UNSOLVED
Advise needed on fixing software problem.
I just got my new E1705 (11-8-06).
I spent the night fighting this unit.
I first 'cleaned' house. Removed all the extra non-useful clutter, internet trials, web-games etc..
All worked perfectly.
I then let it connect to the web and automatically download updates. There were no fewer than 46!
The unit hung on the Explorer 7 install(the last one). I was forced to power down by pressing the power button in.
I then installed the McAFEE privicy program (I usually delete these, but I wanted to see what it did and how much money it would cost to keep). It installed but gave one odd error during a restart.
I then realized I could NOT start internet explorer! I was able to 'downlaod' Mcafee updates, so I knew it was a software issue.
I uninstalled IE7, it popped up a message about possibly damaging my install of MEDIA CENTER or some thing like that, but I had no choice. After I removed IE7, rebooted, it I was able to log onto the web.
I tried to setup MEDIA CENTER or DELL MEDIA DIRECT and it hung up 2-3 times during this process. I was forced to reboot/shut down by pressing the power buttonin.
I then got an ATI error, about it going into some sort of loop and timing out.
I also got a BLUE screen about a memory issue, that said if this is the first time I see this screen, to restart the PC.
I did a CHECK DISK (took forever at startup)
DELL DIRECT and MEDIA CENTER are still 'flakey' as well as accessing task bar icons (it sometime puts up the widows desktop properties dialog allow with the selected icon dialog, and locks it into place I have to select something to get it to go away.
Nothing repeatable, all these appear random and /or a one time occurance.
I have not installed any programs yet.
Whats my best option? I thought I read that with one mouse click I can restore my PC to it's virgin, first time boot state. TRUE? This is new for me. In the past, I would have wiped the disk and started over. This would take hours, installing and loading the drivers.
Any suggestions? Is there a quick fix?
I spent the night fighting this unit.
I first 'cleaned' house. Removed all the extra non-useful clutter, internet trials, web-games etc..
All worked perfectly.
I then let it connect to the web and automatically download updates. There were no fewer than 46!
The unit hung on the Explorer 7 install(the last one). I was forced to power down by pressing the power button in.
I then installed the McAFEE privicy program (I usually delete these, but I wanted to see what it did and how much money it would cost to keep). It installed but gave one odd error during a restart.
I then realized I could NOT start internet explorer! I was able to 'downlaod' Mcafee updates, so I knew it was a software issue.
I uninstalled IE7, it popped up a message about possibly damaging my install of MEDIA CENTER or some thing like that, but I had no choice. After I removed IE7, rebooted, it I was able to log onto the web.
I tried to setup MEDIA CENTER or DELL MEDIA DIRECT and it hung up 2-3 times during this process. I was forced to reboot/shut down by pressing the power buttonin.
I then got an ATI error, about it going into some sort of loop and timing out.
I also got a BLUE screen about a memory issue, that said if this is the first time I see this screen, to restart the PC.
I did a CHECK DISK (took forever at startup)
DELL DIRECT and MEDIA CENTER are still 'flakey' as well as accessing task bar icons (it sometime puts up the widows desktop properties dialog allow with the selected icon dialog, and locks it into place I have to select something to get it to go away.
Nothing repeatable, all these appear random and /or a one time occurance.
I have not installed any programs yet.
Whats my best option? I thought I read that with one mouse click I can restore my PC to it's virgin, first time boot state. TRUE? This is new for me. In the past, I would have wiped the disk and started over. This would take hours, installing and loading the drivers.
Any suggestions? Is there a quick fix?
- I think I will try that route. All the problems started when I allowed it to install IE7 (wich i have on all my PC's and have not had a issue until then). It locked up for some reason during the install.
I would have re-installed it over the old, but I could not access a web page, though I was on line. SO I had to uninstall, and I had to OK the uninstall even though I was being tiold it would damage the install of something else.
It all cascaded from there. I hope the ATI issue I saw and the random lockups were a software issue and not a hardware one! - OK, I saw that and I followed it. I must have done something wrong, cause both times I followed the links I was taken to a step by step approach on how to restore the PC by using the recovery disks.I know you start the process by the CTRL+F11 key combo, but thats all I knew. So here I was, AT MY WINDOWS DESKTOP,:manvery-happy: wondering why NOTHING was happening!I finally found the instructions in the MANUAL (imagine that), and realized I had to do it during start up and even then during the blue DELL.COM display.All went well, and I got it running ROCK SOLID. I think I must have lost or had a hickup in my link broadband that caused a corrupted file IE7. This snow balled into all the other issues.Thanks again to all who helped.RICK, your information in amazing!! I have some new questions for you, but it will be posted on a different thread!Reguards,Raymond
broderp1 wrote:
I just got my new E1705 (11-8-06).
