[striver]

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Gary,

This time I correctly created both a diskette and CD of the updated Dell diagnostic program for my Inspiron. I tried running both of them a few times to no avail, again. Out of curiosity, I did try running the original diskette diagnostic program that came with my Inspiron. It successfully loaded on the first boot. I ran the program, and all the tests successfully passed. This has me thinking all the hardware is functioning properly, although I’m still a bit leery of the floppy drive.

I’m thinking about attempting another reinstall of W98. Does this seem like the right thing to do?

By the way, I am running Windows 98 and not 98se. I’m not sure I made this clear in my last post.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi again

I certainly understand being busy! No problem at all...

Glad to hear that diagnostics were able to run, and gave the memory and hard drive a bill of health. So let's try an "over-the-top", in an effort to keep your current data and programs in place.
___________
Preparation -
Stay disconnected from networks, cameras, PDAs, printers, scanners, USB drives, flash memory readers, etc - until the 'over-the-top' is finished.

Over-the-top reinstallation -
This time, place the Dell Windows 98 Cd in the CD-drive, place a bootable Win98 diskette from bootdisk.com in the floppy drive http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm (try the Win98 "no Ram disk" -> the download is an executable that creates a floppy - put a blank in the floppy drive to write to) , and reboot from the floppy (make sure in the Bios beforehand that floppies boot first). After booting to the DOS prompt from the floppy diskette, type the following commands that are in bold:
A:> C:
C:> cd \windows
C:\Windows> rename win.com win.old
C:\Windows> D: --- where D is the drive letter of your CD-drive
D:> Setup --- if Setup does not begin immediately, type the directory command (dir/p) this will list the contents of the CD one screen at a time. If there is a Win98 directory, Setup might be in there. If it is, change to that directory =
D:> cd \Win98
D:\Win98> Setup

You may need to have your Dell Windows 98 product key handy (probably on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop).

Afterwards - When done, make sure your antivirus, antispyware, and firewall are installated before reconnecting to networks (especially the Internet). Then visit Windows Update to reinstall any Critical Updates that might need to be reinstalled (updates through to summer 2006 are still available).
____________

The Win98 bootdisk from bootdisk.com contains many CD-ROM drivers, and can usually find most CD-ROM drives - which is necessary, since we are reinstalling from your CD.

Hope it goes well!
. . . Gary

[P.S. --- if, during any of your previous tries, you've already renamed the "win.com" file, you'll receive an error giving the rename command. That's OK - just continue to the next few steps]

 

[striver]

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Gary,

I’ll try your latest recommendations. I had one problem that stumped me with your January 9th instructions. You had me doing this: C:\Windows> D: --- where D is the drive letter of your CD-drive. I did enter D: and pressed Enter. I received the “Invalid drive specification” message. I know my CD-ROM drive is D: but this has left me wondering why it was not recognized.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi again

About the CD-rom drive letter:

If you use a Win98 bootable diskette other than the "No-RAM Disk" version from bootdisk.com, it will likely change the drive letter of your cd-drive for that period of time when the computer has booted from the floppy. The cd-drive will go back to it's normal letter again when you boot from the hard drive later. Why does this happen? ---> Many bootable diskettes create a "virtual" drive in the system memory (a "RAM disk") - and it gets a drive letter as a result, changing your cd-drive to another letter = if you watch closely while the system boots from such a diskette, it will often show the letter it has assigned the cd-drive in it's startup messages ---(often something like "R" or "G") --- it doesn't hurt anything to just keep trying different drive letters from the command prompt - sort of fishing about to see which one the drive has.

Sounds like you are getting close to enjoying a running system again.
. . . Gary

 

[striver]

Monday, January 29, 2007

Gary,

That would explain the “Invalid drive specification” message. Enie meenie miny moe comes to mind, though. I’m usually trying to deal with my PC late at night, and I just didn’t have the patience to work through the alphabet – not that I realized I needed to. I just was too tired to fiddle around and end up all the more frustrated when I’d really rather be asleep.

Okay, I’m off to bootdisk.com.

striver

 

[striver]

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Gary,

It seems I need to start by revisiting our favorite topic of my floppy drive, not that I really care to at this point. It’s just not wanting to have anything to do with any floppy I put in it. The only response I’m receiving is, “Disk I/O error Replace the disk, and then press any key” Replacing the disk and pressing Enter results in the same message. The same message also results from the two bootdisk.com floppies I created.

