Reformatting problem in Windows XP

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Reformat Problem

Removing seven vulnerabilities found by RU Botted has played havoc with my system. Also an ambiguous message from Avira Rootkit Detection seems to suggest there is a rootkit present, and System Restore is not working. It is possible to create two restore points during the day, which are still there later, but have disappeared the next day .

So I downloaded from Dell instructions on how to reformat the hard-drive, backed up all my data files and pictures, removed all peripherals other than mouse, keyboard and monitor, gave the PC a Spring Clean inside and out and then inserted the
XP Home Edition installation disc.

All went well initially. Lots of files were downloaded, I accepted the license agreement, then when the screen asking which partition to use appeared, I chose the larger, as stated in the instructions, especially as the other was only 8MB in size. Then a pop up stated that two OS can not be used on one partition, referring me to an information source on how to use two OS on a PC.

This clearly relates to events in January 2009. The DVD writer would not work.
Removing and reinstalling the software, then the writer itself, as suggested
by ‘Help’, did not solve the problem. As the drive was about a month out of warranty I bought another, only to encounter the same problem. So I took the PC to a local shop, who repaired it within a couple of hours.

The old writer now worked fine, but they had made major changes as several of my programmes had disappeared – most annoyingly Zonealarm – and others had been added, and in addition XP Home Edition SP3 had become XP Pro SP2. I was not especially concerned – apart from wondering if MS would refuse to supply updates, on the grounds that it was a pirate PC – as there appeared to be no noticeable difference between the two versions of XP – UNTIL NOW.

When booting up there is always the choice between starting XP Home and XP Pro, but after 30 seconds it chooses Pro. Out of curiosity I have tried selecting Home Edition, but it is not available.

So both versions of XP are on the drive somewhere, but how to I get rid of XP Pro so as to be free to install my original system? I am most reluctant to go back to the same shop in view of what happened last year, also he is Chinese and difficult to understand.

And in view of the warning that proceeding with the installation would erase everything on the drive, why has that not happened?

Hoping someone can suggest a way to reformat the drive without having to pay
through the nose for technical support from Dell, which hardly seems
worthwhile when the PC is 6.5 years old, and likely to fail at any time.

Many thanks!

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If you truely want to reformat the partition when the installation program gets to the partition selection screen you should be able to delete the existing partition, then re-create it, format it, and continue with the install.

Joe

--Joe

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If you truely want to reformat the partition when the installation program gets to the partition selection screen you should be able to delete the existing partition, then re-create it, format it, and continue with the install.

Joe

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Thanks Joe. But I saw no option to delete a partition, and how would I recreate it? The other partition is only 8 MB, which doesn’t leave much space to do anything.

Also, the 8 MB partition presumably contains the XP Home Edition that I need to re-install, so do I need to recreate anything after deleting the larger partition, as one partition was all I thought I had, and presumably all I need. Sorry to be so dumb, but I’ve never had to deal with partitions before.

George

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Which version of XP is on the install CD?

When the partition screen comes up you should be able to select the partition and then you should be given an option to delete the partition. Once the partition is deleted you should see a part of the disc called unused (or something similar). You should be able to select that and tell the installer to size the partition to the maximum available. Then you should format the partition. I recommend selecting NTFS as the file system.

Sorry, I can’t be more specific. It has been quite a while since I’ve installed XP.

Joe

--Joe

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The installation disk is XP Home Edition Service Pack 2.

I am pretty busy at the moment and will be unable to have another go until the weekend, after making another back-up to catch the recent additions to my docs.

As stated, I didn’t notice an option to remove a partition, but may have missed it as I wasn’t looking for one, expecting the installation disk to remove everything and give me a nice clean start, as stated in the warning from Dell.

One further question – you write “Then you should format the partition.” Is this something specific I need to do, as I understand the installation disk should reformat the entire hard drive? Sorry to be a pain, but I’m scared of doing something catastrophic.

George

PS Why is it when I try to upload a reply a ‘No file was selected for upload’ message appears?

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See the steps with screen shots at Clean Install Windows XP – How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows XP – Part 1 of 4.

Note: when you compose a reply and there are no additional files you need to attach, just scroll down a little and click “Add Reply”.

Joe

--Joe

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Thanks Joe. The detailed instructions are very useful – I will put them on the laptop and have it beside me as I do the installation.

