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jbredmound

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History: I was hit and hit hard by a Trojan several months ago. I dumped it, reinstalled Norton, fixed my address book, and did a few other repairs that I don't remember now.I think my problems really date back to this.Having gliches coming up, I decided to try to repair W2K, or install over and go get the Service Packs, etc, that I would lose.Well, the puter won't run the W2K disk. I have tried straight, from Safe Mode, from WE, from the Control Panel...nothing's working.Doing my homework, Big Bill tells me that my cache memory might be the problem; I have an AMD Athelon (with cache memory), but I have never tried to disable it, and wouldn't know where to start.I shudder at the thought of a wipe, because 75% of my software is downloaded stuff, and I don't know how long it would take me to go get it all back.I'm not an event viewer expert, but it looks like my problem is in the registry. I made a registry backup (on-board), but I can't get the Restore Wizard to load it up.%%$#@##$$$#....nothings working for me here.Suggestions? Give me the bad news? I think I'm ready to fall on my sword.

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well... I don't know specifically how to fix your problem, but I'd tell you that your best bet is to get Windows up and running enough to backup your data and then reformat... I hate to say it, but even if you can find a temporary fix, it still won't run as well as a fresh install will.

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OK, so I'll start writing down everything that I know I can go back and get, so I don't have to back it up, and I'll go buy a case of new CD-R's, for the stuff I'll need to back up...I'm probably going to drag my feet on this, as I have been through it before and prefer extensive dental work.Thanks for the tip on DELPART. I've go a site written down where I can go get it when "the games begin."Hey! What if I just bought an external hard drive and moved everything I wanted over there? Then, erase drive c? See, I'm trying to negotiate myself out of this.Do you think a sweat lodge ceremony would help?Live sacrifices?

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I shudder at the thought of a wipe, because 75% of my software is downloaded stuff, and I don't know how long it would take me to go get it all back.
Don't know if this will work with Win2000, but it works slick in Win98: just delete the Windows folder, seems to save a lot of apps, etc. and is similar to a clean install. Best of luck. (You will have to re-install your d/l'd files, however).
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Bit of advice if you do decide to fdisk, format and reinstall... setup a second partition (or second harddrive) for all your documents/install files and the like. I've found that it's much easier to reinstall windows if all I have to do is just reinstall the programs (and not download them all again). Also make a folder for your drivers... makes the hard install much easier/less painful.Another thing to think about is using a ghosting software to create an image of your harddrive (after you've reformatted). Then if you run into problems, you can just ghost the original working image back on. takes all of 10 min! :D If you're going to do this, I recommend (as stated in the backups thread) Make an image right after installing windows (w/ OS updates), then an image after installing all your standard programs. If you really want to make it easy on yourself, follow Stryder's advice (first post in backups thread). :)and yes, you can setup a second drive and copy your current files over, just be careful about what you copy back (worms can lurk everywhere). :D

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Hey J.When you put the 2000 CD in I am assuming it does not auto-start. Have you tried clicking My Computer, and then going to your CD-ROM drive, right click on it and choose open? And then click "set-up"?If you decide to format and re-install be sure you have all of your drivers backed-up- if not on cd make sure you go to the manufaturers site and download them before you take this step. And do not forget email, favs, personal data, etc.

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Well, the puter won't run the W2K disk. I have tried straight, from Safe Mode, from WE, from the Control Panel...nothing's working.
Under Windows XP you can actually boot to your Winodws XP CD. Under Windows 2K, you use the floppies that either came with your W2K CD or that you make for it. This *should* get around your problem, allowing you to effect boot into the Windows 2000 Setup program. And it's at least worth trying before you wipe your disk. Here are the steps, as published in WinMag's Essential Guide to Installing Windows 2000. I know I've run my own version of this tip in the newsletter too, but I'm not finding it. (I was primarily the editor, not the author, of this WinMag story.)How to Create Win2000 Boot FloppiesIf your system can't support booting to the Win2000 CD-ROM, you can use a utility on the CD to create boot floppies on a PC running Windows 95, 98, or NT. Here's how you do that.1. Fully format four floppy disks, preferably new ones. 2. Go to the \BOOTDISK folder on the CD-ROM. You'll find two .EXE files there: MAKEBOOT and MAKEBT32. 3. On a Win98/95 PC, run MAKEBOOT; on an NT machine, run MAKEBT32. Follow the onscreen prompts to build the four floppies you need to boot the Win2000 installer. Be sure to label your disks appropriately. When you're done, the first boot disk will be finished and sitting in your floppy drive; all you need do is leave in place and restart the computer Note: If you're running Win2000 and attempting to create floppies with an LS-120 or "SuperDisk" drive in your system, the MAKEBOOT and MAKEBT32 programs will not recognize the drive as a floppy drive.-- Scot
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Put an old clean second HD in your computer, install Linux on it. From within Linux you can access your win 2000 partitions, you said you had a backup of your registry, so replace the corrupt one with the good one ! ( if it fails you can make backups of all you have on that partition )Problem solved and you end up with a real OS on your computer. :blink: BrunoPS: I forgot, if you have no 2nd HD: check Knoppix in "all things Linux"http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/forums/inde...t=ST&f=14&t=294

