ok... resident PC guru please.. before i smash this PC..

[sidriptide]

ok i need a lil help here.. my PC is gettin all FUKY on me this week... heres basically what i did... keeping in mind i had no issues with this machine until this week..
my PC:
ms windowsXP upgrade
500mhz celeron proc
256 mb ram
160 G hard drive... yes its really that big...
this week i installed a new norton antivirus program... installed a firewall... and hooked up to comcast cable modem.... the first day or so no dig issues.. i think this next step may be a key to my problem.... i ran a "spyware" program i have.. AD-AWARE... and it basically deleted my cookies and half of my grokster program.. i've run it before with no issues... maybe the third night i had the "blue screen of death" while i was online... after i restarted it i figured that since i had not run a disc defrag in a while and with the recent program changes i'd run it..... i go to the SYSTEM TOOLS folder and it's EMPTY!!!!! WTF is this!!! not only can i not run a defrag now, but no disk cleanup or anything else in it... it's just EMPTY! i crashed 2 more time that nite... wondering now if my SPYWARE purge took some MS info with it...... next day i get a CORRUPT FILE message on startup.. i do a DSKCHK and it "fixes" it.. it happened again later too.... the file names that were corrupt were :
windows\preftech\explorer.exe082f38a9.pf
windows\preftech\explorer.exe03946f00f.pf

i tried to run a norton "full system scan" and it errored out... error#
3019.1 or something like that..
the explanation is something like a MS program issue that they will issue an update for soon..... now i get the same error when i try to log in sometimes......... i uninstalled norton last night and no crash or error so far..... i found a manual way to run a defrag so it ran but listed multiple files that were not defragged... i'm backin up all my files tonite and think the only real fix for this is to REINSTALL my XP upgrade ..... i assume its just like a master reboot with the OEM disk.... i also installed a driver disk that came with the modem... mainly because they told me to.. but i imagine XP should find a driver when it recognizes new hardware........
what else should i try?
what the hell did i do??
am i overpowering my processor since it's my current weak link?? i have tried running multiple tasks and never over loaded it before........
i dont want to do a master reboot and lose everything..... but i also dont want to get so angry that i uplug it throw it in the closet and buy a new machine.... that would mean no new gears and spool in the trail rig and i cant let that happen...
any thoughts or pointers will be appreciated.......
mike

as a foot note.. im on dial up because my comcast isnt locating a connection now........ :confused:

[5-90]

Let me ask this - how long ago did you apply XP upgrade? I ask because Microsoft has a p1$$-poor track record with upgrades - I am now to the point where I flatly refuse to use their upgrades anymore. Something to think about - you may want to scratch and apply XP from the beginning.

Also, what OS did you have before the upgrade? And why did you upgrade? May be germane to the discussion at hand... I still run W2Kpro, and haven't been impressed enough with XP to build a testbed machine to play with it yet...

5-90

[CStamm]

ok try this if u haven't already. pop in ur XP cd. if u reboot the machine with the cd in, it should give you the option to repair windows xp. this will check all of ur system files and reinstall any necessary ones. this hould help you out big time.

btw, XP must be slow on that machine, it is a very processor hungry os.

[sidriptide]

i upgraded the machine last spring.. new H/D.. XP upgrade.. RAM chip.. upgrade rather than new..... was Win98 before.... and in case it matters, its an Emachine .. this is the first Emachine that had not given me grief so i stuck with it... XP isnt very slow at all.. at least not by my standards.. runs as fast as my daughters' PC with a 1.6G proc. i did put the XP disk back in but i didnt see a prompt for repair, like i expected.. so i'm backin up some stuff before i go anyfarther than that...
mike

[sidriptide]

oh yeah. 1 more thing.. i have tried several times to run a Win update..... last update was about a month ago... it downloads fine but the install is slooooooooooow and freezes up the machine after about 30 mins...
mike

[Glenn B]

Of course, back up everything you want to keep. :)

Have you tried to roll back to a previous restore point with XP?

The Repair feature on the CD.. you have boot to the CD, so you probably need to change your boot device order in your BIOS if you do not have the option to select a boot device during boot.

