HarrisonS

I upgraded from IE7 to IE8 a couple of weeks ago on a computer running Windows XP Professional. IE8 has an annoying "bug" not present on IE7 or Firefox 8. After I first bring it up, and it displays my home page,(as it should), and then when I click on any of the links shown instead of simply going to that address, it opens a new instance of itself which shows the desired page at that link. The original instance of IE8 continues to show the home page. If I close the original instance, things proceed normally as desired, as long as I don't open another instance of IE8. If I do open another instance and later click on a link, the desired destination shows up on the wring IE8 instance. Is thi a bug, or can it be fixed? I looked at the Advanced Settings under Internet Options, but could not find anyting.

After trying to run McAfee VirusScan yesterday, my computer froze up completely, after that application had reached "27% complete". It was so completely frozen that I could not open any other application, including Task Manager, and I could not even do a shutdown. There was no alternative, but but to an improper shutdown by shutting the power off. Since then, every time I start my computer, I get a message that says, Checking file system on D: The type of file system is NTFS. The volume is dirty. IIt then does a time consuming run of CHKDSK on drive D:, and then shows the results, which are completely normal and error free. (Note: I have two hard drives, C: and D:.) If I run CHKDSK from drive D: using the command line, again, I get completely normal results. If I try CHKDSK/F it complains that "another process is using drive D"" even though I have no applications running. What exactly is the problem, and how can I fix it?

Stipulation - not a "Server" version (won't work). In addition, the problem is that the XP is Home Upgrade, not XP Pro. See this, this, and particularly MS' KB292607. You're stuck with the available WinME (XP Home is more restrictive as it's the "consumer" version and Professional is the "business" version).Still, better to "hope" that "Install" folder is there and save it off. Usually the COA for the Original WinME PreInstall is "glued" onto the Tower. FYI, just to allow you to "keep" your Original (with the Folder contents) for "backup insurance". If you think you might want to "keep" the WinMe and the stcker with Key (COA) is missing, there should (hopefully) be a Backup CAB file that it can be extracted from. Both the "INSTALL" Folder and the Backup File (a special Registry backup) should be there unless manually deleted. Upgrades to XP don't (AFAIK) "delete' that stuff. Also, you don't need the WinME key for installing XP as it's usually assumed that you have "given up the EULA rights" to it (it's being OEM and all) when you Upgrade anyway. (Not that MS cares anyway, since support for WinME is long-gone.) Just thought you might want to have it for "hysterical" purposes. (Geez, I'm just full of bad tidings, ain't I...) We'll get there - all you need is one USB stick, USB ports on both PC's, XP CD, Internet for the LiveXP Setup Download, and a burner. Thanks. I have a few questions. I am puzzled because the links you provided seem to contradict what was said in the earlier link given by submix8c that Win NT 3.51, NT 4.0 or Win2000 full versions would be suitable, or that "any full version of a previous Windows is acceptable" for the upgrade. Also, how can I access the "Windows\Install" folder on the C: drive? In the present state, I cannot access anything on the HDD, either by using Windows Explorer or going to the command line in order to copy them to a flash drive. Is there another way to copy them? I am also considering picking up a brand new HDD instead, and installing it. For one thing, the present drive is tiny (20 gigabytes). If I can then install XP Home on it, and then I could reinstall the old drive as a "slave" D: drive and copy anything to be kept from it to the new drive. I will probably have more questions later. Any thoughts? Thanks again.

All right, thanks. I do have a Router and a couple of USB-sticks, but not a Workgroup Network Hub. It may be a while before I get back to you. My other PC does have a burner. Also I have a Win 2000 full install disk here as well as NT 3.51 and 4.0 disks, which may be upgrade or full. By the way, the I386 folder file you were asking about was SP2.CAT.

I am afraid it is VRMHCCP_EN, so it is upgrade retail! So I guess we are really in trouble now!

Here is what is in the SETUPP.INI in the I386 folder: [Pid] ExtraData=70656C7063627770737A9EA8ADEC29 Pid=76475000 The date/Time stamps of all files (there are hundreds, if not thousands) all appear to be identical: 8/4/2004 at 5:00 AM. The label indicates that it includes Service Pack 2.

On the CD itself is the number 0304 Part No. X10-52221 On the jacket the CD came in: On tht product key label I found the number X10-56478 and Below the bar code (Probably the SKU number) X10-70275 and nearby 0804 Part No. X10-70275 None of these seems to match anything in the link, but still the CD does seem to be an authentic Microsoft issue, with holographic label and a holographic Microsoft logo.

Disaster! I performed the repair install, carefully following the procedure "How to Perform a Windows XP Install link" link. Everything seemed to go smoothly, until near the end, after the reboot. Then I got a lagrge Message Box which read: "An error has been encountered that prevents Setup from continuing. Setup failed to install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log files should contain more information. Press OK to view the Setup log file." After looking at the log file, it was clear that the complaint was about the Computer Name, which contained an underscore. In essence it read: "… the DNS name may not be added to the DNS database because the Computer Name contains the underscore character… … please verify that the DNS server allows host DNS names to contain the underscore character, or change the Computer Name … The signature for Windows XP Upgrade is invalid. The error code is 426." Unfortunately, I can't change the computer name because there is no way to get to the Control Panel to change it, and it cannot be accessed from the BIOS Setup Utility. I don't understand why this is important anyway, since the computer was not connected to any network. Now whenever I turn on the computer, it goes straight into Setup, which is forever doomed to failure, with the same message popping up each time! At least I can get to the BIOS utility, but that is all. Any suggestions?

