BIOS - COULD THERE A PROBLEM WITH MY PC'S BIOS?

[Guest]

Sorry Ken I have offended you with all the capital letters. I had no
intention whatsoever of upsetting of offending you in any way. My only
intention was just to highlight my answers as I was replying into a reply
with other replies in it. My deep appologies. I need the help of the experts
in the forum and I am getting good help, it was silly of me not thinking
about that detail. I hoped it would be clear from the language that I did not
mean any harm.

You're welcome. But for the future, please do *not* post in all
capitals. It's very hard on the eyes, and it feels like you're
shouting at me.

Sorry again, i had been compiling my reply for an hour and when I posted i
got bombed out at 2 am in Down Under and had to redo it. My eyes were going
square so i used the capital to make it easier to see my new answers, believe
me I did not intend to shout at you in this way. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Please
forgive me.

Normally, I would ignore a message like this with all these capitals,
but since we've started corresponding about your issue, I'll make an
exception for you, and read it and continue. See below.






You're welcome again.





It depends on what you are trying to copy. See point 2, quoted
immediately below.




Look at what you've copied. Open the files.

I have been cheking the folders and files within are the same and also their
size. Most of them are the same. some are empty. I will do a more thorough
check on the weekend.

Not everyone wants to back up all the files the system needs to run
properly. Read below for the two approaches to backup.





There are two very different approach to backup.

1. You can create an image (or clone) of your entire drive (usually on
a removable hard drive). That requires special software to do it. It
can not be done by simply copying files. If you do that, and the
original drive dies, all you need to do is replace the original drive,
then restore your image to the new drive.

2. You can back up individual files that contain important data, not
everything on the drive. If you lose the original drive in that
scenario, what you have to do is acquire a new drive, reinstall
Windows on it, then reinstall all your programs and restore you
backed-up data. Note carefully that what you can *not* do is restore
backed up programs. A backup of a program is useless, because all
programs (except for a rare tiny one) have many associated files and
references to themselves within Windows, in the registry and
elsewhere. If you reinstall Windows, all of that is lost, and the
programs won't run.

Since you say "I NOW HAVE ALL MY PROGRAMS ... ON DISCS," you
apparently weren't aware of this. Except as part of an image or clone
of the entire drive, backing up programs is a waste of time and
effort.

Sorry, I meant to say I have original instalation cds for the programs.
And yes i was not aware that the programs would be useless if "copied"
unless it is done as you mentioned above, as image/clone with Acronis or
another sililar software. I think I got the idea now. ( did copy them as
well, but "not" with image /clone method as I do not as yet have that sort of
software,
so those discs can now go in the garbage so I do not get confused and try to
use them.)

Some programs have been downloaded, (Express Burn/Rip) but I can re-download them - I have checked with the manufacturer and I know what to do to reactivate my licences, I did order the cds, in case I loose internet connection, so I should have them soon.


For data, yes. For programs, no. See above.

Ok. I am much clearer on the back up now. I think I would benefit from
having an 'image" - I learnt from this forum that I need Acronis True Image
or Norton Ghost to do that. so I understand that with copies of my data I
should be good because i do have the sofware for programs and the items that
are connected to the box. Yes ??? Like printer, webcam, mouse, keyboard,
handycam/photo camera, mobile phone, iPod and MP4, and I have the cds for
the motherboard, windows, drivers, MS Office, bookkeeping as well ( these are
not copies, they are the originals).

You can't find it because it doesn't exist. To repeat what I said
above, what you would need to do is

1. Reinstall Windows.
2. Reinstall all your programs.
3. Copy your data files back to the drive.

Notice that in step 3, I said "data files." That's why such a list
doesn't exist. Nobody but you knows what data files you have.

Ok. Say i go to Word and type a letter and save it in a folder, or I dowload
photos or movies form my camera, they become my data files. I understand i
need to copy those which I have on cd and on external drive as well.

My bookkeeping program has an inbuilt backup facility and it backs up to
this folder outside of itself. If I did't know about this, and did not copy
that particular folder, even if I reinstalled the program I would not be able
to restore my work. I learnt how to restore these.

Are the backup logs part of my data?
what about the files that internet security puts in quarantine? Do I need to
copy those?
I have now copied my Favorites - I did not realise that I could and should
copy them or back that up. ( duh)
I thought that I would find "all" my data in the "My Documents" folder I am
probably wrong again.

See above. You are misunderstanding the difference between the two
approaches to backup.

Yes I was very confused with this. I know I do not have an image copy, so I
would have to work from a back up to do a restore (and here, at the moment I
would be restoring the present problems) or
I format, reinstall OS, periferals and programs and then copy my data files
back in afterwards,
or
just try to clean it up first.( a daunting task for sure).

