XP Reinstall in place? (long, hopefully well presented)

pops

Distinguished
May 14, 2004
29
0
18,530
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Hi,

I've been searching the groups here and at .general plus googling
but not coming up with anything useful so far; lots of tidbits,
but nothing concrete. It may be my search terms I suppose, ...
anyway

1. I'm trying to reinstall XP in "setup" (not Repair Console)
mode by booting from the original CD, which is XP Pro/SP1. SP2
on separate CD, not streamlined.

I -used- to be able to boot from the CD, click 'Setup Windows'
press enter, press F8, and then press R to do this. I have it
written down and also came across an MVP article by Mike Solomon
that says exactly what I've been doing, including telling the
reader to press that R that isn't there.
I have a note made from pre-SP2 to press R twice after setup,
and I recall that working, also.
I don't -think- I've done a reinstall like this since I
installed SP2 but not sure of that. Nor do I think it's
relevant.

Problem: There is no R to press on that last screen where I and
Mike both think it should be.
All it shows is install XP to a drive other than the one it's
on, and indicates it's going to delete the partition, which is
unacceptable to my intent at this time, especially since
everything relates to either my second hard drive or the external
hard drive (Acom 160 Gig, NTFS, only one partition).
Yes, this is the "Setup" route, not the Repair Windows
Installation selection which leads you to the recovery console.

What the heck am I missing? I've run thru the process five times
just to be certain I wasn't doing something stupid, with no
success. Always same results. I also seem to have gathered
several hundred temp files on drive E, second physical, from my
efforts. I used F3 to cancel the installs each time so maybe
that's why.
Interestingly enough, when it wanted to run chkdsk on C and E
upon post-CD boots, it DID find a problem of some sort with the
pagefile and claimed to have fixed it, but I'd have sworn I've
run the DOS chkdsk several times without errors. Something about
a #5 record at $I30? I've forgotten the exact message now. It
said it deleted it to fix it.
System still running perfectly "normally".
-------------------
XP Pro SP2+, 512 RAM, two 7200 rpm 80 Gigs, lots of room, 2.6
GHz, Sygate firewall, full complement spyware/malware detectors.
Reasonable sure there are no viruses, worms, trojans, etc etc..
Computer room is not excessively hot; house is air
conditioned. Humidity is not a culprit, nor is dust in the
casing.
-------------------

BFIF, yes I have a full backup; one with XP and another with
Norton.

Notes that may or may not be relevant:
-- Used Partition Magic 8 to partition/setup drives. 5 hard
drives: c&d, e&f, and g external plus the DVD drive at h.
-- My Documents exists on E
-- Pagefile on E: C's pagefile set small.

Why do I want to reinstall in place?
Two reasons:
1. It takes way too long to restore everything and get back to
working status.
2. I've seldom had a 100% successful restore from backup.
Something always gets left out or otherwise mangled, mostly
Office apps which I use heavily. Yeah I know, get an image app;
I will I will! ;-}

More succinctly, I've been having little "funnies" happen at odd
times which I've been chasing for a couple of months. I tought
it was pagefile related at one time because I have seen the
pagefile get very large and take a long time to subside to usable
levels.
The exact problems I've experienced are:
1. Very seldom, but spontaneous closures of an application. I
thought at first I was typing with my palms, but not any longer.
It'll happen maybe once a month.
2. A few times a day, during heavy use, the system will slow
down. Specifically while using Word and PaintShop Pro together
can cause the slowdown, so that way it's duplicable. But(t)...
anything that causes what should be a momentary slowdown/pause,
regardless of the application, can cause the problem, which is:
The slowdown/pause extend out for long periods of time. A
pause will always end eventually, usually not longer than 60
seconds.
The slowdown however will sometimes persist until I Restart
the computer. It's as if the clock actually drops to a slower
speed, which I have no way to measure at this time other than the
XP tools which always say it's OK. It isn't locked to any
specific application or length of time or anything I can find a
patter to other than getting things to be really busy.

Also, Hibernate no longer works. It tries to, and I think even
flashes the first dialog with the Resume message, but it's gone
before your eyes can focus on it, and everything comes back to
normal operation. Yes, I've turned it on and off several times,
clicking Apply each time before the OK.

