| Dale MDX |
I have an aunt that has a several year old Dell computer running Windows ME. Description of problem (not by me - I haven't looked at it yet):
When you turn it on you get the message that it was improperly shut down and it checks the hard disc for errors. If you let it do this in the safe mode it eventually shows icons on the screen but it is locked up and won't do anything. If you start in anything but the safe mode you get a blank screen.
Any ideas on what to do to resolve this situation? Sounds like maybe a dying hard drive? As it's apparently locked up, it's hard to diagnose. |
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| Pauls MDX |
Get the Windows upgrade to XP. I had similar problems with the ME by Windows. I was forced to format and put zero's to the hard drive 2 times. Each time it took over 8 hours to get the system back to normal. I eventually forced Gateway to give up an Upgrade CD to Update my ME to XP. Since the upgrade the system works great!!
Paul
P.S. - In a direct answer to you question on how to retrieve, Format the Hard drive, write zero's to the hard drive, and reinstall using the Windows ME CD's one at a time. |
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| RonH |
*sigh* I never liked WinME. Out of all the flavors of Windows ...a and I've used them all, WinME is the worst ... to me, it was a sluggish version of Win98SE with a few visual tweaks. Total waste of time and money ... it was the first OS I wanted to de-install.
Anyway..... I had a similar problem when I was on WinME .. don't think it was actually related to ME ... just a coincidence. Turned out to be an IRQ conflict with an onboard COM port. Took FOREVER to figure it out. Sounds like she may have the same. Could also be a failing piece of hardware, or a driver that had been corrupted. That would partially explain why it starts in safe mode and not normal mode .. many drivers are not initialized in safe mode. You might start off by running a logged startup. This will save a file (BOOTLOG.TXT if memory serves) that logs every init and success sequence in the boot process. What you would be looking for is an init without a success ... that's either the culprit hardware, or a major piece of the puzzle. Next step would be to either remove the hardware (if you can) or boot into safe mode and delete the drivers for it. Try, try again.
Other options depend on how vital the data on the PC is. If it's vital, and there's no backup to speak of, you could try to reinstall ME over the top of the corrupted install. I've done this in the past, and 9 times out of 10 it will repair many errors .. as well as preserve data and many settings.
If data isn't vital .. three options left ... 1) use the dell recovery disk to blast the system and return it to factory; 2) format and reinstall ME manually (provided Dell gave you ME on a CD); 3) upgrade to WinXP as Pauls MDX suggested. This would be my options, as XP is a MUCH more stable OS. |
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| Dale MDX |
Thanks for the responses so far. I don't think the data on the drive is vital. The ME install over the current version may be the best bet. As the computer is supposedly locked up even in safe mode, I'm not sure how that's going to work. I assume I can just put the ME disk in the CD drive and it will start up with it and give me an install option. I hope.
By the way, my aunt is in a retirement home and is 80 something. Not too many people there even know what a computer is, but she gets around fairly well on e-mail and the Internet. I think she'd be better off sticking with ME rather than trying to learn XP, if possible. |
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| Pauls MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by Dale MDX
Thanks for the responses so far. I don't think the data on the drive is vital. The ME install over the current version may be the best bet. As the computer is supposedly locked up even in safe mode, I'm not sure how that's going to work. I assume I can just put the ME disk in the CD drive and it will start up with it and give me an install option. I hope.
By the way, my aunt is in a retirement home and is 80 something. Not too many people there even know what a computer is, but she gets around fairly well on e-mail and the Internet. I think she'd be better off sticking with ME rather than trying to learn XP, if possible.
From what I heard you must at least FORMAT the hard drive before you re-install, but I would do the writing of ZERO's to the hard drive as it did work better after I did both. |
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| Warzau |
| If it is older computer do a quick system req for XP if it can run it. If it can NUKE the drive. Do a fresh install, upgrades usually leave crud behind. You can buy OEM cheaper with hardware, but they are not specific what kind of hardware so you can buy a screw and get it cheaper thatn just buying the OS. If it can not run XP, nuke it anyway and install 98 SE. But NUKE the drive and do a fresh install regardless. |
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| hockeyplayer |
How to Revive Near-Dead Win-ME Computer?
Give it mouse to mouse resuscitation:8: |
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| Pauls MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by Warzau
If it is older computer do a quick system req for XP if it can run it. If it can NUKE the drive. Do a fresh install, upgrades usually leave crud behind. You can buy OEM cheaper with hardware, but they are not specific what kind of hardware so you can buy a screw and get it cheaper thatn just buying the OS. If it can not run XP, nuke it anyway and install 98 SE. But NUKE the drive and do a fresh install regardless.
What does NUKE the drive mean??? Is this Formatting the drive? Destroying the drive? Throwing it away and replacing? I'm not familar with that term. |
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| Warzau |
| Sorry, nuke, means format the drive. Just erasing isnt good enough. Also while formating you can partition the drive. |
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| RonH |
If the data isn't vital, then go with the consensus here ... reformat and reinstall. Personally, I wouldn't go as far as repartitioning or wiping the drive with zeros, but to each his own, and if that's what you want to do, go for it ... certainly won't hurt.
FYI - I've done the routine of reinstalling directly over a corrupted OS many times with great success ... reason I did is it saved me from having to reinstall/restore/reconfigure every piece of software I have ... and I'm running on a 320GB array, so that would take a while.
If it's a Dell, it should have come with a blue or purple "recovery CD" ... provided someone knows where it is. This will do all the work for you ... and when it's done, the OS will look like it just came out of box. Best thing about the CD is it will install all the odd drivers needed for Dell's onboard bits like sound, video, modem, etc. This way you won't have to fight with downloading them from Dell and installing them separately after the OS install. If the CD is unavailable, if you have access to a CD burner, I'd go ahead and pre-download any drivers you can find for her model Dell, put them on a CD, and have them in hand when you reformat. Without that, you may be in a jam and the modem and/or nic may not work as you won't have drivers ... and without the modem/nic, you can download them on the spot.
Good luck. |
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| mdxxxx |
quote:
Originally posted by hockeyplayer
How to Revive Near-Dead Win-ME Computer?
Give it mouse to mouse resuscitation:8:
Ouch! :headshake
I'd go with the consensus... Format and start fresh.... |
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| jswift2000 |
| If youre going to format the hard drive, I agree with the above recomendations - go with windows xp. I run that and Windows Server 2003 on all my pcs at home and we run XP at work. Very stable. |
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| hammermdx |
quote:
Originally posted by jswift2000
If youre going to format the hard drive, I agree with the above recomendations - go with windows xp. I run that and Windows Server 2003 on all my pcs at home and we run XP at work. Very stable.
Agreed, Windows XP is the way to go. |
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| BlueStreak |
Rename your WINDOWS directory and install ME again. It will lay down a new clean OS (as clean as ME is...) for you. You'll have to reload some of your programs, but all your data files will remain in tact.
Once it's all running again, delete the old Windows directory. Don't delete the old directory until you have everything running again. You can use your old Windows directory as a location to install drivers and other files.
Sounds complicated but very easy to do. |
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