If I do it myself and stuff up the process, is the worse case scenario, a
professional should be able to undo/redo FIX it up? Or are there things that
can happen that I could render my machine totaly unrecoverable? and in need
to get a new pc ?

Do you mean software keys? Highly unlikely.

Yes that is is what I meant. so I am good with this point too. I was not
sure.

See above. You need your Windows CD, installation CDs for all your
software, and backups of your data.




Again, I can't make that decision for you, but based on what you've
said it sounds like it might likely be the best course.





Except changing the boot order to enable you to boot from the CD, so
you can do a clean reinstallation, forget about the BIOS. It isn't
involved with this at all.

Ok, here I think I should be able to manage that after educationg myself a
little more on the subject.

Opening the case should not be needed.

Great, what a relief, anyway I would have to find a reliable technitian then
because I don't think I would dare myself to do any of that and risk causing
myself more problems.

Since it appears that you will be reformatting and reinstalling,
there's no question of whether it's safe to delete anything on the
drive. When you reformat, *everything* gets deleted, so there's no
need to delete anything in advance.

To reformat and reinstall, just boot from the Windows XP CD (change
the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the
prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by
pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


One more point here, and it's an important one. Please don't feel
insulted, but it's very clear from the questions you ask, and some of
your misunderstandings that you are a beginner at this. I'm very
concerned that if you were to attempt this by yourself, you might not
succeed. It would be wise to enlist the help of a more knowledgeable
friend who could work along with you and show you what to do. It might
even be worth it to pay a professional (and by "professional," I do
*not* mean an employee of CompUSA, Best Buy, or some similar store.
Look for a local service person who comes recommended by other people
in your area, such as your local PC users' group).

No ofense taken, that is the pure reality and I agree with you on the above
and that is why I am asking so many questions, to figure out wether I can do
this myself or if I best leave it to someone with the knowledge . finding a
reliable person or place is the hardest part because that was my very first
step but the repairer refused to help me back up my data and here I am in
this mess. I am looking for another technician in my area.
Then again I am learning and the only good way to learn sometimes is by the
mistakes I make but please don't get me wrong, I will not attempt it unless I
have the necessary help at hand, or I might just get tired of investigating
and take the box to the techn if I find a recomended one.
I should know if I can do it myself after studying the websites you have
recomended above. I am off to go and do that right now.
Thanks again.
IH

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Sorry Ken I have offended you with all the capital letters.

No, no--I wasn't offended. I was just pointing out that it's difficult
and uncomfortable to read. Because of that, I usually don't bother,
and just skip to the next message. I made an exception in your case,
because we had already started together, and because you clearly
didn't understand the difficulties of dealing with all caps.

I had no
intention whatsoever of upsetting of offending you in any way. My only
intention was just to highlight my answers as I was replying into a reply
with other replies in it.

Your text is differentiated from quoted text by not having the > in
front of it, as mine is here. That works fine. Nothing else is
required.

My deep appologies. I need the help of the experts
in the forum and I am getting good help, it was silly of me not thinking
about that detail. I hoped it would be clear from the language that I did not
mean any harm.

No offense taken and no apology necessary. I was just trying to point
out for the future that all-caps text might be ignored by many of us.
It's likely to get you less help.

Sorry again, i had been compiling my reply for an hour and when I posted i
got bombed out at 2 am in Down Under and had to redo it. My eyes were going
square so i used the capital to make it easier to see my new answers, believe
me I did not intend to shout at you in this way. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Please
forgive me.

I have been cheking the folders and files within are the same and also their
size. Most of them are the same. some are empty. I will do a more thorough
check on the weekend.
Sorry, I meant to say I have original instalation cds for the programs.
And yes i was not aware that the programs would be useless if "copied"
unless it is done as you mentioned above, as image/clone with Acronis or
another sililar software. I think I got the idea now. ( did copy them as
well, but "not" with image /clone method as I do not as yet have that sort of
software,
so those discs can now go in the garbage so I do not get confused and try to
use them.)

Well, what's on the CDs? Although you can't use any programs copied to
them, you can use any data that's there. So unless you're sure it's
just programs, I wouldn't be too quick to throw them away. And, as I
said, an occasional small program is self-contained, and can work
without having any entries in \Windows.

Ok. I am much clearer on the back up now. I think I would benefit from
having an 'image" - I learnt from this forum that I need Acronis True Image
or Norton Ghost to do that.

Not necessarily. Those are *two* choices, but there are others.
Personally I like Acronis True Image the best, and I dislike anything
from Norton.


