windows install problem

athalonhead

I got this new computer up and running and it works great. Much faster than the compaq. The one in the sig

The compaq has windows xp which i installed last winter. It had slowed down alot and I did virus scans and followed the spyware guide you have, found and elimated stuff but it didnt help
.
So I decided to do a windows repair to it, the second repair option. during the repair it had 2 errors. one was for outlook express I forget the other. When it was done the the os was messed up--real slow boot ups& shut downs. outlook express didnt work etc.

Next I did a new install which went fine and the os was normal. But after I got online and was doing windows updates one of them failed and then the computer started acting stupid again- working slowly-locking up- error codes- dam!

So I did another new install and now it did the same thing the other new
install did.

Could I have a virus or spyware or somthing that stays on the hard drive even though it was partioned and formatted?
Or could the windows install disc be bad?

compaq persairo 5000- 40 gig hd -1 gig athalon
Help me mister wizard!

djshowdown

im no expert but from what i have read that windows repair thing is not too effective

following comment is generic but............

you really would be best off with a clean install of windows

profdlp

I'll have to disagree and say that the repair install feature is the thing I like most about WinXP. It wipes out the old System32 folder and completely rebuilds it. The only drawback is having to reinstall patches and SP's, but I can see where that is necessary to ensure a clean reinstall.

How much ram do you have on the Compaq?

As for Spyware/Virus/Trojan stuff, A repartitioning and format should have gotten rid of that, with the possible exception of a few viruses which attack your drive at a very fundamental level. I always spend the extra time and zero-out a drive when doing a format to eliminate this possibility.

What Antivirus software are you running now? If you formatted while connected to the Internet through a router and/or cable modem, etc, you could have been newly infected as soon as you logged on. You might want to post a HijackThis log in a new thread in the Spyware/Virus/Trojan Discussion Forum.

It definitely could be a problem with your Windows disc. If the drive can't read the disc to properly copy all the files it needs something is going to end up screwed, plain and simple.

Have you tweaked the system any since your format/reinstall? Turning off stuff like Indexing can help a computer running with a smaller amount of ram. Make sure all of your drivers are up to date, too.

Lastly, have you run the HD diagnostic from the manufacturer? If your HD is going bad the slowdown after running normally for a while could be explained by Windows encountering a bum area of the HD and having to work around it.

athalonhead

It has have 384 mbs of ram.

The computer was complely disconnected from everything during the install.

no anti virus I was going to do all the windows updates first.

No changes to the system before or after the instillations.

I was thinking of removing the partitions with the windows disc then puting the hd into my new computer and formatting it that way.would that zero out the hd? How do you do it?
The computer was working ok before the reinstall just was a slower than when it was fresh install last winter. I have heard that about xp that it slows down after awhile.

profdlp

athalonhead wrote:

It has have 384 mbs of ram.

That's enough to run Windows and basic programs. If by slow you mean slow during photoshop rendering (or something like that), then you don't have nearly enough.

The computer was complely disconnected from everything during the install.

Good man.

no anti virus I was going to do all the windows updates first.

The Antivirus stuff should come first. Like I said before, you could have been infected as soon as you connected to the Internet or used an infected disk(c).

No changes to the system before or after the instillations.

Try updating your drivers, especially for the chipset and video card.

I was thinking of removing the partitions with the windows disc then puting the hd into my new computer and formatting it that way.would that zero out the hd? How do you do it?

I use an old diskedit (DOS) floppy. If you get the HD tools from the drive manufacturer there will probably be an included utility to do it from there.

The computer was working ok before the reinstall just was a slower than when it was fresh install last winter. I have heard that about xp that it slows down after awhile.

I haven't seen that as much with XP as I did with Win98, etc, but it can happen over time. Certainly not within a month, though. My last clean install was August of 2003 - two years ago. I also did a repair install after upgrading to an Athlon 64 system last January.

If I were you I would test that HD and get AVG (or something else) on there and do a full virus scan with the latest definitions. A round of Ad-Aware and Spybot would be a good idea, too.

athalonhead

Try updating your drivers, especially for the chipset and video card.

This is the compaq computer not the new comp in the sig. It has intergrated video. But I could try installing new drivers when I get the os working
compaq persairo 5000- 40 gig hd -1 gig athalon

That's enough to run Windows and basic programs. If by slow you mean slow during photoshop rendering (or something like that), then you don't have nearly enough.

No I mean simple web surfing and windows coming slowly stuff like that.I installed the os in jan also
I will try finding if the hd manufacture has the zero out utillity. Or is there one that I can download for free that will do that?

profdlp

What brand is your HD?

As for the drivers, a poor Network driver could make your whole Internet slow to a crawl. The Chipset and video drivers are important as well, since they are always in use.

athalonhead

The hd is a quantum fireball ct20 40

profdlp

Maxtor bought out Quantum about four years ago. The HD diagnostic found here should get you going.

It makes a bootable CD. Burn it, boot from the CD, then run the quick and the full diagnostic tests. If the drive passes, look around for the utilities section of the CD and there should be an option for a full erasure of the drive.

athalonhead

Thanks profdlp That is what I need. I am having trouble making the disc using winimage.
Have you used that program before? I made a disc that the computer booted up on but it was a dos cammand prompt
I also have nero express cd writer

profdlp

athalonhead wrote:

...I made a disc that the computer booted up on but it was a dos command prompt...

It's supposed to take you right to the program... I don't think you did anything wrong, my niece had the exact same problem.

Boot from the CD again and this time type in dir /w and hit {enter}. Look for an executable (something ending in .exe), type in the name and press {enter} again. This should start the program for you.