So, I thought a reinstall in place would be the next logical
step. I've tried many things including registry rebuilds,
registry cleaners (Norton), run scan now, scandisk, chkdsk,
virus/malware detectors, putting the pagefile back on drive C,
etc etc.. It would be a long list if I put it all here. The
Event Logs show a couple of minor issues, nothing unusual or
serious.
So, a reformat seems like overkill; so all I want to do is
reinstall in place, so to speak. For now.

Any and all relevant comments/suggestions/leads are welcomed and
appreciated. And I'm completely open to being questioned on the
basics - sometimes they're very easy to overlook.

Thanks for your time

PopS
---
The more you know,
the more you realize
what you don't know.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

I've seen this before. For whatever reason, your installation CD isn't
seeing what's on the drive as a valid installation of XP. What worked for me
was an install CD with sp2. When I used that, it saw the current
installation as valid and offered to do a repair.

I'm not sure if it's the sp1/sp2 issue or something else. Some people have
said the sp level doesn't matter, but I've seen this issue a few times, and
using an install cd with sp2 has solved the problem. And really, it's
quicker and easier to have sp2 included with the install, rather than having
to sit through that routine after the repair.

As far as how many times you press R, the sequence should be that you get a
choice to setup or repair. You have to choose setup, because repair get you
to the recovery console. So no "r" there. Then it checks the hard drive, and
if it sees a valid installation of XP, it should offer to do a repair, as
well as the other options. That's when you press R. Then it just launches
into what looks like the normal setup routine.

