I.T. help needed!!! pc won't start!

[Albannach]

cant do
go to run
type cmd that black box just poped up
thats dos
why it there if windows dont use it
windows will not run with out it

That's a Virtual DOS Emulator, it is not true DOS.

[Hazzo]

I'd go with Jud, rather than remove battery though if you know which MB you have look up reset cmos for your board, once done if it reboots into windows turn off system restore on all drives and reboot again. H

[B16mts]

good morning gentlemen. i do hope i haven't caused grumpiness between fellow members of the camp through this.

anywho, melons is going to the gym this morning, and while she's out i'm going to have a fiddle. Then once i've done that i'll see if i can get my pc working

i am gonna try the battery thing, cos it won't do any harm, and its quick and easy. plus, and i think more importantly right now, it may help to settle a dos related argument.

any for all you IT guys i hope you teach your kids to read by the books along the lines of: C:/DOS, C:/DOS/RUN, RUN/DOS/RUN!

cheers,

Martin

[adpsimpson]

Martin, hope you get something running... In case it's not going to be easy, visit the ubuntu homepage, and download the CD (download link on left side, take the latest version, 32 bit).

Stick that in the CD drive and boot off it. It's a full Linux (like Windows but free) install on a CD. It won't touch your computer. No changes, nothing. It tricks itself into believing the CD is a hard disk, and runs entirely off that. You can then plug in any external drives or whatever, and copy all your files off the internal drive.

Once it's all backed up, you can do what you like to the original drive, including a full clean install.

ps - if it doesn't boot up, try hitting F2 or F12 as soon as it turns on, to get a boot menu to boot off the CD. If it gets so far and gives up, try the safe graphics mode in "more options" when it starts. Also, it will run slowly - CD drives aren't the fastest thing around!

And for my 2p worth, early versions of Windows were a graphical program running on top of the text-only DOS operating system. Linux still runs this way - the text prompt is still always there, lurking in the background. However in recent Windows versions, like Matt and others said, the dos prompt is emulated - it's just a Windows programme, not the other way round. It's also completely castrated compared to a true command line, but that's a different story!

[MattF]

coz all windows run on dos

16/32 bit Windoze ran on DOS. There is no true DOS in MS anymore. As Andy said, it's a compatibility layer. If you think you know best, ask one of the M.C.S.E's on here. They will know the definitive answer.

[Sancho]

Basically, the file you deleted runs Windows explorer and is needed for Windows to work. If you have a boot disk, boot off that and restore the file to its rightful place. If not, you will probably have to reinstall XP or at least fix it from the installation disk.

It shouldn't affect any of the files you have on your hard drive. If you are really worried, you can put it in someone else's computer and back-up whatever you can't bear to lose. Just make sure the other computer knows which hard drive to boot from.

You shouldn't need to reset your bios or any of that. You have just removed a file you shouldn't have and you need to put it back for it to work. In short, you need your XP disk.

[MattF]

i am gonna try the battery thing, cos it won't do any harm, and its quick and easy.

Check any and all hardware monitor settings in the BIOS once you have done so then. There may be some C.P.U shutdown/protection/warning settings in there which you have disabled or suchlike once you reset the BIOS.

[BioHazard]

anywho, melons is going to the gym this morning

You have a Melons too i wonder if it's for the same reason

[MattF]

You have a Melons too i wonder if it's for the same reason

I was wondering about that......

[BioHazard]

I was wondering about that......

You would


Go take a cold shower

[Sancho]

You have a Melons too i wonder if it's for the same reason

Because her name's Helen?

[B16mts]

Because her name's Helen?

nah its just cos she's got big tits

[Sancho]

nah its just cos she's got big tits

Splendid! Well done.

[B16mts]

anywho back to the matter i hand.

i am now in possesion of a windows xp disk.

i have followed some it guff i found online and have reinstalled inwdows xp in parrallel with the existing intall in a new folder called winxp. i had to do this as i got no recovery option. apparently because my pc has a sata harddrive and it could not find any existing install.

anywho, i can now start the pc, though its a "clean install" as such, and the fonts are huge etc. obviously when starting i have the choice of two boot options, though both are xp.

the good news is everything is still there, so now i need to know how to move stuff across.

my logical mind says it would be easier to fix the origonal windows folder in the long run, so long as someone know what i might need to copy over from my new winxp folder to the origonal windows folder.

otherwise i could do it the other way, but that would be ahuuuuge job!!

cheers for the help guys, i'm nearly there!!

Martin

[Albannach]

If you installed it onto a SATA drive, you should have been able to repair the existing installation. After all, Setup was able to see the drive or it wouldn't have been able to install to it!

In your new version, install Recovery Console (from your xp disk) and repair the old version from there at boot time.