Replies

The one time I saw this problem was after another tech had already tried to install Windows XP several times.
Every time, on the first automatic reboot, the entire Install would start over again.

I checked out the system and found one stick of ram with a big “S” on the chips. This is commonly known as “Superman Ram”.
It’s cheap JUNK and widely known to fail when the system loads it down. Most Memtest programs do not load the ram but only check one cell at a time.

Anyway, once I removed that bad stick of ram, Windows XP loaded properly.

So in short, one bad ram stick can cause Windows XP to fail to install, exactly as outlined in your complaint.

Maybe knowing that will help someone else.

The Doctor

I’m assuming that your problem is with a desktop computer. Eh?

When you’ve gotten service on your PC, did you take it to the shop, or did a tech come to your place?
If In-Shop, did you take all your peripherals with you? (keyboard and mouse)

I had a customer several years back who kept taking their tower to different shops trying to find out why it would just freeze up.
No one could find the problem. Finally the people called me. I only do in-home service at least on First_Call.
To make the story short, I finally found a bad mouse was causing all their freezing problems.
A bad mouse, Keyboard or any such external device can send bad info to the CPU and cause it to go off into space. (Freeze Up)

When all else has failed, change out the keyboard and mouse and see if that makes any difference.

Just a thought!

The Doctor

As a part of my own computer business, one thing I do is set up new PC’s for people. It’s good if I can take the PC out of the box and do all the setup before they start using it. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes the PC is already a year or more old before I get a chance to work on it.
Cleaning out all the demo’s, trial’s and spyware that are installed on many new PC’s today is usually just a matter of going into the control panel and Add/Remove programs and UN-Install everything not wanted or needed.
Then I install and run a great AV program , , AVG 9.0 FREE and an equally great Anti-Spyware program,,,, Spybot Search & Destroy.
Get the latest updates and run a full scan. Let both programs delete any malware they find.

I might spend 3 to 5 hours, cleaning and scanning the PC, but in most cases a Clean Install absolutely would not be possible, or if possible, NOT practical.
But when it’s all said and done, I have a PC that runs great and is absolutely JUNK and Malware free.
It’s absolutely 100% doable, so just sit down when you have some time on your hands, and get to it!

Cheers mate!
The Doctor

There is a FREE file archiving service called “Box.net”.
When I want to share a file with someone, I just compress it to the max with either 7Zip or WinRar and then upload it to Box.net.
I then go to my private Box and look at the file. They give me a special code for that file that I can email to the one I want to share
the file with. From the email, all they have to do is click on the link and the file download starts immediately.
I can share a file with numerous people by sending out just one email.

If I want to share a file with people around the world, I can put the link to the file in a forum, like this one and whoever wants the file
only has to click on that link. It’s a great and safe way to share files without opening up your own PC to a possible hack or HiJack.

Stay safe my friends!

Doc

My only admonition to anyone installing any FREE software is to READ, READ, READ!!!
Read every word on the screen and take nothing for granted.

Almost every free software comes with something you probably don’t want or need.
Foxit Reader is just one out of dozens of FREE programs that do that.
If there is NO way to DE-Select the add-on stuff that you don’t want, then don’t install the software. ABORT!

Adobe Reader has gotten so HUGE and bloated that Foxit Reader is still a very good alternative.
I’ve installed it several times now and eliminating Ask was a no-brainer.
One add-on to Firefox wants to install some “Norton” junk….another place you have to UN-Check a box to keep it from installing.
Like I said before, Read every word on every screen and UN-Check the stuff you don’t want. It ain’t rocket science!

Doc

It gets to be a sticky wicket, trying to deal with an OS that MS is trying their best to be rid of.
You may as well be talking about windows 98.

Legally, I can’t tell you (here) what I’d do in your place.

But I do wish you “Good Luck”.

Doc

I know, I’m just an old ‘Stick in the mud’, because I don’t like changing something that works.

But if I downloaded another program to do every little chore that I might want to do, my 200 gig
hard drive wouldn’t be large enough to hold them all. So I try to use what’s already in Windows
every chance I get.