"PopS" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:udP9Y96uFHA.3260@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Hi,
>
> I've been searching the groups here and at .general plus googling
> but not coming up with anything useful so far; lots of tidbits,
> but nothing concrete. It may be my search terms I suppose, ...
> anyway
>
> 1. I'm trying to reinstall XP in "setup" (not Repair Console)
> mode by booting from the original CD, which is XP Pro/SP1. SP2
> on separate CD, not streamlined.
>
> I -used- to be able to boot from the CD, click 'Setup Windows'
> press enter, press F8, and then press R to do this. I have it
> written down and also came across an MVP article by Mike Solomon
> that says exactly what I've been doing, including telling the
> reader to press that R that isn't there.
> I have a note made from pre-SP2 to press R twice after setup,
> and I recall that working, also.
> I don't -think- I've done a reinstall like this since I
> installed SP2 but not sure of that. Nor do I think it's
> relevant.
>
> Problem: There is no R to press on that last screen where I and
> Mike both think it should be.
> All it shows is install XP to a drive other than the one it's
> on, and indicates it's going to delete the partition, which is
> unacceptable to my intent at this time, especially since
> everything relates to either my second hard drive or the external
> hard drive (Acom 160 Gig, NTFS, only one partition).
> Yes, this is the "Setup" route, not the Repair Windows
> Installation selection which leads you to the recovery console.
>
> What the heck am I missing? I've run thru the process five times
> just to be certain I wasn't doing something stupid, with no
> success. Always same results. I also seem to have gathered
> several hundred temp files on drive E, second physical, from my
> efforts. I used F3 to cancel the installs each time so maybe
> that's why.
> Interestingly enough, when it wanted to run chkdsk on C and E
> upon post-CD boots, it DID find a problem of some sort with the
> pagefile and claimed to have fixed it, but I'd have sworn I've
> run the DOS chkdsk several times without errors. Something about
> a #5 record at $I30? I've forgotten the exact message now. It
> said it deleted it to fix it.
> System still running perfectly "normally".
> -------------------
> XP Pro SP2+, 512 RAM, two 7200 rpm 80 Gigs, lots of room, 2.6
> GHz, Sygate firewall, full complement spyware/malware detectors.
> Reasonable sure there are no viruses, worms, trojans, etc etc..
> Computer room is not excessively hot; house is air
> conditioned. Humidity is not a culprit, nor is dust in the
> casing.
> -------------------
>
> BFIF, yes I have a full backup; one with XP and another with
> Norton.
>
> Notes that may or may not be relevant:
> -- Used Partition Magic 8 to partition/setup drives. 5 hard
> drives: c&d, e&f, and g external plus the DVD drive at h.
> -- My Documents exists on E
> -- Pagefile on E: C's pagefile set small.
>
> Why do I want to reinstall in place?
> Two reasons:
> 1. It takes way too long to restore everything and get back to
> working status.
> 2. I've seldom had a 100% successful restore from backup.
> Something always gets left out or otherwise mangled, mostly
> Office apps which I use heavily. Yeah I know, get an image app;
> I will I will! ;-}
>
> More succinctly, I've been having little "funnies" happen at odd
> times which I've been chasing for a couple of months. I tought
> it was pagefile related at one time because I have seen the
> pagefile get very large and take a long time to subside to usable
> levels.
> The exact problems I've experienced are:
> 1. Very seldom, but spontaneous closures of an application. I
> thought at first I was typing with my palms, but not any longer.
> It'll happen maybe once a month.
> 2. A few times a day, during heavy use, the system will slow
> down. Specifically while using Word and PaintShop Pro together
> can cause the slowdown, so that way it's duplicable. But(t)...
> anything that causes what should be a momentary slowdown/pause,
> regardless of the application, can cause the problem, which is:
> The slowdown/pause extend out for long periods of time. A
> pause will always end eventually, usually not longer than 60
> seconds.
> The slowdown however will sometimes persist until I Restart
> the computer. It's as if the clock actually drops to a slower
> speed, which I have no way to measure at this time other than the
> XP tools which always say it's OK. It isn't locked to any
> specific application or length of time or anything I can find a
> patter to other than getting things to be really busy.
>
> Also, Hibernate no longer works. It tries to, and I think even
> flashes the first dialog with the Resume message, but it's gone
> before your eyes can focus on it, and everything comes back to
> normal operation. Yes, I've turned it on and off several times,
> clicking Apply each time before the OK.
>
> So, I thought a reinstall in place would be the next logical
> step. I've tried many things including registry rebuilds,
> registry cleaners (Norton), run scan now, scandisk, chkdsk,
> virus/malware detectors, putting the pagefile back on drive C,
> etc etc.. It would be a long list if I put it all here. The
> Event Logs show a couple of minor issues, nothing unusual or
> serious.
> So, a reformat seems like overkill; so all I want to do is
> reinstall in place, so to speak. For now.
>
> Any and all relevant comments/suggestions/leads are welcomed and
> appreciated. And I'm completely open to being questioned on the
> basics - sometimes they're very easy to overlook.
>
> Thanks for your time
>
> PopS
> ---
> The more you know,
> the more you realize
> what you don't know.
>
>
 

pops

Distinguished
May 14, 2004
29
0
18,530
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Thanks for the comeback. Your comment is just exactly what I was
considering as I decided to check and see if anyone responded
yet. It's "funny" it wouldn't see the OS where it's at, but that
makes sense in a couple of ways. I've been poking around trying
to figure out when I last did a repair that way and trying to
match it up to changes on the machine but nothing pops out at me
yet. It's perplexing so I might just donate a full day to it
tomorrow and see if anything gives. I'm the curious type.
IFF I get it fixed, I'll post back with the details. What's
really interesting is I don't see any way of sending the install
to the C drive at all; it's almost like the drive isn't being
seen by the install CD. Hmm, 5 hard drives, two partitions per
physical drive, plus an external, ... I wonder ... there is a 4
drive limit to the MS install and I have 5 ... and used PM ...
wonder what order it reads the drives in or ... ?

Maybe I'll spend some time on it right now!

Anyone else with advice/suggestions etc., sure happy to hear
about it!

