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Subject: System Recovery
Posted by: Guru
- [330592710] Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 15:48
Now I've done it!
5 year old Dell desktop, Windows 98.
I was trying to clean out some adware. AdAware didn't seem to be able to clean it out entirely. So I downloaded and installed Spybot S&D. When I ran Spybot, the system crashed after awhile (blue screen of death). So, I booted up in safe mode and ran Spybot again. It seemed to run OK that time. When I asked it to fix all problems, it told me that several problems could not be repaired, probably because the programs were still resident in memory, and asked if it should run again upon boot up. I said yes.
So I closed down and then tried to reboot into safe mode again. This time, as it begins to go into safe mode, I first get the usual popup notice telling me that Windows is running in safe mode. But then I get an error message with the heading "Explorer" that says theat this program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. After that, all I see is the safe mode wallpaper with "safe mode" in each of the four corners, but no desktop icons and no Start button. The only thing I can do is hit control+alt+del, which brings up the close program window, which is empty.
If I try to boot up normally, the process eventually stalls with a blank screen.
If I simply bring up a command prompt when booting, I can see the c drive, but nothing else. My A: drive has not been working for awhile. I also have a zip drive which is presumably a boot drive, but it is also not working (predating this problem). If I go directly to a command prompt, I'm unable to see my CD drive, I presume because the drivers are not loaded.
I do have the windows 98 installation CD, but without being able to access the CD drive, that does me no good.
I've been planning to get a new desktop shortly, and this will obviously accelerate that plan. I have most of my data backed up, so there is nothing critical on that machine if I end up having to wipe the drive - although it would be nice to avoid that.
So, can anyone suggest what I might do next to try to resuscitate this machine?
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| 1 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 41831612
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 15:57
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When you say you can't see the CD Drive, did you try various different letters for it? In other words, it sometimes won't be "D" if you are in command prompt/formatting/etc......it could be E, F, etc......worth a try because if you can use the CD drive, you have your quick answer of reistalling windows overtop the existing windows.
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| 2 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 16:01
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I tried all letters A-I. No luck.
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| 3 | MadDOG
ID: 35015710
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 16:03
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Note to self:
Never download, install, and run Spybot S&D.
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| 4 | biliruben
ID: 30111017
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 16:13
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I would probably just start from scratch and wipe and install XP.
If you want to continue with heroic efforts, perhaps install a new floppy drive (I've seen them for less than $5) and use a windows 98 backup diskette, which you can create on another computer (there are numerous sites you can download it from). This file asks if you want to load the drivers for the CD-ROM drive. That would give you access to your installation CD.
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| 5 | Sludge
ID: 54692111
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 17:04
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#1 - A friend recommended Spysweeper (not free, but fully functional for 30 days), and it got rid of every bit of spyware/adware on my mom's computer where Spybot and AdAware failed.
#2 - When the computer is booting, go into the bios setup and poke around until you find where the drives are listed. See if your CD is there. Sometimes the CD will be listed in an area different from your hard drives, so you may have to do some more snooping. If the CD drive is listed, but is not working, then it's probably time to call in a favor from someone and have them take a look at it.
#3 - Take bili's advice and abandon 98. I wouldn't wipe everything if you have settings and programs that you'd like to preserve; an upgrade may be feasible, although there's no guarantee that your programs will continue to work under XP.
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| 6 | WiddleAvi
ID: 39401623
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 17:15
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Guru - When you start the computer go into BIOS (Usually F1, F2, or Delete). Each BIOS is different but find the setting for Boot order and set it for CDROM first. Boot the PC with the Win98 CD in there and it should give you all the options you need. If you need more help email me and I will give you my phone number
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| 7 | C.SuperFreak
ID: 3511192912
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 17:24
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Have you tried the boot menu option?
Power down and then power up. Then Press F8. It should give you some options for boot up. Try step by step mode. This will prompt you for items to load.
Or if you get into safe mode. do the run msconfig and unload a lot of the start up options.
Might work.
Here's some reading: Win 98 issues
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| 8 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 17:34
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I do have a very old computer (an old Gateway Pentium II) that has a working floppy drive, I think. I could try swapping it into this machine and see if it works.
I'll explore the BIOS boot options first, however. Probbaly won't get to that until tomorrow, however. Other fish to fry tonight.
