PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Windows PCs & Software: Help, News & Discussion => Topic started by: john313 on February 10, 2004, 09:39
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hi, i was wondering if anyone could help, i have recently tried to reformat my hard drive to upgrade my operating sys, but after starting with cd rom support and carrying out the format, my computer hangs on the sysreg check, i have tried to reformat again, and it hangs at the exact same point every time. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
John
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Hi John and :welcome: one of our resident "Techies" should be along around lunchtime and may be able to help you, in the meantime, can you let us know what Operating System you are using :)
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thanks for the welcome,
im using M.E. at the minute, and im thinking of upgrading to xp, but since formating have had second thoughts due to bad reports from friends.
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Is your PC a "white box" type PC ie: big brand supplied by the likes of Curries/PC World? Are you trying to reinstall using their supplied rescue disks [two usually] containing OS and progs. Is it the original Hard Drive, or a different one?
Go to this site http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html (http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html) and download the free program [it's only small] and run it, and post the hardware results here. It list's all the components on your PC.....motherboard, CPU, memory etc. it will help in the diagnosis, plus your possible upgrade to XP.
By the way ME is crap, sooner you bin it the better.
And don't worry about posting the results of Belarc on the site, it wont tell us if you subscribe to the "spankers Weekly Website" ;D
Here's my system info from running the program
Operating System System Model
Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 (build 2195) MSI MS-6380E 1.0
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1666 megahertz AMD Athlon XP
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: MSI MS-6380E 1.0
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 04/02/01
Drives Memory Modules c,d - Buy More
70.80 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
54.56 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
LITE-ON LTR-32123S [CD-ROM drive]
SAMSUNG DVD-ROM SD-616T [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]
Maxtor 6E030L0 [Hard drive] (30.75 GB) -- drive 0
SAMSUNG SP0411N [Hard drive] (40.06 GB) -- drive 1 512 Megabytes Installed Memory
Slot '0' has 512 MB
Slot '1' is Empty
Slot '2' is Empty
Local Drive Volumes
c: (on drive 0) 7.34 GB 4.44 GB free
d: (on drive 1) 7.34 GB 4.50 GB free
e: (on drive 0) 3.15 GB 3.13 GB free
f: (on drive 0) 18.63 GB 18.56 GB free
g: (on drive 0) 1.63 GB 1.61 GB free
h: (on drive 1) 3.15 GB 2.68 GB free
i: (on drive 1) 18.64 GB 16.23 GB free
j: (on drive 1) 9.30 GB 2.60 GB free
k: (on drive 1) 1.63 GB 806 MB free
Logins Network Drives
HOME-X6CUMKPNIN\Administrator
Installed Microsoft Hotfixes Printers
DataAccess
Q832483 (details...) on 02/05/04
Internet Explorer
Q330994 (details...)
Q832894 (details...)
SP1 (SP1)
Windows 2000
SP4
Q327194 (details...) on 02/05/04
SP5
KB820888 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB820888) on 02/05/04
KB822831 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB822831) on 02/05/04
KB823182 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB823182) on 02/05/04
KB823559 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB823559) on 02/05/04
KB824105 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB824105) on 02/05/04
KB824141 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB824141) on 02/05/04
KB824146 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB824146) on 02/05/04
KB825119 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB825119) on 02/05/04
KB826232 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB826232) on 02/05/04
KB828035 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB828035) on 02/05/04
KB828749 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB828749) on 02/05/04
KB829558 (Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB829558) on 02/05/04
Q818043 (details...) on 02/05/04
Windows Media Player
WM819639 (details...)
WM828026 (details...)
SP0
Q828026 (details...) on 02/05/04
Click here to see all available security Hotfixes.
Marks a HotFix that verifies correctly
Marks a HotFix that fails verification
(Failing hotfixes need to be reinstalled)
An unmarked HotFix lacks the data to allow verification
EPSON Stylus CX3200 on USB001
Windows NT Fax Driver on MSFAX:
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my pc wasnt from pc world, it was made up for me by a firm miles away from where i live using different components, a lex motherboard rings a bell with a maxator hard drive also ringing aforementioned bell. will that prog work as when i boot up i get nothing as my drive is already formatted? (currently using work comp to try and fix probs).if you give me the all clear that the prog will work i ll download it here at work and run it tonight then post the results here asap. by the way my subscription to spankers weekly was suspended due to mass over use........... :'(
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Nothing wrong with spankers weekly (https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.mg-rover.org%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Fnaughty.gif&hash=6a14ce4984c035e77c49be4203fc0cb8a28425a3)
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Hi john313 :welcome:
If you have an origial Windows ME installation CD, you should be able to boot off it and (fairly) automatically install ME. The instalation routine will do all the formatting and partitioning for you.