If all else fails, SFC may help.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310747


There may be a few other things to try, depends on how much time you want to spend. Otherwise, a good old reload of Windows will make it happy again most likely.

BTW: There is no real difference between an "upgrade" CD and the full version. Both contain the full OS. The Upgrade CD will only prompt you to insert the CD from a qualifying lesser OS (Win2K and below). So you still have all of the files on either disc.

IMHO, if you have backed everything up to another HDD or CD etc.... I would suggest you format the HDD. Installing over your current OS can make things goofy IMHO.

Glenn

[sidriptide]

i did have the presence of mind to create a restore point before my recent installs..... too bad the SYSTEM RESTORE is listed in the now-empty system tools folder in accesories..... i found an altrenate way to find the defrag option by right-clicking on MY COMPUTER..... but restore is not in that file...... where else cani find my restore points?

[Glenn B]

Try safe mode?

You should get a couple options if you press F8 (IIRC) before Windows starts to boot.
Glenn

[sidriptide]

i know "safe mode" well....... my previous Emachine liked to go there all by itself.. i'll give it a shot
mike

[Glenn B]

Originally posted by sidriptide
..... but restore is not in that file...... where else cani find my restore points?
Try this:
There are three methods that you can use to access System Restore functionality.

You can access the System Restore Wizard through the Start menu. To access the System Restore Wizard, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore.


You can access System Restore through Control Panel. To open the System Restore Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System. Click the System Restore tab, and then click Learn more about System Restore. In Help and Support, click Performance and Maintenance, click Using System Restore to undo changes, and then click Run the System Restore Wizard.


You can access System Restore through Help and Support Center. To access the System Restore Wizard, click Start, and then click Help and Support. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Using System Restore to undo changes, and then click Run the System Restore Wizard.

[sidriptide]

ok glenn.... no worky!first option won't work because the file in ACCESORIES is listed but has no arrow next to it.. so it doesnt recognize the file
second option wont work because i ope the SYSTEM RESTORE TAB and there is nothing in there like perf. and maintenance... it will allow me to create a new restore pt but i dont want that
thrid wont work either... the restore point i created is not listed, and when i chose an earlier date and click "next" it does nothing at all..... nothing... when i do a master reboot i need to unplug my printed and external USB cable modem dont i?

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by sidriptide
i know "safe mode" well....... my previous Emachine liked to go there all by itself.. i'll give it a shot
mike

couple things before you attempt the reinstal:
1. did you run a full checkdisk? the one that makes you reboot? If not, open a command prompt (Start->Run type "cmd", hit ok) and there type "chkdsk /r" THis will say something about running at next reboot... do so. Then watch it. IF it fixes stuff run it again after you boot up and reboot .... if it happens to fix stuff for the second time in a row... then your HD is going to the same place my clutch went..... look into replacing it and moving your data ASAP

2. another place to check is your sytem and application logs. You don't have to be a pc guru to make a little sense out of those, and if you ahve questions, post... someone will know what the answer is.... to get to the system logs, right click on the "my computer" icon and choose manage and open up the event viewer and look into the system and application logs. See what you can find: errors (recent ones) are what you're after :D

3. restore point.. unfortunately that's not as fool proof as some may think. Don't take me wrong, I love the feature, but it works best with driver rollbacks (even multiple) and not whole system....

4. the prefetch stuff is the most active location on your HD thus again it might imply the HD failure. Btw.. are you running FAT32 or NTFS on your HD?? Size implies that you'd have to use NTFS, but I know that FAT32 is getting up there as well.... If you're not sure, when you run chkdsk it tells you which file system you're using. If its fat32, let me know and I will help you move over to NTFS, although there are potential problems you might encounter if your drive is already corrupt.... getting back to the prefetch stuff, let me know what the first two points and the 4th one yield and I will try to digup the ways to clear out the prefetch directory as if it migth be as simple as that (well it's not THAT simple to do, but you get my point). In any case, it might be especially important if you're running a fat32.....