Fortunately, I've been running most site update functions directly from my laptop for some time now. So this is only a minor irritation for now. Still an irritation, though.
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| 9 | Cosmo's Cod Piece
ID: 481152817
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 17:35
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Widdle's option is the best Guru-san. I had Spybot delete some registry files on me that I didn't notice until it was in the act of doing it.
I would highly recommend an upgrade to XP because you might have been able to avoid this by rolling back your system via system restore.
With the amount that XP will cost you may as well roll that into a new PC.
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| 10 | xpdurmind
Sustainer
ID: 319471922
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 19:21
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Guru, I would try WiddleAvi's suggestion to boot from cd.
I do not recommend installing XP on that machine. I would run the xp compatibility option 1st. A lot of the hardware might not fuction properly, not to mention the memory requirements for xp.
If it is worth the time, and you want to save any data that you have on that hard disk, and you're unable to access it any other way, make it a secondary in your other computer( you would need to set the jumpers on your running computer hard drive to primary and set them to secondary for this drive). Save the data you want and then you can move it back and reformat.
Most of 98's problems were memory leakage, and Spybot probably crashed due to low memory( best case scenario meaning no registry deletions) . I know it might not make sense, but it's worth a try since it's the easiest thing to do: remove your memory sticks and install them again. If they are both the same(e.g. 128 Mb) swith them then try restarting the computer. A long shot, but if it works, It would save a lot of time.
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| 11 | biliruben
ID: 30111017
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 20:51
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5 years old, he might have to add a bit of memory, but memory's cheap.
I've installed XP on 3 machines that hadn't previously had it. I did have to update the drivers and on one flash the bios, but it wasn't certainly do-able. Extended the life of the machines a couple of years, imho.
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| 12 | biliruben
ID: 30111017
Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 20:52
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er was do-able.
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| 13 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 10:35
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Status report:
I resequenced the boot drives in the BIOS, so that the CD drive was first. That worked, and gave me access to the CD drive.
I next reinstalled Windows 98 SE from the installation CD that was shipped with the computer. That process seemed to work pretty well, although upon the final reboot, I got the following error:While initializing NAVAP, Windows Protection Error
You need to restart... Restarting put me into safe mode - which already represented progress from my pre-installation state. A Google search suggested that NAVAP was related to Norton Antivirus, so I uninstalled Norton Antivirus while in safe mode. The subsequent reboot got me all the way into Windows once again.
So far, so good. I guess the next step should be to apply apply of the various Windows 98 patches and updates that have been released over the past 5 years. I haven't tested much of my software yet, although I suspect I'll find some conflicts. But at least it will boot into Windows, I have internet access, and can access and copy files.
First, however, I'm going to pause and rethink whether there are any recent files that I want to copy off before proceeding.
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| 14 | sarge33rd
ID: 711271021
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 10:53
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always, ALWAYS verify XP compatability before buying it to upgrade an older machine. On katies pc, everythig was new enough to go to XP with one exception....the MB. Of course with that being incompatible, all else was irrelevant. (yes we checked, XP drivers were not avialbale for that particular model MB.)
With Win98 no longer supported by MS...I'd think very hard on replacing the system in the not very distant future Guru.( also would highly suggest XP Pro vs any other edition.)
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| 15 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 11:48
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I've already ordered a new desktop, which should arrive next week. It will have XP Pro.
I certainly won't be upgrading this desktop to XP. I pretty sure I'd need to expand RAM, and clear out a fair amount of disk space (or get a larger hard drive).
My objective at this point is simply to restore as much functionality as I can, primarily to be able to reclaim old data files if needed (although most of those are also backed up on CDs), and to eventually move it to my daughter's room where she can use it for homework until it ultimately bites the dust for good.
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| 16 | DMAN
ID: 291081815
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 12:14
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You could always put the old hard drive into the new system as a slave drive, to copy over the data files you need.
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| 17 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 12:17
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Yep, I thought of that. If all else fails.
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| 18 | Sludge
ID: 54692111
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 14:27
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Yep, I thought of that. If all else fails.
If all else fails? That would be my first option. Cases nowadays are easy to work in, so connecting it temporarily, copying the whole shooting match over to the new computer, and then pulling it out is easier than burning everything to CD (in my experienced opinion, of course).
