help chat site http://www.emachines...ch_support.html
Again, I appreciate it so much, have a great day! :tazz:
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#10
gerryf

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dying to know...what did they say?
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#11
Hertzdoughnut500

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Hahaha, this is going to be a long one, hope it all fits:

While running a full system restore, you're receive the message "ERROR OPENING GHOSTERR.TXT"
Cause(s):
Symantec Ghost must be able to read from the CDROM and write to the Hard Disk Drive. If at any point during the restore process it is unable to, Ghost will report "ERROR OPENING GHOSTERR.TXT"
Resolution(s):
Make sure the Restore CD is in the Top Drive (NOTE: Even if its a DVD drive)

Press the space bar to reveal if it is a read or a write error.

Unplug all third party hardware Example: New Video Card, CD Rom Drive, Printer, Camera, Scanner ETC. . .

Attempt again, if problem still persists, please read and apply the below troubleshooting steps

For read errors:
Ensure the disk is clean and has not been scratched. If the disk is not defective the error likely resides with the CDROM drive.

For Write errors:
Use FDISK to delete all the partitions, and then attempt the restore process. The restore process for Windows ME and Windows XP will recreate the partitions


Fdisk then Restore for Windows XP

Insert your eMachines Restore CD disk 1 of 2 or 1 of 3 into your primary CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-R/W drive
Reboot your computer.
At the Start-up menu select "Boot to Command Prompt."
At the prompt type in FDISK (Please note proceeding with this steps, results in all data lose)
You will receive a large notice and than it will ask you if you wish to enable large disk support. It should default to a "Y" answer. Press Enter.
Choose option 3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive.
Choose option 4. Delete Non-DOS Partition.
Select the partition you want to delete. You are typically going to delete partition 1
When prompted, "Are you sure (Y/N)," press Y and press Enter.
After you confirm the deletion, the program will then tell you that the Primary DOS partition is deleted.
Press the ESC key.
Press ESC to exit FDISK
Take CD out and restart computer, hold down control alt and hit delete twice, or hold down power button for 10 seconds.
Once to an error on the screen or attempting to boot into windows, put number 1 restore CD back in the top drive, and restart computer.
WARNING! Make sure that there are no 3rd party hardware plugged into the system when attempting to restore the image on the hard drive. Example Printer, Camera, or Scanner

To start a restore please follow these instructions:

Ensure that you backup any important documents and data, if possible, before doing this procedure.
Remove all Third Party Hardware including external devices such as Printers, Scanners, Web and Digital Cameras.
Put the eMachines Restore CD (RCD) in the top CD Rom Drive, and restart the computer
Restoration procedures will be started
When the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu appears, type the number 1 and press enter RESTORE WINDOWS
A message should appear press any key to continue
Another message should appear press Y to continue
The restoration process will start. All data in the Restore CD #1 will be copied to your hard disk.
When the "Insert next media and press enter to continue..." message appears, replace the disk with the second CD and press Enter to continue.
After restoration process is completed, remove the CD from the CD/DVD-Rom Drive.
Press Enter to restart your computer
Windows starts and the registration programs runs.
Follow the display messages. Enter your personal information. :tazz:

Edited by Hertzdoughnut500, 19 April 2005 - 05:11 PM.

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#12
Hertzdoughnut500

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So far, I've been able to reninstall my printer, Microsoft Pest Patrol, Microsoft Windows XP service pack 2, and update to Windows Media Player 10(via disk), no problems yet... In the coming days, I'll post if anything goes haywire...
thanks again :tazz:

Edited by Hertzdoughnut500, 19 April 2005 - 05:17 PM.

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#13
Hertzdoughnut500

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btw... ran pest patrol after complete recovery, it found two or three "pests"
grokster(no idea how that ever got on) and like two *something* dialers.
*can't remember what type of dialers they were* but they're gone now :tazz:

Edited by Hertzdoughnut500, 19 April 2005 - 10:38 PM.

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#14
gerryf

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thank you for the follow up...as I said, I had seen several people while researching your problem who also had it, and no one offered a fix.

I think this thread will get some serious google hits in the future.
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#15
Hertzdoughnut500

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Yea, as long as I've been looking for the solution to this problem, I've seen nothing even close to this, so hopefully it will help more than just me...
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