More Computer Troubles

[Lil Pun]

I am having trouble getting my computer to start up. I'll turn it on and then it says something like this:

"Disk error I/O, please insert disc and press any key"

Then I insert a disc and then it says:

"Failed to boot, insert BOOT diskette and press any key"

I insert the floppy and press a key and nothing happens, can anybody help???

[edc]

I think your hard drive is hosed. You can buy some recovery software, or if there is anything essential and not-backed-up. Otherwise, most Windows machines come with a "restore CD" that will reformat the drive (if possible), and lay down the OS anew.

[rockHEAD]

HD hosed... I got the same message when mine crapped out... fortunately through DOS and my with my ZIP drive I was able to transfer all important files.

Well, on the bright side, you can get a big, PHAT HD now!

[Dr of Dunk]

While the likely problem is a bad hard drive, check to make sure your BIOS still reports it's detecting the hard drive. Pray that maybe your BIOS was just reset or had the info wiped out. Also make sure all your cables are still plugged in.

What did you do recently that could have done this (that you can think of?).

[Lil Pun]

You guys were all correct, my hard drive was dead. Oh well it was a good thing, I got to boost my computer up to new levels: 60 GB hard drive, had 400 MHz processor now it's 1.4 GHz, my RAM got boosted to 256, got a 16x DVD drive and a 24x CD-R drive and my OS is now Win XP. Good thing about it, I only spent $350 on all this, I'm happy. :D

I am having trouble with one thing though, the font on my computer is huge and some of my programs say they will not run until my font is returned to normal size. Well I have my Internet font set to smallest but how do I change the font of my PC to Normal size???

[Dr of Dunk]

1) Right-click on your desktop and select "Properties" from the menu.
2) Select the "Appearance" tab.
3) See what the "Font Size" dropdown is set to on that tab.

There's also one other place you can check, but check this first...

[Lil Pun]

I am having another problem on my computer. (I swear pretty soon I'm gonna slam this damn thing into the ground!!! ) I keep getting this message when I start my computer after shutting it down or restarting it. The message says something like this : "Explorer has caused an <_____> error; if this problem persists restart your computer" The problem is whenever I close this error message my entire task bar disappears and I am not able to do anything and sometimes when I push close on the error message the same message keeps popping up over and over again and I am still able to do nothing. After restarting my computer the same message keeps popping up so actually restarting does no good. To get it to start up correctly I must shut down the computer and leave it off for 30 minutes or so. Even after doing that the message will sometimes come up. Does anybody know what the problem may be?

[NugzFan]

how did you post this?

[bobrek]

Some times it is good to reinstall Windows. You can do this without losing anything you already have. I have done this on both 98 and ME. You should be able to go to C:\Windows\Options\CABS and double-click setup.exe to start.

You can also put in you Windows CD and double-click setup.exe to start.

Obviously, if you don't feel comfortable doing this, don't do it, but it has worked for me.

[Lil Pun]

Originally posted by NugzFan how did you post this?

Originally posted by Lil Pun To get it to start up correctly I must shut down the computer and leave it off for 30 minutes or so.

[Vengeance]

I haven't done much XP troubleshooting, but first do the Windows Update and make sure you're 100% updated. Make sure you've got the latest IE as well.

Which error number is it? That can sometimes be very helpful.

[Lil Pun]

Originally posted by bobrek Some times it is good to reinstall Windows. You can do this without losing anything you already have. I have done this on both 98 and ME. You should be able to go to C:\Windows\Options\CABS and double-click setup.exe to start. You can also put in you Windows CD and double-click setup.exe to start. Obviously, if you don't feel comfortable doing this, don't do it, but it has worked for me.

There is nothing under CABS which says SETUP but under the folder INSTALL there is an item which says SETUP, is that the same thing???

[Lil Pun]

Originally posted by Vengeance I haven't done much XP troubleshooting, but first do the Windows Update and make sure you're 100% updated. Make sure you've got the latest IE as well. Which error number is it? That can sometimes be very helpful.

By the way, it's Windows ME not XP, sorry about that.

[Vengeance]

Win ME, eh?

Well, the first thing I'd do is the windows update thing, just to get 100% updated.

Is this a fresh install of Windows ME?

My other suggestion is format and re-install Windows ME. Don't just do an overlay (install again). A format is your most reliable bet, especially with Windows ME. With WinME, I have had the STRANGEST install results. Each time I install it, something different happens. It can be the EXACT SAME computer, EXACT SAME WinME CD, EXACT SAME install options, but each time I install, it acts just a bit differently. I have had it crash IE a lot, BSOD a lot, but I've also had it run beautifully and stably. Each time I install it, it's a new adventure.

You've got the horsepower, go with Windows 2000.

[bobrek]

I had Windows ME preinstalled on my Dell. My setup.exe file is in C:\windows\options\cabs.

If you have the windows cd, run setup from there.

Otherwise, is the setup.exe file in Install 6KB in size? Are there around 75 files in your install directory?

if you're feeling brave, simply double-click the setup.exe program in Install and see what happens. At worst case, you should have an option to cancel what gets started.

[Lil Pun]

I believe I will go with what you said and will purchase and install Windows 2000. I have never upgraded an OS before (like having Windows 95 and going to Windows 98). What do I need to purchase for this and how much will it cost? Also, will it delete anything on my computer? Thanks for the help Vengeance and bobrek.

Originally posted by Vengeance Win ME, eh? Well, the first thing I'd do is the windows update thing, just to get 100% updated. Is this a fresh install of Windows ME? My other suggestion is format and re-install Windows ME. Don't just do an overlay (install again). A format is your most reliable bet, especially with Windows ME. With WinME, I have had the STRANGEST install results. Each time I install it, something different happens. It can be the EXACT SAME computer, EXACT SAME WinME CD, EXACT SAME install options, but each time I install, it acts just a bit differently. I have had it crash IE a lot, BSOD a lot, but I've also had it run beautifully and stably. Each time I install it, it's a new adventure. You've got the horsepower, go with Windows 2000.

[lpbman]

Are you using the same power supply as the one you used with the 400mhz machine?

If it's not up to the task, an inadaquate power supply can cause all sorts of fun random errors

[lpbman]

Your hard drive may still be good and it's only your HD controller... I've seen that more than a few times. Can you read off of your CD-Rom normally? Is your hard drive and CD rom on the same cable?

[Johnny Rocket]

A couple of notes on win2k:
1. It's awesome and I've been running it for weeks straight without a reboot. :D

2. It is basiclly windows NT 5. Why am I saying this? b/c of games, some games wont run on Windows NT, it'll say on the box of the game

3. When you are upgrading from a non-NT based OS to an NT based one (NT 4, win2k, or XP Pro) I would recomend doing a fresh format of the hard drive (deletes everything) because then you can format it in the NTFS file structure as aposed to the FAT32 file structure. NTFS is more secure and I believe also more stable.

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