PopS

"D.Currie" <dmbcurrie.nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3p357cF8ds3qU1@individual.net...
: I've seen this before. For whatever reason, your installation
CD isn't
: seeing what's on the drive as a valid installation of XP. What
worked for me
: was an install CD with sp2. When I used that, it saw the
current
: installation as valid and offered to do a repair.
:
: I'm not sure if it's the sp1/sp2 issue or something else. Some
people have
: said the sp level doesn't matter, but I've seen this issue a
few times, and
: using an install cd with sp2 has solved the problem. And
really, it's
: quicker and easier to have sp2 included with the install,
rather than having
: to sit through that routine after the repair.
:
: As far as how many times you press R, the sequence should be
that you get a
: choice to setup or repair. You have to choose setup, because
repair get you
: to the recovery console. So no "r" there. Then it checks the
hard drive, and
: if it sees a valid installation of XP, it should offer to do a
repair, as
: well as the other options. That's when you press R. Then it
just launches
: into what looks like the normal setup routine.
:
: "PopS" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message
: news:udP9Y96uFHA.3260@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
: > Hi,
: >
: > I've been searching the groups here and at .general plus
googling
: > but not coming up with anything useful so far; lots of
tidbits,
: > but nothing concrete. It may be my search terms I suppose,
....
: > anyway
: >
: > 1. I'm trying to reinstall XP in "setup" (not Repair
Console)
: > mode by booting from the original CD, which is XP Pro/SP1.
SP2
: > on separate CD, not streamlined.
: >
: > I -used- to be able to boot from the CD, click 'Setup
Windows'
: > press enter, press F8, and then press R to do this. I have
it
: > written down and also came across an MVP article by Mike
Solomon
: > that says exactly what I've been doing, including telling the
: > reader to press that R that isn't there.
: > I have a note made from pre-SP2 to press R twice after
setup,
: > and I recall that working, also.
: > I don't -think- I've done a reinstall like this since I
: > installed SP2 but not sure of that. Nor do I think it's
: > relevant.
: >
: > Problem: There is no R to press on that last screen where I
and
: > Mike both think it should be.
: > All it shows is install XP to a drive other than the one
it's
: > on, and indicates it's going to delete the partition, which
is
: > unacceptable to my intent at this time, especially since
: > everything relates to either my second hard drive or the
external
: > hard drive (Acom 160 Gig, NTFS, only one partition).
: > Yes, this is the "Setup" route, not the Repair Windows
: > Installation selection which leads you to the recovery
console.
: >
: > What the heck am I missing? I've run thru the process five
times
: > just to be certain I wasn't doing something stupid, with no
: > success. Always same results. I also seem to have gathered
: > several hundred temp files on drive E, second physical, from
my
: > efforts. I used F3 to cancel the installs each time so maybe
: > that's why.
: > Interestingly enough, when it wanted to run chkdsk on C and
E
: > upon post-CD boots, it DID find a problem of some sort with
the
: > pagefile and claimed to have fixed it, but I'd have sworn
I've
: > run the DOS chkdsk several times without errors. Something
about
: > a #5 record at $I30? I've forgotten the exact message now.
It
: > said it deleted it to fix it.
: > System still running perfectly "normally".
: > -------------------
: > XP Pro SP2+, 512 RAM, two 7200 rpm 80 Gigs, lots of room, 2.6