The fact that you're getting a DOS prompt leads me to believe that you're doing it right, but make sure you choose the option to "Write image to disc".

athalonhead

Ok I Typed dir into the prompt and found the exe file and typed thatI think it came up but was in german or somthing. I downloaded it again and it went into the winimage program automatically. Now I cant get it to write to a cd.
I dont see anything that says Write image to disc
Do I extract it? I tried --create cd-rom iso image--
The nero cd writer has the option --burn bootable data disc--

profdlp

athalonhead wrote:

Ok I Typed dir into the prompt and found the exe file and typed thatI think it came up but was in german or somthing.

You're almost there. Look for an executable with an "eng" in it (for English). That's the one you need.

I downloaded it again and it went into the winimage program automatically. Now I cant get it to write to a cd.

I don't know what to tell you there...

I dont see anything that says Write image to disc
Do I extract it? I tried --create cd-rom iso image--
The nero cd writer has the option --burn bootable data disc--

The .iso itself is bootable. (You wouldn't have gotten as far as you did before if it wasn't.) The --create cd-rom iso image-- is for making an image from a file or group of files. You want to create a disc from an image, in this case the .iso file you downloaded.

athalonhead

Ok ... I got it

Today I started fresh. I uninstalled and deleted all the stuff I had downloaded. Down loaded disg juggler instead of winmap, and it was real easy to make a disc.

The program started automaticly during restart and is working

The winmap program was flaued, first it made the disc in german. then some of the features quit working.
I am doing all the tests and I will post the results later

Thanks alot profdlp.. you guys are good

Tex

djshowdown wrote:

im no expert but from what i have read that windows repair thing is not too effective

following comment is generic but............

you really would be best off with a clean install of windows

I have done HUNDREDS of XP repairs. I suggest you change your source where you "read that windows repair thing is not too effective". Your getting fed a line of crap my friend.

The repair on XP is awesome.

Tex

djshowdown

damn im getting told off left right and centre

Shadow2018

You are not getting told off. Tex and the Prof are merely pointing out that your info is misleading. That is in no way slamming you or telling you off.

djshowdown

i guess my sarcasm isnt projected too well in my text

athalonhead

I did all the tests on the hd and it passed them all. I did the all zero write and installed the operating system. So far it is ok so I am going to run it for a few days before I go online.

When I did the install on this computer after a couple of days it crashed and I had to reinstall the os and that was with a new hd. I think it thought it was past the 30 day limit to register because it had just given the reminder to register the os.

Boy computers can be alot of fun when they work rite but that last problem took me 3 days to get. I learned alot though and that is why I built this computer in the first place.

I thank profdlp for helping me out.

Will that maxtor program work on other hard drives?

I will post back in a couple of days to let you know if the computer keeps working properly.

profdlp

athalonhead wrote:

...I thank profdlp for helping me out.

You are quite welcome.

Will that maxtor program work on other hard drives?

Nope. First thing it does is check the drive to see if it's a Maxtor. If it's not it won't run. All the other major drive maufacturers have their own test which is similar to the PowerMax program.

Hang on to that CD. If things start acting weird on you down the road you will probably want to run the tests again.

I will post back in a couple of days to let you know if the computer keeps working properly.

Thanks. It's always good to hear that things are going well. If you have trouble (knock wood) we can help you there.

It would be a good idea to get an Antivirus program on there ASAP. You might also start collecting drivers for the chipset, network, video card, sound card, etc. Personally, I usually run the stock WinXP drivers for a while so I have some idea of the stability of the system using the WHQL drivers. Once things seem to be stable I add in the rest one at a time over a period of days or weeks. If you install them all in the same afternoon and something goes awry you won't be sure which one caused the trouble.

I learned a lot though and that is why I built this computer in the first place.

I'd be willing to bet that everyone here started the same way. When someone can lead you along to the solution for a problem it's usually because they've been in the same position themselves at some point in the past. The next time someone comes along wondering how to test their HD, etc, you'll be in a fine position to give them excellent advice, having been there yourself.

Good luck, man.

athalonhead

Update
I installed windows again and everything went ok. I played with it for about a week before I went online

I installed an antivirus program before I went online also.
When I went online and went directly to the av update site and rite away I started to get the same problems as before.

I got popups that said that I had corrupted regristry and to go to a site that was www .regrepair to fix the problem. there were a few of them that came up but they said pretty much the same thing and had a web site to go to fix the problem. I did not go to the sites.

After I got the popups the comp started acting stupid going real slow. The comp wouldnt even shut down properly. I finally got some of the av updates done and then It started catching viruses. Now I have 3 viruses and the av cant clean them out. The comp is messed up again. And the av wont update itself anymore either.

I want to get rid of the viruses and see if the comp starts working ok.
I am going to start a thread in the virus section

athalonhead

New update
I finally got the compaq computer working properly.

I reinstalled windows again and put the anti virus on before I went online. Then I rembered that last time I had disabled the firewall because I was going to update and use the windows firewall.This time I left the firewall on and when I went online there were no problems at all.

So the virus scan without the firewall would still let the virus in. they were some kind of worm it said. And I had only been online a couple of minutes when the virus started attacking

The weird part is that last winter I put windows on this same comp without a antivirus and had no problems at all. I did not even put the antivirus on for a couple of months.

I guess this at least tells me that this antivirus does work.It is PC-cillin it came on my asus motherboard drivers disc.

Moral of this story
With todays virus threats you need a firewall.
Even if your av does not catch a virus it still keeps them out.
So dont say your av is junk just because it never caught a virus.

Thanks again profdlp and all others that helped me with this problem. This forum has the best trouble shooters of all the other forums I have been on.