Anyways.. I will check this thread again in about 8 hours... it's time to catch some Z's :D

[sidriptide]

thanks Remi.... if you get me thru this i won't release the pics of your "breif delay" on TOP OF THE WORLD.....:angel:
mike

[sidriptide]

Remi.... your option #1 didnt fix anything.. i ran it twice option #2 showed some errors in my office 2000 on the day after the install, thats when this thing went to hell... its set up as FAT32... i did a reboot with the XP disk and the first thing it did was error out.. second try went all the way thru, i used the option that would not delete my current settings.. if it doesnt work this time i'll wipe it all out and start fresh..... my INTERNET EXP. is working now.. but i still got some errors regarding a problem with my office 2000... we'll see how it goes..... its nappy time for me though....
mike

[imma honky]

I know exactly how you feel. Been there, done that. Emachines ARE NOT good computers. I had soooo many things go wrong with it (i gues thats why is was so cheap??). My main problem was Norton Anti-virus. It ate up all my resources. Since it is no longer MY machine, I ditched out on everything. Started fresh. Now it only has an OS, OfficexP, and few smaller apps. Its a word-processor only now. So far, not one problem(been like that for 4 years). It is a celeron 400.

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by sidriptide
Remi.... your option #1 didnt fix anything.. i ran it twice option #2 showed some errors in my office 2000 on the day after the install, thats when this thing went to hell... its set up as FAT32... i did a reboot with the XP disk and the first thing it did was error out.. second try went all the way thru, i used the option that would not delete my current settings.. if it doesnt work this time i'll wipe it all out and start fresh..... my INTERNET EXP. is working now.. but i still got some errors regarding a problem with my office 2000... we'll see how it goes..... its nappy time for me though....
mike

ok.... lets move you to ntfs... A lot of problems/headaches can be avoided by using it as a file system. To do so first make sure that all your files are backed up (the important ones). Even though the process is pretty reliable.... things happen.
After you made sure that you have all your files backed up, open the command prompt like you did before (start->run cmd) and in there, type "convert c: /fs:NTFS" and follow the prompts (one of them will tell you to reboot) :D

[RichP]

Diminishing returns if you need more than an hour to fix it, not worth it except as an exercise in recovery. 1st step, go buy a hardware firewall, I won't go into my normal rant about software firewalls and how I feel about them, I make alot of money removing them and fixing the damage they cause on 98 and XP, they don't seem to be as damaging on wink2 for some reason. 2: back up your important files to a seperate drive or CD R, reformat the drive and reinstall XP from scratch. Install the OS first, second install the chipset software from intel, emachines use intell chipsets from the ones I've had to fix, find out which chipset you have from the emachine web site and download from intels site or from the system/device manager.
Install the dma drivers next, then video, then network. At that point you should be back up on the cable modem and can download XP updates from microsoft, one recommendation, NEVER, NEVER EVER download driver updates from microsoft unless you really really want to get to know your drivers on a first name basis. Downloading critial and normal updates is OK but stay away from the hardware one's. If you need or think you need a hardware driver update go to your hardware manufacturers web/ftp site and get them from there

[sidriptide]

ok heres what i'm thinkin.. i'm tired of troubleshooitng and trying to patch this up and getting nothing... since this is an XP upgrade i think i'll reinstall the OEM Win98 disc and wipe out everything.. and make sure it is working properly... then upgrade to XP and make sure its still cool... then install 1 program at a time .. i'll look into a hardware firewall too, others have suggested it too.. i will most likely go with the NTFS convertion as well after its all hunkey dorey.... if that doesnt do it for me i'm gonna part it out like an old XJ!!!! any hints or pointers before i begin in about an hour??
mike

[Glenn B]

me, I would not even waste the time putting Win98 on it. Go directly with XP. Saves ya time, and makes for a cleaner install.
Just my $0.0002
Glenn

[Majo]

To start some of your problems are coming from system requirements with out a doubt at all, I almost cried when I saw celeron 500 runnign windows XP. That's a mistake in itself as microsoft recommends minimum of 700mhz on a amd athlon/ pentium 3 breed, yes the box says 700mhz , but a 700mhz celeron lacks instructions sets that allow it to keep with with quick changing graphics etc.. and lags behind athlon and pentium breeds in just ever aspect. If your looking to upgrade, my friend has his own store he sells comps for cheap, cheaper if i tell him ur a good "friend" www.focushardware.com If you have comp questions feel free to IM me directly on aol at JeepinMojo, or email me directly. I go to college for this type of stuff so I should be of great help.

