Author |
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 5:24 pm
OK, so my Google research says I might recover the system using a Windows XP boot disk. Of course I don’t have one. I only have the recovery disk from Gateway that the computer came with. Some of the sites I researched said that some of the OEM recovery disks have a recovery thing in it that I can access. But I haven’t been successful with that. Many of the sites also have a downloadable boot disk, but talk about it taking 6 floppy disks to download to. Problem is, although my desktop has a 3.14 floppy A drive, the laptop does not. The sites I’ve read all instruct on how to type “chkdsk/r” or “fixboot” upon using a disk I can boot from. So I do have that info, if I can get to a place on the system I can try it. Question: why are they specifying I do this off of a floppy? Why can’t I download a boot disk onto a CD? Or am I just reading the wrong sites? So, I do have the recovery disk, and I go ahead and try using it. The first time I tried it, it got to the “Press R for Standard Gateway recovery options.” So I pressed R. A few seconds after that, I got an error: “INF File txtsetup.sif is corrupt or missing status 12544. Setup cannot continue.” It then had me "press any key" to exit setup. I figure I’ll go ahead and try it again, and start all over with the recovery disk. This time, I get further, and successfully get past the “Preparing Gateway System Recovery Options.” There is a dotted line of bars across the bottom of the screen as it “loads” or whatever its doing. I assume it’s a progress bar, cause it gradually goes from dotted to solid line. Once the bar is solid, I get the big Gateway text/logo, and a small animated dotted line below it (another “loading screen?). After that, I get the big Gateway text/logo, with a "Please Wait" below that. Well, I waited one hour the first try. And during that hour I no longer hear the CD-ROM running. I finally figure it must have just stopped. So I try again. The next time, I get just as far again, and let it sit in the "please wait" screen for two hours. Again, I no longer hear the CD-ROM running. Am I supposed to be seeing something more after the Please Wait, that will prompt me what I want to do? I get that a full system restore might take a while, but I would think they’d have a graphic a little more informative than just "Please Wait" if its going to take two or more hours. Is it really stuck at the Please Wait? Or was I just being impatient? I feel my only other option to fix this myself is to figure out how to get a Windows XP boot disk, since apparently the recovery disk is unable to help whatever is going on. Anyone have an idea on how I can make a boot disk on a CD? Do you think I’m just ultimately hosed and it could be a hardware issue and that my only option is to take it in for repair? Oh, and one more thing (or two). I also tried just rebooting without the recovery disk, and did the two options upon booting. I’m able to press F2 and get to the BIOS setting. And I can also press F10 and get to the Boot Menu. But all that stuff in there is completely foreign to me, and I don’t want to muck with it unless I have step by step "paint by numbers" instructions. I’m not much of a techie, and I need very simple instructions. Anyone still with me? LOL Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions!
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 6:24 pm
Check with Microsoft. In the past, I've worked with them on issues from XP before moving to Vista. This link might help and you can call them as well. They may be able to help you over the phone to get this working again. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 10:54 pm
Thanks Kookliebird, but that's one of the sites I've been to and I can't see where it will help me. Unless I'm missing something. It says, "You should download the Setup disks if all the following conditions are true:" You are installing a new, full retail version of Windows XP. nope, not a new full retail version. I have the pre-installed one that came on the Gateway computer, and thats a couple of years old. The only thing that came with it is the Gateway recovery disk. You have a working CD drive, but you cannot start your computer from your CD-ROM. I have a working CD drive, but not sure if its the drive, the software, the computer or something else that it preventing me from using the recovery disk. You can start your computer from a floppy disk drive. Its a laptop, and does not even have a floppy disk drive. So see, all the sites that also provide the idea of downloading a Windows XP boot disk talk about using 6 floppy disks. Those disks aren't going to do me any good at all if I don't have a drive to intall them with. Two out of three definite "no's," and one "not sure," when all three are supposed to be positives as criteria for me to download these disks. Oh, and all the sites that had downloads offer for either Windows XP Pro or Windows XP Home Edition. No mention of Windows XP Media Center 2005 (closest I saw was Media Center 2004 listed on the Microsoft site). So don't know if those downloads would even be compatable. As far as talking with them on the phone, I clicked around on their help section, and it costs 60$ to talk with them over the phone. For that money, I can just take it in somewhere and have someone that knows what they're doing fix it, rather than bumble my way through it myself. LOL.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Friday, January 23, 2009 - 7:20 am
Sounds like you are doing everything I might think of to try - the very smart but non-geek route, lol. Sorry I can't help, Whoami.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Friday, January 23, 2009 - 7:48 am
Who, you've written a lot so maybe I missed this...but have you tried booting to "last known good configuration" instead of "start Windows normally"? Then if this doesn't work, I'd go ahead and throw caution to the wind and stick that game back into the drive and start it up with that. I would do a complete shut down rather than a restart. Sometimes computers are just little jerks and mess with your head, because they can. 
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Ktbb
Member
08-10-2003
| Friday, January 23, 2009 - 10:48 am
I got Guins comp to work finally. Call me later Who and I'll tell you whats up.
