If you had problems with Windows 98, then performed an 'Upgrade Installation of Windows XP over the top of it, it's most likely you've magnified the problems rather than fixing them. A format/clean install is the best available option, and it should really be the ONLY way you install a new OS.
See the articles linked in my sig for advice and instructions.
On almost all systems, it's simply a matter of entering BIOS setup and making a small change to the settings. I'd strongly suspect that a system which doesn't have the appropriate setting available would be too old to run Windows XP anyway.
I'm all too well aware of what a nuisance it can be when the sinuses don't work properly. Mine haven't done so since a fella rearranged them with a plaster cast many years ago!
heh heh.....
Worst hiding I ever copped, and it was dished out by a bloke with a broken arm!!
What processor do you have? You should have your RAM set to operate at the speed which will have it synchronised with your front side bus, to ensure best performance.
And with modern display cards, AGP aperture size does not matter, because the cards have no need to access system RAM for calculating textures etc. anyway. Quite a few recent motherboards don't even have the setting anymore.
Excuse me for saying so, please, but I reckon downloading Boot disk images to do something which is built into Windows XP and the Windows XP Install CD is just plain silly!
To format a non-system drive, simply right-click the drive in 'My Computer' and choose 'Format'.
To format the system drive, boot from the Windows CD, and in the appropriate section of the install routine, delete the system partition, create a new one in its place, and install. The format will be done automatically. If you simply wish to format and leave a clean drive, then you can exit the setup routine as soon as the format is performed.
Damn sight easier with Windows 2000 than it is with Windows XP! Basically, all you need to do is uninstall the motherboard drivers, then install new ones when you reboot hooked up to the new motherboard.
The article linked in my sig is a comprehensive reinstallation guide. Windows XP installation will perform the format for you when it's performed in the described manner.
You'll find many questions and answers relating to 'bridge.dll' errors in the 'Security' section of this forum. Follow the advice in the "Helping Yourself' topic for spyware/malware detection and removal, then post your question in that forum section if you have remaining problems please.
I would strongly suspect that the error message relates to something you have removed from your system, and which has left 'traces' of itself behind.
And by the way, never 'Delete' software from your PC. Always use the uninstall routines provided, Add/Remove programs, or the specialised procedures you might find listed on a program's website! Simply deleting programs doesn't get rid of them.
Start in Safe mode, uninstall your display card, reboot and reinstall it. If that doesn;t work try again, only next time reinstall your motherboard drivers and then your display card.
Turn your system off. Remove the power cord. Tell yourself if you don't do this it's going to cost you as much as several bottles of fine wine if you get a technician to do it for you. Hook your fingernail under the edge of it and flip the little tacker out!
Then go and buy yourself one of those bottles of wine to celebrate your achievement!
An external modem performs all its functions in hardware. All your system needs to deal with is the actual content of what's being transmitted, and the control instructions being communicated between machine and modem.
An internal modem, on the other hand, is generally a 'software modem'. There is a basic set of components contained on the card, but most of the modem operations are carried out in software on your system. Less efficient, more chances of problems creeping in. Having all the work performed by the modem's own hardware is a much more sophisticated way to do things.
Obviously, an external modem can't do anything to overcome poor line quality or the interference caused by a jumble of connectors, double adaptors and other devices in your home, but it will virtually eliminate all the potential connection problems related to the PC.
As a result, a more stable connection, and slightly increased connection speeds. And let's face it, when you are trying to operate with download speeds hitting about 3 or 4K, then a slight increase can mean a lot!
Definitely worth the extra cost, and if dial-up is what you're stuck with, it's an essential.
Yes. But there's another reason than overclocking to alter the BIOS settings for RAM.
If the RAM modules were, say, PC3200 400MHz ones, then the best procedure to follow would be to set things up to be identified automatically as you've suggented, to have RAM timings operating in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. But then you'd be best to go back and change the RAM SPEED so that it was actually running at 333MHz, rather than the 400MHz it's capable of.