I personally prefer imaging my drive to having just data backups.
That's because I have invested substantial time and effort in
customizing Windows and my applications to work the way I like them
to. If I had only data backed up, and lost my drive, yes I could
restore the data and reinstall the apps, but I would lose all that
customization. Putting it back the way I like it would take me many
extra hours or days

Other people run much more vanilla systems, and for them, backing up
just data can be fine.

so I understand that with copies of my data I
should be good because i do have the sofware for programs and the items that
are connected to the box. Yes ???

Yes.


Like printer, webcam, mouse, keyboard,
handycam/photo camera, mobile phone, iPod and MP4, and I have the cds for
the motherboard, windows, drivers, MS Office, bookkeeping as well ( these are
not copies, they are the originals).

Ok. Say i go to Word and type a letter and save it in a folder, or I dowload
photos or movies form my camera, they become my data files. I understand i
need to copy those which I have on cd and on external drive as well.

No, you don't *need* to copy them to both places. If you reinstall
Windows cleanly, you'll need to restore your data, but you only
restore from one place. On the other hand, even though you don't
*need* to, having two copies, one on a CD and one on an external
driver, protects you against the possibility that a single backup
might be unreadable. Just like originals, backup disks *can* fail too.

My bookkeeping program has an inbuilt backup facility and it backs up to
this folder outside of itself. If I did't know about this, and did not copy
that particular folder, even if I reinstalled the program I would not be able
to restore my work. I learnt how to restore these.

Are the backup logs part of my data?

Sorry, what backup logs are these?

what about the files that internet security puts in quarantine? Do I need to
copy those?

Generally not. But what internet security? What files?

I have now copied my Favorites - I did not realise that I could and should
copy them or back that up. ( duh)
I thought that I would find "all" my data in the "My Documents" folder I am
probably wrong again.

Two points here:

1. Things like favorites, E-mail, and contact lists are not normally
kept in My Documents. If you want to save what's there, they will need
to be backed up separately.

Even application programs like Word don't necessarily always save in
My Documents. My Documents is the default (almost always, but some
programs *could* do it differently), but whenever you save a file, you
*could* change the location from the default.

In all probability, all your data except for favorites, E-mail, and
contacts will be in My Documents. I don't mean to scare you, but for
the sake of completeness, I wanted to point out that some (or even
all) of it could be elsewhere. I can't tell you where your programs
store their data, not do I know whether you have ever not used the
defaults. All I can do is caution you to look around carefully. Since
you're the one who created the files, you should recognize the names
of any data files that are elsewhere.

Yes I was very confused with this. I know I do not have an image copy, so I
would have to work from a back up to do a restore (and here, at the moment I
would be restoring the present problems) or
I format, reinstall OS, periferals and programs and then copy my data files
back in afterwards,
or
just try to clean it up first.( a daunting task for sure).

If I do it myself and stuff up the process, is the worse case scenario, a
professional should be able to undo/redo FIX it up? Or are there things that
can happen that I could render my machine totaly unrecoverable? and in need
to get a new pc ?

No, no. There's no risk of physical damage to the computer. The risk
is to your data (and your nerves).

Yes that is is what I meant. so I am good with this point too. I was not
sure.
Ok, here I think I should be able to manage that after educationg myself a
little more on the subject.

Great, what a relief, anyway I would have to find a reliable technitian then
because I don't think I would dare myself to do any of that and risk causing
myself more problems.

As an aside, because it's not really pertinent here, although the
inside of the case may appear daunting, it really needn't be. Changing
or adding hardware in the case is really easy. It isn't much different
than plugging the components of a stereo system together; the only
real difference is that with a computer, the plugging-in is done
inside the box.

The only real risk is accidentally zapping components with static
electricity, so you want to be sure you've discharged yourself to a
ground before putting your hands inside.

But as always, if you've never done it before, it helps to have
someone who has done it work with you the first time.

No ofense taken, that is the pure reality and I agree with you on the above
and that is why I am asking so many questions, to figure out wether I can do
this myself or if I best leave it to someone with the knowledge . finding a
reliable person or place is the hardest part because that was my very first
step but the repairer refused to help me back up my data and here I am in
this mess. I am looking for another technician in my area.
Then again I am learning and the only good way to learn sometimes is by the
mistakes I make

That's very true, but sometimes that kind of learning can be very
costly. I don't know how important your data is to you, but to many of
us, losing it would be a traumatic experience.

but please don't get me wrong, I will not attempt it unless I
have the necessary help at hand, or I might just get tired of investigating
and take the box to the techn if I find a recomended one.
I should know if I can do it myself after studying the websites you have
recomended above. I am off to go and do that right now.