[Glenn B]

Originally posted by CUxj88
To start some of your problems are coming from system requirements with out a doubt at all, I almost cried when I saw celeron 500 runnign windows XP. That's a mistake in itself as microsoft recommends minimum of 700mhz on a amd athlon/ pentium 3 breed, yes the box says 700mhz , but a 700mhz celeron lacks instructions sets that allow it to keep with with quick changing graphics etc.. and lags behind athlon and pentium breeds in just ever aspect. If your looking to upgrade, my friend has his own store he sells comps for cheap, cheaper if i tell him ur a good "friend" www.focushardware.com If you have comp questions feel free to IM me directly on aol at JeepinMojo, or email me directly. I go to college for this type of stuff so I should be of great help.

a 700 or better would be nice, but it can run fine on slower machines. In fact, I have a couple AMD 450's that it runs fine and stable on. :) Not as fast as my P4, but still useable.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/sysreqs.asp

[5-90]

I guess I just gotta ask - Why, pray, is everyone fixated on running XP? Frankly, I've not seen enough yet to be impressed, and certainly not enough to go spend more money on it.

Granted, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming into Win32 (I didn't much care for Windows when it was only a shell running overtop of DOS,) but it seems to me that MS finally did something or another right when 2K came out - to me, it is what NT and 98 should have been and weren't.

Granted, the 2K kernel doesn't run everything, but it does everything I need it to do, and does it well and reliably. Finally, a Windows OS that actually works!

Someday, I plan to get used to Linux (when I have more time, and have all my HTML/C/BASIC/PocketC learnin' behind me - say, 2025 or so...) and get away from a lot of MS stuff. Am I the only one to notice that a lot of virii tend to automatically and instantly "incubate" under MSIE/MSOE/MSOutlook? Am I off base here, or not? I am willing to be corrected and/or convinced...

5-90

[Glenn B]

I am not interested in trying to convince anybody to run any particular OS, be it Windows, linux, etc.... Most people find what they are comfortable with, and will resist change....
I did hold off on XP for a long time. Win2K was a good OS for me, and worked well, and pretty stable. It took me a long time before I even considered running XP, but once I finally did, there was no turning back. I absolutely love it. Rocksolid OS, compatable with most stuff I have ever ran in to. XP even sorta knows what to do with multi-procs. :)

For the die hard Win2K user, you can even turn OFF the default Fisher-Price look of XP and it will be very similar to Win2K.

I think it is the best consumer OS they have put out so far. Does not mean it is right for everybody though. It was right for us. Every computer here is either running a licensed copy of XP Pro, linux, or Windows Server 2003 Enterprise.
I think it is the easiest to use for the beginner, and most stable of the major MS releases yet. Does not mean MS is perfect.... and yes, they do have many users that do not secure their systems and propogate worms, virii etc....
Glenn

Originally posted by 5-90
I guess I just gotta ask - Why, pray, is everyone fixated on running XP? Frankly, I've not seen enough yet to be impressed, and certainly not enough to go spend more money on it.

Granted, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming into Win32 (I didn't much care for Windows when it was only a shell running overtop of DOS,) but it seems to me that MS finally did something or another right when 2K came out - to me, it is what NT and 98 should have been and weren't.

Granted, the 2K kernel doesn't run everything, but it does everything I need it to do, and does it well and reliably. Finally, a Windows OS that actually works!

Someday, I plan to get used to Linux (when I have more time, and have all my HTML/C/BASIC/PocketC learnin' behind me - say, 2025 or so...) and get away from a lot of MS stuff. Am I the only one to notice that a lot of virii tend to automatically and instantly "incubate" under MSIE/MSOE/MSOutlook? Am I off base here, or not? I am willing to be corrected and/or convinced...