Another DOS program that I use extensively is the “Deltree.exe” command that showed up way
back in DOS. It was present in all windows versions up to XP, where it was omitted. If reloaded
into Windows, it still runs and works like a champ. It can delete a single file, a type of file, a folder,
a complete folder tree or even an entire hard drive, depending on the syntax used. It has only one
switch, the ” /y ” switch, to say yes to the old “Are you sure?” question.
Be careful with this command though….. deltree /y C: will wipe the C drive clean.

I wrote one batch file, that incorporates the Deltree command, that runs from my startup folder.
It deletes the contents of all the temp file folders, temporary internet files, recent files, prefetch files and some other assorted junk, every time I reboot my PC. I call it my FREE Maid Service and I share it with my customers to help keep their PC’s clean.

I’m glad that DOS batch files still work with Windows. It makes house keeping a lot easier.

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor

Want options? Boy, do I have options.

I installed a fan in the upper 2 bay front panels to blow cool outside air across my main HD, which also has its own two-fan cooler.

Then, with the front panel (plastic) removed I snipped out the grill over the two case-fan
locations and installed two standard size case fans.

Behind those two fans are three more hard drives, in the lower drive bays, each one
with its own cooler attached.

The finished product stays nice and cool, with a large exhaust fan in the back of the case
taking out all the hot air.

That was the first thing I installed as I started building this PC.

The finished product………….

Due to differences in cases, each person has to find their own solutions to heat removal.

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor

This is a topic that’s revisited almost daily on one forum or another.

Being in the computer business I’m getting PC’s all the time that people no longer want, but have a lot of good life left in them.

I clean out all the personal information, remove any programs that were specific to the owner, like Quicken, Quick Books Pro, etc.
I leave Works or Office and Adobe reader, etc.
Then I tweak and tune the computer for optimum efficiency and sometimes even add some more ram.
Then I change the owners name to something like “Joe” or “Al” and do a very thorough cleanup of the PC, removing all the junk
files and then do a defrag.

Now the PC is ready to be donated to a needy person, student, etc.

Wiping a Hard drive clean, especially on a Laptop is akin to destroying it. Getting all the hardware drivers for an older laptop can be a real nightmare.

So leave the OS and all the drivers, etc. alone and just take off the personal information and do a defrag which will overwrite that deleted info and the job of securing the PC is done.

Just a thought!

The Doctor

Good Point!

Touche’

Almost every version of Windows, out of the box is seriously lacking in user friendliness.
It takes a lot of tweaking and tuning to get Windows to be fully functionable.
I’ve never figured out why the Windows defaults have to be so restrictive.

Showing hidden files and showing extensions is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
That’s been covered now, so I won’t belabor it.

(just an observation)

>18 months old or ten years…..there are still people out there who are using Windows 98 and its derivatives and would benefit from knowing more about what options they may have to get the best out of it.

I still have three computers that have Windows 98 (various versions) that will NOT run anything later.
I’ve applied the SE upgrade and the Unofficial Service pack to get every bit of performance possible out of those old PC’s. They still work GREAT!

This is after all, Windows Secrets! Why keep something secret that might help a user somewhere?
There are people who read these forums and never ever post a word.
I’ve received PM’s from people who have derived some benefit from something I’ve posted, but they themselves NEVER post to the forum.

Just a thought!

Seems like forever since I’ve been here. Sorry about that!

Switches? I don’t use them since I always run Ghost manually with my mouse and keyboard, so I can
perfectly control the operations. Running Ghost from a batch file, with switches, locks you in to a certain
operation which you cannot vary once it starts.
I guess you could say that I’m just one of those “Hands ON” kind of guys.
Since I make my Ghost Images to different locations at different times I need to be able to control that
manually. I also do a CHECK of every backup image that I make. Nothing could be worse than trying
to do a Ghost Restore and finding out that your image file is corrupt and unreadable.