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Thanks Scot and Bruno. I've made a small registry repair, and I'm running very well, now, which gives me some time to plan for the future. I have a spindle of CD-RW's on the way, I'm already nosing around for an inexpensive, reliable HD (we have a cyber bulletin board in this area), and I'm bookmarking everything (including that article Scot sent, which looks like a boob could follow it, which means I have half a chance.One thing about this little adventure that I will embark on soon; with you folks" help, I'm going to learn. Thanks.Bruno...you really don't like "Widows" :blink:

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OK, I think I'm getting driven or obsessed here.I attempted to make the boot disks; I don't use floppys for anything, but I did have a package of them, about 6 mos old, from a "special deal" I received.I formatted all the floppies and went to the Boot32. Two different error messages occurred during the failed processes: 1. At 53 - 59%, "No ID address mark was found on the floppy disk." 2. At <50%, "Floppy disk controller reported an error not recognized by the floppy disk driver."Each of these errors occurred twice.Is there some way to do this with a CD? I don't like floppys.The CD-RWs are on their way.Thanks for any suggestions not requiring that I throw this computer as far as I can, as I do not wish to be tempted. B)

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Instead of boot floppies, why not make bootable CDs instead!Bootable XP CDBootable Windows 2000 CDThe second link also details how to slipstream service packs into the bootable CD. Using this information I have a bootable XP SP1 cd and a bootable W2K Pro SP3 cd. Microsoft since SP1 for Windows 2000 has made it fairly simple to slipstream service packs into existing Windows installation directories.

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Instead of boot floppies, why not make bootable CDs instead!Bootable XP CDBootable Windows 2000 CDThe second link also details how to slipstream service packs into the bootable CD. Using this information I have a bootable XP SP1 cd and a bootable W2K Pro SP3 cd. Microsoft since SP1 for Windows 2000 has made it fairly simple to slipstream service packs into existing Windows installation directories.
Nice links - thanks! B)
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Well, I was getting ready to attack the boot problem when it dawned on me that I had never tried anything from safe mode. B) So I went to safe mode, and the W2K disk booted right up...New problem; the "Upgrade" option is not available, and I got a message saying that the setup program would not support upgrade from SP 3 to SP2. I know my OS disk included SP2, and I have, in fact, downloaded SP 3 (and it shows up in properties).So, am I still doomed to a complete repartition and reformat, or is there a way around this mess.I told Becky, my wife, today that I have wiped my hear drive three different times, but what I am running into now is completely new territory for me. I really appreciate everyone's help.

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So, is uninstalling SP3 just a matter of going to Add/Remove programs and doing it, or is there some other catch? (See, I'm getting paranoid, here).Thanks for your help. :D

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So, is uninstalling SP3 just a matter of going to Add/Remove programs and doing it, or is there some other catch? (See, I'm getting paranoid, here).Thanks for your help.  :D
So long as when you installed SP3, you had it set so you could uninstall it, you should just be able to go to Add/remove and uninstall it.AFAIK you shouldn't have to do anything else...
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jbredmound, this is turning into a saga, isn't it.I'm interested in this one, but if you can't remove SP3, I'm beginning to think that at least a partial wipe of your disk is in order. I don't often say that either. I tend to be very resistant to what I feel is often a knee-jerk reaction -- the urge to wipe a Windows installation.But something does appear to be very amiss on your system. And there have been problems with SP3 on some Win2K PCs. So if you can't gracefully extricate yourself from SP3, I say it's time to think about a fresh start. And I wouldn't be hasty to upgrade to SP3 either. I would wait until you're clear the system is stable, then make a drive image, and then try SP3.Also, the errors with the floppies -- you probably have a bad floppy drive. This is a LOT more common than people realize. Floppy drives are cheap. $25 at CDW last I checked. Might think about ordering up a replacement. I usu. don't assume hardware is in error with most problems, because usu. it's software. But in this case, history is whispering in my ear.-- Scot