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| 19 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 14:44
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But for now, I don't have the new computer. So that's not an option until next week. For now, I want to see how well I can get it back up and running. Ultimately, I hope to put this drive in the new computer, copy over everything, and then put the drive back into the old computer, assuming it is sufficiently functional. Meanwhile... I'm gradually getting various software and hardware reinstalled. I've gotten stymied with MS Word and Excel, however. When I click on the Word shortcut that I had, I get an error message that "The Windows Installer failed to install the program associated with this file. Please contact your system administrator". So next I tried reinstalling from the MS Office 2000 installation CD (which came with the computer). When I do that, I immediately get this error message: This patch package could not be opened. Verify that the patch package exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer patch package. I found a page at microsoft.com which mentions this error message, but didn't see any quick fix suggestions, and I don't have time to drill down now. If anyone has any ideas on this, I'm all ears. On the bright side, my Excel 97 program seems to be working OK.
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| 20 | Perm Dude
Dude
ID: 030792616
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 15:13
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I believe that Microsoft included Word updates in the last two Security Updates. The system is probably not able to reconcile the older install files with the updated patches.
I don't think you can uninstall the security updates to get around it (maybe, but probably not). I've got some problems myself with Norton messing up some system files, so I'll root around the MS Knowledge Database a bit.
pd
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| 21 | youngroman
ID: 298482214
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 15:31
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maybe this windows installer cleanup utility can help you to be able to re-install Office 2000
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| 22 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Wed, Jan 12, 2005, 16:22
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Thanks, yr. That looks promising.
Maybe I would have been better off to try to reinstall MS Office 2000 before applying all of the various W98 service packs and critical updates. Or maybe that had no bearing.
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| 23 | Johnny Sue
ID: 161159316
Thu, Jan 13, 2005, 00:57
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I don't know much about computers per se but I do know where to go when I've needed serious help in the past: Poasters.com
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| 24 | WiddleAvi
ID: 4356159
Thu, Jan 13, 2005, 12:04
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Guru- It should have no effect which order you do it in.
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| 25 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Thu, Jan 13, 2005, 13:05
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Re: MS Office 2000 Installation
Before I could run the windows installer cleanup utility referenced in post 21, I had to unregister and reregister the Windows Installer service using the following procedure:
Open a Command Prompt window.
Go to the folder containing msiexec.exe
Type msiexec /unregister and press ENTER.
Type msiexec /regserver and press ENTER.
Close the Command Prompt window.
After that, I was able to execute the uninstaller cleanup, after which I was able to install Windows 2000.
There are two unfortunate side effects so far:
1. Every time I load either Word 2000 or Excel 2000, I first get a message that Windows Installer is "preparing to install" the program. After about 15 seconds, the program loads. It appears that the programs run normally from that point, although I haven't really tested much. I don't know why I must endure these brief - but annoying - installation processes every time the programs are accessed. More research is needed.
2. I lost my Excel 97. I can probably reinstall this as well, although since this machine may have no more need for it, I may not bother. It is useful primarily in rapidly interpreting html pages from web accesses, as compared to Excel 2000 (and subsequent versions).
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| 26 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Thu, Jan 13, 2005, 13:07
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BTW, the best news is that new computer has already been shipped and may arrive as early as tomorrow - a full week earlier than I had originally expected. Once it gets here, I'll suspend the old computer reclamation project and start setting up the new.
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| 27 | Perm Dude
Dude
ID: 030792616
Thu, Jan 13, 2005, 13:18
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I had the same message in Word when I had to mess around with installing Norton Systemworks. I ended up re-installing Word from CD, which got rid of the message.
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| 28 | WiddleAvi
ID: 4356159
Thu, Jan 13, 2005, 13:31
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Guru - If you have the CD for office 2000 I would download from Microsoft the eraser2k utility which completly wipes out office and then you can reinstall the program.
Eraser2k utility
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| 29 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Fri, Jan 14, 2005, 11:48
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Well, I have most of the basic programs working again (browser, email, MS Office, printer), and some games are working, but system response still seems a bit sluggish. My CD-RW drive will read, but not write, although I don't know if that's a driver issue or a software problem - or both. My compact flash card reader will work if it is connected during boot up (USB connection), but if I connect it after boot-up, it isn't being recognized. If I switch from one CD to another, the system sometimes hangs as well.