I decided to boot from the W98 CD in what became a useless attempt to run Setup. The MS W98 CD-ROM Startup Menu appeared giving me the option of booting from either the hard disk or from the CD-ROM. I chose CD-ROM and was taken to the MS W98 Startup Menu. I was given these choices:

1. Start W98 Setup from CD-ROM.
2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.
3. Start computer without CD-ROM support. Attempting this choice resulted in the, “Invalid drive specification” message. I attempted every letter in the alphabet to no avail.

I attempted both 1. and 2., which took me to the “Welcome to Setup.” screen. I pressed Enter and was taken to another MS W98 Setup screen displaying the message that,” Your computer already has an operating system installed on it. This version of Setup is designed for computers that do not yet have an operating system. It is recommended that you exit, reboot from your hard disk, and then run Setup.
Press F1 for more instructions.
If you continue with Setup, your current CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files will be replaced by basic versions of those files.”

I was given the choices of:
Exit Setup (recommended)
Continue Setup and replace your current operating system.

I selected “Continue Setup and replace your current operating system.” The next MS W98 Setup screen stated that, “Your computer may have a disk compression program installed on it. Because this system may contain an existing operating system or data, setup cannot continue. For more information, press F1.” Pressing F1 resulted in a Setup Help screen telling me that, “If you are reinstalling Windows 98 and Windows won’t start, press F8 when the message ‘Starting Windows 98…’ appears, and then choose “Command Prompt Only”.

I followed the above instructions and ended up at a screen displaying:

1. Type DOSSTART to load the real-mode CD-ROM driver before running Setup.

2. Type “D:\win95\setup” for CD-ROM installation.

I followed step 1. to apparent success. The step 2. result was the “Invalid drive specification” message. F3 was the way to exit, which I did at this point. I ended up at D:\WIN98>, so I typed “setup”, which resulted in the Microsoft ScanDisk screen appearing and successfully progressing through Media descriptor and File allocation tables. However, it only completed 11 percent of Directory structure. At that point the computer froze, there was no keyboard response and the hard drive light remained on steadily and continuously for about two minutes before I decided to power it off.

I’m wondering how close I’m getting to foregoing a W98 reinstall and just go ahead with a clean install. Or, perhaps now that Michael Dell has returned as the Dell CEO, I should just send my Inspiron to him and have him provide a complementary repair. Yeah, I’m pretty much at my wit’s end about now.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi striver

Goodness! While your adventures might be considered sort of fun and interesting by a tech, I'm sure it wasn't much fun at all for you during your latest ordeal!

Before we start things again - do you know how much free space is available on the drive? [This information should have come up at some point when you were running the Dell Diagnostics]. I would expect that you have enough room, but I figure it can't hurt to make sure.

Also, before we try again - enter the Inspiron's Bios Setup screens, and disable the Bios Antivirus protection = this needs to be turned off during a Windows install/reinstall, as Windows 9x installations write to the MBR (which is problematic if the Bios Antivirus is turned on - it has a tendency to see Windows attempt to install as a virus).

Since the computer can boot from the CD - let's try again, only this time, choose "Start computer with CD-rom Support". This should bring you to a command prompt. Now we are going to rename the win.com file, like this:
C:> cd \Windows
C:\Windows> rename win.com win.old
Then we are going to try to run Setup again -
C:\Windows> D:
D:> cd \Win98
D:\Win98> Setup

Setup should no longer find the previous installation, because you have renamed the win.com file, and should proceed to reinstall.

Note that if a serious virus infection is present, it can stall an operation system install.

If the reinstallation continues to fail, you may need to try a strategy that will scan the current data on the drive for malware. An "Ultimate Boot CD" can be helpful for this. Instructions for making the UBCD bootable CD, and using it to scan for malware, are available at their website --- http://www.ultimatebootcd.com . [Or --you could try removing the hard drive, putting it in an external USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure, and scanning the drive when connected to a another computer].

See if things go better with the Bios Antivirus off, and the win.com file renamed.
. . . Gary

[P.S. Fairly strange behavior by the floppy drive - at one point, it's functional enough to boot into the Dell Diagnostics - and then, suddenly, it cant read anything in the drive.]

 

[striver]

Friday, February 02, 2007

Gary,

Some of the detailed information you’re asking I’ll have to check on when I’m home. This shuttling back and forth between functioning and non-functioning computers tends to take its toll.