: > GHz, Sygate firewall, full complement spyware/malware
detectors.
: > Reasonable sure there are no viruses, worms, trojans, etc
etc..
: > Computer room is not excessively hot; house is air
: > conditioned. Humidity is not a culprit, nor is dust in the
: > casing.
: > -------------------
: >
: > BFIF, yes I have a full backup; one with XP and another with
: > Norton.
: >
: > Notes that may or may not be relevant:
: > -- Used Partition Magic 8 to partition/setup drives. 5 hard
: > drives: c&d, e&f, and g external plus the DVD drive at h.
: > -- My Documents exists on E
: > -- Pagefile on E: C's pagefile set small.
: >
: > Why do I want to reinstall in place?
: > Two reasons:
: > 1. It takes way too long to restore everything and get back
to
: > working status.
: > 2. I've seldom had a 100% successful restore from backup.
: > Something always gets left out or otherwise mangled, mostly
: > Office apps which I use heavily. Yeah I know, get an image
app;
: > I will I will! ;-}
: >
: > More succinctly, I've been having little "funnies" happen at
odd
: > times which I've been chasing for a couple of months. I
tought
: > it was pagefile related at one time because I have seen the
: > pagefile get very large and take a long time to subside to
usable
: > levels.
: > The exact problems I've experienced are:
: > 1. Very seldom, but spontaneous closures of an application.
I
: > thought at first I was typing with my palms, but not any
longer.
: > It'll happen maybe once a month.
: > 2. A few times a day, during heavy use, the system will slow
: > down. Specifically while using Word and PaintShop Pro
together
: > can cause the slowdown, so that way it's duplicable.
But(t)...
: > anything that causes what should be a momentary
slowdown/pause,
: > regardless of the application, can cause the problem, which
is:
: > The slowdown/pause extend out for long periods of time. A
: > pause will always end eventually, usually not longer than 60
: > seconds.
: > The slowdown however will sometimes persist until I
Restart
: > the computer. It's as if the clock actually drops to a
slower
: > speed, which I have no way to measure at this time other than
the
: > XP tools which always say it's OK. It isn't locked to any
: > specific application or length of time or anything I can find
a
: > patter to other than getting things to be really busy.
: >
: > Also, Hibernate no longer works. It tries to, and I think
even
: > flashes the first dialog with the Resume message, but it's
gone
: > before your eyes can focus on it, and everything comes back
to
: > normal operation. Yes, I've turned it on and off several
times,
: > clicking Apply each time before the OK.
: >
: > So, I thought a reinstall in place would be the next logical
: > step. I've tried many things including registry rebuilds,
: > registry cleaners (Norton), run scan now, scandisk, chkdsk,
: > virus/malware detectors, putting the pagefile back on drive
C,
: > etc etc.. It would be a long list if I put it all here. The
: > Event Logs show a couple of minor issues, nothing unusual or
: > serious.
: > So, a reformat seems like overkill; so all I want to do is
: > reinstall in place, so to speak. For now.
: >
: > Any and all relevant comments/suggestions/leads are welcomed
and
: > appreciated. And I'm completely open to being questioned on
the
: > basics - sometimes they're very easy to overlook.
: >
: > Thanks for your time
: >
: > PopS
: > ---
: > The more you know,
: > the more you realize
: > what you don't know.
: >
: >
:
:
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Could be a partition magic issue. I've seen drives that were partitioned
with PM that Windows had issues with.