Quite often, when the system hangs, I notice that the program Msgsrv32 shows up as "[not responding]". If I terminate it (using "End Program" after ctl-alt-del), sometimes the system returns to action, and sometimes everything blanks out. I also often get a message on shut-down that some program is not responding, but the title of that dialog box is blank, so I have no idea which program it is.
My sense is that the system is rife with registry conflicts, and that even if I uninstall and then reinstall some programs, not everything will get back to form. I'm thinking that the best way to get this machine working properly again is to wipe the hard drive clean, do a complete operating system reload on a blank system, and then load the desired software back on, one by one. I may or may not have all of the installation software and drivers for everything I want to restore, but I suspect I have most of it. In addition to the Windows 98 intallation CD, I also have a "Dell Resource CD", which purports to have all of the drivers necessary to do a system reload.
Before I'd tackle that job, though, I'm going to wait until the new machine arrives, transfer the old hard drive into the new machine as a second drive and copy over all of the data files onto the new hard drive (whhich will have oodles of space). Until that is done, I'm not going to wipe the old hard drive clean.
According to UPS, the new computer is scheduled for delivery today. If it does arrive, I guess I know how I'm going to spend my weekend.
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| 30 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 41831612
Fri, Jan 14, 2005, 11:54
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Obviously wiping it clean is a great idea. You still could try something like reinstalling windows overtop and running a registry cleaner. There are several good free utilities available. I have a couple at home. This won't be your "primary" machine and therefore there is no major rush. You have time to chip away and tweak it.
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| 31 | WiddleAvi
ID: 5470911
Fri, Jan 14, 2005, 12:06
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Guru - You can also install a clean version of windows without wiping out your system and that way you will still have your data but you will need to reinstall all the programs. What you do is boot from the CD and choose Boot with CD rom support. At the command prompt type:
REN windows windows.old
then hit enter
The type:
REN Progra~1 *.old
then hit enter
reboot again to the CD and start setup from the CD. When it asks you what folder to install too it will probably say windows.old so just change that to plain WINDOWS.
By doing that you will have a clean install of windows without all the old registry settings. Your data will still be there but like I said all the programs will need to be reinstalled as might some of the drivers.
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| 32 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 10:12
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New computer did arrive yesterday, and I spent last evening setting it up and getting some software loaded. (I'm posting from it right now.)
Today's project is to install the old hard drive and copy the files over.
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| 33 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 14:10
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I'm a real novice when it comes to installing drives. I have installed a second hard drive in a computer once before, and that worked fine - but Ive already run into a snag here.
I was easily able to remove the hard drive from the old machine, and insert into into the proper bay for a second drive for the new machine. However, I can't find any data connectors that look to be appropriate.
The old drive uses an IDE connector ribbon, with one of the middle pin holes blocked (to prevent an improper connection.)
The hard drive in the new machine has different types of connectors. The one which appears to be the power cable has 5 wires coming in, and a long thin connector that pushes over the end of a protruding chip. The data connector is a serial ATA connector.
So, I have a serial ATA hard drive in the new machine, and I'm trying to add a second hard drive which is an IDE drive.
The CD/DVD drive uses a ribbon connector which appears to matches the pin pattern of my old hard drive's ribbon. There is a second connector on that same ribbon, so I suppose I could attach the hard drive to the same ribbon as the DVD drive. Would this work? Or is this a bad idea?
I could also disconnect the DVD drive and connect that ribbon solely to the old hard drive. Since all I want to do is copy files from the old hard drive to the new hard drive, I'd simply do that, and then remove the old hard drive and reconnect the DVD drive. Would that work?
Unfortunately, I don't see any place on the system board which would even accept my old drive connector. Is my old drive simply incompatible with the new system? If so, that's not a big deal - I do have most of my files backed up on CDs. It will just be a bigger pain to copy them over.
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| 34 | Cosmo's Cod Piece
ID: 481152817
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 15:18
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Guru: "The CD/DVD drive uses a ribbon connector which appears to matches the pin pattern of my old hard drive's ribbon. There is a second connector on that same ribbon, so I suppose I could attach the hard drive to the same ribbon as the DVD drive. Would this work? Or is this a bad idea?"
