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Unable to use System Restore. Any options?
Thanks for helping in advance. I have a Dell Dimension E310 running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. I ran the dell system restore (crtl+f11) to restore my factory settings in order to get rid of a virus called new malware.j. The computer was fine for about a month during which I didn't visit any fishy sites. McAfee picked up the same virus again a week after the system restore (is new malware.j a root kit virus?). So I ran the dell system restore again, but it stopped partitioning my drive halfway through the process. When I try to restore it again, it says that there is no factory restore point set. When I rebooted, I got a screen saying "Loading PBR for descriptor2... done." and "A disk read error occurred. Press crtl+alt+del to restart." Every time I restart, I am directed to that screen; windows doesn't even boot up. I suspect that it was due to the incomplete partitioning. What are my options at this point? Will the Windows recovery CD from Dell help? Should I reformat the C drive? Any other options? -Thanks.
fishandchips
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May 27th, 2008 11:00
You can try the following steps :
1. Try setting the USB controller to "No Boot" from system BIOS. To do this , press F2 on Dell logo and select Onboard Devices > USB Controller and set that to "No Boot" . Restart the system
2. Remove any USB devices you have got conencted to the system and try to boot it up.
If everything fails , then all you gotta do is a clean WINDOWS REINSTALLATION . ( remmember , where there isn't an answer there is a "WINDOWS REINSTALLATION " !!!)
shesagordie
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May 27th, 2008 19:00
Gates of Kryta
How to carry out a clean reinstall of XP.
First, disconnect all the peripherals from the system except the keyboard, mouse and monitor.
How to configure a Dell Dimension series system to boot to the CD or DVD drive.
This XP reinstallation guide is excellent, or you can use Dell's Restallation Guide here.
While installing, remember to delete all existing partitions when you are prompted, then recreate the partitions and format the hard drive, following by installing XP.
Note: You need not delete the small 40/50mb EISA Partition, if you wish to keep Dell diagnostics on the hard drive.
After installing XP, you need to install the drivers and applications in the following order,
Desktop System Software [if applicable]
Chipset
Video
Network Interface Card [NIC]
Audio
Modem
All other drivers.
Then, install the Anti Virus utility and update the definitions, followed by all the critical Microsoft updates.
Try to note the type of hardware devices you have, prior to reinstalling the operating system. This can help you select and install the correct drivers and applications.
Bev.
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Post the issue in the appropriate Board, where they will be answered.