Re: Mass Coruption with Downloaded Installations

"Thomas Bussell" <ThomasBussell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:5D783EB4-C198-4D42-8580-B1FDA4826DE0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dave, I honestly, have no clue what the hell you're talking about. I
thought
formatting my hard drive didn't do any good and that it was a hardware
problem?

I am sorry you are confused. First of all, I never said I thought you
had a hardware problem. I believe philo did. But I see no evidence of
one. My point is that if you are going to go through all of the trouble
of formatting your hard drive and reloading Windows in a
parallel-install fashion, which should ordinarily be used in only rare
circumstances, you might as well perform a proper *clean* install. Once
you perform a *clean* install *properly*, we will be able to make some
progress. The method you described a few posts back (you said you hit
ESC at one point) is *not* the method for a clean install! I posted two
links, so you have a choice for which clean install tutorial to follow.
If you run into any problem, simply post back at which point you ran
into it.

When anyone performs a clean install, it is important to boot off the
CD-ROM drive, not the hard drive! You may do this by changing a setting
in your BIOS. If you are unfamiliar with the BIOS, this page should get
you started:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

I hope that is less confusing.

Also, I've been told that SP3 has issues with AMD Processors. I
dunno exactly what the problems were.

I was one of those peoople who told you this -- less than two hours ago!
Scroll down to Problem #1. It's still there! One more time:

Problem #1: On certain PCs that come with a factory-imaged hard
drive erroneously assuming the CPU is Intel rather than AMD (e.g.,
HPs), upgrading to SP3 without applying a particular patch first is
problematic. See this page for more information and for the fix:

http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2008/05/08/does-your-amd-based-computer-boot-after-installing-xp-sp3.aspx

(or http://tinyurl.com/6zs52d )

Note that the problem exists only for those who have mass-produced PCs
(usuallu HPs) with AMD processors that have a factory-installed image on
the hard drive containing an incorrect file; the file is looking for an
*Intel* processor, which of course doesn't exist!

But if you are performing a clean install, you have absolutely nothing
to worry about -- even if you do have an AMD processor!

Around 4 months ago, I never had these problems. I dunno what
retarded update Microsoft did, but it probably screwed my system
up.

That means something significant happened around four months ago. My
guess is you allowed Automatic Updates to install SP3. Although the
update usually works out just fine, sometimes it doesn't. Very often,
certain programs (usually antivirus) that run in the background
interfere with the upgrade and cause noticeable problems. That is why I
also included the best practices method to install SP3 in my last post.

I hope this is all more clear to you now.


"Daave" wrote:

Post back when you are finished with the clean install. It's
important
that you do it right. Otherwise, no one will be able to help you!

Hopefully you booted off the CD-ROM drive. Hopefully you have all the
hardware drivers you need.

What Service Pack level is your intallation CD? Presumably it's not
SP3.
If it's SP1 or lower, it's important you enable the Windows firewall.
If
it's SP2, the firewall is already enabled by default. When you are
ready
to install SP3, have a look at these instructions:

Two major problems with SP3 have been reported. With preparation
on your part, though, you won't (more than likley) experince *any*
problems whatsoever. Still, it is always wise to image your hard
drive
before undertaking any major change like a Service Pack upgrade.

Problem #1: On certain PCs that come with a factory-imaged hard
drive erroneously assuming the CPU is Intel rather than AMD (e.g.,
HPs), upgrading to SP3 without applying a particular patch first is
problematic. See this page for more information and for the fix:

http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2008/05/08/does-your-amd-based-computer-boot-after-installing-xp-sp3.aspx

(or http://tinyurl.com/6zs52d )

Problem #2: It is best to disconnect all perpipheral devices (e.g.,
USB
external hard drives, printers, etc.) and configure a Clean Boot
environment (because certain anti-malware programs that run in the
background can interfere with the upgrade). See:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Personally, I have had best results *not* using Automatic Updates.
Instead, I recommend that people download the entire .iso file of SP3
from Microsoft and burn an SP3 CD:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2fcde6ce-b5fb-4488-8c50-fe22559d164e&displaylang=en

(or http://tinyurl.com/5h8cw6 )

More reading material regarding the Best Practices method of
upgrading
to SP3:

http://www.iaps.com/windows-xp-sp3-installation-guidelines.html

http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2008/05/08/windows-xp-sp3-read-all-prerequisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

(or http://tinyurl.com/6nf4k4 )

Currently, there is free support specifically for issues related to
upgrading
to SP3:

"Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available
for
Windows XP, but only for Service Pack 3 (SP3). This support for SP3
is
valid until April 14, 2009."

The above is from:

http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&prid=11273&gprid=522131

(or http://tinyurl.com/6cw2xk )

----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are able to create and save an image of your entire hard
drive,
then if something calamitous happens, all you need to do is restore
the
image, which should take about fifteen minutes. There is half-decent
freebie called DriveImageXML. It's very basic, but it gets the job
done.
Personally, I like to use Acronis True Image. It isn't free, but it
also
gives you the ability to make incremental images. Although you can
save
image archives to any media, I recommend using a USB external hard
drive. For the latest Acronis product:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

To comparison shop:

http://www.google.com:80/products?q=Acronis+True+Image+Home+2009&btnG=Search+Products&hl=en



"Thomas Bussell" <ThomasBussell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:70840CA0-EBD0-4826-877B-92F13C0CE930@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Alright, I believe I'm doing the 2nd one you posted. I don't know
how
to
image my hard drive, I know how to burn an image to a drive. I have
only 1 OS
installed. Every so often I do a low level format. I use "DBAN" or
Darik's
Boot And Nuke, and completely wipe the drive, then install. But
still,
I get
the same problem. I have no clue why it does this. And I was hoping
to
get
more help and insight on this problem.

"Daave" wrote:

"Thomas Bussell" <ThomasBussell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
in
message news:FFC8477E-8FAA-48CD-BDCC-D772A8094322@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dave, I'm quite new to the windows problems, most of the time I
could
call my
friend Josh, or my friend Rick and I could have my answers in a
matter
of
minutes. Well, we had a little rough time, and we're not
speaking
anymore.

To answer your question on why I reinstalled windows: I usually
format
every
6 weeks. My computer gets bogged down from my work, from my
gaming,
from my
programming, and my modifications.

How I reinstalled windows:

I stuck the disc in my drive, booted up.
Asked me if I wanted to repair, pressed "ESC" to exit that.
I deleted my partition
Started formatting
Then windows installation kicked in.

You are using a weird method with which I am unfamiliar. It seems
like
some sort of *parallel* installation:

http://www.windowsxphome.windowsreinstall.com/installxpcdparallell/indexfullpage.htm

If you are going through all that trouble, you might as well do a
proper
*clean* installation:

http://www.windowsxphome.windowsreinstall.com/installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm

or

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Also, keep in mind that reinstalling Windows is a
less-than-perfect
solution for dealing with the issues you mention. In fact, a
reinstallation is very rarely needed. Post back here to ask about
specific methods to maintain Windows XP.

Finally, imaging your hard drive is a must. Regularly create
current
images of your hard drive, then all you need to do is restore the
most
recent image. That's a WHOLE lot faster than reinstalling Windows!








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