Even more important, they may have prevented a disaster. When collecting the installation disks, passwords, etc for all the programmes that will need to be reloaded I noticed the XP disk was in a flimsy paper wrapper without any product key. Being unable to find it anywhere in the stuff that came with the PC I tried to ask Dell if it was on the disc, but they charge £19 to answer a simple question, a lot more if they regard it as complicated, and I decided that it must load automatically with the disk, as what use would the disk be without it?

After reading the instructions from About com I downloaded and used a product key finder, wrote down the number, then noticed it said XP Pro, the pirate version I need to get rid of. Disaster averted, the product key was on the PC along with the tag number, as stated in the online instructions.

George

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If you have had some nasties, & suspect a rootkit, then I would suggest you “zero fill” the drive before you format it. This overwrites all bits on the drive with 0’s, & you can select how many passes you want.

Ultimate Boot CD has a utility to do that.

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If you have had some nasties, & suspect a rootkit, then I would suggest you “zero fill” the drive before you format it. This overwrites all bits on the drive with 0’s, & you can select how many passes you want.

Ultimate Boot CD has a utility to do that.

I’ve had a look, but it seems rather complicated. Presumably one inserts the installation disk to remove the old system, takes the disk out to use the ultimate boot CD, then continues the installation from where one left off. That strikes me as offering too amny chances of a cock up.

Thanks anyway for the suggestion.

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I’ve had a look, but it seems rather complicated. Presumably one inserts the installation disk to remove the old system, takes the disk out to use the ultimate boot CD, then continues the installation from where one left off. That strikes me as offering too amny chances of a cock up.

Thanks anyway for the suggestion.

Actually you just insert the Ultimate Boot CD and reformat the drive. No need to uninstall the old OS. If your computer automatically boots from the optical drive; just insert the Ultimate Boot CD and you are ready to reformat your drive. Anything on the drive will be over-written (especially with the “Zero fill” option). You can then install XP Home onto your now clean drive.

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Actually you just insert the Ultimate Boot CD and reformat the drive. No need to uninstall the old OS. If your computer automatically boots from the optical drive; just insert the Ultimate Boot CD and you are ready to reformat your drive. Anything on the drive will be over-written (especially with the “Zero fill” option). You can then install XP Home onto your now clean drive.

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If I understand your situation correctly, you have a PC that shows a single C: partition in Windows XP, and as far as you know, has only a single “version” of Windows XP, namely Pro SP2, installed. However, when you boot, you have the option of choosing two OS’s, only one of which actually “works”.

This sounds to me like an inappropriate entry in the Boot.ini file. This is a hidden system file on C: that, among other things, lists all of the bootable operating systems on your machine (and lets you select one of them, if there are more than one, at boot time). To see it, right click My Computer, choose Properties, choose the Advanced tab, choose Startup and Recovery settings, and look at the top section (which controls the OS-to-boot). I’m guessing the drop-down window will show two entries, the “real” one and the “former” OS.

So far, you have only “looked” at things, and hence haven’t done anything “dangerous”. If the default OS that the message shows is the correct one, the safest thing to do is to simply uncheck the box that displays the “Choose the OS” options and always take the (correct) default. Otherwise, you could edit the file by clicking the Edit button. The terminology there is slightly unusual, but it basically “points to” a disk, a partition, and an OS (along with a “friendly name” for that OS). If you are certain one entry points to a no-longer-present version of Windows, you could simply remove that entry and you’d never get prompted again. Take care, however, before you do this, as this is a key step in booting the correct OS!

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Bob,

No, you have not understood the problem correctly, perhaps you haven’t read the original posting.

I bought the PC almost 7 years ago With XP Home Edition, and that’s the version on the installation disk. In January 2009 I took the PC to a local repair shop to solve a problem, and when I got it home I discovered XP Home and been replaced by XP Pro and various programmes had disappeared and others added.

It was only during my abortive attempt to reinstall XP that I discovered there are two partitions, C and another which appears to have no name and is only 5 or 6 Mb, presumably containing the Home Edition and all the programmes that disappeared in very condensed form.

My attempt failed because the system seemed unwilling to install Home Edition on a partition containing Pro, or delete the latter.

I have looked at the Startup and Recovery settings as you suggested, and both are listed there. As I understand your reply you are suggesting that I could simply choose the Home Edition and just install all the updates of the past 18 months. But 6 MB is hardly enough space, and how would I get rid of XP Pro and recover the then wasted space?