Thanks again.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

[Guest]

Hi Ken

Well, what's on the CDs? Although you can't use any programs copied to
them, you can use any data that's there. So unless you're sure it's
just programs, I wouldn't be too quick to throw them away. And, as I
said, an occasional small program is self-contained, and can work
without having any entries in \Windows.

Ok. Probably better just put them aside then, since the cds contain other
files too, not just the programs, they may prove usefull if other
alternatives fail. At least with your help I have been able to learn not to
restore the copies of the programs but to use the intallations cd instead if
I use the cds to restore data.

Not necessarily. Those are *two* choices, but there are others.
Personally I like Acronis True Image the best, and I dislike anything
from Norton.

I personaly am not a great fan of Norton either. Most of my present problems
started when I installed Norton Internet Security, I did not do very well
with it. It might suit other people but I would give Norton a place at the
back of my list. I will check out a few programs before bying one.

I personally prefer imaging my drive to having just data backups.
That's because I have invested substantial time and effort in
customizing Windows and my applications to work the way I like them
to. If I had only data backed up, and lost my drive, yes I could
restore the data and reinstall the apps, but I would lose all that
customization. Putting it back the way I like it would take me many
extra hours or days

I am growing pretty fond of the idea of getting imaging software, I will
look into what is available when I fix my existing problem. Too bad I did
not know about this earlier, I would have saved myself a lot of grief and the
forum experts a lot of time especially you Ken. I am still in time to avoid
problems in future by using such software on my PC.

Other people run much more vanilla systems, and for them, backing up
just data can be fine.

I usually worry more about safety features then anything else but looks like
I did not do a good job of protecting my PC. I am better equiped for the
future though.

Yes.

my data files. I understand i


No, you don't *need* to copy them to both places. If you reinstall
Windows cleanly, you'll need to restore your data, but you only
restore from one place. On the other hand, even though you don't
*need* to, having two copies, one on a CD and one on an external
driver, protects you against the possibility that a single backup
might be unreadable. Just like originals, backup disks *can* fail too.

Yes, my idea was that if cds failed to help me restore I could try the
external drive and/or vice versa, kind of like backing up the back up.
Logs created by Windows B/up Utility at the time of backing up.
Unfortunately they are momentarily gone. I had to perform a system restore 2
days ago because the system was unworkable, ie taking more than 10 minutes to
open a file and many applications stopped responding for reasons that are
unclear to me.

Sorry, what backup logs are these?

When I did the back up with Windows B/Up Utilitity it created logs of the
back ups I have made

Generally not. But what internet security? What files?

TrendMicro Internet Security 2007 - when it runs a scan and finds viruses or
spyware tries to clean then and if it can not it will quarantine those files
and create a log of those files. I leave them in the quarantine because I
don't know if they should be deleted or not. I have seeked support from TM in
this respect several times with no solution to my questions. I understand
that I should know what files what files should deleted but I can not decide
due to lack of knowledge so I leave them in quaratine.
There are files with worms and viruses that read like this:
DEL193.tmp in C:\Documents & Settings\user\Local Settings\temp\
mmc32.exe in C:\WINDOWS\temp\_ISTMPI.DIR\
C:\System Volume INF - BFB9-F152896DF473)\RPS521\A0098710.DLL
and other similar ones with .exe and .dll extensions
also C:\WINDOWA\System32\silc_dll.dll
I have lots of logs filled with files like the above mentioned. I have
installed HIJACK THIS and will try to export the files to one of their forum
for analysis as I am not at all able to decide what to do with them myself.

Two points here:

1. Things like favorites, E-mail, and contact lists are not normally
kept in My Documents. If you want to save what's there, they will need
to be backed up separately.

Even application programs like Word don't necessarily always save in
My Documents. My Documents is the default (almost always, but some
programs *could* do it differently), but whenever you save a file, you
*could* change the location from the default.

In all probability, all your data except for favorites, E-mail, and
contacts will be in My Documents. I don't mean to scare you, but for
the sake of completeness, I wanted to point out that some (or even
all) of it could be elsewhere. I can't tell you where your programs
store their data, not do I know whether you have ever not used the
defaults. All I can do is caution you to look around carefully. Since
you're the one who created the files, you should recognize the names
of any data files that are elsewhere.

