But did it actually boot to the CD? In other words, if your computer's BIOS is set with the CD-ROM drive as the first boot device in the boot sequence, when you boot with the XP CD in the drive it will boot to the CD, rather than try to boot off the hard drive. Please make it clear whether or not you booted to the CD or you were still attempting to boot to the hard drive.
sunshine, like volcano said, you have to boot from the win xp cd in order to use the recovery console.. i think that someone said recently that they solved this problem easily by using the recovery console and running "chkdsk /r" (note the space between "k" and "/") which fixes errors on the disk..
Yes I am booting from the CD - I cannot even get a prompt where I can type in the check disk commands - once at the initial screen which tells me the file is corrupt any key hit results in a re-boot - exactly the same happens with the recovery console.
if nothing else is working, i would try using dell's harddrive debug utiility and then doing a clean reinstall of win xp..
to do a clean reinstall of win xp, it is necessary to be able to boot from the cd-rom drive with the win xp cd.. so, adjust the settings in "system setup", moving the cd-rom drive up to first boot device, or "1" in the boot sequence..
you can access the "system setup", the bios settings, by pressing "F2" as the computer is booting up..(on older dell's press the "delete" key) then, use the arrow keys and the "plus" and "minus"keys to move the cd-rom drive up to "first boot device", or "1", in the "boot sequence" (in "system setup").
having established that you can boot from the cd-rom drive by adjusting the settings in "system setup", moving the cd-rom drive up to "first boot device", or "1", in the "boot sequence" (in "system setup"), use dell's harddrive debug utility.. this will erase all data on the harddrive. it is not complicated to use, just right down the command prompts for using it.. follow the instructions to download the file and to create a floppy disk with the "debug" utility..
after you have run dell's harddrive utility, if the computer is set to boot from the cd-rom drive with the win xp cd, put the win xp cd in the cd-rom drive and reboot the computer.. the files for booting from the win xp cd will begin to load automatically..
if the computer is not set to boot from the cd-rom drive, then you will have to reboot the computer again, pressing "F2" as the computer is booting up to access the "system setup", and then m-o-v-e the cd-rom drive up to "first boot device", and then reboot again so as to boot from the win xp cd..
if that does not work, one other thing that you could try would be to flash the bios and/or clearing the "nvram".. to flash the bios, download the "flash bios" for your specific model dell computer from dell downloads.. there are instructions for installing it on the page where you download the "flash bios" file.. use a floppy disk to install the "flash bios"..
i do not know what model dell computer that you have except that it is a dimension, so i am not sure about how you would clear the "nvram" on your computer.. you may need to look in dell support for that information.. just go to "troubleshooting" in dell support and search for "nvram"..
what model dell computer do you have? you should always post that information when asking for help..
as far as i know, the instructions in dell support for clearing the "nvram" on newer dell dimensions does not work.. here is the method for clearing the nvram on many of these models, including the 8200 and the 8300.. these instructions are quite similar to the ones in dell support:
1. press "F2" as the computer is booting up to enter the "system setup"
2. press the "caps lock" key, the "scroll lock" key, and the "num lock" key so that all three lights on the keyboard are LIT, all three lights on the keyboard are ON. (the num lock key may already be on by default)
3. then, press these keys: press "alt-e" (two keys together) "alt-f", then "alt-b".. (you should hear a beep after you press "alt-f").. pressing those three combinations of keys should clear the "nvram" and reboot the computer.. however, it will restore the default settings in the "system setup", so you may need to then go back into the "system setup" to make any necessary adjustments, particularly, if you are using a sound card, turn "sound" off in "integrated devices" (if necessary). if you are using integrated sound, leave "sound" on in "integrated devices" (in "system setup")..
if you are going to clear the nvram, do it before you install win xp, and make any necessary adjustments in "system setup" after clearing the "nvram" ie intergrated sound "on" or "off", before installing win xp..
after flashing the bios and clearing the nvram, if you do those things, and after having used dell's harddrive debug program, then install win xp by rebooting the computer with the win xp cd in the cd-rom drive..
follow the simple prompts, doing a full format with ntfs (the default)..
activate win xp's "internet connection firewall" before reconnecting to the internet. look in win xp's "help and support", in the index, for "internet connection firewall" for instructions on how to turn it on.. (it is not compatible with aol-dialup)
Message Edited by redwolfe_98 on 07-30-2004 03:01 PM
JRosenfeld
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July 29th, 2004 17:00
sunshineanna198
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July 29th, 2004 18:00
volcano11
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July 29th, 2004 18:00
But did it actually boot to the CD? In other words, if your computer's BIOS is set with the CD-ROM drive as the first boot device in the boot sequence, when you boot with the XP CD in the drive it will boot to the CD, rather than try to boot off the hard drive. Please make it clear whether or not you booted to the CD or you were still attempting to boot to the hard drive.