In any case, I need to reformat because of the many problems at the moment – Firefox and IE not working correctly, System Restore creating restore points which disappear the next day, ZoneAlarm constantly changing the scanning schedule from weekly Saturdays at 07.30 to monthly at 12.30 on whichever day it happens to be, no updates received from MS this week, and the suspected rootkit.

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Be aware that formatting your drive doesn’t remove nasties from MBR (Master Boot Record). Some information about a rootkit from 2008.

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Be aware that formatting your drive doesn’t remove nasties from MBR (Master Boot Record). Some information about a rootkit from 2008.

What a disappointment!

Just as Ron provided what appeared to be the perfect solution to the rootkit issue you have o go and spoil it.

But I must give it a go.

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don’t despair. It is only software so it can be fixed.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/repairmbr.htm

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Well George, seems like you’ve stumbled onto one of Windows great dilemmas LOL. Just kidding, things are not that bad. First let me assure you, the 8MB partition that you discovered, IS NOT your Windows OS. The partition is way too small to support it. What I suspect it may be is a recovery partition that was installed at the time the system was initially loaded. If you still have the documentation that came with the PC, see if there is a reference to reloading the system back to the original factory settings. Second, your system restore. This is one of the main focal points of viruses when they load on your PC. Also, most changes that are made to your computer by Windows, and also 3rd party software will create a restore point. If they are corrupted then they are no good. Best thing to do is right click on the My Computer icon on your destop, choose Properties, click on the System Restore tab, and turn them off. This will prevent any more from being created, and will also delete any existing ones. If you are still having a problem getting the OS disk to format the disk, try opening the Command Prompt and typing format c: Good luck with this and I will be watching to see how you make out.

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Well George, seems like you’ve stumbled onto one of Windows great dilemmas LOL. Just kidding, things are not that bad. First let me assure you, the 8MB partition that you discovered, IS NOT your Windows OS. The partition is way too small to support it. What I suspect it may be is a recovery partition that was installed at the time the system was initially loaded. If you still have the documentation that came with the PC, see if there is a reference to reloading the system back to the original factory settings.

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George:

You began by saying that you wished to reformat your drive. Doing that completely destroys your existing Windows installation – so you presumably have the installation CD and product key that will be required to reinstall it from scratch (although you don’t seem to have understood that you needed the latter, you now seem to have found it). You also presumably have all the additional software that you’ll want to reinstall into your system, since that will all be destroyed by a reformat as well (don’t forget to preserve any special per-application set-up information that you want to retain). You’ll need to back up any data you want to save (including any data associated with existing applications: remember where it was so that you can restore it to the same place – e.g., ‘profile’ folders for Firefox/Thunderbird, MS Outlook email folders) because the reformat will destroy it. And unless you’ve got a driver CD from Dell you may need to gather up any hardware drivers specific to your hardware configuration for use during reinstallation (though XP may run well enough without them that you could do this after the basic reinstallation has completed).

Such a from-scratch reinstallation is indeed what you’ll need to perform if your current system is badly infected (or otherwise hosed) in some way: though there are various ways in which the existing system might be ‘cleaned’, most cannot guarantee that it will work as well afterward as a full reinstall would. To make sure that you wipe out all possible infection on the disk, you’ll really want to wipe the entire disk rather than just one partition: it sounds as if you really only have use for one partition anyway, which makes the existence of that second small partition curious (it doesn’t sound large enough to be a ‘recovery’ partition, and certainly isn’t large enough to hold what used to be your XP Home system or even the ‘missing’ applications from it).

So you’ll need to

1. Make sure that you have all the things described above that you’ll need.

2. Back up any data you need to save.

3. Wipe the entire disk – Master Boot Record and all – using the Ultimate Boot CD (it may allow you to repartition it afterward as well if the XP installation below doesn’t). A single pass writing zeros should suffice (actually, just repairing the MBR using the XP CD might, but just in case…).

4. Reinstall XP Home (it sounds as if that’s the legitimate copy of XP that you own and to which the product key on the case should apply, and it sounds as if you really DON’T want whatever system your repair shop – which I wouldn’t visit again if I were you – installed over it). When the installation detects the empty disk it should prompt you to create an appropriate partition for the system to be installed into – use the entire disk unless you want to partition it differently. Then install any hardware drivers specific to your hardware configuration.

(Unless what you’ve got is not a full-fledged XP Home installation disk but some kind of Dell ‘system recovery’ CD – in which case it should, with luck, just bring your system back to the state it had when you bought it – including any drivers and special Dell applications which it may have included.)