Thank you. This is just the kind of guidance I have been searching for. I
will go and find out how and where my programs save data and back it up. Is
this the way to go or are there better/simpler ways to do this? considering
my particular difficulties with everything?
I would love to be able to do a search of *user created folders* - I will
search anyway I can. Anything is better than nothing.I am going to read again all the advice I have received in this thread and
apply it. I will install a few anti-spyware programs and follow steps to
clean malware in my pc, ie follow the advice in the elephantboycomputers'
website. I will study all the websites you have indicated previously and take
action recomended in them. Meanwhile try to make sure I have all my data
backed up and hope that by the end of this process my PC will be working a
lot better. Then I will clean up my files - delete what I don't need,
uninstall programs I do not use.
When I am done with that I think I will take a look at my start up
menu/programs and clean this up as well.
If all the above does not solve the problem of my pc being so slow, I will
then think again about formating my hard disk drives. When and if I decide to
format them I will seek some information and suggestions on how to set up my
pc in a more efficient way.
Sounds like a plan, but your input on my plan would be greatly appreciated
at your convenience. Then I will get on with the cleaning up and free you up.
I truely appreciate the patience you have had with me and my inexperience. I
also truly am greatful for your time and knowledge. I hope one day I may be
able to help someone too in any small way.
Thank you.
IH

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:04:01 -0700, InfoHungry



It looks like most of your questions have been answered by now. There
are just a couple of points I'll add below.

When I did the back up with Windows B/Up Utilitity it created logs of the
back ups I have made

I know next to nothing about the Windows backup Utility. I tried it
once or twice long ago, and haven't looked at it since. So I can't
really tell you anything about its logs.

TrendMicro Internet Security 2007 - when it runs a scan and finds viruses or
spyware tries to clean then and if it can not it will quarantine those files
and create a log of those files. I leave them in the quarantine because I
don't know if they should be deleted or not. I have seeked support from TM in
this respect several times with no solution to my questions. I understand
that I should know what files what files should deleted but I can not decide
due to lack of knowledge so I leave them in quaratine.
There are files with worms and viruses that read like this:
DEL193.tmp in C:\Documents & Settings\user\Local Settings\temp\
mmc32.exe in C:\WINDOWS\temp\_ISTMPI.DIR\
C:\System Volume INF - BFB9-F152896DF473)\RPS521\A0098710.DLL
and other similar ones with .exe and .dll extensions
also C:\WINDOWA\System32\silc_dll.dll
I have lots of logs filled with files like the above mentioned. I have
installed HIJACK THIS and will try to export the files to one of their forum
for analysis as I am not at all able to decide what to do with them myself.

No, you shouldn't need any of the quarantined files. they are
presumably infected, and were saved "just in case."

I am going to read again all the advice I have received in this thread and
apply it. I will install a few anti-spyware programs and follow steps to
clean malware in my pc, ie follow the advice in the elephantboycomputers'
website. I will study all the websites you have indicated previously and take
action recomended in them. Meanwhile try to make sure I have all my data
backed up and hope that by the end of this process my PC will be working a
lot better. Then I will clean up my files - delete what I don't need,
uninstall programs I do not use.
When I am done with that I think I will take a look at my start up
menu/programs and clean this up as well.
If all the above does not solve the problem of my pc being so slow, I will
then think again about formating my hard disk drives. When and if I decide to
format them I will seek some information and suggestions on how to set up my
pc in a more efficient way.
Sounds like a plan, but your input on my plan would be greatly appreciated
at your convenience.

Sure. I think that's fine, as long as you realize that things may at
this point be screwed up enough that you will decide to clean install
in the near future.

Then I will get on with the cleaning up and free you up.
I truely appreciate the patience you have had with me and my inexperience. I
also truly am greatful for your time and knowledge. I hope one day I may be
able to help someone too in any small way.
Thank you.

You're welcome again. Always glad to help.

 

[Guest]

Hi Ken
You have been tremendously helpfull and I am extremelly greatfull for it. I
have learnt a lot from your posts. Thank for your time as well.

Please see below:

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:04:01 -0700, InfoHungry



It looks like most of your questions have been answered by now. There
are just a couple of points I'll add below.





I know next to nothing about the Windows backup Utility. I tried it
once or twice long ago, and haven't looked at it since. So I can't
really tell you anything about its logs.

That is ok. Thank you. I will search for answers elsewhere.You have helped
me greatly.

No, you shouldn't need any of the quarantined files. they are
presumably infected, and were saved "just in case."

Ok thank you

Sure. I think that's fine, as long as you realize that things may at
this point be screwed up enough that you will decide to clean install
in the near future.

Totally agree with you on the above. I have a feeling that it will need to
be done sooner rather than later but anyway I still want to follow the clean
up process first just for the sake of learning about it, what to do, what to
look for and so on.

You're welcome again. Always glad to help.

IH

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Ken
You have been tremendously helpfull and I am extremelly greatfull for it. I
have learnt a lot from your posts. Thank for your time as well.

Any time. Always glad to help.