Simple IT Support

Repair windows XP using your install CD

Posted by sporg

Sometimes windows will just not start, You either see the blue screen of death or a message complaining about missing files. There are hundreds of reasons why a PC will not boot up but what can you do about it. In this article we will have a look at one of the options available to you that is used with quite a bit of success in the IT support world.

For this solution you will need a copy of your windows install CD. Place the CD in your computers CD-ROM drive and start your computer. Your computer should boot up off the CD and display the following message “Press any key to boot from CD..”.  If you do not see this message you may need to change the boot order for your CD-ROM in the BIOS. If that last line made no scence at all have a look at this article on about.com that will provide you with a step by step guide. You will also fine more specific instructions for changing boot order in the manual supplied with your computer. If you do see the message press any of the keys on your keyboard to move on to the next step.

Once setup has finished copying files and loading drivers you will come to the “Welcome To Setup” Screen.

You will be given the following options:

• To set up Windows XP now
• To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console
• To quit without installing Windows XP

To allow us to run the set up again and repair damaged or missing files we need to press ENTER and select the “To set up Windows XP now”. This may seam like the wrong thing to do but stay with me and you will see how it works out.

The next screen that needs you attention will be the License Agreement. Press F8 to accept the license. The Windows install will then look for existing Windows installations. As long as the windows directories on your computer have not been deleted you should see a screen asking you to select the windows installation you would like to repair.

There should be only one install found. If Windows setup finds more than one copy of windows you will need to find out why and witch one is the correct one. Press R on your keyboard to tell Windows setup to repair the copy of Windows XP that is installed on your computer.

If you get this far and don’t see the option to repair a Windows installation this would indicate that the copy of Windows on your computer is badly damaged. You either need to install from scratch or you may need help form an IT professional to try and help you recover any data that may be on the computer.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions please leave a comment at the end of this article and I will be happy to help.

Technorati Tags: Windows XP, Repair, Setup

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Reset windows security settings to default

Posted by sporg

Ever had a problem with windows security settings and just wished you could reset the security settings back to default. Well here is a quick article showing how.

One word of warning this method relies on the setting contained in a file called Secsetup.inf, this file contains the original security settings and will not contain security settings that have been changed during the windows setup or by other applications you may have installed. I would recommend this solution only as a last resort or in cases where you have a backup or setting up the computer form scratch is not a problem.

Now to the fun part

• Click Start, then Run.
• In the run dialog type in “cmd” then click OK

For Windows XP users type in the following command then press ENTER on your keyboard:

• secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

For Windows Vista users, type in the following command then press ENTER

• secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

 

 

 

 

When the process has completed you will see a message telling you that the task is complete. In some cases you will also receive a warning message but these warning can be safely ignored. But to make sure it may be worth checking in %windir%\Security\Logs\Scesrv.log. This file will contain the reason for the warning.Secedit parameters

For further information Click Start, then Run. Type in %windir%\help\secedit.chm and Click OK for help on secedit.

Technorati Tags: Windows, Vista, Security, secedit

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How to install SATA native mode drivers after installing windows with native mode disabled

Posted by sporg

SATA hard disks will outperform a standard IDE hard drive but only if your SATA drive is running in native mode. Some desktops and laptops have the option to disable native mode so that you are able to install windows using an install CD that does not have the SATA drivers. All well and good but once you got the computer running and you have a copy of the SATA native drivers how do you make windows use the correct drivers. Just follow this guide.

1. Make sure you have the right drivers. If you install the wrong drivers you may need to re-install windows to get your computer working.
   
2. Start windows click on the start button
   
3. Under Programs then Accessories you will find Windows Explorer.
   
4. Click Windows Explorer. On the left pain of the windows explorer you will find My Computer.
   
5. Right click My Computer and click on manage.
   
6. In the new window that opens, look through the list on the left and find Device Manager.
   
7. Click Device Manager. Then expand the IDE controllers in the right hand panel.
   
8. Under the IDE drivers find the driver for your hard disk.
   
9. Right click on the driver and click update driver.
   
   1. At the first dialog click no when asked to connect to windows update.
      
   2. On the next dialog click install from a list or specific location.
      
   3. On the next dialog click Don’t Search, I will choose the driver to install.
      
   4. The next dialog will show you a list of driver windows has installed. If the driver you need to install for your SATA drive is not listed click Have Disk.
      
      1. If you have clicking have disk you will be asked where the drivers are located. Point to the directory where you have downloaded the drivers. Make sure the drivers are not in a zip file or some other archive. Click OK
         
      2. You will now be shown a list of drivers that are contained in the downloaded folder.
         
   5. Click on the driver that supports your SATA drive in native mode and click Next.
      
   6. You may see a windows warning that Windows cannot verify that the device is compatible with your hardware. When asked if you want to continue installing the driver click Yes.
      
   7. The installation is now complete.
      
10. Reboot your computer and go into the BIOS settings.
    
11. Enable the SATA native mode, save settings and exit. If you have the correct driver windows will now load as normal.
    
12. If you find windows will not start you will need to boot off your Windows install disk and run a Windows repair.
    

Hope this helps and my next article will describe how to use your install CD to repair windows.

Technorati Tags: Sata, Drivers, Native Mode, Install

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