-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Dell Reinstall CD (with a correction)

Gman and David,

I probably should have been following this thread better, but you delved 
into areas I did not want or didn't understand well enough to get involved 
in so just scanned it frequently.

I tested only the boot drive sequence and other changes may work as Gman 
described.  It may also happen that earlier or later dated BIOS may behave 
somewhat differently than I describe.

The plus sign moves one direction.  The minus the other.  Once an item is at 
the top or bottom that button will not roll it over... in other words one 
press of the key will bring the item up from 4 to 3, then to 2 and then 1. 
Repeated presses will do nothing.  I would have thought it would roll it to 
4 then 3 then 2 etc over and over again.  Instead you press the other key to 
move it the opposite direction.  I have seen various BIOS settings on 
various computers that operate in both manners.

I am fixing to load the computer into the car to take on vacation with me. 
When I get there tonight I will play in the setup a bit and report my 
findings.  I will also be doing a clean install of XP Home on the Home hard 
drive.

I will log in to my archive account at gmail.com and review all of this 
thread.  Right now (at 4:00am) I seem to think you will be doing or trying 
to do or thinking about doing a new install on your Dell.

In the past Dell has provided an OS installation disk, a Driver/Resource 
disk, a modem installation disk and a CD-burner software install disk along 
with any other 3rd party software installation disks.  From what I have seen 
(or think I have seen) Dell has finally gone the Recovery CD route instead. 
That is good, in that it is easier for novices but it is bad in that it also 
recovers all the garbage (ISP provider software, useless trial versions and 
other assorted stuff that nobody wants) that Dell gets paid to put on your 
computer.  It is possible that they may also (or instead of) put a recovery 
partition on your harddrive and provide a utility to burn your own Recovery 
CD or DVD.  HP/Compaq does this.

Once before I have posted a thread to do a clean install using the disks 
from Dell.  If I can't find the thread I will write a new one if needed.

Gman... as to your lack of experience with Dells, it is likely due to 
customers buying extended Dell warranties and then replacing them after the 
warranty expires instead of trying to keep them running.  My experience with 
Dell tells me that a 4 year year in home warranty should be required 
standard equipment on Dells.  All of my Dells have needed the extended 
warranty and I'm glad I bought it.  My 4.5 year old Dell has had literally 
everything inside (except the CD-ROM drive) replaced over a total of 6 
technician visits.  My warranty ended a week after the last visit and the 
cooling fan on the new power supply crapped out 3 months later.

Don



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "GMan" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 10:52 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Dell Reinstall CD (with a correction)


> Hi David,
>    Faithfully following my guides does not guarantee success, but it will
> guarantee that I have included everything I could possibly think of when
> written.  As a related example, Don wrote to me offlist to let me know 
> that
> he had just tested one serious exception to my stated rule that ESC will 
> get
> you out of everything you could possibly do in the BIOS.  Details follow.
>
>
> When you're ready to actually change the boot sequence so that your 
> optical
> drive is checked first, you'll find that the mechanism is different than
> those I described in my previous post.  To wit, instead of a small menu 
> with
> options you can up/down arrow to move through, your BIOS requires you to
> arrow to the one you wish to set as the default and then use the + key to
> move it up and ahead of the one above it.  Conversely, the - key will move
> the selected device downward.  In this case (changing the boot device 
> order
> in certain BIOS'), the changes do indeed show immediately and ESC will not
> reverse your actions.
>
>    My apologies for any confusion this may have caused for anyone 
> following
> along.  It has been so long since I have encountered this type of BIOS 
> that
> I simply forgot all about it.  Perhaps it's a tribute to Dell that I don't
> service their towers as often as I do those of other makers.       :O)
>
>
>    The layout of your Windows Install CD is not only promising, it's
> downright awesome.  Once you enable the BIOS to boot first from the 
> optical
> drive, you should have no trouble running the Repair function.  It has 
> also
> dawned on me that you have absolutely no need to follow my earlier advice 
> on
> creating an SP2 slipstreamed CD.  According to your Installation CD's 
> title
> (which I didn't notice until I recognised the extra files and folders in 
> the
> 'root' directory of the disk), your CD already includes SP2.  That means
> that you're 'off the hook' for that task.
>
>    As far as you left clicking on the CD drive in the left pane of Windows
> Explorer, I am currently baffled, bewildered and bewitched.  There is no
> reason I can fathom that would cause that behaviour under those exact
> circumstances.  I am assuming (since you haven't stated otherwise) that 
> you
> are right handed or at least have your mouse set up right handed.  That
> simply means that it takes a right mouse button click to produce most
> context menus.  Still, even a 'left handed' mouse shouldn't set a drive's
> Autoplay into motion.  I'm more than just a little curious about this, but 
> I
> will most likely not persue it further.       lol
>
>
>    Finally, as stated above, Don wrote to me privately to let me know I 
> had
> made an erroneous claim in the ESC issue corrected above.  I'd like to
> openly thank him both for the correction as well as for his attempt to 
> save
> me from public embarassment.  That is a sign of a true gentleman and I
> sincerely appreciate the gesture.      :O)
>
> Peace,
> GMan
>
> "The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask!"
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "David Morris" <dsmorris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 4:08 PM
> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Dell Reinstall CD WAS: Wobbly Fonts - Outlook
> Express Problem
>
>
>> Hello GMan
>>
>> As informative (and humorous) as ever - thank you
>>
>> Blessed are those few who provide "detailed" instructions. How often have
>> I
>> messed up, having faithfully followed a guide that seemed to be complete,
>> only then to be told "but I thought you would realise that you needed to
>> be
>> facing to the East" or whatever
>>
>> Yes, with traditional British stiff upper lip (and wearing my bowler, if 
>> I
>> can find it) I will venture into the BIOS thickets and, little by little,
>> gingerly poke about. When a famous explorer was asked of what he was most
>> frightened, when in strange territory, he replied "My shadow"
>>
>> I'm glad that my Dell CD looks promising. In answer (I hope) to your
>> question, clicking on "sp2_pro_rtm(E:)" on the left, I get on the right,
>> as
>> well as i386, its siblings:
>>
>> Folders
>>
>> $OEM$
>> DOCS
>> DOTNETFX
>> SUPPORT
>> TABLET (Wacom) - seems out of place!
>> VALUEADD
>> AUTORUN.INF
>>
>> Others
>>
>> README.HTM
>> SETUP.EXE
>> SETUPXP.HTM
>> sq.txt
>> WIN51
>> WIN51IP
>> WIN51IP.SP2
>>
>> However, I am now 99% convinced that my CD is "The Full Monty" (pre-film
>> meaning). I  originally tried left clicking on "sp2_pro_rtm(E:)" only
>> about
>> 20 minutes after inserting the disk and using "Shift" to stop it 
>> spinning.
>> In view of what you said, I have now repeated this half a dozen times.
>> Each
>> time, I get the blue "Welcome to Windows" screen and, among its options,
>> "Install Windows XP" . Clicking this really does start the installation
>> process
>>
>> Regards
>> David


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