5. Install XP SP3 and then any subsequent Microsoft updates.

6. Reinstall all other applications that you need.

7. Restore the data that you backed up.

If this all sounds too complicated, you can always try ‘cleaning’ the PC and hope for the best (though I’d strongly suggest making a full system-image backup first so that if things don’t work out well you can return to the above option).

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Hi Terry,
I’ve downloaded a partition master and had a look at what’s on my PC, results as follows:
C NFTS 111.75 GB Status System Primal
* Unallocated 9.17MB Status None Logical (whatever that means )

So you were right, there is nothing there, despite the fact that XP Home Edition shows every time as an option at boot up.
Incidently, the Dell website said that some versions of XP have a hidden recovery folder – I followed the instructions but found nothing.

I have taken your advice and switched off System Restore. Many thanks.
George

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Ron Nieuwenhuis.

Oh Dear!
I made a fresh back-up of all my docs, collected the installation disks, keys, passwords, etc to re-install everything, prepared the UBCD, reviewed all the advice offered in this thread, and thought I was ready to go.

I had a look at the contents of the UBCD and could find nothing about DBan, except for the instructions already printed from the website, but hoped all would be clear when actually using it.

But it didn’t work out like that. After inserting the disc in the drive and rebooting I selected UBCD from the menu, only to be taken to a page of what to me was meaningless gibberish. There was no menu with Hard Disk Tools or anything to give me guidance. Even exiting was a problem, Esc didn’t do anything, nor did Control+Alt+Del, I was considering just closing the PC down, but settled for waiting for the lights to stop flashing on the CD drive and then just removed the disk.

Fortunately I don’t seem to have done any damage as it booted up as normal, but I am now back to square one with no idea what to try next.

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If you are trying to install from scratch and reformat the partition as part of the install, follow the directions I posted. Yes, they are detailed but you’ll go through most of them anyway. There is no need to use UBCD.

Joe

--Joe

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Hi Joe,

I certainly intend to use your detailed instructions and will have them on the laptop to guide me. But there is also the question of the rootkit. Larry Bogie and Ron Nieuwenhuis suggested using UBCD to ‘zero fill’ the drive to remove all nasties.

There is not much point in spending many hours on a complete reinstall and update of everything only to discover it was wasted effort as the rootkit is still there. I will try to find more information from the UBCD website about using the CD, but if unsuccessful will just have to go ahead with the reinstall of XP without the clean up and hope the rootkit has gone.

Trying everything in the download I found UBCD/Images/dban.iso, but Windows didn’t know how to open it, and there is nothing like that on the CD I burned.

George

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Be aware that rootkits by their nature are very difficult to detect. See RootkitRevealer for more information on rootkits.

If you want to repair the MBR on your disk see Master Boot Record – How To Repair the Master Boot Record In Windows XP – Fixmbr.

Joe

--Joe

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If you first boot into recovery console and do the Master boot record repair and then reboot into the windows install cd, wipe the partitions all off the disk, repartition and reformat. I do not see how any virus would live through…

DBAN can be downloaded from here: http://www.dban.org/

If you are uncomfortable with only doing a partition removal and reboot….

The DBAN iso would need to be burnt to a cd just like you burned the ubcd iso.

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Many thanks to all who replied to my problem, espec. JoeP, Larry Bogie and Ron, but it looks as though I will need to buy a new PC.

Using the link supplied by mercyh I downloaded dban without UBCD, burnt a new disk and 3.5 hours later had a clean hard drive. The problems came later.

After about 2 hours the PC booted up to the start page and stopped downloading, without completing several of the steps in Joe’s guide.. Unfortunately the screen resolution could not be changed from 640×480 pixels, nor the colour from 16 bit, despite constant reminders from a pop up that the settings were very low and attempts to rectify it. Worse, I was unable to access the internet, so I had my supper, watched the TV news, had a look at the financial and cricket news aand went to bed.

Today the situation was the same, so the installation disc was used to remove yesterday’s work and have another go, but with the same result. After quite a while trying to gain internet access, without detroying the home network which enables my wife’s PC and this laptop to function, I turned back to the resolution and colour issue, but most of the options mentioned in ‘Troubleshooter’ just don’t appear in XP Home Edition.