Steve
volcano11
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July 29th, 2004 18:00
Are you booting from the Windows XP reinstallation CD-ROM?
Steve
sunshineanna198
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July 29th, 2004 18:00
redwolfe_98
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July 29th, 2004 19:00
sunshine, like volcano said, you have to boot from the win xp cd in order to use the recovery console.. i think that someone said recently that they solved this problem easily by using the recovery console and running "chkdsk /r" (note the space between "k" and "/") which fixes errors on the disk..
here is some information that may be helpful..
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm
Message Edited by redwolfe_98 on 07-29-2004 08:44 PM
Denny Denham
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July 29th, 2004 19:00
See the procedure listed here.
sunshineanna198
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July 30th, 2004 14:00
sunshineanna198
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July 30th, 2004 15:00
redwolfe_98
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1.3K Posts
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July 30th, 2004 17:00
if nothing else is working, i would try using dell's harddrive debug utiility and then doing a clean reinstall of win xp..
to do a clean reinstall of win xp, it is necessary to be able to boot from the cd-rom drive with the win xp cd.. so, adjust the settings in "system setup", moving the cd-rom drive up to first boot device, or "1" in the boot sequence..
you can access the "system setup", the bios settings, by pressing "F2" as the computer is booting up..(on older dell's press the "delete" key) then, use the arrow keys and the "plus" and "minus" keys to move the cd-rom drive up to "first boot device", or "1", in the "boot sequence" (in "system setup").
having established that you can boot from the cd-rom drive by adjusting the settings in "system setup", moving the cd-rom drive up to "first boot device", or "1", in the "boot sequence" (in "system setup"), use dell's harddrive debug utility.. this will erase all data on the harddrive. it is not complicated to use, just right down the command prompts for using it.. follow the instructions to download the file and to create a floppy disk with the "debug" utility..
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1011054&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19
after you have run dell's harddrive utility, if the computer is set to boot from the cd-rom drive with the win xp cd, put the win xp cd in the cd-rom drive and reboot the computer.. the files for booting from the win xp cd will begin to load automatically..
if the computer is not set to boot from the cd-rom drive, then you will have to reboot the computer again, pressing "F2" as the computer is booting up to access the "system setup", and then m-o-v-e the cd-rom drive up to "first boot device", and then reboot again so as to boot from the win xp cd..
if that does not work, one other thing that you could try would be to flash the bios and/or clearing the "nvram".. to flash the bios, download the "flash bios" for your specific model dell computer from dell downloads.. there are instructions for installing it on the page where you download the "flash bios" file.. use a floppy disk to install the "flash bios"..
i do not know what model dell computer that you have except that it is a dimension, so i am not sure about how you would clear the "nvram" on your computer.. you may need to look in dell support for that information.. just go to "troubleshooting" in dell support and search for "nvram"..
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1023538&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19
what model dell computer do you have? you should always post that information when asking for help..
as far as i know, the instructions in dell support for clearing the "nvram" on newer dell dimensions does not work.. here is the method for clearing the nvram on many of these models, including the 8200 and the 8300.. these instructions are quite similar to the ones in dell support:
1. press "F2" as the computer is booting up to enter the "system setup"
2. press the "caps lock" key, the "scroll lock" key, and the "num lock" key so that all three lights on the keyboard are LIT, all three lights on the keyboard are ON. (the num lock key may already be on by default)
3. then, press these keys: press "alt-e" (two keys together) "alt-f", then "alt-b".. (you should hear a beep after you press "alt-f").. pressing those three combinations of keys should clear the "nvram" and reboot the computer.. however, it will restore the default settings in the "system setup", so you may need to then go back into the "system setup" to make any necessary adjustments, particularly, if you are using a sound card, turn "sound" off in "integrated devices" (if necessary). if you are using integrated sound, leave "sound" on in "integrated devices" (in "system setup")..
if you are going to clear the nvram, do it before you install win xp, and make any necessary adjustments in "system setup" after clearing the "nvram" ie intergrated sound "on" or "off", before installing win xp..
after flashing the bios and clearing the nvram, if you do those things, and after having used dell's harddrive debug program, then install win xp by rebooting the computer with the win xp cd in the cd-rom drive..
follow the simple prompts, doing a full format with ntfs (the default)..
activate win xp's "internet connection firewall" before reconnecting to the internet. look in win xp's "help and support", in the index, for "internet connection firewall" for instructions on how to turn it on.. (it is not compatible with aol-dialup)
Message Edited by redwolfe_98 on 07-30-2004 03:01 PM