"PopS" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:uM1wmq%23uFHA.3740@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Thanks for the comeback. Your comment is just exactly what I was
> considering as I decided to check and see if anyone responded
> yet. It's "funny" it wouldn't see the OS where it's at, but that
> makes sense in a couple of ways. I've been poking around trying
> to figure out when I last did a repair that way and trying to
> match it up to changes on the machine but nothing pops out at me
> yet. It's perplexing so I might just donate a full day to it
> tomorrow and see if anything gives. I'm the curious type.
> IFF I get it fixed, I'll post back with the details. What's
> really interesting is I don't see any way of sending the install
> to the C drive at all; it's almost like the drive isn't being
> seen by the install CD. Hmm, 5 hard drives, two partitions per
> physical drive, plus an external, ... I wonder ... there is a 4
> drive limit to the MS install and I have 5 ... and used PM ...
> wonder what order it reads the drives in or ... ?
>
> Maybe I'll spend some time on it right now!
>
> Anyone else with advice/suggestions etc., sure happy to hear
> about it!
>
> PopS
>
> "D.Currie" <dmbcurrie.nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:3p357cF8ds3qU1@individual.net...
> : I've seen this before. For whatever reason, your installation
> CD isn't
> : seeing what's on the drive as a valid installation of XP. What
> worked for me
> : was an install CD with sp2. When I used that, it saw the
> current
> : installation as valid and offered to do a repair.
> :
> : I'm not sure if it's the sp1/sp2 issue or something else. Some
> people have
> : said the sp level doesn't matter, but I've seen this issue a
> few times, and
> : using an install cd with sp2 has solved the problem. And
> really, it's
> : quicker and easier to have sp2 included with the install,
> rather than having
> : to sit through that routine after the repair.
> :
> : As far as how many times you press R, the sequence should be
> that you get a
> : choice to setup or repair. You have to choose setup, because
> repair get you
> : to the recovery console. So no "r" there. Then it checks the
> hard drive, and
> : if it sees a valid installation of XP, it should offer to do a
> repair, as
> : well as the other options. That's when you press R. Then it
> just launches
> : into what looks like the normal setup routine.
> :
> : "PopS" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message
> : news:udP9Y96uFHA.3260@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> : > Hi,
> : >
> : > I've been searching the groups here and at .general plus
> googling
> : > but not coming up with anything useful so far; lots of
> tidbits,
> : > but nothing concrete. It may be my search terms I suppose,
> ...
> : > anyway
> : >
> : > 1. I'm trying to reinstall XP in "setup" (not Repair
> Console)
> : > mode by booting from the original CD, which is XP Pro/SP1.
> SP2
> : > on separate CD, not streamlined.
> : >
> : > I -used- to be able to boot from the CD, click 'Setup
> Windows'
> : > press enter, press F8, and then press R to do this. I have
> it
> : > written down and also came across an MVP article by Mike
> Solomon
> : > that says exactly what I've been doing, including telling the
> : > reader to press that R that isn't there.
> : > I have a note made from pre-SP2 to press R twice after
> setup,
> : > and I recall that working, also.
> : > I don't -think- I've done a reinstall like this since I
> : > installed SP2 but not sure of that. Nor do I think it's
> : > relevant.
> : >
> : > Problem: There is no R to press on that last screen where I
> and
> : > Mike both think it should be.
> : > All it shows is install XP to a drive other than the one
> it's
> : > on, and indicates it's going to delete the partition, which
> is
> : > unacceptable to my intent at this time, especially since
> : > everything relates to either my second hard drive or the
> external
> : > hard drive (Acom 160 Gig, NTFS, only one partition).
> : > Yes, this is the "Setup" route, not the Repair Windows
> : > Installation selection which leads you to the recovery
> console.
> : >
> : > What the heck am I missing? I've run thru the process five
> times
> : > just to be certain I wasn't doing something stupid, with no
> : > success. Always same results. I also seem to have gathered