Having no success there I dug out instructions downloaded from the Dell site, and there are several steps to complete after the stage where everything had stopped. Starting with installing the drivers. Unfortunatley there are only two on the discs that came with the PC and they are for the modem, which is no longer used. I could download them from Dell on this laptop and transfer to the XP machine, but Dell only seem to have updates, not the full set, and the instructions say they must be installed in a specific order, starting with Desktop System Software, then Chipset and ending with no. 8 Mouse and Keyboard, but they list everything on the website except Desktop Software, which neeeds to be installed first. They even have drivers for Bios and Diagnosstics, which are not required apparently.

The instructions for connecting to the network were no more helpful.

My wife says that I can make do with the laptop, but that’s only a tempory expediant – the small text is so tiring to read, the smaller keyboard causes too many typing errors to correct and only having the numbers spread out along the top of the keyboard is a real time waster.

But again, my thanks to all who offered advice.

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_{Removing seven vulnerabilities found by RU Botted has played havoc with my system. Also an ambiguous message from Avira Rootkit Detection seems to suggest there is a rootkit present, and System Restore is not working.}

A new computer sounds like a good idea, especially for one that is 6 or 7 years old.
But I’d still want to have a go at fixing the old one. Call it an itch that’s begging to be scratched.

I have a few questions for you;
1 what is the exact make and model of your laptop, give us a model number from the laptop itself too if possible.
2 What are you using to restore from; A genuine XP Pro os disk or an XP Home OEM dell disk?
2 Are you actually using XP Home or XP Pro, and which disk do you have?
3 Have you actually identified a boot sector virus/rootkit by name?

An acurate identification of the culprit is a must in this situation.

Stoned Empire Monkey virus help and information
Information: Stealth Viruses and Rootkits
Information: Is there a rootkit stashed in your boot record?
boot sector viruses and rootkits+removal
FDISK /MBR caveat
virus scan for boot cd+root kit/boot virus+XP

Replacing a hard drive may be easier and cheaper than purchasing a new computer/laptop, …just something to consider.

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I have a few questions for you;
1 what is the exact make and model of your laptop, give us a model number from the laptop itself too if possible.
2 What are you using to restore from; A genuine XP Pro os disk or an XP Home OEM dell disk?
2 Are you actually using XP Home or XP Pro, and which disk do you have?
3 Have you actually identified a boot sector virus/rootkit by name?

Replacing a hard drive may be easier and cheaper than purchasing a new computer/laptop, …just something to consider.

—————————————————-
1. Dell Inspiron laptop. I’m unable to give a model number, not knowing where to find anything in Vista. However, if you mean the PC with the problems it’s a Dell Dimension 2400
2. XP Home OEM disk from Dell.
Being installed on a clean hard drive after removing the illicit XP Pro installed by the repair shop.

3. No. There was an ambigous message from Avira Rootkit Detection about something not matching in a file, which I assumed indicated a rootkit, espec. with all the problems I was having. Presumably that has now been eradicated by wiping the drive. My main concern with the possible rootkit was security, although the major problems started immediately after RU Botted removes 7 files, suggesting to me that something essential was removed at the same time.

In any case, the problem with the new installation is the lack of drivers on the backup disks supplied with the PC and the inability to access the internet.

I will phone Dell tomorrow and complain about the lack of drivers – there was a long wait to get through this evening and I gave up – but in view of the age of the PC I don’t expect to get much joy there. I will also try the ISP, but the call centre is in India, they don’t seem to understand me and I am baffled by their attempts to speak English. Hence the realisation – after almost the entire day spent on this issue – that a new PC might be the best solution.

Replacing the hard drive may be cheaper, but is it easier? I have always considered that something reserved for geeks. And wouldn’t I still be faced with the driver problem?

The trouble with a new PC is Windows 7. I hate Vista, and W7 maqy be better, but I imagine it will still be impossible to find anything.

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I wouldn’t install W7 on such old hardware, it would be like putting a fur coat on a pig. Hardware that’s
only a few years old might not be a problem, but 6 to 7 years old will likely be.

I would definitely have a problem with a repair shop that would install a pirated copy of windows
on something you brought to them to have fixed. Big major no no imo, and bad business.
You have to seriously wonder about their ethics, might even install a rootkit as far as I’m concerned.

If your system is infected with some sort of encrypted boot virus or MBR rootkit, it will need to be delt with.
No amount of newest drivers will rectify this. Get and seek help with this first and foremost. Do internet searches based
on the symptoms you are having.