If you are connecting it to the second (slave) connector in the IDE chain, then you'll need to know what jumper setting to use to config your drive as a slave, otherwise it won't get recognized.
A trip to the manufacturers website or looking on the drive itself for a jumper label (Western Digital is great about this.) will let you know the skinny on doing that.
One note to keep in the back of your head; an IDE drive cannot be setup into a RAID config with an SATA drive because of data transfer variances. If your eventual goal is to setup a RAID, you'll need to buy another SATA drive.
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| 35 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 15:54
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I know how to configure the jumper as a slave.
But I don't even know what your last sentence says. I suspect it says that I can't connect an IDE drive as a slave to an ATA drive.
The ultimate question would then be whether I can connect it anywhere in this machine.
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| 36 | WiddleAvi
ID: 39401623
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 15:57
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Guru - You should be able to connect it anywhere. So it could be on the same cable as the CD/DVD. Probably want to set the jumper to cable select.
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| 37 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 16:14
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The jumper was on cable select in the old machine. Maybe I should just leave it there.
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| 38 | Cosmo's Cod Piece
ID: 481152817
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 17:41
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Guru: "But I don't even know what your last sentence says. I suspect it says that I can't connect an IDE drive as a slave to an ATA drive."
It has nothing to do with what you're trying to do now.
I was just floating that out there in case you decided to configure a RAID array in the future. I learned that when I bought my new PC last month, so I thought that I'd pass it on.
If the jumper is already on cable select, then just leave it there. It should work fine.
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| 39 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 18:58
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OK, I'll bite. What's a RAID array?
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| 40 | GoatLocker
ID: 427272213
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 21:41
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Dave,
A quick blurb on RAID and an idea as to why to use.
The quote comes from - The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
"There are many applications, particularly in a business environment, where there are needs beyond what can be fulfilled by a single hard disk, regardless of its size, performance or quality level. Many businesses can't afford to have their systems go down for even an hour in the event of a disk failure; they need large storage subsystems with capacities in the terabytes; and they want to be able to insulate themselves from hardware failures to any extent possible. Some people working with multimedia files need fast data transfer exceeding what current drives can deliver, without spending a fortune on specialty drives. These situations require that the traditional "one hard disk per system" model be set aside and a new system employed. This technique is called Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks or RAID. ("Inexpensive" is sometimes replaced with "Independent", but the former term is the one that was used when the term "RAID" was first coined by the researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, who first investigated the use of multiple-drive arrays in 1987.)
The fundamental principle behind RAID is the use of multiple hard disk drives in an array that behaves in most respects like a single large, fast one. There are a number of ways that this can be done, depending on the needs of the application, but in every case the use of multiple drives allows the resulting storage subsystem to exceed the capacity, data security, and performance of the drives that make up the system, to one extent or another. The tradeoffs--remember, there's no free lunch--are usually in cost and complexity.
Originally, RAID was almost exclusively the province of high-end business applications, due to the high cost of the hardware required. This has changed in recent years, and as "power users" of all sorts clamor for improved performance and better up-time, RAID is making its way from the "upper echelons" down to the mainstream. The recent proliferation of inexpensive RAID controllers that work with consumer-grade IDE/ATA drives--as opposed to expensive SCSI units--has increased interest in RAID dramatically. This trend will probably continue. I predict that more and more motherboard manufacturers will begin offering support for the feature on their boards, and within a couple of years PC builders will start to offer systems with inexpensive RAID setups as standard configurations. This interest, combined with my long-time interest in this technology, is the reason for my recent expansion of the RAID coverage on this site from one page to 80."
Cliff
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| 41 | R9
Leader
ID: 02624472
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 23:39
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"The CD/DVD drive uses a ribbon connector which appears to matches the pin pattern of my old hard drive's ribbon. There is a second connector on that same ribbon, so I suppose I could attach the hard drive to the same ribbon as the DVD drive. Would this work? Or is this a bad idea?
I could also disconnect the DVD drive and connect that ribbon solely to the old hard drive. Since all I want to do is copy files from the old hard drive to the new hard drive, I'd simply do that, and then remove the old hard drive and reconnect the DVD drive. Would that work?"