Before I lost W98, I was actually considering reinstalling it. Why? Well, it was showing signs of needing to be rejuvenated. One of the first things I made sure of was that there was/is enough hard drive space. There is, but I’m not sure exactly how much. I’ve got it written down at home.

I’ve looked through all the BIOS Setup screens for any antivirus protection. I’m not seeing any kind of such protection. I purchased my Inspiron sometime in 1999, and I’m wondering if it was being used then?

I’ve been to Dell.com > Support and Help > Inspiron 7000 and searched using the keywords “BIOS security”. I found a link to Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) Screen Shots for Dell™ Portable Computers. The Inspiron 7500 is the closest screen shot I could find to mine. It’s at: http://support.dell.com/support/top...357A7C&docid=CA6A194456C044DFA2EF6E606D6542B8.

My “BIOS security” search turned up something rather interesting. As of 10/24/2006, Dell has a post entitled “BIOS Security Feature Not Documented in User´s Guide.” It’s at: http://support.dell.com/support/top...d=4054E4C8B31211DB95D9531441357A7C&l=en&s=gen.

I’ll try your revised reinstall instructions. I’m going to try a little something different, too. This time I’m going to keyboard using crossed fingers. At this point I’ll take all the luck I can get.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi again

Looks like you don't have to worry about any Bios Antivirus - it doesn't look like your Dell motherboard has that option. For whatever reason, Dell doesn't provide voltage/temperature readings in many of the Bios versions, either.

I'll keep my fingers crossed a bit, too
. . . Gary

 

[striver]

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Gary,

I followed your instructions and all went well to a point. As before, the ScanDisk screen appeared and successfully progressed through Media descriptor and File allocation tables. However, it only completed 11 percent of Directory structure. At that point the computer froze, there was no keyboard response and the hard drive light remained on steadily and continuously. While this was happening, I also noted the sound of the hard drive rhythmically clicking 4 or 5 times, pause for about 1 second and then repeating the rhythmic clicking. This cycle kept repeating itself until I finally powered off my computer. During the 1 second pause, I was able to listen to what sounded like the read/write head moving. It made the same sound each time during the pause.

Also, here’s what I’ve learned about my hard drive:

Hard drive: Toshiba XM-1802B
Hard drive space available: 407.63 MB

I hope this is helpful. Oh, I did forget to cross my fingers, but I’ll try to remember next time.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi striver

The symptoms you've mentioned keep pointing to something wrong with the hard drive. When you ran the Dell Diagnostics, did it run an advanced test on the hard drive? (it should have taken a little while to run). The way things have been going, it certainly does seem that the hard drive might be failing [hard drives making a rythmic clicking sound while not responding is often sign of drive failure].

Tell you what, let's get a second opinion, by running another diagnostic.

Since we don't know for sure what hard drive is in the system (the Toshiba XM-1802B - is the CD-ROM drive), let's try this: enter the Bios Setup screens, and see if this information is displayed under one of the menus (in some versions it isn't). If not, you can try using a bootable CD like the "Ultimate Boot CD" that I mentioned earlier - it has a detection tool (the old Astra utility should do the trick) that can detect the model of your drive. The "UBCD" also has several manufacturer's hard disk tools contained on it - one of which might be made specifically for yours. If your drive happens to be a Toshiba hard drive, for which there are no specialized manufacturer's diagnostics available for download (to my knowledge, anyway), we can try the IBM/Hitachi Drive Fitness Test, which can run generic tests on non-IBM/non-Hitachi drives (and if we are lucky, and your drive is an IBM, it can run more extensive tests on it). In the version of the UBCD I have here at the house, the IBM/Hitachi test is included on it.

Another option would be to try the Dell Diagnostics again -there may be a screen in the diagnostics that identifies the drive. You could also poke around and try an "extended" hard drive test, if one exists.
________

I'd expect to see an error. Most Inspiron 7000s have likely been retired from daily use by now. Owners like yourself, who have taken above-average care of their computers, and had a little luck on their sides too - can enjoy their laptops a few years longer than most. Sooner or later - the drive will wear out. When it does, I think it'd be best to retire the system (unless you have a free spare part to replace whatever fails). Laptop prices have dropped so much that it doesn't make economic sense to spend money to repair a P-II based laptop. As little as $450 can bring home a laptop several computing generations advanced from the P-II ($500 nowadays can even bring one home with a CD/DVD writer, 80gb+ hard drive, 15" display, memory card reader, wired & wireless ethernet networking, and more -- some dealers even throw in a printer).