5-90

[RichP]

The OS you run is totally up to the user and what they need it to do. If you are just using it for a web browser mail reading, word processing, spread sheeting and presentation type box then Linux and Open office is by far the best way to go, FREE for the download. If you need apps like quicken or quick books or some other narrow minded software manufactures specific software who only does windows then you are stuck with windows. yea yea yea, I know, lindows and all that ilk.
Generally a linux release will double the life of your hardware performance wise. The mandrake version is fool proof for installing by even the novice user, the only trick is to have all your hardware hooked up when you install so it all goes in the first time :D
Win98ME MS ought to buy them all back and pay you for 'unusual pain and suffering'.
Win98SE, Next to NT it's The Reboot KING, first new card game I liked, freecelll, and with a 56K dialup I'm pretty good at it, thats about it.
Win2k rock solid
XP Pro [not home, home is a eunich version] pretty rock solid
Server 2003 3 months and not a single crash so far, though I have had problems with external scsi hard disk box hill arrays. It is iffy if it will recognize them w/o a full reboot where as my win2k box picks them right up w/o any power resets, just a quick rescan and they are there.
Linux I just plug them in, power them up, mount /all and the file systems done.
Solaris for X86, the masochists OS, true techie OS for those that thrive on a challenging install, but once it's in and up and running you feel like you just climbed Mt Everest and just remember your hair WILL grow back provided you had any to start with, it's OK.

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by 5-90
Someday, I plan to get used to Linux (when I have more time, and have all my HTML/C/BASIC/PocketC learnin' behind me - say, 2025 or so...)

You're learning BASIC??????? What possed you to do that??

Btw.. install of XP... you install XP on a clean system and then at one point or another it will ask you for either the serial number from what you're upgrading from or it will ask you to insert temporarily the other disk to verify... no need to install the 98 first...

Also during install, start off with NTFS... fat32... just sucks.

[sidriptide]

ok ok.. enough of the hijacking now!!! heres where i stand now..... it would NOT take just the XP disk to reformat the HD... got the notorious blue screen again... i didnt write it down but it basically told me there is a damaged sector.. prompted to repair it..... it asked me for an ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD....what the hell is that all about??? i am the only user on this PC and i do have a password on my user... it would not accept it....3 strikes and your out!!! i put in the Win98 OEM disk and reformatted it fine..... im back to OEM configuration now, well, sort of, i had to find a plug and play driver.. and i still connot locate a driver for my PCI MASS STORAGE DEVICE... i installed a big HD last year and had to partition and all that shit.. and it has a PCI card adapter.... now i cannot find a driver compatible with Win98!!! so i get a startup error that there is no driver for it... and because of that startup error i cannot go forward with the WinXP upgrade..... i dont understand it though... these are the exact steps i took when i installed the HD last year... so i know Win 98 would accept the controller..... heres what i have for a HD in case you can help.... western digital 160 G 7200rpm with an ultra ATA controller...
so lets not bicker over whats best please.... i have XP.. doesnt matter why really..... if im stuck with 98 for now i suppose i'll live but i want to get back where i was... because now i cant install a driver for my cable modem on 98!!! thanks guys
mike

[Kejtar]

You're going to bang your head against he wall when you read this, but... most likely your admin password was BLANK.....

Try installing the XP from the CD directly. SInce you're at the reformat stage, take the CD and boot up from that CD and see what happens. It should start the installation process and go from there. If you can't boot of the CD, go to your bios (hit f1, del or f2 or something in the beginning of bootup.. right about when the memory counter goes) and setup so that CD is your first boot device and HD secondary. XP should have no problem seeing that big hard drive...... but.... but... if your hard drive kept being repaired and XP died due to repairs of the HD, your drive might be failing.... it's hard to give a good diagnosis here as fat32 is bad on its own....

Btw, during install when you have the option, go through COMPLETE FORMAT (not fast format, quick format or whatever they call it..)

[Kejtar]

oh and make sure to use NTFS this time :D

[Glenn B]

Hey, if ya get tired of all of the opinions that mean nothing about your situation.... and you still have not got it going, you can call me for a phone walk through. Might be easier to get you going that way.

