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From: hfxmt on 4 Feb 2005 18:05
Thanks for your reply James. I guess that must have been on all the
time and I just didnt notice it. See my message below.

From: eM eL on 4 Feb 2005 18:41
<hfxmt(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1107558176.228988.221100(a)c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...


> My problem started after going to MS to download the antispam (I think
> it was that). That informed me that I have what I took to be an
> illegal copy of XP Pro.
<<snip>>

Well...That's a good piece of info. There is nothing wrong with the laptop and all
you need is to reload a new (legal...) copy of Windoze. I have no idea what happened
during the upgrade (and the subsequent rollback) but you are SOL without either the
restore disk or a fresh copy of the OS. Since you cannot even boot to Safe Mode my
guess is that there are fundamental problems with the registry (drivers, license
management, etc.) so getting a legal copy of Windows and running a clean install is
your best bet.

As an aside, if I were you I'd contact the seller and ask him (nicely at first) for a
legal copy of the OS if the laptop had been advertised on eBay as having such.
Should the seller refuse, inform eBay (in writing...) about it. I'm also positive
that the Consumer Fraud unit of your (and the seller's) state Attorney's General
office would like to hear about it. Go after the SOB if you can...

MS has become very aggressive in detecting hacked/pirated copies of Windows, by the
way, a good thing in my book. I have no clue what the MS people do upon detecting a
hacked copy of Windows though...

--
><eM eL><Washington, D.C.><
><There's no place like 127.0.0.1><


From: Duncan J Murray on 4 Feb 2005 21:55
You might have a restore section on your harddrive - some IBM laptops seem
to have this, but I'm not sure if yours does. Trying pressing "Access IBM"
at various points when the laptop is loading up, try holding it down for a
while, too. Hopefully there should come up some options, one of which is to
completely reformat the whole harddrive with the original OS. This is
probably win2000, but better than nothing.

Duncan.

<hfxmt(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1107558176.228988.221100(a)c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Start with the obvious and see if it runs at all and whether or not the
> screen (inverter..?) is kaput. are there any obvious signs of damage
> (cracked case, etc.) ? NO
>
> Is the fan on when you turn the machine on? YES
>
> Can you see the screen blink/display anything while starting the
> machine? YES
>
> Can you get in the BIOS while booting the machine? YES.
>
> Is the machine plugged in (into a working outlet...) Is the battery
> OK? YES (Remove it and run on AC only.) SAME THING
>
> Unplug all external stuff including the mouse and network, modem, etc.
> cables. Will the machine start? YES
>
> Have you made any changes to the configuration (RAM,
> disks, etc...?)
>
> My problem started after going to MS to download the antispam (I think
> it was that). That informed me that I have what I took to be an
> illegal copy of XP Pro. Me being slightly paranoid that they might
> have "sent" something over to prevent the use, I restored to a
> configuration from a week earlier. After turning it off, have not been
> able to get back in. Did not really want to think that had happened,
> and hadnt noticed if the "Z" had been there before, and thought that
> was the problem (but the poster above says that just means it is on).
>
>
> When I turn it on, it asks what operating system to start, XP Pro is
> listed twice. I can choose either one with the same result, a notice
> comes up that "Windows did not start successfully. a recent hardware
> or software change might have caused this". Then a list of choices to
> start in various safe modes, last known good configuration, or start
> Windows normally. If I choose start Windows normally, it appears to
> start loading, then just goes to a blank screen, no cursor. If I
> choose last known good configuration same result. If I choose safe, it
> comes up with "safe" in all four corners of the screen with nothing
> else and still unable to do anything.
>
> I bought the laptop from EBay. It says it should have Windows 2000,
> but the seller said it had Windows XP, but didnt send any discs. I
> tried to reach him after it arrived w/o the discs, but he never
> answered my Email and is no longer a member of Ebay. So I dont even
> have a recovery disc.
>
> So what can I do to fix this or is it fixable?. Where do I start?
> Will MS send me a disc to go with the product key on the bottom of the
> laptop or will I have to buy new software?
>
> I also have a 98 SE that says upgrade with the product key. I'm
> assuming I couldnt use that because the machine didnt have 98 to begin
> with?
>
> I can buy new software, but obviously dont want to if not necessary. I
> wouldnt even know where to begin to install new software, especially
> with old stuff lurking on there. I love that laptop though, so I want
> to fix it.
>
> Sorry message so long. Thanks for all your help.
>


From: hfxmt@hotmail.com on 4 Feb 2005 22:22
Thanks for the reply eM eL and Duncan. I tried it but it didnt do
anything. I'm just going to order XP. Can you tell me, do I just put
in the disc and it directs me? I am wondering about the old XP files
on there. Do I have to do something to "clean" the HD before
installing, but how would I do w/o being able to get into anything?
Thanks so much for your help.

From: JHEM on 4 Feb 2005 22:49
hfxmt(a)hotmail.com wrote:
> Thanks for the reply eM eL and Duncan. I tried it but it didnt do
> anything. I'm just going to order XP. Can you tell me, do I just
> put in the disc and it directs me? I am wondering about the old XP
> files on there. Do I have to do something to "clean" the HD before
> installing, but how would I do w/o being able to get into anything?

Follow these instructions, you'll be fine.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-44842

Regards,

James


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