Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)
System:
Dell Inspiron 8500, 2.2GHz Pentium 4, 1Gb RAM, 60Gb hard drive w/ > 15Gb
free
Windows XP Pro w/ SP2
Yesterday, for no obvious reason (no new hardware, and the only new
software is Adobe 7.0), my Inspirion began refusing to boot normally.
(I should note that the system booted OK several times after installing
Adobe 7.0.) It will go past the Dell screen (which I believe means the
system has passed POST), and will go past the Windows XP splash screen
(the one with the little moving bar at the bottom of the screen), but
when the Windows splash screen goes to black, it never comes back. (And
I've waited 30 minutes...) (FWIW, just before, and I mean *just* before
the problem began, I pulled a CD-ROM out of the optical drive during the
boot process. I forgot I had it in there, and I've noticed that the
boot process takes *much* longer with this CD-ROM in the drive.
Coincidence? Or root cause of my problems?) (FWIW, the CD-ROM is help
documentation for a data analysis program I use, and is required to be
in the CD-ROM drive for the data analysis program to run.)
Although I can't boot normally, I can, however, boot into Safe Mode,
although that's obviously not acceptable as a long-term solution.
I've booted into Diagnostics Mode (F12) and run the Extended
Diagnostics. The only things that comes up is that the multi-media key
test won't pass. (I can't get the test to even recognize the first
button the test wants me to press.) Specifically, all the memory tests
and all the IDE hard drive tests pass.
I've tried going back to the last five or six restore points
(specifically, before installing Adobe 7.0); no joy.
I've talked with Dell Technical Support about this. They want me to
reinstall Windows.
Before I do this, I have a few questions for the newsgroup.
1) Is reinstalling Windows a reasonable thing to do? (Note: My
reinstallation CD is for Windows XP Home, SP1. Since purchasing my
I8500, I've upgraded to, and will thus have to reinstall, XP Pro and
SP2.)
2) Is there a better (that is, more likely to work, or at least less
drastic) thing I can try first?
3) Will anything in the Windows re-installation process cause me to lose
data or files. (e.g. recently received email, or recently modified
files associated with Word or other programs) (Note: I back up my
system regularly, but Murphy's Law - I was booting up to do another
backup when I ran into the "Failed to boot" problem. I'd like to avoid
losing all my changes since my last backup, if possible. And yes, I
realize that this means I should do backups more frequently.)
4) Since I can boot into Safe Mode, my hunch is that I have a driver
issue. Is there any way that I can identify the offending driver(s),
and reinstall just them? Is there even a way I can confirm that this is
a driver issue?
Thanks in advance for any help the group can provide.
Bob Pownall
System:
Dell Inspiron 8500, 2.2GHz Pentium 4, 1Gb RAM, 60Gb hard drive w/ > 15Gb
free
Windows XP Pro w/ SP2
Yesterday, for no obvious reason (no new hardware, and the only new
software is Adobe 7.0), my Inspirion began refusing to boot normally.
(I should note that the system booted OK several times after installing
Adobe 7.0.) It will go past the Dell screen (which I believe means the
system has passed POST), and will go past the Windows XP splash screen
(the one with the little moving bar at the bottom of the screen), but
when the Windows splash screen goes to black, it never comes back. (And
I've waited 30 minutes...) (FWIW, just before, and I mean *just* before
the problem began, I pulled a CD-ROM out of the optical drive during the
boot process. I forgot I had it in there, and I've noticed that the
boot process takes *much* longer with this CD-ROM in the drive.
Coincidence? Or root cause of my problems?) (FWIW, the CD-ROM is help
documentation for a data analysis program I use, and is required to be
in the CD-ROM drive for the data analysis program to run.)
Although I can't boot normally, I can, however, boot into Safe Mode,
although that's obviously not acceptable as a long-term solution.
I've booted into Diagnostics Mode (F12) and run the Extended
Diagnostics. The only things that comes up is that the multi-media key
test won't pass. (I can't get the test to even recognize the first
button the test wants me to press.) Specifically, all the memory tests
and all the IDE hard drive tests pass.
I've tried going back to the last five or six restore points
(specifically, before installing Adobe 7.0); no joy.
I've talked with Dell Technical Support about this. They want me to
reinstall Windows.
Before I do this, I have a few questions for the newsgroup.
1) Is reinstalling Windows a reasonable thing to do? (Note: My
reinstallation CD is for Windows XP Home, SP1. Since purchasing my
I8500, I've upgraded to, and will thus have to reinstall, XP Pro and
SP2.)
2) Is there a better (that is, more likely to work, or at least less
drastic) thing I can try first?
3) Will anything in the Windows re-installation process cause me to lose
data or files. (e.g. recently received email, or recently modified
files associated with Word or other programs) (Note: I back up my
system regularly, but Murphy's Law - I was booting up to do another
backup when I ran into the "Failed to boot" problem. I'd like to avoid
losing all my changes since my last backup, if possible. And yes, I
realize that this means I should do backups more frequently.)
4) Since I can boot into Safe Mode, my hunch is that I have a driver
issue. Is there any way that I can identify the offending driver(s),
and reinstall just them? Is there even a way I can confirm that this is
a driver issue?
Thanks in advance for any help the group can provide.
Bob Pownall
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