Sound silly? It's not. The system works best when the RAM is running 'in sync' with the processor's bus speed. Run your RAM at a faster speed than the front side bus of the processor, and your CPU will sit there confused a fair bit of the time, like a kid who's trying to get the timing right to jump onto the playground roundabout! The end result will be that your overall system will be slowed down by the faster RAM, not speeded up.
The speed you should have your RAM running at is the speed of your processor's front side bus, and if you need to change the settings to 'Manual' to do so, then you should.
Have you got that PC connected to Broadband by any chance? The connection 'live' while you're performing the format/install? Perhaps even a static ip?
If that's the case, I'd consider rebooting the modem to get a new ip, or getting a new ip assigned. It sounds like you're a target for a trojan, and it's finding you quite easily.
Well of course we've all seen some marvellous things, but one of the better ones I've encountered was a bloke who managed to get his PC so trojan infected and software corrupted that whenever he tried to open a browser link, Word would open up and start typing out a love letter to him on screen!
Be buggered to trying to sort that one out. That called for a format for sure!
(I meant that literally, by the way. It was a bloody love letter!)
I'm not sure of the answer to your question - I've not heard of that happening before, and perhaps someone else might provide an answer to it.
But I can tell you this! The absolute best way to use Defrag is to press <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <Del> together to bring up the Task Manager, the 'End task' everything except systray and explorer before you run the Defrag tool. That way all of the background programs and services which are resetting the thing will be shut down, and it'll do the job quickly and effectively.
If you have more than 1 RAM module physically present in the PC, but only one is showing as present in BIOS, then it's quite likely that the other is either loose or dead.
You could try resetting CMOS, in case the info there which identifies the RAM module to the system is a bit 'scrambled'. Turn it off, remove the power cord, and locate the round CMOS battery which should be fitted to a holder on the mainboard. Remove it and leave it out for at least several minutes (overnight is better) before replacing it and rebooting.
That should reset all the CMOS settings to default values, and your computer may just 'find' the extra RAM module again. It's worth a try, anyway ;)
I'm unsure about MusicMatch, as I've never used it and can't find any reference to disabling it at startup in their FAQ.
But Nero is a simpler matter. Is it the packet-writing component of the program used for CD-RW sessions that's loading? If so, and if you don't use CD-RW disks anyway, then simply uninstall the component. I never install that part of Nero on any system anyway, as I find it rather useless, and it's the part that loads when you boot up. (In-CD? I think that's what it's called?)
For other stuff you don't want, Go to Start -> Run and type msconfig
On the 'Startup' tab, do a bit of investigating to trackj down the entries in there and work out what they are (expand the columns and work them out from the directory they're located in is one method to work it out. Google is another)
Deselect any entries that you don't want to load, and then click 'Apply'. Simple, eh?
Perhaps you 'end-tasked' somthing you shouldn't have?
I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would do things the way you've described. It sounds clumsy, potentially problemmatic, and rather silly. If you've unwanted or unecessary programs loading at startup, then use a combination of uninstalling programs, setting the preferences or options for others to stop them loading, removing unecessary items from the Startup Folder, and altering the settings for startup in msconfig to achieve the result you want.
I'm sorry, but your question is explicitly asking for assistance with a task which contravenes the license conditions for the product you are trying to install. What you are trying to do is illegal, and it would be wrong of us to allow discussion of it to continue.
You should obtain a legitimate OS for your PC.
I'm closing the topic.
Edit: foxvalleymarv contacted me, explaining that the laptop his copy of Windows was supplied with was destroyed, and that he was under the impression that he could now use the Windows CD with another PC, because it was his.
That's not the case, I'm afraid. The OEM edition of Windows supplied with the laptop has a license which is limited to the machine it was originally supplied with.
cozzy, if you want a guide to format and reinstall, then the link in my sig leads to a couple of articles I wrote recently for people such as yourself, covering the tasks of preparing for and performing the format and install in a comprehensive manner.
Hi again. That HP Pavilion was originally fitted with 128Mb of SD-RAM, so another 128Mb module must have been fitted at some stage. Again, I'd suggest you open up the case and verify that a module hasn't worked loose in it's slot. Both modules should be pushed down firmly, and the retaining clips engaged. If one isn't pressed home completely, it won't be registering, and it may have been bumped loose when the drives were changed.