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, January 23, 2009 - 4:10 pm
Yea, I know I wrote a lot. Sorry. Just trying to list all that I've tried so far in order to give the best info I can. Yes, I did try the "last known good configuration." That was the second thing I tried. KTBB has a copy of Vista that also came with the computer, so that might have to be our next step. Its how she got Guin's comp working. I'd try the downloaded boot disk thing, but as is mentioned HERE and HERE it takes six floppy disks to download to. I DON'T HAVE A FLOPPY DRIVE IN THE LAPTOP, SO A FLOPPY DISK IS USELESS!!!!!!! Sorry, not screaming at anyone here. I'm just so freaking frustrated that a "simple" fix is beyond my reach because the only solution is for something I don't have. For all I know, the recovery disk that came with the Gateway has the same capacity to do what a boot disk would do. But it never goes on beyond the "Please Wait" screen. So I don't have a command prompt to type "chkdisk/r" or "fixboot" or any of that other stuff all the sites say is the "easy fix."
So, I guess the only help anyone can offer here is to tell me if the Please Wait screen really takes two hours to make me "wait." Or if there is a way to do the boot disk with a CD rather than on six floppies. I did try to go ahead and download the boot disk, and see if I could put it on a CD, but right after I click on "run" it says to get 6 floppies ready, and all that rot. I didn't go any further cause the last thing I want to do is mess up this computer (dekstop) too! 
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Friday, January 23, 2009 - 8:36 pm
Oh wait!! I now recall that when I had a Gateway computer, it came with about six reinstallation CD's, and ONE of them WAS a boot disk, but it did not SAY on the CD that it was a boot disk. I too was flummoxed about it wanting a floppy to boot to and I had no floppy drive. See if you can Google your specific computer and see if you can find out if one of the CD's is a boot disk. And then if one of them does work as a boot disk, you have to go into the BIOS and change the boot sequence to boot to D: (or whatever letter is the CD drive) instead of booting to C:
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, January 23, 2009 - 9:16 pm
There's only two disks. The one with a Gateway logo and the Gateway colors/text, and that is the recovery disk. The other has hand-written info on it, and only contains the extras like the Gateway documentation, games, and other add-ons. But I will Google the specific Gateway computer. Thanks!
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Mictay
Member
09-29-2006
| Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 8:43 am
OK new question,i've given up on my other pc,so i'm wandering if I can just buy A new OS for the pc.What I mean is can I just buy A new OS and then delete everything off it now.I hope i'm being clear.Or should I just buy a new tower all together??
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 10:57 am
Mictay, might taking it to a professional repair place be more cost effective? You could at least make a couple estimate calls.
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Mictay
Member
09-29-2006
| Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 4:33 pm
Just to update:Got firefox loaded on to the pc I was having trouble with.Woo Hoo!!!Now somehow going to try and get IE7 back on it.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 5:13 pm
Great news about the Firefox, Mictay! BTW, I have IE too, but discovered I PREFER Firefox! Way less glitches. 
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 7:09 pm
Yay Mictay!!!
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Mictay
Member
09-29-2006
| Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 4:48 am
Well we tried to download IE7 and it still won't work,it's like something is missing ,not sure where to go from there,I guess we'll have to use firefox,but just not knowing what happened bugs the heck out of me.And were still getting errors messages when we turn the pc on,Something about cannot find path and the it has a bunch of square boxes with question marks,I went to filehippo and downloaded some software to recover but it didn't work.So anyways i'll keep trying to find out what the heck is wrong with it.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 9:25 am
Mictay, I don't know what's available in your area, but I have a computer guy locally who is just a wiz with these things. The last time he was in, he updated and fixed little problems with all three of my home computers, in under an hour. Whoami, even though his hourly rate is high, he's so dang smart and fast, he rarely charges more than an hour. Let me know if you want his info! He lives in Berthoud, so very convenient to you.
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Mictay
Member
09-29-2006
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 2:53 am
Well we fixed the pc,I WILL NOT BE DEFAETED!!!!!Lol!!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 7:18 am
Yay Mictay!!! Hahahahaha!
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Debra
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 8:01 am

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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 8:36 am
My roommate downloaded IE7 Beta and it messed up his 'puter, I was like "please do a system recovery and go back." Once it's his problem it's MY problem, because tenents hate not having their 'puter access, even if it's their own fault. 
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Mictay
Member
09-29-2006
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 3:55 pm
Yes it's me again,OK new problem,LOL,while I was working on my pc yesterday I had some box popup and say my pc may be infected and I need to get Safeguard 2008 well I clicked cancel and ran spybot and did a scan through windows live care,nothing found,so my daughter just had the same thing popup on her laptop,Does anyone know what this is?I tried to google it but couldn't find anything not sure if I put the wrong wording in or what,any help please.
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Watching2
Member
07-07-2001
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 4:08 pm
I "think" I saw this question somewhere previously, but can't find it now. In the last couple of months if I go to other sites after I'm here at TVCH, it will change the TVCH icons to the other site's icons. For example, I've gotten Yahoo icons, Ebay icons, all kinds of places icons when I go back to TVCH. Is there a reason this is happening and is there a way to make it stop? It doesn't interfere with me getting back here, but it's one of those things that really annoys me! This is the only site it does it with.
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 4:24 pm
I would say it's spyware or a clever virus; don' click anywhere near it is what I would do. Honestly, I let Windows Defender take care of all my virus needs; I don't even have Norton. I've never had a virus on any computer. I used to run a registry cleaning program to get rid of stubborn spyware; something could be changed in your registry that's making that message pop up. It's kinda a touchy job though; delete with care. Watching, I'm not sure. Maybe you can lock the settings in your internet options?
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 5:03 pm
Safeguard 2008 is malware. It will prevent you from going to some websites that will allow you to remove it. Spybot Search and Destroy or Windows defender should be able to remove it.
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Monday, January 26, 2009 - 5:27 pm
and windows defender is NOT a virus protector. They even advise you to get something else. It is pretty good for malware.
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