> : > several hundred temp files on drive E, second physical, from
> my
> : > efforts. I used F3 to cancel the installs each time so maybe
> : > that's why.
> : > Interestingly enough, when it wanted to run chkdsk on C and
> E
> : > upon post-CD boots, it DID find a problem of some sort with
> the
> : > pagefile and claimed to have fixed it, but I'd have sworn
> I've
> : > run the DOS chkdsk several times without errors. Something
> about
> : > a #5 record at $I30? I've forgotten the exact message now.
> It
> : > said it deleted it to fix it.
> : > System still running perfectly "normally".
> : > -------------------
> : > XP Pro SP2+, 512 RAM, two 7200 rpm 80 Gigs, lots of room, 2.6
> : > GHz, Sygate firewall, full complement spyware/malware
> detectors.
> : > Reasonable sure there are no viruses, worms, trojans, etc
> etc..
> : > Computer room is not excessively hot; house is air
> : > conditioned. Humidity is not a culprit, nor is dust in the
> : > casing.
> : > -------------------
> : >
> : > BFIF, yes I have a full backup; one with XP and another with
> : > Norton.
> : >
> : > Notes that may or may not be relevant:
> : > -- Used Partition Magic 8 to partition/setup drives. 5 hard
> : > drives: c&d, e&f, and g external plus the DVD drive at h.
> : > -- My Documents exists on E
> : > -- Pagefile on E: C's pagefile set small.
> : >
> : > Why do I want to reinstall in place?
> : > Two reasons:
> : > 1. It takes way too long to restore everything and get back
> to
> : > working status.
> : > 2. I've seldom had a 100% successful restore from backup.
> : > Something always gets left out or otherwise mangled, mostly
> : > Office apps which I use heavily. Yeah I know, get an image
> app;
> : > I will I will! ;-}
> : >
> : > More succinctly, I've been having little "funnies" happen at
> odd
> : > times which I've been chasing for a couple of months. I
> tought
> : > it was pagefile related at one time because I have seen the
> : > pagefile get very large and take a long time to subside to
> usable
> : > levels.
> : > The exact problems I've experienced are:
> : > 1. Very seldom, but spontaneous closures of an application.
> I
> : > thought at first I was typing with my palms, but not any
> longer.
> : > It'll happen maybe once a month.
> : > 2. A few times a day, during heavy use, the system will slow
> : > down. Specifically while using Word and PaintShop Pro
> together
> : > can cause the slowdown, so that way it's duplicable.
> But(t)...
> : > anything that causes what should be a momentary
> slowdown/pause,
> : > regardless of the application, can cause the problem, which
> is:
> : > The slowdown/pause extend out for long periods of time. A
> : > pause will always end eventually, usually not longer than 60
> : > seconds.
> : > The slowdown however will sometimes persist until I
> Restart
> : > the computer. It's as if the clock actually drops to a
> slower
> : > speed, which I have no way to measure at this time other than
> the
> : > XP tools which always say it's OK. It isn't locked to any
> : > specific application or length of time or anything I can find
> a
> : > patter to other than getting things to be really busy.
> : >
> : > Also, Hibernate no longer works. It tries to, and I think
> even
> : > flashes the first dialog with the Resume message, but it's
> gone
> : > before your eyes can focus on it, and everything comes back
> to
> : > normal operation. Yes, I've turned it on and off several
> times,
> : > clicking Apply each time before the OK.
> : >
> : > So, I thought a reinstall in place would be the next logical
> : > step. I've tried many things including registry rebuilds,
> : > registry cleaners (Norton), run scan now, scandisk, chkdsk,
> : > virus/malware detectors, putting the pagefile back on drive
> C,
> : > etc etc.. It would be a long list if I put it all here. The
> : > Event Logs show a couple of minor issues, nothing unusual or
> : > serious.
> : > So, a reformat seems like overkill; so all I want to do is
> : > reinstall in place, so to speak. For now.
> : >
> : > Any and all relevant comments/suggestions/leads are welcomed
> and
> : > appreciated. And I'm completely open to being questioned on
> the
> : > basics - sometimes they're very easy to overlook.
> : >
> : > Thanks for your time
> : >
> : > PopS
> : > ---
> : > The more you know,
> : > the more you realize
> : > what you don't know.
> : >
> : >
> :
> :
>
>
 

