Re: Restore Question....

The only thing I received when I bought this mini tower is an express service
code, service tag, and a product key.
Yes, the updates are listed in my Add/Remove Programs.
--
Please help...technologically impaired! LOL


"Gerry" wrote:

Cheryl

Are you absolutely sure that none of these items were given to you when
you bought the computer:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opsx260/en/ug/findinfo.htm#1163594

Are the Windows Updates listed -Start, Control Panel, Add / Remove
Programs, Change or Remove Programs?


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




CrankyCheryl wrote:
Grrrrr! Computer Rage!! It just took me 15 minutes to type my reply
and when I clicked on "Post Reply" it brought me to "Page Expired"
and didn't post my reply!
Deep Cleansing Breathes!!! That's better.
OK, I'm actually not sure if the updates are corrupt or not, I just
know they can't be removed with Add/Remove Programs. My husband
thought he'd pretend he knew what he was doing and tried to uninstall
Microsoft .NET Framework after he read something about it being for
developers, he thought it might be slowing down my computer. Windows
Update downloaded versions 1,2 and 3 with service packs and hotfixes.
When he couldn't uninstall them I tried to use the repair feature to
make sure he hadn't screwed up the programs, but it tells me that the
patch package cannot be opened, to verify that it exists, and to
verify that it is a valid Windows Installer Patch Package.
You kind of lost me with the event viewer, there are dozens of
entries in there, alot of them from the problem I just had with my HP
all-in-one printer, every time I restarted Windows the Windows
Installer would pop up trying to install "Scan" (Scan.msi) and no
matter how many times I clicked cancel it would keep trying. I had to
use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to get it to stop, so I unistalled my printer and
reinstalled it.
There is an error repot in here that I'm not sure about, the source is
"Loadperf":

Event Type: Error
Event Source: LoadPerf
Event Category: None
Event ID: 3001
Date: 10/10/2007
Time: 1:20:42 PM
User: N/A
Computer: CRANKYCHERYL
Description:
The performance counter name string value in the registry is
incorrectly formatted. The bogus string is 4922, the bogus index
value is the first DWORD in Data section while the last valid index
values are the second and third DWORD in Data section.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 3a 13 00 00 b0 12 00 00 :...°...
0008: b1 12 00 00 97 02 00 00 ±...—...

And below that:

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: LoadPerf
Event Category: None
Event ID: 2006
Date: 10/10/2007
Time: 1:20:42 PM
User: N/A
Computer: CRANKYCHERYL
Description:
LastCounter and LastHelp values of performance registry is corrupted
and needs to be updated. The first and second DWORDs in Data Section
are the original values while the third and forth DWORDs in Data
Section are the updated new values.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: b0 12 00 00 b1 12 00 00 °...±...
0008: ae 1e 00 00 af 1e 00 00 ®...¯...

I don't know what these are.
Another reason I'd like to start fresh is I recently paid to use one
of those registry cleaners, only to find out that they are very
dangerous to use and nobody should mess with their registry unless
they have a very clear understanding of it. My computer hasn't been
running as well as it used to and I wouldn't know where to begin to
find out if that program screwed something up. (RegCure)
I bought the computer from a local retailer and I'm in Canada. The
guy from the store said they had an agreement with Microsoft for
preinstalling WinXP on their systems, wouldn't they have to provide a
means of reinstalling if necessary?

How do you know your Windows Updates are corrupt?

What Error / Warning reports ( if any ) appear in the System log in
Event Viewer when you last booted the machine?

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in
the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate which also appear
in a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using copy
and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no further
information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and
double click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which
appears is a button resembling two pages. Click the button and close
Event Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the
body of the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting
from Event Viewer.

Did you buy the computer at a local store or off the internet? Are
you living in the USA?


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CrankyCheryl wrote:
I bought the computer in July of this year. The lack of a CD has
become an issue because I have Windows updates that have become
corrupt and I have no way of removing them. Add/Remove Programs
won't remove them, and I have looked for and tried the "fixes" I
found on the Microsoft/Windows web site and they haven't worked.
About three weeks ago I tried to use the System Restore feature to
restore to my "Brand New" restore point that I created when I got
the computer, but it kept failing. By the time I figured out why it
was failing (I needed to remove the protection on the Symantec
Automatic Update for my Norton Anti-Virus) two whole months of
restore points had disappeared, so I had lost "Brand New". All the
restore points that are left are from AFTER my computer had
installed the updates and my problems can't be fixed.

Cheryl

How long ago did you buy the computer?

Why has the lack of a CD become an issue?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opsx260/en/ug/index.htm


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CrankyCheryl wrote:
I know this Dell wasn't "new", it is an OptiPlex SX260 and they've
been around for a while....it wasn't advertised as being
refurbished, so it may never have been used before, but it's been
sitting around for a few years waiting for someone to buy it. I
bought it from a large Computer Liquidator Store. I called the
store about needing to restore and he said they have an agreement
with Microsoft for pre-installing WinXP on their pc's and
providing a valid, legal product key, but they don't burn off
copies. He even admitted that they may have deleted the hidden
partition when they pre-installed WinXP.
Oh yeah, I forgot the last time to give you my pc info:
Dell OptiPlex SX260
Windows XP Home Ed. version 2002
Service Pack 2
512 MB of RAM
2.66 GHz

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:48:00 -0700, CrankyCheryl
<CrankyCheryl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I was just reading a thread in this newsgroup about doing a full
system restore and I was hoping to clarify a few things. Here is
what I read:

Hello, I was curious if its possible to completely restore your
computer or your hard drive to how it was when you first bought
your computer, or so there is no unessential files on your hard
drive.
I have all these random files all over the place on my computer
and I would like to just wipe it clean.


Yes. Is yours an OEM computer--one made by one of the major
manufacturers like Dell, Gateway, HP, etc?

If so, OEM vendors are required by their agreement with
Microsoft to give you a means of reinstalling, should it be
necessary. They can do
this in one of three ways:

1. An OEM copy of Windows
2. A restore CD
3. A hidden partition on your drive, with restore information.

If you don't have 1 or 2, you should have 3, but you should
contact your vendor to find out.

Personally, I find both 2 and 3 unacceptable (especially 3; a
hard drive crash can leave you with nothing), and would never
choose to buy
a computer that came with an operating system unless I got a
complete generic installation CD for that operating system.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

Does that mean that the store that sells the computer is
responsible for supplying a way to do a complete restore? My pc
is a Dell, but I didn't buy it from Dell. I need to do a full
system restore, but they didn't supply me with an OEM disk, or
a restore disk, and they deleted the hidden partition when they
pre-installed WinXP, now they are saying it will cost me $125 to
buy the OEM disk. Can I call them on this? I realize it is
better to buy from "Dell" a receive a full factory restore
disk, but that wasn't in my price range. If their agreement
with Microsoft requires them to provide me with some way
reinstall WinXP then I will definately have something to work
with when I call them again.


Sorry, I don't know exactly what the situation is when there's a
third party involved like this. Unless someone else here knows
for sure, if I were in your shoes, I would begin by calling Dell
and asking them the question.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
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