The BIOS seems to be resistant to changes in the boot sequence, and it resets itself to the old settings (HD first). However a message does briefly flash on the screen saying, "To boot from the CD, press any key..." When I do this, it doesn't just boot; rather it goes directly into Windows Setup, rather than just booting. The options on the menu are to install XP, make a repair, or quit. It would be nice to juat boot Windows,however, since a fresh install would replace the system files with older versions. The system files on the HD are newer, and are probably OK. All that we need to do (hopefully) is to activate the installation. Is this possible, or should I go ahead and repair the installation?

Read the links given in reference to "how to Clear CMOS" and change the battery. The info is there so follow those instructions then report back. Again, a failed battery will RESET the System Clock (possibly causing activation issues) and MAYBE prevent access to the BIOS... AND if in the BIOS it's defaulted to "USB", the keys MAY NOT WORK until OS BOOT (IT will find, but NOT the BIOS BOOT) so TRY a USB keyboard (just for kicks).Again, no access to the BIOS is near an impossible scenario. PLEASE try everything I have suggested then SAY if you did or not. Otherwise, I can no longer help (we'll be running in circles). I replaced the battery and finally was successful in accessing the BIOS Setup Utility screens by using F1, not F2. Evidently I was not pressing the key either at exactly the right time or early enough. I set the date and time, and most of the settings seem to be correct, as far as I can tell. The BIOS Version is given as 0AAVWP05. Now it no longer complains about the Date/Time, but still needs activating, which is still unsuccessful. So we are still at an impasse.

Yes, the MoBo picture in your very last link, identified as "Gateway Oxnard MSI 6330 Socket A Athlon Board", is identical in every detail to the one here. There should be nothing wrong with the XP installation. It was done, I believe, in 2005, and the computer worked without any significant issues until 2010 when the trouble started. I am quite certain that my friend didn't do anything at all to the BIOS, but it is very possible that the malicious neighbors did.

The MoBo does not look exactly the same. In simplest terms, its layout is a mirror image of that in your illustration. (For what it's worth, the cabinet also opens differently. It has two sliding spring latches, and the entire side panel comes off, so no tools are needed.) The keyboard is not a USB type. The keys all seem to be working, since it accepts my pssword logon at the Windows prompt, and the two Message Boxes respond normally to all of the usual key clicks.

Yes, that is it exactly! However, neither F1 nor F2 will work, even when pressed before the Gateway logo appears.

Ditto - Gateway can be any of a small handful. The "magic key" has to be pressed when you first turn it on. Gateways are usually DEL or F1 (AFAICR). Also, with the documentation, there may be a jumper you can temporarily change to Clear CMOS (reset the BIOS to Defaults). Sometimes when you first power-on you can quickly repeatedly tap the basic set until one "hits" (ESC F1 F2 F10 F11 DEL). Once in, you can usually find a setting that will make it show it to you. Having originally had WinME (from the factory?) on it it has to be a circa 2000/2001 (pre-XP).edit - maybe the term "Boot" confused you - Two separate Boots involved - First is BIOS (when power on or CTL+ALT+DEL when in e.g. DOS) - Second is OS Boot (based on BIOS Boot Sequence). You are right about the vintage. This computer was purchased new in January 2001. A just talked to the owner, and she said that she does not have the manual, and does not even remember ever getting a manual. I think it is possible that there could be a .PDF manual stored on the hard drive, but, of course, we would not be able to get to it now, if that is the case. We are certain, however, that the CPU is an AMD 950 MHz Athlon, if that is any help. At startup, there is briefly seen the Gateway logo with a progress bar under it. However, pressing F1 or DEL at this time or even Ctl-Alt-DEL does not seem to work. It still goes on to boot up Windows.

I did not mention this earlier, but there is evidence that there has been some malicious tampering by neighbors during the past year. For one thing, Remote Access was installed in the computer without my friend’s knowledge or permission, and probably some other malicious tampering. At this point, however we do not know the full story, or the extent of the tampering. Anyway, I will answer your questions here. Any insights you have will be greatly appreciated. ->from what cd (label) was Windows installed ? This 10 year old computer originally came from Gateway with Windows Me installed. About five years ago it was upgraded to XP Home Edition. This CD is a Microsoft product and is so labeled. It is physically the same CD that I have now, in case I need to do a reinstall. -was a key manually entered at install (or included automatically)? Manually. I did it myself about five years ago. -what key (sticker on the machine or sticker packed with CD)? The key was on a sticker packed with the CD, and I have this key now. -was it ever activated? I assume so. The computer was in regular use for five years without any problems, until recently. -was Windows reinstalled just before problem happened ? No. It has never been reinstalled. -did any hardware change occur ? None at all, except for the Ethernet card I installed earlier this week. And as Submix8c says, swapping the hard drive won't change the fact you don't boot from cd. Of course it won’t. The purpose of swapping the hard drive was simply to bypass the whole problem by starting out fresh . It normally tells you what key to hit to get into Bios...Try to hit "Del" at boot, or F1, F2 ? Surprisingly, it does not show any of this information. I tried each of these keys as well as F8, but it seems to be impossible at any time to break out of the boot up sequence, as well as the perpetual, logon-try to activate-logon loop mentioned earlier.