As for installing a new hard drive, it is simply a matter of looking for specs on your make and model of laptop
and finding a match drive for it. in many instances there will be a guide for this. It just needs to be sought.
Hard drives are among the easier of items to replace in a laptop…even older ones.

The make and model of your laptop (the PC with the problem) should be on a sticker on the bottom of the
machine and not within the os itself. Do not attempt to network a machine that may be infected period.

_{In any case, the problem with the new installation is the lack of drivers on the backup disks supplied with the PC and the inability to access the internet.}

I have never used drivers from the disk, especially with older hardware. They will be located on the manufacturers site and
they are obligated, in most instances, to preserve them. That’s why I asked for a model number. A more accurate search for drivers
based on the exact model number will produce better results in most instances. Find me a model number and I’ll help search with you.

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I wouldn’t install W7 on such old hardware, it would be like putting a fur coat on a pig. Hardware that’s
only a few years old might not be a problem, but 6 to 7 years old will likely be.

I have never used drivers from the disk, especially with older hardware. They will be located on the manufacturers site and
they are obligated, in most instances, to preserve them. That’s why I asked for a model number. A more accurate search for drivers
based on the exact model number will produce better results in most instances. Find me a model number and I’ll help search with you.

Clint,
I have no intention of installing W7 on the old machine, I was merely pointing out that W7 is one of the reasons for being somewhat reluctant to buy a new PC.

Also, you seem to be under the impression that it’s the laptop with a problem – the laptop is fine, apart from having Vista as OS. It is also less than a year old.

The problem PC is the old Dimension 2400. I assume that wiping the HDD with dban has removed all infections, or do you think I should overwrite it again?

I have spoken to Sky this morning and their only suggestion was to set up a new network, which I am reluctant to do until all machines are working correctly, as it’s the Dimension that is plugged into the router, the others having wireless connections. I have sent an email to Dell about the drivers, as speaking to technical support is costly.

As for downloading drivers from Dell, it is only necessary to enter my tag number GMVFT0J – the penultimate digit being zero – and it displays my PC and the drivers available, with nothing under Desktop System Software. Do you think it would help to install the others, starting with the Chipset, despite the warning that some will not work if installed in the wrong order? One would have thought that the first on the list for installation was the most important, which is why it’s omission is so worrying.

Installing a new hard drive may be mechanically easy – although I recall the difficuly of installing a new DVD drive due the the lack of space – but doesn’t it also involve a lot of changes to the Bios, etc? Which reminds me, Dell list a driver for the Bios on their site, but it is not mentioned in the installation instructions for XP. Would it be worth deownloading that also, and if so should I install it near the beginning or the end of the specified list?

Many thanks

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but it looks as though I will need to buy a new PC.

I don’t think so (but I won’t tell your wife if you really want to buy one)

What you are seeing is perfectly normal with a clean install. I have installed and reinstalled hundreds of computers (a high percentage are Dells) and never heard of the “desktop system software” that you are referencing.

Here are the drivers you need:

Chipset
Network
Graphics (Click on the VIDEO tab. The driver you need will be one of the bottom 4 on the list)

I normally install chipset first, then network and after that graphics, audio, Modem, etc.

I usually install the modem driver even if I do not use the modem anymore as I then do not have a failed device that could give trouble later.

NOTE, Until network is installed you will not able to get on the internet and before you install the video driver you will not be able to change your resolution.

You may also want to find the correct monitor driver as you will not be able tune your monitor to it’s best performance with the generic driver (you may have flicker because the refresh rate it too high or too low)

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Quote

What you are seeing is perfectly normal with a clean install. I have installed and reinstalled hundreds of computers (a high percentage are Dells) and never heard of the “desktop system software” that you are referencing.

Here are the drivers you need:

Chipset
Network
Graphics (Click on the VIDEO tab. The driver you need will be one of the bottom 4 on the list)

I normally install chipset first, then network and after that graphics, audio, Modem, etc.
End quote.

Merci Mercy,

You really are a Godsend, this being the second time you have helped me out when stuck. Although this time I was beginning to consider installing all the other drivers, on the basis that if Dell were to supply the mysterious ‘Desktop System’ the worst that could happen would be the need to wipe the drive again and make a fresh start.

I was out last night and didn’t wake till 09.40 this morning, which put me in a bad mood, but cheered up immediately when I looked at my email and read your posting.

