Win XP on Dell Machine

[aspeck]

Last couple of lap tops that came from Dell had XP loaded on them and no disk. When I asked Customer service if I could have the disk for trouble shooting and re-install purposes, they told me I would have to back up all data, format hard drive, and then could reinstall from an imbedded copy.<br /><br />Is there any way I can do that without formating the hard drive? My PING command seems to be missing, and I need it. Any suggestions?

 

[Mark42]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Tell them that you deleted the imbedded copy because you need the space and to send you an OEM install copy.<br /><br />And they wonder why people make illegal copies of windows.<br /><br />My dell came with an install version on cd. I have now installed it on 3 other PC's just because of this "imbedded copy" crap. Just who do they think is able to backup their hard drive data, and who actually know WHAT to backup on the hard drive??? Not everyone can afford to buy backup equipment, the drives, etc.<br /><br />It's getting out of hand.<br /><br />BTW, I think Dell makes the best PC on the market.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Art - You have mail with possible solution instructions.<br /><br />Bob

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

I just went thru a similar issue with my new IBM laptop. On my machine Win XP allowed me to make one backup copy of Win XP. It is called a ‘restoration disc’, actually 7 disc altogether. My concern was what happends if I blowout the restoration partition on the hd. I presume your Dell comps will allow you to make at least one backup copy, too. Other than that, I bought Norton’s product called Ghost to make other images of the hd and/or backups of loaded sw.<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=37;t=001941 <br /><br />Fwiw, there are some online sellers selling legit OEM Win XP discs with key for as low as $35 + s/h.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

You might also check out True Image by Acronis. It will back-up your entine system including Windows and all the hidden files.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Originally posted by Mark42:<br /> Tell them that you deleted the imbedded copy because you need the space and to send you an OEM install copy.<br /><br />And they wonder why people make illegal copies of windows.<br /><br />My dell came with an install version on cd. I have now installed it on 3 other PC's just because of this "imbedded copy" crap. Just who do they think is able to backup their hard drive data, and who actually know WHAT to backup on the hard drive??? Not everyone can afford to buy backup equipment, the drives, etc.<br /><br />It's getting out of hand.<br /><br />BTW, I think Dell makes the best PC on the market.

Yup, kinnda like Compaq putting their Bios routines in a non Dos partition on the HD. Fdisk the HD before looking for the Bios and you're dead in the water....all that to save the 'cost' of a real bios chip.... Some bean counter made a good buck on that one, and you're paying for it with inconvenience...geeze.

 

[boatneck]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

The only reason I bought a Dell a few years ago was that they provided a disc for Windows XP. The previous PC I had (Microcenter) came with Windows 98 pre-loaded but no disc which made recovery harder. I guess Dell has gone the way of most PC maanufacturers. Too bad, I'll have to find another maker who provides a disc. Also, I understand that HP has a unique to HP version of Windows which makes it hard to troubleshoot and makes you beholden to HP tech support from what I hear is not that wonderful. In some ways PC are not getting better, only cheaper.

 

[Colorado04]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

If the ping command is all you really need, just go to another XP box and do a search for it and copy it over. Make sure you take note of where you found it and put it in the same place on your machine.<br /><br />It should be %systemroot%:\windows\system32. It is 18kb in size and should fit on a floppy.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

I can zip it and e-mail it to you if you would like.<br />My ping.exe file was in two places.<br />%systemroot%:\i386 C:\i386 for me and<br />%systemroot%:\windows\system32 Also C:\windows\system32<br /><br />Email me at akchappy2005 (AT) yahoo.com<br />if you want it sent.<br /><br />AK Chappy

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Originally posted by Xcusme:<br />Yup, kinnda like Compaq putting their Bios routines in a non Dos partition on the HD. Fdisk the HD before looking for the Bios and you're dead in the water....all that to save the 'cost' of a real bios chip.... Some bean counter made a good buck on that one, and you're paying for it with inconvenience...geeze.

Compaq may still do this on the little desktops, but they no longer use a proprietary partition on their servers.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Thanks Guys, for the advice and help.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

aspeck,<br />You have mail!<br /><br />AK Chappy

 

[PierBridge]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Originally posted by SoLittle:<br /> You might also check out True Image by Acronis. It will back-up your entine system including Windows and all the hidden files.

Great program......I hate ghost

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

Did that work aspeck??<br /><br />AK Chappy

 

[aspeck]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

On my end it worked, so I sent it on to Ghana for repair in my laptop over there, which was the problem. The "tech" was afraid to unzip it because of the strong warnings that Microsoft pop-ups gave. I assured him it would be okay and told him to go ahead and do it. Have not heard back since.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Win XP on Dell Machine

LOL,<br />Yeah Microsoft likes to try and protect us from all kinds of things, right?<br /><br />Like when they made Outlook start deleting several types of attachments and forgot to tell everyone. Suddenly, you couldn't e-mail a database. You had to zip everything, or rename it to a .txt and leave instructions on what to rename it back to.<br /><br />Glad to hear it worked so far though.<br /><br />AK Chappy