Windows XP question

[Pat Kelly]

Calling all XP Gurus!!!

I have a problem with one of my computers. I bought it from a friend. They had no discs with it, specificlly the Win XP Home Edition disc.
My question is, I have the XP Home disc from a computer I bought from a store. Can I use that disc to reinstall XP on the other computer? The other computer has the CD Key on the side of it.

The problem I'm having with it has to do with my Linksys wireless network. Up until last week this other computer would access the network and the internet. My son let his cousin use the computer and now I can get it to access the network but not the internet. Linksys Tech said it appears to be a windows issue as the wireless Tx and Rx are working, just not the internet.

My network is:
My computer wired to the router (Linksys),
Sons computer with wireless (Linksys),
Wifes laptop with internal (? brand) wireless, that is still working fine.
All 3 computers are Win XP. Only sons is having the problem and it was working BC (Before Cousin)

Thanks

[JWSanders]

You will have 2 problems using that disk.

First, it will have been made specifically for the machine it shipped with, so the drivers available on it will be limited. If the new motherboard has a similar chipset, it may very well work long enough to get the correct drivers installed. It could end up being a real pain in the arse to get working right, however.

Secondly, that copy of XP should have been activated on the original machine. When you try to activate it on a machine with a different hardware configuration, the activation will fail and tell you it's a pirated version. There are ways around that though.

You could try uninstalling and reinstalling the network card, if you havent already. That should reinitialize its network settings in Windows. Sounds like the couin hosed it pretty well.

You say it acquires an IP and connects to the router successfully?

[2bhappy]

I tried to install one copy of XP on a second computer and had no problem as long as I did not enter the key from the first computer. The BIG problem is it will only work for 30 days to register the software which you can't do because the software is already rigistered on an other computer. After 30 days you are up a crrek without the proverbial paddle. I would work with the software on the computer and go through the control panel system configuration to see if you can get it to reload the proper driver to allow it to communicate on the Internet. I think it can be done.

My 2 cents,
Marc

[xswilly]

if your xp disk is a microsoft XP disk and not a restore disk
it will work
but before you go and erase your puter
go into device manager, and write down all the model numbers of the cards you have installed
modem, network,sound,video
chipset, etc etc
because if xp doesn't automatically find the drivers, you will have to go out onto the internet and find them
knowing the correct model# of each device will help
once you have done that reload it

just a wild idea, did you try the restore feature
you will find it under all programs,-accesorys,-system tools,-system restore

what it does is go back a week or two, before the mess-up
try that first
good luck

[Pat Kelly]

Thanks for the thoughts all.

Computer A (mine) works fine.
Computer B (wifes) works fine
Computer C (sons) works, just wont access the internet.

So, I will have problems using XP disc from A or B on C using C's CD Key?

I'm considering buying a new install version of XP and just doing it legit if the above won't work.

[Bigfoot]

Sounds to me like the dns settings are wrong. Check and see what it is getting for dns server and compare that to one of the pc's that is working. If you don't know how click
Start then
Run
Type cmd and press enter
at the command prompt type ipconfig /all
look at the gateway address and dns addresses.
Compare this info to one of the other computers

If it is different try typing ipconfig /release
then type ipconfig /renew

This will renew your IP
Let me know how it turns out, there are other things you can try.

If the computer is an HP, DELL, or Gateway (and some others) it will probably have a restore partition on the hard drive. Try pressing the f11 key when you see the initial startup of the computer. If it does it will install everything back to the way it came from the factory.

You can use the disk to install xp if it is a full version. If you have a restore disk for a specific pc, it probably won't work.

[The Lorax]

Check for a WEP key on the router, some wireless routers will require a key code before it will allow you to have full access. even though you can see the network but not the internet....hmmn, can you print via the network? if so, I don't know, if not, you may be seeing the network but not connected to it. also you may be able to contact the OEM of the computer and get a replacent set of restore disks. I think dell wil give you one set for free, after that...you gotta pay. also, like the others said, check your network settings.

[dpotter58]

try this first

I'd try doing a system restore before redoing the program. go into the start menue then accesories system tools system restore. Go to restore my computer to an earlier date and pick a date from BC that is bold. That will resore everything back to the way it was before the cousin.

[Hired_Goon]

Definately sounds like a DNS issue.

Try manualy setting DNS settings. I turn off DNS on all my computers and run static IP's.

On the computer that is not working try and set the IP to a manual one in the same range that is not already in use.

Set DNS server 1 to your router IP and set DNS server 2 to your ISP's address.

If it still doesn't work then it may be network card issues.

My moneys on whoever played with the computer has run something that's misconfigured the net settings.

[vanhump]

Pat-------System restore should take care of any problem you have if you have a restore point prior to bc. Usually will go to what it was before the screwups if it has regular restore points.

