[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Screw it. I'll just reinstall XP. It's a bit of a pain having to reinstall all my apps... But at least I won't be losing any files or save games.

I would recommend making an image of your completed OS install with all the extras with Acronis True Image when you decide to start over. Put the image on another HD so you have a very safe way to get back to where you started should anything OS related happens again. It is what I do, and I like it. Now if you plan on doing major hardware upgrades in the near future, the point would be moot, but if you plan on sticking with what you have for a while, it will save you a lot of time in the months/years to come if you do something wrong.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadtonowhere08 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would recommend making an image of your completed OS install with all the extras with Acronis True Image when you decide to start over. Put the image on another HD so you have a very safe way to get back to where you started should anything OS related happens again. It is what I do, and I like it. Now if you plan on doing major hardware upgrades in the near future, the point would be moot, but if you plan on sticking with what you have for a while, it will save you a lot of time in the months/years to come if you do something wrong.

Actually, I do have an image of the drive. A norton ghost one if i remember correctly.

It was made right at the beginning when I had installed just the essential apps. I don't see why I should restore it back to that when I could just completely reinstall XP and have a fresh new install, then I can install the latest versions of the essential apps. I'd probably have to upgrade them all if i restored it anyway...

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually, I do have an image of the drive. A norton ghost one if i remember correctly. It was made right at the beginning when I had installed just the essential apps. I don't see why I should restore it back to that when I could just completely reinstall XP and have a fresh new install, then I can install the latest versions of the essential apps. I'd probably have to upgrade them all if i restored it anyway...

Well yeah, you could go that route as well. I figured since it took me about 4 hours to completely tweak my install (and I was installing like hell), I would not want to do it for a while. What I do is when I want to try something new or install a new program or update a previously installed one, I restore and make changes. I then make a new image. I upgrade and install from a fresh image so I have a new image and an archived original one from the initial install process should anything go awry. I found that it saved me quite a bit of time. YMMV...

 

[Snake]

You probably threw up a Windows XP install error because Windows is not multiboot friendly - you most certainly have a Linux MBR bootloader taking up the space where Windows expects a Windows bootloader to be.

Which ALSO makes a point - when you reinstall Windows XP it WILL overwrite your current bootloader thereby making your Ubuntu DISAPPEAR (apparently) and be unaccessible. You should back up your Ubuntu GRUB configuration if you can or see

Reinstall Ubuntu Grub Bootloader After Windows Wipes it Out :: the How-To Geek

This is one of the great joys (NOT!!) of dual booting with Windows on the same computer

Frack the Windows install and it sometimes fracks a bit more...

If you don't want to reinstall (I wouldn't, but I'm both stubborn that way

and *extremely* talented at putting fracked computers back together again (my after-hours paid specialty)) I would do a manual System Restore. For a How-To see:

Restore registry if Windows XP won't boot,frozen,locked-up or safe mode mup hang How-to

 

[cash68]

Weird you say that snake... I dual boot from OSX to Windows all the time, no issues. >shrug<

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snake /img/forum/go_quote.gif You probably threw up a Windows XP install error because Windows is not multiboot friendly - you most certainly have a Linux MBR bootloader taking up the space where Windows expects a Windows bootloader to be.

Will FIXMBR get rid of that and allow me to install XP?

 

[Snake]

It should - but, again, your GRUB will be blasted away. You will either have to reinstall GRUB

How to dual boot Linux and Windows XP (Linux installed first) -- the step-by-step guide with screenshots

or reconfigure the Windows XP bootloader to multiboot Linux

Dual boot Windows XP with Ubuntu Linux - using the Windows bootloader - Wintendo-Windows Admin.

Option (2) is the option I used when I (well, bothered) to dual boot Linux with Windows and it worked beautifully but can be a pain to initially configure.

 

[iriverdude]

I found it works best if you install Windows first, then Linux. Linux should add a multi boot selection if GRUB is setup correctly.

But I prefer using motherboard BBS boot selection instead, so no need for any boot loaders, just choose the HD the OS is installed to.

 

[10068]

(FYI I haven't read the rest of the responses )

This sounds like a pretty easy one to me.... performance issues like that at a LAN party is either A) virus / spyware or B) overheating.

 

[10068]

Oh, download and run Passmark BurnInTest. Trust me, this is an invaluable tool to confirm or deny the presence of hardware issues and/or BIOS settings that are farking with your system.

BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST.

Again, BACK UP ALL OF THE DATA YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE.

Will this program trash your data? Heck no. It's one of my most trusted PC programs to date and I wish id've found it 10 years ago. That being said, if your HDD or RAM or whatever is dying, forcing your system into 100% usage of CPU RAM etc as a stress-test does run the chance of data loss.

Anyway, I would HIGHLY recommend this app if you're suspecting any kind of hardware issue(s). It takes about 5 minutes total to download, install, configure, and run, and runs for 15 minutes unless you have the paid version. Anyway this 15-minute test will tell you if anything is busted or failing.

I usually run:
2D Graphics
Video Playback
3D Graphics
RAM

At 100% load each. To be honest you don't need to run the HDD or CPU test unless you really want to -- if you run all of the above @ 100% you should be maxing you CPU usage anway, and as long as you test sufficient amounts of RAM, that'll use the Windows swapfile / pagefil anyway so it'll test the HDD for you

Best of luck and if you run this stress-test let me know what your results are!!!!


Oh, and this is probably something you already did but resetting your BIOS back to defaults is always a good try just in case you were overclocking or something and forgot about it.

 

[fraseyboy]

That's strange. It says there's a page 6 but I can't get to it.

Anyway, just an update, I formatted an reinstalled XP. Only took about 20 minutes to install XP itself but getting drivers installed was a real pain. My Soundcard drivers didn't seem to like being installed last, so I had to restore back and install them first. Damn creative.

I'm sure I'll encounter more problems. I hate windows

 

[craiglester]

Don't hate windows.. hate creative. Their drivers have always sucked. I won't touch their stuff anymore. Same with Nvidia videocards, I'm running ATI now, and my system loves me for it.

 

[olblueyez]

Install XP
Install the driver for your network adapter and or motherboard
Install Office if you have it
Install every GD update Microsoft has for your junk

NOW, install all your drivers

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif Install every GD update Microsoft has for your junk

This part is not really a big deal at all if you have SP3 slipstreamed into your XP Install disc. Google it, it's well worth the 30 minutes or so it takes to create said slipstreamed install disc. The best part is you can include other stuff if you want (provided the CD can hold the extra MBs of data) -- .NET Framework(s), newest DirectX distro(s), etc. etc. Pretty awesome.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek /img/forum/go_quote.gif This part is not really a big deal at all if you have SP3 slipstreamed into your XP Install disc. Google it, it's well worth the 30 minutes or so it takes to create said slipstreamed install disc. The best part is you can include other stuff if you want (provided the CD can hold the extra MBs of data) -- .NET Framework(s), newest DirectX distro(s), etc. etc. Pretty awesome.

I did that. I slipstreamed SP3. But it still wanted me to download like 30 updates. I also made it unattended and put various tweaks on it.

Anyway, now I'm having problems with codecs and whatnot... Silly windows.