I have downloaded the first three drivers, installed them and rebooted after each, and all seems well. The resolution was at c1800 x ??, too small to read, but easily changed to the more legible 800 x 600, the colour back to 32 bit.

The big surprise was the internet. Before starting out on this enterprise I had downloaded Avast antivirus on to a USB stick – using the laptop known to be clean – and installed it on the PC immediately after XP, so as to have protection during the long process of downloading and installing ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Avast has continually been reminding me that it needed to be updated, but now a pop up stated it had been updated. I could not believe it had occurred without me setting up a connection, so I opened OE and there was the usual welcome letter. After a few adjustments I was able to download email and connect to the internet.

Incidentally, I would appreciate a reminder of how to remove the preview pane in OE, rather than just drag it down behind the task bar.

Hopefully, in 2 or 3 days I will be able to report that evrything is back in working order.

George

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I was merely pointing out that W7 is one of the reasons for being somewhat reluctant to buy a new PC.

In my opinion you have this one backwards…..

W7 is one of the biggest reasons to purchase a new PC.

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Actually it just sounds like you’re missing drivers, most notably the video and network drivers. Without the video drivers, you are stuck on 6400×480 on 16bit and without network drivers, no internet. Get those installed and you should be good…assuming you installed your xp home properly

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The problem PC is the old Dimension 2400. I assume that wiping the HDD with dban has removed all infections, or do you think I should overwrite it again?

My mistake. Try installing the drivers that the Dell site is offering for your “Dimension 2400”, in the order that mercyh suggests, forget about the “desktop system software”. If you can’t download it with the 2400, use the laptop and transfer them over with a USB stick or CD and then install.
Get back to us with the result.

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So, George, did you get it worked out?

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Incidentally, I would appreciate a reminder of how to remove the preview pane in OE, rather than just drag it down behind the task bar.

it is in “view” and then go to “layout”

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Yesterday evening I thought it was nearly complete – just 3 minor applications to download, a service pack for Omni Page Pro and a couple of phone calls about licences that wouldn’t install. Now it looks as though I may have to start all over again.

Before retiring for the night I wanted to update my bank records, but couldn’t log in to my bank. It didn’t seem too serious – 1 a.m. Monday morning might be maintenance time. But it happened again this morning.

My initial thought was a problem with the web site, but there was no problem connecting via IE.

The major problem before the reformat was Firefox. The icon for NoScript never appeared on the screen, and that for Last Pass seldom. Removing and reinstalling several times failed to make a difference. NoScript was a real problem because it was clearly working – there were no difficulties logging in to trusted sites which had been given permanent access to Java and flash, but there was no way to grant temp. access to others.

Even worse was the fact that Firefox would not close down. One could sign off, then later try to open it again, only to be told there was a version open but not responding. Sometimes Task Manager would work, but usually it required a reboot. The only way to uninstall Firefox, which I did several times, was immediately after a reboot. As it became impossible to open IE, it was necessary to install Chrome, which seems to be quite arbitrary as to when it will allow java or not.

There was no sign of this since reinstalling XP, UNTIL TODAY. After accessing my bank account I decided to try again with Firefox, without any joy. Deciding the cause was Noscript, I decided to remove it, the usual message said restart Firefox to remove, but FF did nothing for several minutes, so I closed it and tried to reopen it, but had to reboot to do so. It is now quite unreliable, except when operating without NoScript, but that leaves me feeling unprotected.

I tried Quick Java, but that’s very consumer unfriendly and soon removed.

The most worrying aspect is that the old faults have returned. Presumably dban failed to overwrite the hard drive properly and the malware is still there, possibly including a key logger, my greatest fear.

Should I try wiping the disk another couple of times, try JoeP’s guide to searching for rootkitrs, or give up and buy a new PC.

Finally, a few oddities. The installation required me to give the PC a name, but no option to set up an administrator password as shown on the instructions. Is there any way to set one up after installation?

Why did MS Update install a load of updates for Outlook, Access and Publisher when these programmes have not been installed?

Also the file system has changed. For example, if wanting to read a recently filed article on arthritis it was necessary to go to My Docs/Miscell/Health/Arthritis, and then, if wanting to read more on the subject use the back button, or just close to leave My Docs. Now the back button only seems to work on web sites, one has to click close to go back to the Arthritis folder, then again for each of the others to get out. This seems a lot of unnecessary effort, and I do not recall it being like that when XP Home was installed previously.

George

Replying to Reformatting problem in Windows XP

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