[Crazcnuk]

Try the system restore, if you can, but I find very few people ever actually make restore points. You may be lucky though, and your system does it automatically!

Then, if that doesn't work, before you do a ton of uneccesary work, just try using the internet wizard to set up a new connection. Use automatic settings for all and try it.

Chances are, since you can still access the network, and there is no difference between a wireless network or internet connection, it is a security setting issue.

Go into Internet explorer and check what the security settings are set to for the internet. Medium is usually fine. If it's set to anything custom try to set it to medium, apply it and try.

I find wireless a pain. If I can, I always run a cable, far less headaches, and faster to boot.

Try to plug it in using a cable, if it has a wired network card. Try the internet.

If all the above checks out, or you have no trouble getting the internet with a cable hook up, you probably just have to go through the set up procedure you used to get it to hook up to your wireless router in the first place.

First rule with Windows... Reinstalling rarely fixes anything, but it loses a lot.

As for your WinXp Home (or Pro), you can reinstall it pretty much anytime you want, on any machine. When you go to activate it, just tell them your hard drive crashed so your're reinstalling. Better yet, tell them thier POS operating system F'd up AGAIN and the tech support said to wipe and reinstall (this is the one I use). They have no way of knowing where it's installed to. Since Mickeysoft's first and most common answer to any Windows issue is to reinstall it, how can they not expect it?

As someone said, before you do a reinstall, download all the current drivers for all your hardware, on another machine if needed, and burn them to a CD (unzip first). Then your all set with the most current drivers.
Win Vista, is a whole other ball game.

[Jerry]

Lots of points raised here. 1st problem deals with the wireless connection. A couple things to check. First, get into the Network Connections control pannel, click on the wireless network connection, right-click and go to properties, and see if the wireless is connected. If it is you should see a speed number or packets recieved and sent. When connected you should get an icon on the lower right part of the screen, in the task bar. It will look like a tiny monitor with radio waves ))) coming off it. If the icon has a red X through it you are not connecting to your linksys.

One of two things will be determined: if the wireless is connected but you can't get on the internet, then it is a DNS issue. If you are not connected, then it is - probably - a configuration issue.

Here is where it can get a bit fuzzy. I would check to see, in the network connection, if you are set to get an IP number via DHCP or if you use a hard-coded number. Most of the time it will be a DHCP number. (Your other computers should have the same setting.)

If the DHCP settings look OK, I would try another of the ipconfig commands. Start > Run> CMD will get you to a DOS window. For reference, type ipconfig /? and press your enter key. (Space between the "g" and the "/".) One of the commands is flushdns, or ipconfig /flushdns This will force the computer to re-acquire some network settings it needs to talk to your Linksys. Check out the other ipconfig commands, try resetting all of them if need be. Who says DOS is dead?

The WEP key is a good point, but generally if you can connect to the Linksys the WEP key is probably OK or else you would get a failure to connect error message. If you are not connecting, then right-click the wireless network icon and look at profiles. (Sorry, doing this at home from my Mac, don't have a Windows laptop here, do at work....) The profile is where you set the encryption type and enter the WEP key. It is encrypted, so will not show up on your other computers. Hopefully you have it written down some place. (WEP = Wireless Encryption Protocol.)
Now, if you are connecting but can't bring up any web pages, I would start Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security and hit the button that sets security back to factory defaults. (You might also try deleting files and deleting cookies from the same menu.)

Almost sounds like the PC has reverted back to a non-routable IP. Using the ipconfig commands should flush and reset the DNS values and force the PC to acquire a valid IP number. Let us know what you find. I'll be at work tomorrow with a laptop PC and linksyss wireless access point - both in my office - and can take a closer look at settings if need be. Let me know, e-mail jfields@garfield-county.com

As far as using a different XP disk to reinstall the system, I do it quite often. I have a fairly generic HP disk that I use; since you are using the license code on the PC it doesn't matter. I recently set up 4 Compaq Evo 310v computers (older Pentium 4s) with the same XP disk. HOWEVER...you will not get all the correct device drivers. Thats why the comment about writing down all the device types in your PC is a good one, else you will be spending time on the internet looking for device drivers. Specifically, right click on your My Computer icon, go to Device Manager, and look at your Ethernet controller and video card drivers. Sometimes the computer manufacturer will have on their support site a downloadable file that will contain all the model-specific drivers. It is worth getting before you do a reinstall. Generally, as long as you have a valid network card driver you can get out to find the others that you need. Without the network card driver you are in deep do-do.

Anyway, this is getting long....verify if you are getting connected, use the ipconfig commands to reset the DNS and IP numbers, check the security settings on IE, and let us know the results. Will go from there if these actions don't cure the problem.