Gaming World Forums
General Category => Technology and Programming => Topic started by: rpg1hero on March 31, 2008, 03:03:46 am
-
ok, so i've recently acquired a dandy little pc with a big problem. The owners said it was attacked by a virus or whatever... anyway, when i boot it up i get an error telling me that the hard disk can either not be found or has a problem with it. Sometimes after hitting enter it will take me to the WinXP screen with the little bar that goes across in the box at the bottom. Well, that bar just keeps going across. I can get to the bios screen, but i'm a real novice on changing things in there. when i get to the slave vs master drive stuff and SATA/PATA things sometimes it shows that it recognizes a slave 80gb PATA hard drive. should this be the master drive? i have no idea what i've gotten myself into but if someone could start helping me out it would be great. I'll answer any questions if i can.
EDIT: Ok, so basically what i have is: the computer boots up and gives a "there is a problem with the hard disk" error, then it allows me to hit enter. After that it takes me to the windows start-up screen where the bar just keeps going across the bottom. Eventually it decides to restart and do it all over.
-
Assuming the virus corrupted the operating system, I would reformat and reinstall. Especially since you won't lose any precious data. Better to start off fresh when you get a used PC, then you'll know everything that's on it.
-
with all the computers i have, the operating systems have already been installed on them. Without paying a $100 or whatever XP is right now is there another way to reinstall or something
-
You could run some boot disks to try to repair it although there's no telling what else is wrong, you'll just have to obtain a new OS somehow. It's still the previous owner's windows key, ask him if he'll give you it. There's utilities you could use to possibly extract they key from the installation, however you should ask the previous owner first, just in case.
-
it sounds like the boot section has been corrupted
-
You really should reformat and reinstall. If you don't feel like shelling out 100usd for a copy of Windows XP, go get yourself some Linux.
Ubuntu is a very Windows-user flavor of Linux, and being Linux, it's completely free. http://www.ubuntu.com/
It's faster and more stable than Windows. It's supports full 64 bit mode if you have a 64 bit processor, and it has nifty 3d effects that put Windows Vista to shame! All while taking a fraction of the memory!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKEcz_OTTBk <---- Fancy 3d stuff.
-
I am so suddenly tempted to install tht version of linux, simply becuase i know Linux is way more stable then Windows, this was just the clincher :P. But still, should i or shouldn't i?
-
But still, should i or shouldn't i?
Well, considering it's free, you should. What would you have to lose? If all the games I play weren't so Windows exclusive, I would probably use Linux and Linux alone.
I dual boot my computer. When you install Linux on a seperate hard drive (With a Windows installation already in existence.) or a seperate hard drive partition, the GRUB boot loader does the rest. This way I can use Windows for the things I need to use Windows for, and Linux for everything else.
For many windows programs, you can run them in Wine, under Linux. Some run perfectly, some don't run at all. Some run slowly or strangely. RPG maker 2003, for example, runs beautifully, but very slow. When you change the layer, it takes about 20 seconds for it to do so, but every other function of the program runs pretty much without a hitch, and the runner runs fairly smoothly too, just not as smooth as in Windows.
-
Either buy or pirate Windows. In either case trying to salvage the contents of your HDD would be dumb.
Also don't get Linux. It has a retarded file structure and doesn't support nearly as much software as Windows does. Also, it requires insane amounts of effort and sometimes programming knowledge to fix the most trivial things, like MIDI playback. You'll have no use for it.
-
You can salvage some of your files by popping in a bootable Ubuntu LiveCD. Linux should be able to recognize your HDD, and you'll be able to save your things to some portable storage device. I'm not sure whether or not a virus will actually follow that information -- but this is worth a try (linux's performance will be unaffected by the virus, but you should be wary if you wish to reinstall Windows). Furthermore, the LiveCD is a portable version of Ubuntu that allows you try out the general feel of the OS without actually installing it, so if you're considering linux, there you go.
http://www.ubuntu.com/
If Ubuntu does not recognize your HDD, you can also use this software, which should allow you to do the same thing. It's not a LiveCD of an OS or anything, just the stuff that you need to access your drive and save your crap.
http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page
Of course, you'll need to use a friend's computer to burn these to a blank CD. You'll also have to find some program that'll allow you to convert an .iso image to a bootable CD.