mak

Distinguished
Feb 6, 2001
66
0
18,630
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Hi,
from your post it sounds like setup can't see the drive where your Windows
is installed, therefore it will not offer you repair.
You may need to follow this
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314859&sd=RMVP

A few notes:

you have only 3 hard drives, not 5, no matter how you partition them.

Registry cleaners are bad, do not use them.

Scandisk doesn't belong to WinXP, chkdsk does. Do not use Norton System
Works suite on XP - bad things will happen.

Windows XP doesn't have DOS.

Slowdowns/pauses and chkdsk fixing *something* - you should start worrying
about health of at least one of your hard drives - check with utilities from
manufacture and replace if it is on its last legs.

"I tought it was pagefile related at one time because I have seen the
pagefile get very large and take a long time to subside to usable levels." -
what are you doing with your page file? Why not let Windows manage it? *Very
large* page file has no ill effects, small one does, including slowdowns /
pauses (that *will sometimes persist until* reboot).


"PopS" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:udP9Y96uFHA.3260@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Hi,
>
> I've been searching the groups here and at .general plus googling
> but not coming up with anything useful so far; lots of tidbits,
> but nothing concrete. It may be my search terms I suppose, ...
> anyway
>
> 1. I'm trying to reinstall XP in "setup" (not Repair Console)
> mode by booting from the original CD, which is XP Pro/SP1. SP2
> on separate CD, not streamlined.
>
> I -used- to be able to boot from the CD, click 'Setup Windows'
> press enter, press F8, and then press R to do this. I have it
> written down and also came across an MVP article by Mike Solomon
> that says exactly what I've been doing, including telling the
> reader to press that R that isn't there.
> I have a note made from pre-SP2 to press R twice after setup,
> and I recall that working, also.
> I don't -think- I've done a reinstall like this since I
> installed SP2 but not sure of that. Nor do I think it's
> relevant.
>
> Problem: There is no R to press on that last screen where I and
> Mike both think it should be.
> All it shows is install XP to a drive other than the one it's
> on, and indicates it's going to delete the partition, which is
> unacceptable to my intent at this time, especially since
> everything relates to either my second hard drive or the external
> hard drive (Acom 160 Gig, NTFS, only one partition).
> Yes, this is the "Setup" route, not the Repair Windows
> Installation selection which leads you to the recovery console.
>
> What the heck am I missing? I've run thru the process five times
> just to be certain I wasn't doing something stupid, with no
> success. Always same results. I also seem to have gathered
> several hundred temp files on drive E, second physical, from my
> efforts. I used F3 to cancel the installs each time so maybe
> that's why.
> Interestingly enough, when it wanted to run chkdsk on C and E
> upon post-CD boots, it DID find a problem of some sort with the
> pagefile and claimed to have fixed it, but I'd have sworn I've
> run the DOS chkdsk several times without errors. Something about
> a #5 record at $I30? I've forgotten the exact message now. It
> said it deleted it to fix it.
> System still running perfectly "normally".
> -------------------
> XP Pro SP2+, 512 RAM, two 7200 rpm 80 Gigs, lots of room, 2.6
> GHz, Sygate firewall, full complement spyware/malware detectors.
> Reasonable sure there are no viruses, worms, trojans, etc etc..
> Computer room is not excessively hot; house is air
> conditioned. Humidity is not a culprit, nor is dust in the
> casing.
> -------------------
>
> BFIF, yes I have a full backup; one with XP and another with
> Norton.
>
> Notes that may or may not be relevant:
> -- Used Partition Magic 8 to partition/setup drives. 5 hard
> drives: c&d, e&f, and g external plus the DVD drive at h.
> -- My Documents exists on E
> -- Pagefile on E: C's pagefile set small.
>
> Why do I want to reinstall in place?
> Two reasons:
> 1. It takes way too long to restore everything and get back to
> working status.
> 2. I've seldom had a 100% successful restore from backup.
> Something always gets left out or otherwise mangled, mostly
> Office apps which I use heavily. Yeah I know, get an image app;
> I will I will! ;-}
>
> More succinctly, I've been having little "funnies" happen at odd
> times which I've been chasing for a couple of months. I tought
> it was pagefile related at one time because I have seen the
> pagefile get very large and take a long time to subside to usable
> levels.
> The exact problems I've experienced are:
> 1. Very seldom, but spontaneous closures of an application. I
> thought at first I was typing with my palms, but not any longer.
> It'll happen maybe once a month.
> 2. A few times a day, during heavy use, the system will slow
> down. Specifically while using Word and PaintShop Pro together
> can cause the slowdown, so that way it's duplicable. But(t)...
> anything that causes what should be a momentary slowdown/pause,
> regardless of the application, can cause the problem, which is:
> The slowdown/pause extend out for long periods of time. A
> pause will always end eventually, usually not longer than 60
> seconds.
> The slowdown however will sometimes persist until I Restart
> the computer. It's as if the clock actually drops to a slower
> speed, which I have no way to measure at this time other than the
> XP tools which always say it's OK. It isn't locked to any
> specific application or length of time or anything I can find a
> patter to other than getting things to be really busy.
>
> Also, Hibernate no longer works. It tries to, and I think even
> flashes the first dialog with the Resume message, but it's gone
> before your eyes can focus on it, and everything comes back to
> normal operation. Yes, I've turned it on and off several times,
> clicking Apply each time before the OK.
>
> So, I thought a reinstall in place would be the next logical
> step. I've tried many things including registry rebuilds,
> registry cleaners (Norton), run scan now, scandisk, chkdsk,
> virus/malware detectors, putting the pagefile back on drive C,
> etc etc.. It would be a long list if I put it all here. The
> Event Logs show a couple of minor issues, nothing unusual or
> serious.
> So, a reformat seems like overkill; so all I want to do is
> reinstall in place, so to speak. For now.
>
> Any and all relevant comments/suggestions/leads are welcomed and
> appreciated. And I'm completely open to being questioned on the
> basics - sometimes they're very easy to overlook.
>
> Thanks for your time
>
> PopS
> ---
> The more you know,
> the more you realize
> what you don't know.
>
>