I've split your question off into it's own topic. Piggybacking questions onto a different topic isn't encouraged and may also limit your chances of being answered.
To start things off, I'd suggest you open up the system case and see if there's a RAM module in there which has worked its way loose in the slot. If this has happened, it wouldn't be registering as present.
I'd also ask you to let us know your system specifications. The make and model of your PC, the make and model of your motherboard, what video display is included and so on.......
Hi nmumbach. Sorry to hear of your tale of woe. I've moved your topic to the 'Hardware' section to ensure that you get a reply to it.
Transferring a hard drive to a new motherboard for a Windows NT based system is problemmatic at best, and you might just be faced with a format and Clean install.
Sorry to add more laughter to the reaction, but that suggestion was one of the funnier things I've seen today! For goodness sake, don't disable everything in msconfig!
Installing Google Toolbar is the quickest and easiest way to block pop-ups for IE.
But the ones you're getting sounds like they're coming from something installed on your system. Make sure AdAware and Spybot are the latest versions and updated, and run them from 'Safe Mode'
Have you actually got the Service Pack2 Release Candidate or Beta version installed? Are you simply assuming that it's SP2 because some of the 'Hotfixes' which have been installed from Windows Update are marked (SP2)?
If your system is actually Service Pack 1 plus recent updates, then you may not have correctly installed your motherboard and display card drivers correctly (or forgotten to install them altogether) Install them again, just to be sure!
no way! I'm not a gamer. Anyhoo, I only have one stick. I am going to try running AVG to see if I can get it to shut off.
Then download and use 3DMark 2001 or 3DMark2003 in 'looping demo mode' to stress the system and show up any problems which may exist. If it runs those continuously without problem, it's unlikely to be your hardware at fault!
You may not want games on your system, but the simulations contained in a Gaming Benchmark program like this is the ideal way to stress and test your system's hardware and its installation.
Updated mobo drivers are more important for 3D operations than anything else, I've found. For general applications work, the generic drivers in Windows work fine.
Why were you trying to do a Refresh install? Was the system having crashes and stability problems?
If so, have a look at the RAM installed in your system. Cheap 'n' nasty RAM can cause problems like this, and if you've recently added more RAM, you may end up needing to replace it with something of better quality.
If you're a newbie to system building then I'd suggest you don't.
For photography work, then a budget level system should do just fine for you, and you should be able to pick one up quite cheaply if you shop around. Steer clear of the chainstores and the 'Name-brand' systems, and scour the print media advertisements, either in the 'Technology' supplements of newspapers or specialised PC publications, for budget priced system suppliers. They'll be locally assembled, much cheaper, and should work just as well as the more expensive ones.
Look for the following features as necessary inclusions. (Pay extra if you need to. Ring the suppliers and talk a deal with them)
Windows XP. (Any earlier version is a nuisance and a nonsense.) 512Mb of system memory. (Less RAM means a less responsive system) Plenty of hard drive storage (80Gb would give you room to breathe, and would most likely be the minimum size included anyway) CD-Burner (An essential item for data backup, and a DVD burner is preferable)
The choice of processor in the system isn't as important, although I'd suggest you steer clear of Celeron based systems. Athlon XP and Pentium 4 systems work much better!
Shop around, mate. You might be pleasantly surprised to see how cheaply systems can be purchased when you move away friom the 'name-brands, and in most circumstances systems can be purchased more cheaply than you can build them yourself.
Reinstall your motherboard chipset drivers, then your other component drivers. That should fix anything which has been corrupted by the malware removal (or the programs which the malware removal has got rid of)
If that doesn't work, try a format and fresh install of everything. This sounds like a software problem, not a hardware one.
I copped one a while back that gave me all sorts of frustration until I realised that the bloody thing was shipped with the 'Clear CMOS' jumper in the 'Clear' position! (Yours shouldn't be like that, as the fans wouldn't be working either. It'd just be dead!)
I've also had a few others from time to time which just wouldn't work or which wouldn't work reliably no matter what was tried with them and guess what!