I'm a bit surprised that you have been recommended to install ME rather than XP. Most people would consider XP to be a much better operating system and far more stable than ME. Do you have any older programs that require ME to run ???
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my M.E. disk is an original, and i have reformated using it before, but now after running format c:/, it runs through the format, verifies it then i go to E:setup, that kicks off and runs through that blue box with all the checks in, then i get a message saying now checking sysreg (or something similar) and it just hangs, even if i leave it for an hour and come back i still have the "checking sysreg" dialouge, and no progress. i really need help to resolve this as im desperately missing spankers weekly.
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Spankers may have to wait John :(
Have a look at this Microsoft Knowledgebase (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;183091&Product=winme) article.
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It sounds like it hasnt formatted fully John.
If you only have one partition (C), which you appear to have seeing as you would reinstall using setup E, then I would download the DiscWizard Starter Edition from here :
http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/drivers/discwiz.html
Its a fee program and will work with your maxtor drive for the zero fill part only, but thats the bit you need.
You will need to put it on 2 floppys, hopefully you can do this from your work pc.
This will totally wipe all your hard drive if you select the "Zero Fill" option, choose the full one not the quick one, and it will write a zero to every part of the hard drive.
It can take a couple of hours if you have a large drive but at least it should remove all the files that are on your drive and allow you to reinstall ME or XP, whichever you decide to use. :)
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thanks, i will keep my fingers crossed and try it tonight. one other reason i was reformating is because i have just spent about 200 quid on new hardware (ram + sound / graphics card) please tell me that i havent totally screwed my computer and a) lost a computer and b)lost £200???? :'( :-[ :'(
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all you'v done is wiped everything off the hard drive, people do that all the time without any problems. it's just like you deleting a file from windows.
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Hi John,
Just to add a simple idea:
I presume that you know that "Windows XP" is preferred to be installed on a partition formatted into "NTFS" (not "FAT" or "FAT 32"). I tell that just in case. :o
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Sorry John, you wont be able to run Belerac untill you have a working OS on your PC, what was I thinking about. It was your OS upgrade enquiry that lead me to Belarc. Dont ask me two questions at once ...........I'm easly confused ::)
please tell me that i havent totally screwed my computer and a) lost a computer and b)lost £200????
Don't panic, look at it this way, after zeroing your Hard Drive. You could liken it to having a nice clean plate on which to pile your choice of OS on it. Either that or your Hard Drives nackered ;) Better still you ME disk is nackered, then you could install a decent OS and live happly ever after. ;D
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i haven't noticed any performance differance between the two
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thanks for all the responses guys and girls, just one more point, im having a moment and have forgotten how to save a programme over 2 disks, i thought it was just as easy as saving it to A: and it would split itself???? :-[
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Hi John, there are full instructions on that site I gave you the link for.
All you have to do is download the program and run it from your hard drive and it will send it to floppy one then ask you to put floppy 2 in from what I remember :)
I cant remember if you have to format them as dos startup or not but if you check on the site it will explain it all :doggie:
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Thanks - Its been a long day! brain-work-very-slow- ::)now.
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brain-work-very-slow- ::)now.
Hey John, don't feel bad. That's the normal state for most of us ;D ;D
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Would it be a stupid idea to suggest FDISK? It would certainly be a lot quicker than zero filling a hard drive, and you should then be able to format and load ME from the installation disk.
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Its obviously having a problem formatting itself Simon so I think that using Fdisk would give the same result, thats why I suggested the seagate to do a zero fill then he knows there are definately no bits left on thr drive :)
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now after running format c:/, it runs through the format, verifies it then i go to E:setup, that kicks off and runs through that blue box with all the checks in, then i get a message saying now checking sysreg (or something similar) and it just hangs
Sounds to me as if the format is going through OK Sandra. Its the "sysreg" bit (which I think may actually be scanreg) that is causing the problem...
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Has it still got a registry after a format then ?
Anyway if he does the zero fill thing he wont have anything on so should be ok after that, unless his installation CD is faulty or damaged :(
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Has it still got a registry after a format then ?
Obviously not. So it has to be the alternative option of a memory fault. Isn't there a utility that Dack usually recommends to test memory for errors?
