computer question

[oldyam80sg]

My HP Compaq Presario SR 1620NX started having issues with IM and other things and my DVD player works when it feels like it.Since the HP does not come with a restore disc and system restore does not work they want you to make a recovery disc that also does nothing-So my question is this-can i get Vista basic or XP home edition from the store and use this to install anew operating system?Would it be cheaper to do this or just buy another computer?

[XS1100 Newbie]

You are supposed to make a restore disc set when you first get it going. They do wok. At this point, you wil probably have to buy a OS. XP or Vista will run around 169.00 and up depending on prefessional or not. You will also need to purchase any other software that you use on the computer that came with it, as you can't restore it.Might be cheaper in the long run to take it to Best Buy or somewhere and have them clean it up. It might just be a simple virus, or something else wrong. Does it boot up? If it does, take it to someone to repair. Make sure you tell them all that youwant backed up. Pictures, documents, and such. I have the same computer, and have great service with it, but i stay on top of cleaning, and purging things that should not be there.

[oldyam80sg]

I made the recovery disc but it does nothing when i put it in.Keeps telling me user 32.d11 not found.My E-machines came with a system recovery disc and that works in that machine.The fact that system restore does not work indicates a problem.Don't think it is a virus as i run zone alarm in it and have never had a problem until now-i think something internally went kaput.

[Larrym]

Software or Hardware?

Before buying new software you can "Look under the hood" of your old computer and get an idea if the problem is hardware related.

Follow this to take a look see:

Open <Control Panel>
Open <Administrative Tools>
Open <Computer Management>
In Computer Management, expand the <System Tools>, then <Event Viewer>.
Open <System>

Welcome to the screen which shows all the "idiot lights". No need to get real technical here as in the left column (Type of entry) the bad stuff is color coded yellow for warnings and red for ERRORS. Just scroll down the screen and if you've got a lot of those red error entries then it's likely that your hardware is getting problematic. (Hard drives give a lot of these types of warnings before they finally bite the dust...) You can click on the same line as the red error and a dialogue box will pop up and give you more details. Then you can even click on a link which will take you to a help/support site if you want.

Under the same "event viewer" you can check for "application failures". Take a look there and you'll see if there's a program which is giving you grief. If one program shows up a lot then you can try removing the program. Reload it again from a good source and hopefully it will work correctly: No More red lights.

If your hardware is the problem the red lights will be in the <system> section.

If it's some software glitch then the red lights will be in the <applications> section.

Hardware failure: fix it or get a new one.

Software failure: get a new copy of the operating system and install it. You might lose a lot of stuff on your harddrive this way. If at all possible, try to move any important stuff onto CDs before you do the new operating system.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey OldYam,

I just went to the Hp/Compaq site, found the user's manual for your model, and below is the info about doing the System Recovery from the Hard Drive IF the computer is not responding/ OS system is not running. I know yours IS running, but apparently the files are corrupted and that's possibly why it won't run. The below process will use the SEPARATE recovery partition that they/Compaq puts on their systems so they don't have to provide you a copy of the OS install discs! Have you tried this technique??

IF not, and you do it and it works, then once you get it going, I would highly recommend that you create the Recovery Discs which will give you a copy of your current OS, and be sure to have your install KEY written down..it should be on a sticker on the case!

Computer manufacturers often install special versions of OS's, called OEM, which can be linked to the Motherboard, and can only be installed on that model computer with that specific BIOS number, etc.!!! IF you have to install a new MoBo, you are often screwed and have to purchase a separate copy of the OS.

Good Luck!
T.C.

Starting System Recovery if the PC is not responding

1 Turn off the PC. If necessary, press and hold the On button until the PC turns off.

2 Remove the HP Personal Media Drive if your PC includes one. Disconnect all peripheral devices from the PC except the monitor, the keyboard, and the mouse.

3 Press the On button to turn on the PC.

4 During the startup, do the following to enter theSystem Recovery program:
When the black screen with the Compaq logo appears, press the F10 key on the keyboard. (You have only a few seconds to press the F10 key before the normal startup process continues.)