I spent the night fighting this unit.
I first 'cleaned' house. Removed all the extra non-useful clutter, internet trials, web-games etc..
All worked perfectly.
I then let it connect to the web and automatically download updates. There were no fewer than 46!
The unit hung on the Explorer 7 install(the last one). I was forced to power down by pressing the power button in.
I then installed the McAFEE privicy program (I usually delete these, but I wanted to see what it did and how much money it would cost to keep). It installed but gave one odd error during a restart.
I then realized I could NOT start internet explorer! I was able to 'downlaod' Mcafee updates, so I knew it was a software issue.
I uninstalled IE7, it popped up a message about possibly damaging my install of MEDIA CENTER or some thing like that, but I had no choice. After I removed IE7, rebooted, it I was able to log onto the web.
I tried to setup MEDIA CENTER or DELL MEDIA DIRECT and it hung up 2-3 times during this process. I was forced to reboot/shut down by pressing the power buttonin.
I then got an ATI error, about it going into some sort of loop and timing out.
I also got a BLUE screen about a memory issue, that said if this is the first time I see this screen, to restart the PC.
I did a CHECK DISK (took forever at startup)
DELL DIRECT and MEDIA CENTER are still 'flakey' as well as accessing task bar icons (it sometime puts up the widows desktop properties dialog allow with the selected icon dialog, and locks it into place I have to select something to get it to go away.
Nothing repeatable, all these appear random and /or a one time occurance.
I have not installed any programs yet.
Whats my best option? I thought I read that with one mouse click I can restore my PC to it's virgin, first time boot state. TRUE? This is new for me. In the past, I would have wiped the disk and started over. This would take hours, installing and loading the drivers.
Any suggestions? Is there a quick fix?In the future, by using the Advanced Forum Search on the bottom of this page, you can quite easily find the answer to this often asked question.Systems shipped after July 15, 2004 came with Symantec PC Restore. This utility restores the computer to an "as-shipped" condition. If you haven't reformatted, repartitioned, or otherwise modified the master boot record, it should work. Click here for instructions about Symantec PC Restore.
If the Symantec PC Restore utility won't work, but still resides on your computer, a Dell customer has figured out some ways to get it to work again. Note - If you removed this partition, it is not recoverable, cannot be downloaded from the internet, and cannot be shipped from Dell. Click here for ways to fix Symantec PC Restore. Users have also reported that the partition can be restored with Ghost 2003, and Ghost 9 using the '03 capabilities of it. If you boot to the Ghost 9 CD, select Advanced Recovery Taks, select Utilities, then Restore Legacy Image it should work - but you want to verify the image before attempting the restore. It's in a folder called IMG.
Systems that shipped beginning in early 2005 ship without Windows XP. You can contact Dell and request a CD and wait for it to ship, see Contact Us at the bottom of the page.fudgieguys
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Posted November 9th, 2006 18:00
Yes, the PC Restore will set you system back to factory settings. Rick did provide a link to explain the PC Restore feature. As long as the partition has not been changed. It should work just fine. I just find it odd that a new system would give you that much grieve. I can not explain why it happened. If you still have issues with it, contact Dell and try getting a replacement. FYI.
broderp1 wrote:
OK, I saw that and I followed it. I must have done something wrong, cause both times I followed the links I was taken to a step by step approach on how to restore the PC by using the recovery disks.I know you start the process by the CTRL+F11 key combo, but thats all I knew. So here I was, AT MY WINDOWS DESKTOP,:manvery-happy: wondering why NOTHING was happening!I finally found the instructions in the MANUAL (imagine that), and realized I had to do it during start up and even then during the blue DELL.COM display.All went well, and I got it running ROCK SOLID. I think I must have lost or had a hickup in my link broadband that caused a corrupted file IE7. This snow balled into all the other issues.Thanks again to all who helped.RICK, your information in amazing!! I have some new questions for you, but it will be posted on a different thread!Reguards,RaymondGlad to have helped.
broderp1
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66 Posts
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Posted November 9th, 2006 16:00
I was looking for OPINIONS and experience. I spent over 4 hours 'cleaning out the crud from my DELL"
Of course I know about the system restore and it's quick and fast capabilities. My issue with it is I would then have to spend 3-4 more hours re-setting it up!
In my case, I do not know if a restore would work, or if I was better served time wise (as well as software stability) to use a windows restore point or even just deleting the windows partition altogether and reloading from my red and blue disks.
Thank You.
I do have one question....DELL system restore does it go back...ALL THE WAY BACK to include the original boot and setup stuff, writer your service tag number down windows set screens? (AKA first boot from the box?)