From: "Glenn Meadows" 

Post mortem....Something VERY odd about this machine.  A parallel install
works fine, boots properly.

Copied off their personal files to a CDR for backup, and they have all the
program CD's to re-install any user added software, so they're covered.

Re-confirmed that the original 80gig HD was configured as MASTER, on the
PRIMARY controller, and used the eMachine Recovery CD's, which is 3 CD's,
and restores an IMAGE of the CD as it was originally delivered, totally
re-formatting the HD, back to square one.

That proceeds, completes, and the machine boots like an "out of the
box" new computer.  Goes through the picking Time Zone, language, all
that stuff. The next screen, is where you put in the computer name.  I gave
it a SIMPLE name (family last name), and a simple description.  Clicked
Next, and the system goes off into never-never land.  Sat at that screen
for at least 20 minutes.  You could click on the HELP button, and you'd get
the Help for that page, but it refused to go on any further.  So, I left it
with them, to sit there and churn overnight, to see if it would ever
finish.  Also told them, since they had just bought it at Best Buy at
Christmas, and they bought the extra warranty, to take it to their
"Geek Squad", and let THEM restore the system back to "out
of box" condition.

Too weird for me.....I've hit some really strange ones this year.  Maybe
it's better to buy the "higher priced spread", or build your
own.....

Thanks for all the help/input folks...

--

Glenn M.
"Glenn Meadows"  wrote in message
news:42378efb{at}w3.nls.net...
> OK, working on it now, did a fresh install next to the existing install
> (new Windows Directory), and that install boots fine, so I would PRESUME
> that the MBR is OK.  When switching back to the original install though, I
> still get the same hang at the Welcome screen (as in no welcome screen).
>
> Thoughts?
>
> How do you edit the registry of a machine booted to a different install of
> Windows on the same machine?
>
> --
>
> Glenn M.
> "Glenn Meadows"  wrote in message
> news:4237425d$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Yea, that part I'm sure of (correct controller).  He first put the new
>> DVDR drive in, on the secondary controller where the existing CDRom drive
>> was installed, and got that right.
>>
>> Rich suggested upstream, that for some reason, the original disk MIGHT
>> have been set as Slave, but from his description, the jumper was in the
>> CS position, which he did for the second drive initially.  What I suspect
>> might have happened, is when he did that, he changed the connectors
>> (swapped Master for Slave position on the cable), and that's what's
>> screwed things up.
>>
>> I'm going to go back over with my full XPPro install disk, and get a
>> recovery console up, and try the /fixmbr and go from there.  At this
>> point, being brought in after the fact, and not knowing the full
>> sequence, as well as he did some poking around after the first crossed
>> drive boot, there's no telling how things were.  Right now, it's screwed
>> up, and trying to go back will be an interesting exercise, to say the
>> least. .
>>
>> --
>>
>> Glenn M.
>> "Chris"  wrote in message
news:42371323{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> This sounds suspiciously like he added the second drive incorrectly as
>>> far as jumpers and which connectors he used.  Is he sure he got both
>>> drives on the Primary IDE controller?  Now, having said this, he
>>> reverted back to the single drive setup on the "old"
drive.  However, if
>>> the BIOS booted off of the new drive, the damage is done and whoever
>>> suggested using a "real" XP CD to run a recovery
console and issue the
>>> fdisk /mbr command makes sense to me.
>>>
>>> /Chris
>>>
>>>
>>> Glenn Meadows wrote:
>>>> Correct, no error message, no BSOD.  Just goes to where the Welcome
>>>> Screen would normally showup (the different peoples logon
icons), but
>>>> all you see is the small Windows Logo that normally
appears to the left
>>>> of the user logon icons.
>>>>
>>>> That's what I thought, (cabling/jumpers), but going back
to ONE drive
>>>> only, the original as the only physical drive powered,
connected, and
>>>> jumpered, gives that same screen, or if doing an F8 boot,
and selecting
>>>> Command Prompt, then you get a BSOD with IRQ equal to or less than
>>>> error. (memory serves me well, I think that's what the error was).
>>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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