But hopefully - that little message is for a future time! Let's see if your 7000 is still ready to go another lap or two around the calendar.

Since you have good backups, here's your new list
1) Run diagnostics - especially on the hard drive.
2) If the hard drive passes the "extended" hard drive tests, try a clean install of Windows with your Windows 98 system CD:
3) Boot the system with the CD.
4) Choose "Start Windows with CD-rom support"
5) From the command prompt, use the fdisk utility to delete the current DOS partitions (leave any "Non-DOS" partitions where they are - some Dells have Non-DOS restore/diagnositic partitions = you should not delete these unless you are sure you no longer need them).
6) Use the fdisk utility to create a Primary DOS partition, and mark it active. Say "Yes" to the "Enable Large Hard Disk Support?" prompt.
7) With the Windows CD still in the cd-drive, reboot from the CD, and let Windows 98 Setup start. It will offer to format the drive for you, let it (it will use it's native FAT32 file-system). Then just follow the prompts.
8) Before you reconnect to any networks, be sure to have an antivirus program installed and running, and have a firewall installed (and/or also be behind a hardware firewall, if possible). You'll need to visit Windows Update to catch up with a lot of Critical Updates - these will be available up to the point in mid-2006, when such patches were no longer created (the old ones are still available, though).
9) Scan your backups for malware before restoring the older data to your fresh installation.
10) Enjoy the computer you've worked so hard to repair.

And, I've mentioned it in other posts, but I'll mention it here also --- I keep an old 1997 Windows 98 2nd Edition laptop in good running condition here at the house (it came with the original Windows 98) - it's powered by a 233mhz Pentium, and only has 64mb (the max) of memory: but my littlest nieces and nephews enjoy it just as if it were a Core Duo, when Pooh Bear tells them a story on it

Hope the drive turns out OK after all (or you round up a free/inexpensive replacement) & you can enjoy it again
. . . Gary

 

[striver]

Friday, February 09, 2007

Gary,

I thought I would try running Setup one more time. Of course it progressed to the same place as before, that being only completing 11 percent of Directory structure. At that point the computer froze as I noted in my February 1st post. By the way, the remaining areas to be scanned were File system, Free space and Surface scan.

This time, however, I did one thing a bit different. Instead of powering off my Inspiron when it froze, I left it on for a few minutes longer than I have in the past. I figured it couldn’t hurt much at this point. Surprisingly, a dialogue box ultimately appeared. It stated that, “ScanDisk encountered a data error while reading cluster 1369777. ScanDisk will try to continue past this error. When ScanDisk offers to perform a surface scan on this drive, choose Yes.” I pressed Enter to acknowledge and ScanDisk returned to where it left off, that being completing only 11 percent of Directory structure. In other words, there was actually no further progress. After about 10 minutes of no progress, I C-A-Ded and then powered off.

Also, I did note in the POST that the hard drive is an IBM-DADA-26480. I suppose the CD-ROM name and model I mistakingly supplied before is a testament to my not always running on all cylinders in the wee hours of the morning.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi again


Yes - it's likely that a bad sector has developed on the disk (about 11% of the way in). If everything else in the system is fine, and the extended diagnostics indicate the drive is failing, you can replace the drive fairly easily for about $50 (shipping included) [something like this drive would do -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152501 ] if you do the work yourself. On most models, you just unplug your AC adapter, remove your battery, remove a few screws, take the old drive out, put the new one in, replace the screws, replace the battery, plug the AC adapter back in, and install Windows. Might take less than an hour. You'd only spend money to replace the drive if you're fairly sure that the rest of the laptop isn't showing it's age.

Try the Hitachi/IBM diagnostics - you can run them from either the Ultimate Boot CD or from a bootable CD-image with diagnostics or a bootable floppy diskette with the diagnostics. The bootable CD-image and bootable floppy diskette are available from this link --- http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

If the first run of diagnostics reports a serious error (which is expected), you can try a "zero write" of the hard drive - in a last-ditch effort to squeeze a few more months, perhaps another year, out of the drive -- if the cause of the error is a uniquely damaged area (and not widespread) - and if this cause was a one-time event (like a drop) -- the bad sectors get marked as unusable, and the next time the drive is formatted, these sectors are not included. This works for only a small percentage of failing drives, but it's worth a shot -- it's free! --- Otherwise, it's time to see whether to buy a new drive or a new notebook.

