[SOLVED] HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

4510 Views 15 Replies 4 Participants Last post by chauffeur2, Jun 1, 2008

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · May 27, 2008

Hi,

Offered to have a look at my nephews laptop, his dad said its full of crap and really slow. Not really familiar with laptops but didn't think there would be any big differences from a desktop.

First thing i noticed is that the c drive has been renamed, i was silly enough to do this myself once and was advised to wipe the hdd and clean install so am assuming that is probably the way to go.

Obviously there will be stuff he wants saving but no floppy or cd writer in the laptop so what options do i have for saving. Will i have to network it to my desktop? Is there an easy way to send stuff from his laptop to my pc? Do i need a lead to connect them? Can it be done remotely over the internet or would that require a seperate connection for each machine?

Not been online with it yet but when i do will post specs if that helps.

Any tips would be appreciated.

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grimx133

· #2 · May 27, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Hey dj,
You can take out his hdd and put it into a 2.5" external hard drive enclosure for laptop drives and then plug it into a usb port on another machine to access it like any other external drive. I've also heard that a crossover cable can be used, but I'm not sure of how to do that as I've never tried. If you're on a router you can network them and with file sharing send whatever he needs to save over to your machine.

Here's a link to the service manual, in case you decide to take the drive out. It's in .rar format, not sure what progs open those besides WinRar.
http://netfree1.blogspot.com/2008/03/hp-compaq-nc6000-service-and-repair.html

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 27, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Thanks mate, will have a look at the manual. Was hoping there would be an easy way to connect the 2 machines together. No, i don't have a router and never quite got round to learning about networking, another one of those topics on my very long todo list.

Do you agree that it will need a clean install simply because the c drive has been renamed?

grimx133

· #4 · May 27, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

I'm not sure if you can rename the system drive while it's in use. Did you try in disc management? Go to control panel - administrative tools - computer management then left click on disk management in the left hand pane and it will show the hard disk and partitions in the right hand pane. Right click on a partion and one of the context menu options is to "change drive letter and paths..." You might be able to change to c: there, but I'm not sure if it will work on the drive in use, though it may ask for a reboot to put the changes into effect. Probably best to give a shout on the xp forum for that. If it's running good you shouldn't have to do a clean install, but I'm no expert on all that stuff. There have been some threads in there about renaming, I'll take a fast gander.
there's one, but it's involving two drives and two OS's.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f10/solved-boot-drive-letter-assignment-252171.html

The search function isn't working for me today, so I went through a whack of pages and that was the only one I could find, based on title, in the first 16 pages.
Here's the MS knowledge base article on it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844

Might be best to pose the question in the xp forum, I just bash on, but have multiple images I can restore from, oddly enough, just did that an hour ago after a power surge gave me some bsod's. I think it'll work, but best to consult with the experts first.
Hope all the rambling helps eh.

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grimx133

· #5 · May 28, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Just had kind of a Homer Simpsonesque "d'oh" moment. If your still thinking of saving data, and doing a clean install, and his laptop runs, a usb stick would be a simple solution for transferring stuff to your machine.

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 28, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Was waiting for one of those moments to come along myself, they usually do, when its too late. :laugh:

I don't have a usb stick anyway and finances are about as bad as they can get just now but its another one to stick under my belt for future ref.

Just phoned the kids dad and he said, never mind with all the messin about, just wipe it and start afresh as there isn't anything on it that has been paid for, just free stuff thats been downloaded. Good news indeed as i've done a few freshy's myself so should be able to muddle through.

Couple of things i'm not sure about, he did say that he's had problems with updates in the past, kept coming back as suspected counterfiet, its a pre-installed machine with the hologram sticker and serial key so shouldn't be a problem with microsoft. :4-dontkno Then again i suppose if one digit out of the 25 has been mistyped that would do it.

Also, can't remember from last time, but is it best to make a list of any drivers required or will that be pretty much automated?

Thanks again for all the help, i also try to help where i can and as long as we keep doing so, i'm sure we will be looked on favourably.

Catch you later.:wave:

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grimx133

· #7 · May 28, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

If it's the manufacturer's disc, it should be tailored to the machine and have the drivers on it. They can be backed up with something like WinDrivers (think that's paid only now though) or DoubleDriver which is freeware, but then the old problem of getting them off the drive before formatting without a burner or usb stick. Anyway, this page has a link for d/l http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com/DoubleDriver
I'll take a quick look for a drivers page. You may not need drivers as it's supposed to come with restore disc or discs, but here's a driver link just in case.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...esId=367367&swLang=8&taskId=135&swEnvOID=1093

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 28, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

No disc with it mate and the guys a market trader so its quite likely the machine was cheap and from a less than reliable source, though if you ever read this Steve, don't take that the wrong way. :laugh:

Thanks again Grimx, i'll check out those links.