5 The PC starts the recovery; wait for the onscreen instructions to display, and then follow those instructions.
----------------------------------------
WARNING: The Full System Recovery option
deletes any data files you created or
programs that you installed after purchase.
Be sure to back up any data that you want
to keep onto a removable disc.
----------------------------------------
6 Complete the PC startup, finish the registration process, and wait until you see the desktop. Then, turn off the PC, reconnect all peripheral devices, and turn on the PC.

[oldyam80sg]

TC i tried that 2 days ago.Wont work-doesn't give me that option.If i were to obtain a brand new copy of XP with the license # could i install that?Actually I'm using my E-Machines that i bought 2 years ago from a guy at work.

[DiverRay]

You CAN install XP on almost any machine. The only one I would not try it on is a laptop, because of all the special drivers. When you install XP, try it first with the key that is on the computer. That has worked for me on a few machines.
I DID install XS Pro on the machines, as I had a few new install disks laying around at the time. ( all gone now)

[oldyam80sg]

OK i think i can obtain a licensed copy of XP will start looking around.

[planedick]

32.d11

Not found means it is corrupt or missing. Your OS still uses a DOS call to retrieve files for the OS and DOS will not tell you there is a problem with a file until it gets too bad to use. There may be small parts of a file that are missing and the file is still useable, but when another bit is corrupted then the file can't be used and that is when DOS finally lets you know... (user 32.d11)

[oldyam80sg]

OK but does that mean then that something is screwed up with the computer or does this just happen?

[DiverRay]

ALL you need is the disk. The "license" is the key on the computer you are trying to repair! I agree with planedick on the cause, and would look into a new hard drive, or do a COMPLETE low level format BEFORE reloading the OS.

[Shaftt]

Linux?

Before you go buying a $169 + load of crap OS from Microsuck you might want to consider converting to Linux. Its free, and does almost everything Windows can but without using nearly as much system resources and much more securely. I've been running Ubuntu Linux on this machine since February with no problems at all. The only downside that I've found is in gaming, but I did manage to successfully get World of Warcraft to run.

Just a suggestion, good luck with it.

[TopCatGr58]

Many times when files start getting corrupted that it's an early sign the hard drive is going to crash! Have you made backups of your files that you have created with programs, like documents, photos, sound files...mp3's and such?

Next, before the system crashes, go to the Hp/Compaq site and D/L ALL of the special drivers that your system uses. Use your My Computer/properties/ device manager to see what type of hardware you have, like video card, sound card, network card, modem, and such so that you will know which type of driver to D/L, Compaq often puts different models of those devices in similar computers depending on what the buyer ordered, like upgrades, and make sure they are for the OS you are going to be installing! And burn them to a CD.

Also, be sure you know how to get into the BIOS to set the system up to BOOT from a CD/DVD disc and not just from the Hard Drive so your bootable OS install disc will run!

Windows XP may NOT identify the hardware or have the brand/model specific drivers for them, and you'll want to use the Compaq versions.

Do your backups FIRST! Then you may also want to find and run a Hard Drive check program....like Scandisk...but XP doesn't use that, but when you right click on properties for the harddrive, you get a choice for testing for errors, and it will REBOOT the system to use a special NTFS version to check the hard drive for errors. I still like the old Scandisk, where it will check the hard drive for write/read errors by testing each sector or such, takes a long time, but will mark/flag sections of the hard drive that are damaged and will not try to use them for data storage. But IF the hard drive is going, then often it's the heads that have gotten out of alignment and are slightly touching the disc surface, and that's what damages it, and it usually gets progressively worse, until the head is totally damaged, etc.!

Depending on how old the system/harddrive is, you might want to look into getting a new one anyways, you can find much larger capacity ones now, since you'll be doing a complete OS install, it's the best time to swap out a suspect Harddrive. Just be sure to know what type you need, probably IDE type vs. the newer SATA type, they take different connectors inside the case!

Also, unless you're running a Zone Alarm security "SUITE" of programs, then Zone Alarm itself is just a software firewall, and does nothing against viruses, trojans, etc.!!! There are several good FREE Home user versions of Antivirus programs out there, ie. AVAST, along with Antispyware, best to get one of them as well!
T.C.

PS, check your PM's in a few, I'll be contacting you about some stuff!

[oldyam80sg]

Am running Zone Alarm Extreme Security.Thanks TC!

[MrOzz]

You can get a XP operating system disk from Newegg for under $100.00 I think Vista is running $120.00. These are oem disks.