You'll know soon enough - Best of luck
. . . Gary

 

[striver]

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Gary,

I’m needing a bit of clarification regarding the Hitachi/IBM Drive Fitness Test (DFT). It states that, “To run the DFT, you must download the appropriate creator or image and create a self-booting media.” The only self-booting media available for Windows is via diskette, which is essentially a waste of time when it comes to my diskette drive.

I’m able to burn the Ultimate Boot CD from a library computer with broad band that only allows for an hour’s use each day before automatically logging me off. The size of the Ultimate Boot CD file is such that I may or may not be able to get it downloaded within the allotted time period. Even then I’d have to burn it another day, which means I’d hopefully be able to use the same computer again. It’s not typical that these computers are reserveable. They are first-come-first-serve. I’ve recently had a conversation with one of the tech-savvy reference librarians and told him about the UBCD site. He was interested enough to make a note of its URL. Perhaps with his administrator privileges he could burn the CD for me. If nothing else, I suppose I could just snail-mail order the UBCD for $6.00.

Another approach at this time is just to replace my hard drive and forego any further diagnostics on it. I do appreciate the newegg.com URL for the Samsung hard drive you’ve suggested. If I go this route, I’d sure like to transfer the contents of my failing drive onto the new one. I’m sure it can be done, but I’m not currently knowledgeable enough about the process. Can you help me with this? I recently picked up a Western Digital 500 GB external hard drive that is available for use. Maybe you could share your thoughts on this?

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi striver

If you (or someone you know & would help with this) have a Cd-burning program like Nero or Roxio, you can make a bootable CD with the diagnostics on it - by downloading the item "CD Image" from that Hitachi/IBM webpage, and burning that to a CD using the "write a bootable image" feature (the 'howto' would be in that program's help files - it's easy to do). You can then boot the computer with that CD, and run the diagnostics from it. It probably uses a version of FreeDOS or perhaps a smallish Linux to get things going. It actually doesn't matter at all what operating system is already installed on the hard drive, it isn't used - the operating system on the CD is.

The CD Image for the diagnostics is quite small & would be easy to download from the library's computer. You could copy it to a USB key or CD-R (if the library has either Nero or Roxio, you could write the bootable version right there, but I'm not sure a library computer would have such a tool - or if they'd let guests use it). Once you have the file, anyone you know with those recording programs could make the bootable version for you (it should only take about five minutes with such a small file -- all they have to do is start their recording software, put a blank CD in the drive, and make the proper selections to "write a bootable image" - and after a few minutes = it's ready.
___________

Probably the easiest way to copy files over is to use a USB 2.0 external hard drive enclosure. If you have one, or know someone who does, you just put your old hard drive in the enclosure, plug it into the computer you want to copy the files to, and copy things over. Your current computer might not have USB 2.0 available (it's USB ports are likely the earlier USB 1.1), but you might still be able to transfer things over - unfortunately, it would take a great deal longer with a USB 1.1 connection.

You'd be selecting files and folders & copying these over. You wouldn't try to clone a damaged drive, so you'd have already performed a "clean install" onto the new hard drive. You'd be copying over things like documents, pictures, and music.

I'd definitely try to run the diagnostics if you can - and if the drive tests badly, try the zero write & test it again - sometimes it can get an old drive another year or so. Why spend money if you don't have to? Besides, after another year or so, other parts of the aging laptop might be nearing retirement age, too.

It would be nice if they lasted longer, but with all the moving parts, they often don't - especially the portables.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

 

[striver]

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Gary,

I got to thinking more about the diagnostics we’re trying to get my Inspiron to agree to. Diagnostic software is a type of utility software, and back when my notebook ran W98, I was also running Norton SystemWorks. That gave me an idea.

Surprisingly, after not much searching, I located the SystemWorks CD and user’s manual. The odds of that happening for me are rather remote (note to striver: by lottery ticket). Within SystemWorks is Norton DiskDoctor, which I booted to and ran. It ultimately found somewhere over 200 damaged clusters and chains on the hard drive that it offered to fix. I agreed.

Having made that many fixes, I thought I would again try your latest instructions for an over-the-top reinstallation of W98 from the W98 CD. When ScanDisk progressed beyond 11 percent of Directory structure, I had a hunch the reinstall ultimately would be a success. I do enjoy when my hunches are correct. The rest of the reinstall went smoothly to completion.

