12 replies to this topic

[Patriot_CS]

hi techs, hope you are all well I am trying to revive a friends PC it is a Packard Bell Imedia 1308 (a real oldy) unfortunately, they did not make a restore disk and the HDD got fried so I cant get to the system files on it when I try to install XP (Home) on the new HDD, I get several error messages that files cannot be copied from the disk I can make a custom XP install which will include all the missing files but I cant find them everywhere I look, I am pointed to a link to DL one of those "driver scanner" things great if the system is up and running but not much help for me any idea where I can get a FULL set of drivers etc for this machine ? I have the PID, S/N etc for the PC, let me know if they are required thanks in advance Pat

[appleoddity]

Patriot, during a fresh windows XP installation you should not be getting any messages about file copy problems. The system has other problems. Maybe a bad cd-rom or bad "new" hdd. Drivers are installed after the operating system is loaded, not during.

[Patriot_CS]

thanks for speedy reply that's what I thought but what I am hearing from other ppl and reading on forums, this is a common problem with HP/PB machines it's not just drivers that get installed, there are also some DLL's, INF's and other files that are needed to be included on the XP install disk normally this is accessed from the hidden partition on the HDD a friend of mine did it recently with an HP, he said it was a real pain to do but managed it in the end all the other hardware checks out ok. have tried swapping CD drives, RAM, etc but still get the same problem formatting disk is ok, windows starts to copy files to HDD then reports missing files, if you skip them, the list just gets longer and longer ah well, I'll either keep looking or tell them their PC is fried and the should buy a new one. lol thanks again for your help, if you think of anything else, please let me know. I dont like to be beaten too easily so I wont give up on it YET ! Pat

[Ztruker]

Appleoddity is right, there should be no missing files during XP install. Bad HD, bad CD/DVD or bad XP install disc. One thing you can try that has sometimes worked for me is to make a copy of the XP install CD on another computer then try installing from it. When you make the copy, use the slowest burning speed available. You can also replace the CD/DVD drive or borrow one from another computer to use temporarily.

[Patriot_CS]

hi Ztrucker thanks for input but have already tried that. used original XP Home disk, original XP Pro, and made a copy of XP home on another pc, all give the same errors have tried 3 different HDD's, 2 different CD/DVD drives, swapped out the RAM, changed cables, banged my head against the keyboard several times. you name it, I think I've tried it, nothing seems to work. always the same error at the same point I guess the only thing I can do is to try to identify as much of the hardware used and DL drivers etc for them individually I intend making a custom install disk, including all required files, using nLite (I just need to find the missing stuff first) why couldnt it be an HP, that stuff is easy to find, PB on the other hand dont seem to want to be very helpful I feel a phone call coming "buddy, your PC. it's fried. go buy a new one. better still, build one yourself" lol thanks for input, greatly appreciated Pat

[appleoddity]

Pay, forgive me for putting this bluntly, but as Ztruker and I have already stated - It doesn't matter if it is an HP, Compaq, Dell, Packard Bell, Sony, Emachines, Gateway, etc. The windows XP install process is always the same. Regardless of what your friend said, he's wrong. THe windows XP installation disc NEVER pulls any files from the recovery partition on the computer. And during a fresh install you will never be asked for driver disks or any other files. The only exception would be the SATA/RAID drivers that you need to install during the very first initial stages of setup, which does not apply to your machine. The only time this problem ever occurs is when the old data on the drive has not been wiped first, or there is a hardware problem.

There is either bad hardware, or you are doing something wrong. If you find some way to work around the problem, that is great, that doesn't negate the fact that there is still something fundamentally wrong with the machine which will surface at some point.

Have a read here and make sure you follow the steps to delete old partitions on the hard drive and format it fresh: http://forums.whatth...showtopic=91962

Edited by appleoddity, 27 July 2010 - 05:42 PM.

[Patriot_CS]

DOH ! sorry guys, I misunderstood what my buddy in Denmark meant. he did have a problem with missing files but it was AFTER installing windows as I have already tried swapping out as much of the hardware as I can, I cant see what else to do. the PC is 5 years old and not of very high spec so I think the best thing he can do is bin it and get something a little newer I'll make the phone call in the morning and give my buddy the bad news sorry again for misunderstanding, didnt mean to waste your time thanks again for your help Pat

[Ztruker]

How are the hard drives jumpered? Did you set them all as Master and are then on the last connector on the IDE cable? If so, try jumpering as Cable Select (CS) and make sure it's hooked to the last connector on the IDE cable. Have you tried a new IDE cable, preferable 80 wire, not 40 wire.

[appleoddity]

While you are at it Pat, please identify the machine by its model #. maybe we can take a look at what it is and see if we see something.

With an older machine it could be something as stupid as BIOS settings or something like that.

You should visually inspect the motherboard for leaking capacitors also.

Edited by appleoddity, 27 July 2010 - 05:51 PM.

[Patriot_CS]

I have tried jumpers in master and CS positions, also tried several cables, some of which only have one connection the HDD is connected to the primary IDE port on MB, CD/DVD on secondary only one device on each cable the other HDD's I have tried work ok. just installed Windows on one of them, in a different machine, just to prove HDD and XP disk are ok as I said before, I have NO idea what the problem is but it's an odd one Pat

[Patriot_CS]

round two Packard Bell Imedia 1308 Model/Type - UTOW-FRA MS WHQL No - FRA 1039023 S/N - 049309820762 PID - 0493098 P/N - PB34218301 this is all the info given on the label fixed to the back of the case btw. I have checked for leaking caps, dry joints, broken wires etc. I even to the MB to work and put it in our X-Ray machine (I work in electronics manufacturing) havent found any faults at board or component level starting to think it must be a BIOS issue (it's about the only thing left) hope the above info helps find something, I'm getting bored now lol Pat

Edited by Patriot_CS, 28 July 2010 - 11:57 AM.

[Patriot_CS]

Update put a brand new HDD in machine (fresh out of the box) tried to install XP home and XP Pro on it but get the same errors with both versions the HDD formats ok, windows starts to copy files onto HDD but starts to error at about 4% I started making a list of all the "missing or corrupted" files but it goes on for ever below is a small sample of the files it is looking for, maybe this will help to find out what is going on GM.dls Home_SS.dll IASnap.dll IASRecst.dll followed by several files beginning IAS further on :- MAIN.CPL Mcdsrv32.dll Mdhcp.dll Mdwmdmsp.dll Metal_SS.dll a few more, then at about 25% done :- Mlang.dat and so the list continues apart from the DLLs, here are some "files of interest" netcfg.hlp newfeat1.chm nikedrv.sys nwlnkspx.sys oembios.bin pathping.exe perfi009.dat rio8drv.sys riodrv.sys I put the HDD into another pc, installed both versions of XP to it with no problems I'm starting to think this is a DEAD machine although I hate to see any pc die, it is an oldish machine so maybe it's time to lay it to rest any final thoughts or should we just give up on this one ? willing to try anything as a last resort Pat

[appleoddity]

Honestly. This seems like some obvious issue, but I think you've tried everything that I could think of, except for tweaking BIOS settings. I was trying to look up this unit and can't find anything that I'm sure is specific for your computer. When you said it is old, I was really thinking old, but from what I can find this may be no older than a 2005 machine? Are there any SATA devices in this computer? If it is something like a BIOS setting, then attempting to order the original recovery discs from Packard Bell for probably pretty cheap may give you discs that are already taylored to the system and will install properly.