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Yes there is Adept, unfortunately he'll be at home now and not be able to access the net to get it :(
I downloaded it last week to see what it did and you boot from floppy so it would presumably be ok for a pc without an OS on :)
Get it from here :
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
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thanks for everyones help, zero filling the hard drive seemed to get me past yesterdays problem, the only problem now is when i get 10% of the way through setup i get an error message saying "could not copy windows files" then it just stops again. is it time to get a new hard drive? or just try another o/s? >:(
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is it time to get a new hard drive? or just try another o/s? >:(
Hmmm.... Did you say you had a copy of XP you could try? I'm wondering if XP's setup program may have more in the way of diagnostic information to give you.
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yeah, ive got xp too, but i wont be able to get my hands on it until tomorrow. i ll give it a whirl tomorrow night, and let you know how that went, if that doesnt work though im completely snookered. ??? ???
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if that doesnt work though im completely snookered. ??? ???
Nah! There's loads to do yet :)
You mentioned that you had a Maxtor hdd fitted. It might be worth going to Maxtor's website and downloading a copy of their PowerMax (http://maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm) utility. This will give you a definitive diagnostic of your HDD.
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thanks, i ll give that a whirl tonight and post the results a.s.a.p.
Thanks again for all your help guys!!! ;) :D ;)
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I would think that if the drive has been able to run through the Zero Fill prog then the drive is able to have all sectors written to.
So that would lead me to think that the ME Cd is damaged and is not being read properly, rather than a faulty hard drive ???
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the cd drives lens could be dirty too
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ive double cheked all the minor things such as cd lenses, and i have downloaded all of the proggrammes that you guys have reccomended, so i will check it out tonight and see how i get on. ;)
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How old is the CD-Rom drive? Maybe it on it's way out? Have you got another drive you could try loading from?
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both my cd and dvd drives are new, although i have only tried it in the dvd drive as this is the one that the computer auto selects as my designated drive.
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Few things worth considering:
1. When you are trying to put ME on a disc - how big is the disc drive and what size partition have you set it to? One version of FDISK is limited to 64G http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q263044 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q263044) - the replacement is only good for upto 137G.
2. Length of cable to DVD/CD drive. If too long then all sorts of wierd things happen (had a similar problem about a year ago where the 'extra long' IDE cable I was using caused it to hang during installation.
3. Bios set for boot sector protection - this would not allow you to do the install.
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3. Bios set for boot sector protection - this would not allow you to do the install.
Thats a good point Dack, as most people disable it but if they have loaded failsafe defaults at some point then it may default to enabled without you realising its done that.
Do you happen to know at which point it would halt the install process ?
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Hi again everyone, thanks to everyones help i have now managed to get everything up and running (and back on to spankers weekly). Im no expert, but after i ran the maxtor zero fill programme the setup process continued all the way through, so i think that had something to do with it. the only 2 probs i have now is that my comp seems to be running a little slow (not a problem as i have just bought more ram to put in), and the second is weather to keep M.E. or go to X.P. but that argument may go on forever!!
Thanks again for all your help, it really has been greatly appreciated!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
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Well John, as an ex user of Me myself, I would urge you to upgrade to XP as there is absolutely no comparison between the two operating systems. Unlike Me, XP is stable and those daily crashes which you now experience will be a thing of the past. However, if you do decide to upgrade, it is essential that you immediately download all the service packs and patches from Windows Update in chronological order. Best advice is to download them one at a time and reboot as required. Some of my fellow forummers may think that I'm being slightly overcautious with that advice, but I know that some people have experienced problems by downloading the lot in one go.
I'm sure one of the techies will offer advice on the speed problem.
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It would also be advisable to download the MS Blaster Worm patch for XP, and keep it on a floppy disc, so that you can install it as soon as you have installed XP, before going online to get the rest of the updates. Otherwise, you will risk getting the worm, before you can download the patch for it.
You can download the MS Blaster Worm patch from here (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2354406C-C5B6-44AC-9532-3DE40F69C074&displaylang=en).
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well i know this is after the fact but next time take a drive of the same size and ghost it over the problem drive your having to format. It will write over any data problem you might have and it will sure as hell take less time than rewriting the disk zero by zero.
Also fdisk should have solved the old data problem. Always keep a win98 boot disk or cd handy.
Ive about decided XP is the lazy pc users os. With most popular hardware drivers included it almost takes all the fun out of looking for drivers. It doesn't crash (often) and its fairly user friendly. If i wasn't curious about software and stuff that could electrocute me this would be my main os.