That way you can get past the Win2K VS XP, software VS hardware firewall, Fat vs NTFS, etc..... The main thing is to get the rig running. :D

PM me if you want to walk through. Would most likely be a couple short phone calls to get through the process, then see how it goes.
Glenn

[sidriptide]

i tried it one last time for tonite.. same outcome.... i restart with the XP disk in, then boot from the disk.... it starts it's thing.... then the blue screen tells me there is a problem and process has been shut down.... it says as near as i can tell.. "make sure my windows is updated" "i have hardware without drivers, and either get a driver or disable it in safe mode" i dont have 2 days to sit here using dial-up to do all the needed 98 updates.. and i cant find a driver for the PCI mass storage device, and cant figure out how to disable anything.. especially the HD.. i'll lokk a lil more for a driver but i think i'll continue tommorow...
mike

[bgcntry72]

For that particular computer, Win98 is much faster than XP. As for the cable modem drivers, I am absolutely sure that there is a way to get drivers for Win98. Save the XP upgrade for a bigger machine. For what I charge an hour to do this, you would have been able to buy $4000 worth of Alienware for the time you are spending. My laptop is a 1Ghz dell with 512 DDR and a 40G drive, and I went back to 2000 Pro because XP was a dog on it. I am not trying to be harsh, but the computer will be happier without all that overhead.
Good luck.

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by bgcntry72
For that particular computer, Win98 is much faster than XP.

ummm Bgcountry ... no.....

sidriptide...... Post the specs for that drive and the controller card you're using (make and model). I have a feeling that that is where the problem lies......
1. WIth one of my controller cards in one of hte comps, I had to first install XP onto a drive on the controller that was on the mobo, then after XP was up and running, I shut it down and then installed the PCI controller and booted it up.....
2. The point where you're getting an error.... it really doesn't matter what you have installed on your HD... this error comes at the hardware detection stage from the sounds of it, and it really doesn't matter if you have 98 preinstalled or not.....

[bgcntry72]

Please check Winstone tests for a sub 1ghz processor running XP. I don't care if you have 2 gb of RAM, the 500 Celeron processor does not have the instruction sets needed to make XP a viable platform from a performance standpoint.
Results and minimum requirements don't lie.
Again, good luck.
Done here.

[Kejtar]

bgcntry..... yes the celeron will not run as fast as the newer processor, but it's not as big of a dog as you're describing... I work in an environment where I have to test my application on different platforms and it wasn't till just recently that the last of the test boxes that was a Celeron 550 with 256 mb of ram got thrown into the parts bin.... But if you want to continue the discussion about performance and different processors, I suggest you start a new thread.

[RichP]

The cable modem does not even enter into it yet.
As for compatibility, thats a different issue. There are main line boards out there that were sold during win98 timeframe that just will not run win2k or XP, some will run XP but not win2k. Some MSI and tekram boards have that problem but they are upfront about it on their sites and tell you whether it is win2k or XP compatible.
I know you formated the drive but I would suggest FDISK'ing it first then let XP's installer do the drive work.
Now it is possible that your hard drive could be bad or going bad, head over to the drive manufacturers web site if you can and pull down a copy of their diagnostics, you may have to hunt some or call their tech support for the path but they are there. The drive diags are pretty intensive and will generate codes that the manufactures tech support uses for returns under warranty.
That XP should drop right in or at least get further than it has, incompatiblities generly show AFTER it has copied the files to the HD and rebooted to do the install. But if it ran it before for a long period of time then started puking incompatiblities are not the problem.
When and if you grab the diags create boot floppy on another machine, copy the diags and write protect it before you boot with it. I would defenitely fdisk it though.
If you have any microsoft friends see if you can borrow a copy of the oem preinstallation cd, has some good info on how to install. or the 'ABC's of OPK' cd again from MS.
Another thing to look at is the bios, head over to your manufacturers site and see if they have an upgrade, may solve the problem of that big &ssed drive.

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by RichP
I know you formated the drive but I would suggest FDISK'ing it first then let XP's installer do the drive work.

Rich you missed the fact that hes using an aftermarket HD controller.... with the HD sized at 160gb... he has to (especially on the older mobo)... and I think that's where the problem lies

[RichP]

Then all he should have to do is interupt the install when it asks for addional drivers and load them. The controller should have come with drivers even if it was a white box. Whether there are XP drivers there thats another story, sometimes the win2k drivers will work sometimes not.
That might even be a better incentive to check for a bios update so he can eliminate the card and plug it directly to a MB controller, though at first glance at the processor he mentioned he may have problems getting an updated bios that goes above 80gb. I know my Slot 1 550 asus MB tops out at 80 with the last one they put out for my board which is why I have an external scsi array on it.