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 29, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Well, got myself all revved up to do a clean install and was assuming that i could do it with my xp disc for a pc but can't even figure how to get into bios to change boot order. Is there that much difference? :4-dontkno

grimx133

· #10 · May 29, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Should be the same thing, F2 or del after post and before the OS loads. Go to boot order or somesuch and highlight the cd drive and move it to the top of the list. Some use the arrow keys I've heard, on my dell it's page up/down to move a device in the boot order. When the splash screen comes up after post it should say what key to hit to enter setup.

chauffeur2

· #11 · May 29, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Hi Dave,

F10 should get you into the BIOS to change the boot sequence.

If this lappy has an Ethernet socket, it could be used to 'slave' it to the Desktop machine as far as I know...this way you should be able to retrieve want is needed.
Once that's done use Darik's Boot N Nuke to wipe the HDD in the laptop and use your XP-CD with the laptop's Product Key, if your CD is (a) the same version, and, (b) its a full version CD.
Contrary to popular belief an OEM Full Version CD will work to install Windows. (I do it all the time. :grin:)
Windows being Windows, it can be very fickle when it comes to the entry of the Product Key, so if it is incorrectly typed in it won't proceed to the next step.
If you encounter problems with validation, and it gives you the option of telephoning, do it, as it will be a pretty painless semi-automated exchange of the Installation Codes.
Here's a generalised "Check List" I've compiled to make sure you don't miss anything when doing a 'clean' installation.

The Windows® XP Installation Check List.

1. The Windows® XP SP2-CD (naturally) :grin:

2. Darik's Boot N Nuke (Click the coloured Link).

3. Please read this guide.

4. The Motherboard CD that contains all the necessary Drivers etc.

A couple of tips...
a. Darik's Boot N Nuke will take about 4½ hours to completely wipe the Drive; however, this will vary depending on how big the Drive is. (That estimate is for a 80Gb HDD).

b. When you get to Figure 7 in 'The Guide', you can create more than one partition here by simply telling Windows® how big you want it. Should you do decide to create an extra partition, it will not be active until you do so after the installation is over and done with...we can give you guidance as to how this is done, so partition away if you wish.

c. Once the installation is finished, with all the Motherboard Drivers installed, and Internet connected, I strongly recommend that you install a reputable Anti Virus program first; then, go to the Windows Update Site and download all the updates (including SP3).
AVG™ is has a very good free version available here.

d. DO NOT have any unnecessary items; such as, USB cameras, Printers etc., attached to the machine...install all these after the installation is finished, and fully updated from Microsoft®.

If you are uncertain about anything here, do not hesitate to ask for assistance.

Good Luck with this task, and when you have finished, please post back with the results.

Kind Regards,

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Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 29, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Wow, thanks Dave, i probably knew most of this stuff but i am so eager to learn everything that my head spins sometimes and i seem to lack the ability to stay with one subject long enough to learn it before going to another. Its good to see there are guys like you around to put all the tools into a nice, neat little package.

The laptop is being "Nuked" as i write this and the only bit i can foresee being a problem is the m/board drivers. There is no disc of any kind with the machine and i'm wondering if i should have found a way to save the drivers list before i started the wipe. I do have enough confidence in the good old WWW to think that i should be able to download whatever i need but have also got a backup plan, this kid's sister has got the exact same laptop so if i get stuck i can have a look at that.

Thanks again and i will let you know how it goes.

Regards Dave. :wave:

@Grimx, you have also been a great help and i'm sure i am not the only one that thinks TSF is lucky to have someone like you buzzing around and doing whatever you can to help. :wave:

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Expert Geek

· #13 · May 29, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

I reccomend the old fashion approch, get out a pen and paper and copy down all the information u want to save

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 29, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

:laugh: Hi Geek, Welcome to TSF. :wave:

Deejay100six

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 1, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Hi Dave, well, it wasn't easy but i've done it, all installed with updates inc sp3 and all drivers present and correct......eventually :sigh:

There was a problem with the serial key, one theory is that the manufacturers have used the same image to install multiple machines with the one serial key to cover them all and because your code is not the same as the one used before, the machine won't accept it. Anyway, i sorted it but thats another story.

I'm impressed with myself, not just for rescuing myself from what seemed like a catastrophe, but for finding the info myself instead of running back here to ask one of you guys. Now its all fixed and i'm sure i have learned quite a bit more by doing it myself. I am desperately trying to learn to be good enough to help out at TSF and also i just joined up with another site and am going to see if there are any places in their Academy.

Thanks again Grimx and Dave. I like a happy ending. :grin::wave:

chauffeur2

· #16 · Jun 1, 2008

Re: HP Compaq nc 6000 needs a good clean

Glad to hear that its now all fixed and behaving like it should. :4-clap:

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