http://www.nero.com/enu/promo-buy-nero8-ultra.html?NeroSID=7205da4ebea9bc0edb11e7576dc8439b
Now, with regard to linux itself, yes, it's a bitch to figure out. I still don't understand how programs/packages work, etc. And yes, the file structure is horribly disorganized. Which is why installing things without helper programs like Synaptic is impossible for the newer user. The only reason why I use Linux is because Windows sometimes ran so goddamn slowly that MS Word took 5 minutes to load (of course, I reinstalled windows etc don't have this problem anymore). Wholly, the operating system is very stable, and I can rely on it to perform these basic functions beautifully. But when it comes to music playback, etc, there's a sort of...learning curve, per se. Thankfully, most google searches can help you troubleshoot problems, and you can also ask us Ubuntu users questions, too. (although I'd be a horrible person to ask...)
At any rate, if you ever consider linux, try to dual-boot with Windows. This way, you have the stability of the linux OS (schoolwork, etc), and you can still play your good ol' windows games/programs. If you follow this route, you'll also need to know how to partition your drive, etc. This program will allow you to wipe out your old OS and partition it accordingly.
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
I hope all of this helps.
-
I thought I had posted a reply but apparently not. Thanks to all who helped. I "acquired" a copy of WinXP Pro and installed it after reformatting the hard drive twice. The computer is able to boot up now, although I still get a few errors in the beginning. I just wanted to use this computer as a test computer so the contents of the HDD didn't matter. Thanks all!
-
If you mention a few of the errors, we could possibly help you out with those as well.
-
Next time I boot it up I'll write down exactly what it says because I don't understand it.
-
The best thing about this thread is that you ignored the people screaming "INSTALL LINUX!!!"
What an absolute waste of time that would've been!
-
I'm a long time windows user and am definitely not in the mood to learn a new OS now. Plus, yea, there aren't many programs friendly with Linux...unless of course I'm missing you're sarcasm, but even if I am there's your answer.
-
I wasn't aware that there was a "thing" against suggesting Linux for any reason. When did this happen? Was there a massive surge of Linux evangelists and everyone got sick of it or something?
-
I think people are just sick of others getting on their high horse when they shouldn't be and imposing linux on people. A lot of manufacturers don't have linux drivers for their hardware and most people expect you to use windows anyway. By using linux you would sacrifice the ability to play games meant for windows, so suggesting linux on a site called GAMING WORLD is a pretty bad idea imo.
-
And don't you forget it.
-
...so suggesting linux on a site called GAMING WORLD is a pretty bad idea imo.
My thoughts exactly. I don't care how "close to windows" wine is, or some emulator on mac, if you want best compatibility and performance with the majority of PC games released, you're going to use some form of windows.
I don't think we would even be discussing this if linux users/supporters didn't suggest it at the drop of the hat like they've been doing recently here at the forums. I can only think of a few threads in my time here where it was appropriate, mostly when the poster specifically asked for an alternative OS.
-
I think people are just sick of others getting on their high horse when they shouldn't be and imposing linux on people. A lot of manufacturers don't have linux drivers for their hardware and most people expect you to use windows anyway. By using linux you would sacrifice the ability to play games meant for windows, so suggesting linux on a site called GAMING WORLD is a pretty bad idea imo.
Depends. If you use WINE, you can play a majority of the things that windows can. Keyword is ´majority´ here, lol.
I actually use WINE to do rm2k3 stuff, and once you´ve spent several hours figuring out how to get ubuntu studios to work, and spent a few hours feeling dumb after figuring out how easy it is, you´ll find that you´ve got a very capable computer for making music, editing videos/images, and even(BUDGET) gaming.(I have a separate computer for gaming, though. ATI fanboy :3...)
But yeah, I´ll have to agree with a bunch of things you guys said. If you´ve got windows and don´t intend to spend a few hours figuring out individual things, then keep it. Meh, late post >.>
Edit: Oh I love posting and later realizing how old the dates are...
-
Also don't get Linux. It has a retarded file structure and doesn't support nearly as much software as Windows does.
I'd like to note here that Drule dropped Linux because he wanted to put his own files in the root structure of his drive and COULDN'T (because that's retarded so the system tries to prevent you from doing that) and then finally quit using it because he couldn't get MIDI output to work.
Let's not turn this into a Linux flame war, but at the very least you could just say I DIDN'T LIKE LINUX instead of blaming its "file structure" for the fact you cannot properly use a Unix-like operating system.