The day I did the upgrade from Windows 98SE to Windows XP (many years ago now) XP did the upgrade
without changing the disk format type from FAT-32 to NTFS. I found out that XP indeed runs great on a
FAT-32 HD and that also gives me total control over any file on my HD, from a DOS boot disk, like the
one I use to boot to Ghost. That also gives me the option of running my Cleanup batch files from the Ghost
boot disk (usually a 3.5″ floppy) to minimize the MB’s going into the Ghost backup Image file.
By deleting the pagefile and the old restore points, I decrease the MB’s going into the Ghost Image by over 4 gig’s.
On a good day, I still get an entire Ghost backup on a single DVD, along with Ghost using the HIGH compression mode.
That doesn’t happen by accident….. it does require a lot of disk and data management.

The list of options, not switches, for Ghost is in the program itself. Just go into “Options” to find them.
You can use those options to set up how Ghost runs, even in the manual mode.
When you set options, Ghost will build an .ini file for you. Here’s a copy of my own Ghost.ini file.

span(Spanning) = Y
autoname(AutoName) = Y
cns(Old Style Span Extensions) = Y
crcignore(CRC Ignore) = N
fcr(Create CRC32) = N
f32(FAT32 Conversion) = N
f64(64K FAT Clusters) = N
fatlimit(FAT Limit) = N
sure(Sure) = N
fro(Force Cloning) = N
rb(Reboot) = N
fx(Exit to DOS) = N
defaultImg(Default) = Y
ia(Image All) = N
ib(Image Boot) = N
id(Image Disk) = N
defaultTape(Default) = Y
tapesafe(Tape Safe) = N
tapebuffered(Tape Buffered) = N
tapeunbuffered(Tape Unbuffered) = N
tapeeject(Tape Eject) = N
ffx(UseExtINT13) = N
fnx(DisableExtINT13) = N
ffi(DirectIDE) = N
fni(DisableDirectIDE) = N
ffs(DirectASPI/SCSI) = N
fns(DisableDirectASPI/SCSI) = N
pwd(Prompt for password) = N
locktype-none(No BIOS lock) = Y
locktype-M(Manufacturer) = N
locktype-P(ProductName) = N
locktype-V(Version) = N
locktype-S(SerialNo) = N
locktype-U(UUID) = N
locktype-C(ManProduct) = N
locktype-I(P3ID) = N

The first four yes’s are critical to the way I run Ghost.

“Radified Forums” is a good source of info on all versions of Ghost. Be advised though, that the guys there
are a bunch of “Legal Beagles”.
I know a guy who was actually banned from there for his Liberal views on licensing.
I got pretty sick of all the legalese and just stopped going there.

I just tried running Ghost from its DOS boot floppy with the “Ghost /? > Switches.txt” syntax.
It did make the text file but it was empty, because Ghost displays its switches from within
itself, in a graphical mode, and does not pass them off to the text file. Sorry about that!

So boot up with your Ghost disk and at the DOS prompt type in Ghost /? and press enter.
Ghost will display its switches.
If there’s a way to get Ghost to print out the switches, I’m not aware of it.

Good Luck,
The Doctor

There are a number of ways to share .exe files with friends on the internet………
I do it almost daily, with friends all over the world.

Many ISP’s will give you a web space where you can upload files, then give someone the link to that file and they can download it easily.

Next way is to get a free account at Box.net or some other internet file sharing location.

Or, if you or a friend has a web page somewhere, upload the file to the server and then just give you friend a link to that file.

Like just today, I wanted to share the “RemoveWGA.exe” file with a poster on this very forum.
I uploaded it to my server and then just posted the link, like this:
http://drwho.geek.im/RemoveWGA.exe

I purposely did not enter the above URL as a link so you could read the entire thing.

Some ISP’s allow .exe files to be renamed to .jnk or .wrb or whatever……and some don’t.

Most will however allow files with .zip or .rar extensions. So just zip up your file and attach it and see if it goes through.
I like to use 7Zip to zip up files and then make them self extracting. With 7Zip, that job is much easier than with other
compression programs.

So you really have many options to share .exe files over the internet. Just get Creative!

Cheers mates!

The Doctor

Good Luck!

I’m not a hacker, or a hacker’s son,
but I can hack till the hacker comes!

Again………Good Luck!

The Doctor