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I cannot gracefully extricate myself from SP3. As soon as that spindle of CD-RWs arrive, I am going to make a fresh start.Thanks mucho for the tip on SP3. I start thinking about it, and I wonder if SP3 isn't more of my problem than that Trojan attack. The timing matches up pretty well. Think I'll stick with SP2. W2K was nearly unsinkable for me until about that time.I am going to purchase a few fresh, high quality floppies and put that drive through it's paces. We'll see how she does. Last thought; I am becoming more convinced that guys like me, who would rather go through extensive dental work than reformat, may be dinosaurs. With the virus/trojan folks becoming more adept and the software folks just struggling to keep up, I think we may be in an era when reformatting is going to become a maintenance function, as opposed to a "when everything else fails" procedure. (I have a new thread in Security/Networking about this). The way that everyone is integrating software now makes it almost impossible to isolate and eliminate a problem with out nuking the whole thing. :D The next saga will be walking me through that "reformat, take down the partition, repartition and reformat again" thing. I've never done it that way, but as long as I am "going nuclear", I might as well do it thoroughly. :D

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:unsure: I do the fdisk\reformat thing quite often and it's really no big deal. Do it a few times and it'll become second nature, just another chore to do on the computer.Joy
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I'll be falling back on you Joy, and the others. I really think this is something important to learn to do right, and well. Thanks.

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nlinecomputers

jbredmound,Have you tried to just reinstall SP3 on top of your non working system. It use to be in the old days of Win NT 4 that almost any change REQUIRED you to reinstall the service pack. Now Win2K and higher is supposed to be smarter then that and find the SP files without requiring you to manually reinstall it but none the less I've fixed some "unfixable" problems on Win2K by doing the SP reinstall. :rolleyes:

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jbredmound,Have you tried to just reinstall SP3 on top of your non working system.  It use to be in the old days of Win NT 4 that almost any change REQUIRED you to reinstall the service pack.  Now Win2K and higher is supposed to be smarter then that and find the SP files without requiring you to manually reinstall it but none the less I've fixed some "unfixable" problems on Win2K by doing the SP reinstall.            :rolleyes:
:D What, and take away all the fun he'll have learning to install an OS?Joy
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Have you tried to just reinstall SP3 on top of your non working system.
I agree with Joy. :rolleyes: But I have to second nlinecomputers' notion that a stab at reinstalling SP3 would not only be worth a try, but we might learn something from it about what's wrong with your PC. If it's possible, I recommend it too.-- Scot
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Have you tried to just reinstall SP3 on top of your non working system.
I agree with Joy. :rolleyes: But I have to second nlinecomputers' notion that a stab at reinstalling SP3 would not only be worth a try, but we might learn something from it about what's wrong with your PC. If it's possible, I recommend it too.-- Scot
I would have to agree here too... really, what do you have to lose by trying it? You're getting down to last resorts here, and reinstalling SP3 would be a fairly quick way to attempt to fix the problem. Worst comes to worst, you reformat. I would suggest getting your backups done BEFORE you reinstall SP3, as you don't want the reinstall to kill your system and prevent access to your backup ability...Actually, this is a good tip for anyone running a service pack install... Make sure you're prepared for the worst... Windows2K SP1 crashed my system when I installed it when it first came out. Luckily I run two partitions, so I was able to reformat without losing any of my precious data! Backups (once you come up with a good system) don't take too long, and are well worth the time and effort if your system crashes!
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The big Fed-Ex truck showed up at the farm this AM, with my spindle of CD-RWs. I have Friday off, the lady at work, the boy at school, so I'll do the backups. Then, we'll try the SP3 thing, mostly because I'm one of those people who has always said "I've never had any problems with an MS patch or update" :rolleyes: , and I may have to eat mega-crow.I might just reformat anyway, even if the SP3 thing works, while I've got the ole support system on the thread. Time to end the panic response when the word "reformat" come up. :P :D :D :D

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I might just reformat anyway, even if the SP3 thing works, while I've got the ole support system on the thread. Time to end the panic response when the word "reformat" come up.  :)  :)  :)  :)
fdisk and format are your friends! :)
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