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General discussion

Dimension 8300 will not run--tried a multitude of "solutions

by photobug41 Oct 17, 2010 5:45AM PDT

1. I have run all the diagnostic tests and all passed. All 4 lights are on green.
2. I tried several solutions suggested here--Avast found nothing on full system scan. AdAware found 1 item which I removed--didn't help. I ran Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware and removed what it found. Also ran 2 Windows malicious spyware removals--nothing. Other suggested programs required Internet connection which is impossible in Safe Mode.
3 Nothing will run now in normal mode. Windows starts up and the screen goes black.

4. McAfee comes free with FIOS and now shows it needs a fix which will not work due to no Internet connection. It never does seem to find anything, but haven't had any problems until now. I have not updated to SP3 or IE 8--Verizon says both will cause problems with network and unfortunately, one computer on the network got IE 8 automatically.

5. So--what to do next??? Would installing SP3 from a flash drive help? Although the computer is 6 years old, I'd rather not have to deal with a new one in a hurry. Some peripherals will not work with Windows 7 and I hear 8 will be much better.

Summary: Dell Dimension. XP SP2 Pentium 4, 3.00 Hz 2.99 GHz, 1 GB RAM. Internal HD--80 GB and 250 GB.

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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Since all that runs.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Oct 17, 2010 5:57AM PDT

I wonder why the OS isn't being reinstalled? XP can become so damaged that repairs become impossible or rather take more time than a reload.
Bob

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reinstalling XP
by photobug41 Oct 17, 2010 6:10AM PDT

I thought of that, but remember the last time I had to do that--it was a problem for me and didn't solve anything. I don't know what caused my problem--it just stopped working a few days before we left for a trip and I didn't have time when I got back since I was leaving again shortly. I think I will lose everything if I reinstall Windows and am not sure how to back up on an external HD. I have copied quite a few things, but would like to have my saved email and other things I can't reinstall from CDs.

Any more input for this? Thanks.

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Sorry no.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Oct 17, 2010 10:29AM PDT

But I have a method I use for those that can't backup and need a working machine. We remove their hard drive, install a new blank one and then the OS and Dell drivers. If that fails we fix the machine but your posts read like a damaged OS.
Bob

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misreading you, maybe
by wb2001 Oct 18, 2010 7:16AM PDT

You said "Other suggested programs required Internet connection which is impossible in Safe Mode". Did I misread you, or did you misquote? Where was Safe Mode with Networking?

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solution
by photobug41 Oct 30, 2010 9:36AM PDT

Thanks for your suggestions. I had my computer checked and Windows would not reload. It was checked further and this is what was found--Power supply was running about 65%, one memory slot was shot and something else. It wasn't worth getting a 6 year old computer fixed so I had a new one built and both hard drives from the Dell were installed. Now I have to figure out what to delete and what to leave! Some programs will have to be reloaded since I now have Windows 7. It will take time to get all running smoothly. I am just glad the hard drive wasn't shot!

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