The only somewhat predictable glitch after W98 started for the first time was the VGA screen resolution. I need to update the video drivers. Here’s hoping that goes smoothly as well.

I’ll keep you updated.

striver

 

[striver]

Friday, February 16, 2007

Gary,

Somewhere around 10 hours after starting, DiskDoctor’s thorough hard drive test reported it’s having a clean bill of health.

Something worth mentioning, though, is that before I started DiskDoctor, it listed the various drives available for testing. The floppy drive was listed as a 2.88 MB drive. Somehow it seems to have morphed itself to twice its capacity, which would explain why it’s not able to read 1.44 MB diskettes. As I mentioned before, I think following the Dell step-by-step instructions for physically resetting and reinstalling its drivers may remedy this concern. It’s worth a try, anyway.

And thanks to my locating the driver CD for my Inspiron, I’m now back to enjoying SVGA screen resolution.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi striver


Sorry for the delay in my reply - I've been away on a family visit.

Glad to hear you found helpful tools & got things going again. Very good to hear that the drive is holding up so well! For a notebook drive, that's excellent performance and durablility.

I think the floppy detecting as a 2.88 could be a setting in the Inspiron's Bios. You could take a look in there - there are sometimes options to select 1.44, 2.88, or other (older) types. Or the floppy might just be acting up. Luckily, so many things we used to need floppies for can now be done with CDs or USB keys.

Some old laptops just refuse to die (unlike the many who pass suddenly into the Silicon graveyard). My little neice still occasionally uses an original-Pentium based Toshiba Tecra, running Windows 98se (originally Windows 3.11/95), to play Kindergarten-age games. Here we are, 12 years later & still going.

The lottery might be just the ticket!
Congratulations on your hard work & successful repair -
. . . Gary

 

[striver]

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Gary,

I probably should have mentioned some time ago that although I purchased my Inspiron in the last millennium (1999), it’s been gently underused over the years because it was being used somewhat as a backup to my desktop PC.

I did follow the Dell step-by-step instructions for physically resetting my floppy drive. Using Wordpad, I did successfully and repeatedly read and write to a floppy that is somewhere around 3 to 5 years old. I do need to try formatting a floppy with it. It’s just that it was way too late at night to continue. You’re right, though; I’ll go ahead and check the BIOS for the floppy drive.

And now that I’ve likely got more confidence than I probably should have, I’m ready to tackle the hard drive upgrade. I realize it doesn’t seem to make much sense to put so much time and effort into fixing my existing hard drive only to then replace it, but I’ve come to realize that I really do need more capacity. Besides, it has truly been a learning experience for me that you have certainly facilitated. My current plan is to convert my existing hard drive into a much needed external backup drive. Do you have any suggestions for an external case for it? The 6 GB size will be plenty for my needs. Anyway, in your February 9th post, you suggested the SAMSUNG Spinpoint M Series MP0402H 40GB hard drive as a replacement for my current drive. I am interested in understanding why.

Also, because it was an over-the-top W98 reinstallation, I thought my Microsoft Office 2000 suite of programs would be available without having to reinstall them. They’ve disappeared from the Desktop and the Start menu. I don’t seem to be able to find them in Program Files, either. I find it interesting that I can explore My Computer > Program Files and open non-Microsoft programs. If anything I thought perhaps it would be the other way around?

I’m not sure if it sounds odd or not, but I could use some time away (from my Inpsiron), myself.

striver

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi again striver

Hope the Bios setting corrects the floppy problem.

I'd recommended the Samsung because it was the least expensive drive I saw at first look, and the reviews looked positive.

Just about any external case that fits should do - you wouldn't need anything fancy. Maybe something like this --- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817173017

Usually, over-the-tops will not affect currently installed programs. However, if during the installation any critical steps are left out (for example, if Windows was installed into the C:\Windows.000 folder instead of the C:\Windows folder, the result is not actually an over-the-top, but a parallel install = happily, this particular trouble can be fixed --- http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?p=1211655#post1211655 ).

Some older programs can run fine directly, by double-clicking the program's executable in C:\Program Files -- the simpler the program, the more likely this is to work. More complex programs likely rely more heavily on shared components, and Registry entries.

Let me know if you have any other questions -
. . . Gary