What model MB
What version bios
What make/model controller [please don't say promise :D ]

I know for a fact that XP sp1 has the drivers for the adaptec eide raid controller native so that might be an option but I'd shoot for the bios update first and see what happens. Other option is to go pick up a smaller drive for the OS and use that 'go watch two movies while it formats' monster drive for data and storage.

[sidriptide]

ok guys. here where i stand now.... i loaded a generic driver from 98 the seems to get me past the start-up error....... so it seems a ihave Win98 up and running properly.... now i have a new stumbling block... i start the XP upgrade and it tells me i have not got a current windows program installed so i cant upgrade!!!!!!!1 WHAT THE F' IS THIS SHIT!!!!!!!! it prompts for my 98 disk, so i insert my OEM disc and it tells me i did not insert a disk..... do i need to reregister my OEM O/S again?? do i need to run all the available updates before i upgrade?? i am learning alot about my patience level this week..... thanks for all the help.... i am about to tear into it and return to the OEM set-up and clear up the issues and then jump thru the hoops of reinstalling it all over again.........
i need a beer.........
mike

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by sidriptide
I start the XP upgrade and it tells me i have not got a current windows program installed so i cant upgrade!!!!!!!1 WHAT THE F' IS THIS SHIT!!!!!!!! it prompts for my 98 disk, so i insert my OEM disc and it tells me i did not insert a disk.....


THat sounds really odd.... are you using the right disk? How did you do it the previous time? No updates should be required to start the process ....

[sidriptide]

i'd rather be wrenching in the driveway in the snow...............
it just ain't happening guys........ and i don't know why.... i have 98 up and running..... i still cannot run XP on top of it now... same errors.. tried loading the XP files to the HD and doing it that way..... no go........ it's like it gets to a point in the install and it doesnt recognize itself anymore... wont find a disk in the drive with drivers on it.... even when it propmts for them... we fixed a few corrupted files... still doesnt help.... i'm thinkin i had a damaged HD BEFORE my recent installs..... and the additional sofware and demamds on the system maybe brought it to light.... i an giving up on it for now and setting up 98 at least so i can get on with my life.... i upgraded it last year to buy some time rather than get a new PC..... and to throw more $$ at this one is not really a good idea since the prices of new are so low.... big rebates this time of year with Xmas coming.... i really "need" XP for what i've been doing lately so rather than spend a couple hundred$$ on big bandaids.. i'll spend a bit more and just go new..... yes i've been beat!!!! 3 of us cant get it figured out..... gonna live with this for now.... what do you guys think?? think th eHD is damaged??
mike

[RichP]

Loading the XP cd to the hd won't work.
fdisk it, reinstall win98, put the funky controller card drivers in. From there it should work. My guess is that you have a funny boot sector on that disk now that might have some of the XP boot stuff still left on it, seen similar when trying to do a win98 or win2k reinstall and the 98 and win2k installer both see an os already on there.
One more time, what brand and model is that controller card ?? If it's a generic white box mystery board that you got at a computer show shoot me the FCC number and I can trace it that way.
Something in the back of my mind says this could also be a sysprep issue too. I really would fdisk it and start from scratch, just reformatting it does not remove everything.

[sidriptide]

ok rich.......whats Fdisk?? i'll try anything at this point..... i had a hard time getting the machine to recognize the drivers on the disk for the controller as well..... the controller card is as best i can tell is an ULTRA ATA. 100 . it came with the new WESTERN DIGITAL HD...model# wd1600jbrtl rigth now i'm trying to find a driver for my cable modem that works with 98....
mike

[Kejtar]

ok... visit this place: http://tinyurl.com/ut7e and read up a bit. There are steps that you will have to follow...

[sidriptide]

i give up on it tonite..... tommorow it's going back to original hardware configuration..... then will upgrade one step at a time...... then if that does not do what i want it's a new PC on sunday.....
i need another beer for this.....
mike