Every new motherboard I've dealt with that uses Serial ATA hard drive connections also has IDE ports, mostly for use with CD-Rom's. Your new computer must have one, most actually have two. If I read your post correctly, there's already a 'ribbon-like cord' running to the CD-Rom, which must be an IDE cable. Using the second connector of this cord for the old hard drive is perfectly fine. Simply take the jumper out of the hard drive, then put it back as master when you move it back to the old computer. (No jumper at all defaults it to a slave.)
Just in case that wasn't clear:
Your old computer used IDE connections to connect your hard drives and cd-roms to the motherboard. New boards and hard drives connect with a new thing called SATA, but CD-Rom's still connect using IDE, which means your motherboard has to have an IDE connector somewhere...
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| 42 | R9
Leader
ID: 02624472
Sat, Jan 15, 2005, 23:47
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Also, since you have your old computer open, I'd recommend buying a bottle of compressed air (bout 5$) and cleaning out the CPU and case fans of dust. I just had to buy a new motherbard and CPU for my computer, because the old ones overheated when the dust on the CPU fan stopped air from getting threw to my chip. The dust on the fan didn't seem that bad, until I took it off and sprayed the compressed air threw it. I could've filled a glass with the dust that came out. Its a common problem in older computers, since they've had years to collect dust. Even if the buildup isn't enough to damage your board/chip, its still probably making it work alot harder then it needs to, thus reducing its lifespan by alot. Too, it makes it far more prone to crashing and rebooting, as the computer will either shutdown or lockup when it overheats.
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| 43 | Cosmo's Cod Piece
ID: 481152817
Sun, Jan 16, 2005, 08:07
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Guru: "What's a RAID array?"
Goatlocker pretty much nailed it, but I'd like to add something.
There are different types of RAID arrays.
RAID 0: The two hard drives act like one larger one. The problem is that if one drive gets corrupted (via software), the other does as well.
RAID 1: Perpetual hard drive backup. If your primary drive fizzles out on the hardware side, your secondary is automatically ready to assume control. Problem with that is if your primary disk gets a virus, the secondary probably will automatically get it as well because they mirror each other.
RAID 0+1: Uses four drives. Two drives mirror each other, then two more drives perpetually backup those two.
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| 44 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Tue, Jan 18, 2005, 14:16
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It's been a week - almost to the exact hour - since my old desktop went into a coma. In that week I ordered a new desktop, reinstalled the old operating system (on the old machine), reinstalled some old software, took delivery of the new computer, set up the new one, loaded the most critical software, and copied over all files from the old hard drive. I even managed to get printer sharing working, which had not worked with the old system. Quite a week!
The old hard drive is now back in the old machine, and the next project is to try to get it back in unscrambled shape, per posts 29-31. I may not get started on that project until the weekend. But if I delay too long, I'll lose the momentum.
Thanks to everyone who chipped in with advice along the way. You helped a lot.
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| 45 | J.T.
ID: 38831178
Sun, Sep 17, 2006, 21:50
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You were able to recover old files! Great! I got burned twice with losing data when I had major HD (I'm blaming MicroSoft) issues. I have since gotten into the habit of routinely backing up my files (and definitely important files) where before I used to hardly do it. But after losing important files (twice) I learned my lesson. I use StompSoft's PC BackUp
I have had much success with it.
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| 46 | TB
ID: 448553012
Sun, Oct 01, 2006, 00:38
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Just bumping this up to remove a thread I self-deleted from the main page.
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| 47 | Nerveclinic
ID: 49018212
Sun, Jan 21, 2007, 03:49
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Maddog Note to self:
Never download, install, and run Spybot S&D.
Wow I have been using Spybot for years without a problem and I would never think of not using spy bot. Or Ad-aware.
It has found and removed hundreds of spyware files that would have been slowing my system down. More likely the problem was the age of the machine/operating system and perhaps even a virus on the machine that recognized that spybot was trying to remove it.
In any case you will be so much happier with XP you will be glad you were forced into this position. But you're getting XP just in time to miss Vista which will be on all new computers in a few months.
Oh well
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Post a reply to this message: (But first, how about checking out this sponsor?)
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