MS Vista

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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:18 pm

SP, When your computer boots, try mashing one of the following keys repeatedly before the windows logo appears:
F2
Esc
Del
If one doesn't work, reboot and try a different one. When you get the right one, a menu should appear. Look for an option headed "Boot Sequence" or similar, you'll be able to choose between your hard drive (it might be referred to as C: ), your CD ROM drive and your floppy drive, as well as maybe a few others. Choose CD ROM as the first device, then your hard drive. Once you've done this, SAVE and exit (it should tell you somewhere on screen what you press to do that, often Esc). Then reboot with the CD in the drive.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 571

^^ Oh yes, I forgot ESC Laughing

Stupid BIOS software... why couldn't they have made a standard for this Evil or Very Mad

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ IGC and Remu, I rebooted about 10 times, hitting F2, esc, del each times, nothing happened, got the occasional keyboard error and had to hit F1 Boot to carry on loading, no menus came up, tried F8 to see if that was working and that went to safe mode menu, can't get anything else though.

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:28 pm

When you boot, the first screen shown should look like this:
A logo or something like that at the top then below it it says stuff and something like memory check. Then checking for drives. At the bottom there will be a line or two about the BIOS and the version number etc. As soon as this screen is visible press the "DELETE" key. Just keep pressing. Your keyboard may start clicking, this means you filled up the buffer and you can stop pressing. You should then be dumped into the BIOS setup screen. Go to the second or third menu selection, I forget the title but it usually one of those. There should be a selection that says "boot order" or something to that effect. Make your CDDRIVE the first in the order and the HARDDRIVE the second. Go back to the first screen by pressing ESC a couple of times. Put the CD in the drive and reboot by Selecting "save and exit".

If this doesn't work post the motherboard manuf. you have or the computer manuf. The BIOS name would be the best but sometimes it is hard to get. At the first boot screen mentioned above, as soon as it displays, press the PAUSE key. This should stop the process and give you enough time to read the line at the bottom of the screen which is the BIOS name type and version. Tell us what it is. Press the PAUSE again and the booting will continue.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

There is this <F10=setup> text at the bottom right corner of my screen, I have seen it before when no disc is in the CD draw, so I hit F10 and got the Compaq computer centre thing, I got an option for "boot order", it had a list with these in this order:

1st: CD ROM
2nd: floppy disk
3rd: hard drive

I changed it to:

1st: CD ROM
2nd: hard drive
3rd: floppy disk

Hit F10 to save setting, then saved and exited, I am going to reboot now and see if Ubuntu comes on.

[edit]

Rebooted an still Ubuntu does not come one Mad

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:13 pm

(waits with Baited Breath)

Guessing from your apparent knowledge of computers, I would recommend sticking with the live cd instead of installing/partitioning. I use Backtrack occasionally - that is an okay one and runs on my laptop (p2-233).

Another option is to install a 2nd hard drive (say 4 gb or so) and installing linux onto that.

{Edit} Backtrack link - It's mainly used for searching for security exploits and hardening networks.
Backtrack

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:20 pm

Oh. You have one of those proprietary system boots. Rolling Eyes

Try the Knoppix Live CD. I have never had a problem with that. I have had problems with Ubuntu. When Knoppix boots it will stop at the kernel input line. Enter knoppix and press enter.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Kickstart wrote:

Guessing from your apparent knowledge of computers, I would recommend sticking with the live cd

Yes, I am a technotard, I don't now much about the workings of computers at all.

Kickstart wrote:

Another option is to install a 2nd hard drive (say 4 gb or so) and installing linux onto that.

After your first comment, are you crazy to suggest I should install a 2nd hard drive, nutter Shocked

, I pulled the insides of my computer out a few weeks ago, and I still have no idea which bit was the hard drive Confused

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

DrWho wrote:

Oh. You have one of those proprietary system boots. Rolling Eyes

What's one of those, DONT ANSWER THAT Laughing

DrWho wrote:

Try the Knoppix Live CD.

Ok, went here:

http://www.knoppix.org

Clicked the download penguin which takes me to the Download KNOPPIX from Mirrors page, clicked ftp.mirrorservice.org (UK Mirror Service - University Of Kent (England)), that takes me to a folder listing page with 2 links called:

Quote:

Name Type Size Time
knoppix Directory 04/03/2007 00:00:00
knoppix-dvd Directory 04/03/2007 00:00:00

Clicking either of those links gives dozens of other links on the next page, like:

Quote:

Name Type Size Time
contrib Directory 01/05/2005 00:00:00
docs Directory 01/10/2002 00:00:00
knoppix-cover Directory 10/11/2001 23:00:00
knoppix-customize Directory 13/07/2003 01:00:00
knoppix-vortrag-als2000 Directory 14/05/2001 00:00:00
md5-old Directory 06/01/2007 13:00:00
qemu-0.8.1 Directory 04/03/2007 04:00:00
DVD 26/05/2006 01:00:00
KNOPPIX-CHANGELOG.txt Text Document 39 KB 05/01/2007 03:40:00
knoppix-cheatcodes.txt Text Document 10 KB 02/06/2006 00:00:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-DE.iso ISO 714,450 KB 30/12/2006 22:23:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-DE.iso.md5 MD5 69 B 30/12/2006 22:29:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-DE.iso.md5.asc ASC 305 B 30/12/2006 22:22:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-DE.iso.sha1 SHA1 77 B 30/12/2006 22:30:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-DE.iso.sha1.asc ASC 313 B 30/12/2006 22:23:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso ISO 714,448 KB 30/12/2006 22:28:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso.md5 MD5 69 B 30/12/2006 22:30:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso.md5.asc ASC 305 B 30/12/2006 22:23:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso.sha1 SHA1 77 B 30/12/2006 22:30:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso.sha1.asc ASC 313 B 30/12/2006 22:23:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-DE.iso ISO 713,066 KB 04/01/2007 00:51:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-DE.iso.md5 MD5 69 B 04/01/2007 11:10:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-DE.iso.md5.asc ASC 305 B 05/01/2007 03:15:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-DE.iso.sha1 SHA1 77 B 04/01/2007 11:10:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-DE.iso.sha1.asc ASC 313 B 05/01/2007 03:15:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso ISO 713,064 KB 04/01/2007 00:58:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso.md5 MD5 69 B 04/01/2007 11:10:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso.md5.asc ASC 305 B 05/01/2007 03:15:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso.sha1 SHA1 77 B 04/01/2007 11:10:00
KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso.sha1.asc ASC 313 B 05/01/2007 03:15:00
packages.txt Text Document 124 KB 05/01/2007 04:27:00
qemu-0.8.1-windows-README.txt Text Document 756 B 02/06/2006 01:00:00
README 267 B 18/08/2005 01:00:00
README_DOWNLOAD.TXT Text Document 419 B 25/07/2006 00:00:00

What the hell am I supposed to click or download, why can't these sites make things simple, like CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD, instean of dozens of bloody thngs which are all clickable and none of which make sense to anyone who does not have an idea about computers Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:42 pm

Sorry, I did that when I started with computers years ago. After getting another HDD installed & runing, linux gives you an option on bootup of whether you want to run linux or windows.

ps BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM - I'm honestly surprised ME is still running, It's well regarded as the crappiest windows yet. I always regarded it as a timebomb. And a 10 year old Compaq - funny thing is I use one as my main TV (tv card in it and running to a big amp etc.) and it just sh@ itself this morning for no obvious reason.

Not in CHCH New Zealand are you? I'm sure I could donate a bit of hardware to you.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

DrWho wrote:

Quote:

I would not advise Linux if you don't have a broadband Internet connection.

Why? I started using Linux with a dialup and it worked fine. Setup was easy.

You can easily get Linux up and running, but you will get annoyed every time you want a new application and have to spend hours downloading it. The Ubuntu mailing list has over a hundred posts a day. That's a lot to download over a phone line. Patches and updates will take ten times longer and slow down your browsing. With Windows when you need a new application you can just go to the shop and buy one. You don't have that option with Linux; it's download it, or get it from magazine DVDs. The Gimp is 3MB, Firefox is 9MB, OpenOffice is 120MB. Looking for the drivers for your new hardware, or a tutorial on setting up SpamAssassin will be ten times slower and more irritating.

Sure you can do Linux even without an Internet connection of any sort, but the experience is reduced. If you're fired up enough that isn't going to matter, otherwise it'll be back to Windows in a couple of weeks and much less likely to make the switch next time.

And for the record, the alternative to Linux is a Mac, not more Microsoft. You'll have support, applications available in the shops, and you can still use the free software.

Edit: @SP, there are two version of Knoppix there, 5.1.0 and 5.1.1, you want 5.1.1. There are two languages: German (DE) and English(EN). Each has upteen files: the CD image (ISO) in various formats, and text files with MD5 signatures. Download the ISO and the MD5 files. The MD5 file will be a text file. Open it in Notepad and you will see a long numeric signature. Find the MD5SUM application for Windows and run it against the ISO to check you didn't get any corruption when you downloaded it. Burn the ISO to the CD. Don't just drag the ISO into the CD, that wont work. You need to tell the burning application to burn from the ISO image, that's often on the burn dialog.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Md5sum

Edit:

Quote:

README_DOWNLOAD.TXT Text Document 419 B 25/07/2006 00:00:00

Got to be worth a read.

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:04 pm

@SP Take this one

Quote:

KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso ISO 713,064 KB 04/01/2007 00:58:00

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 2:37 am

^^ what he said to do.

So you were talking about dial-up for downloading programs. That is a problem but I use to download all of my things with dial-up. For linux install iso, I just started the download at night and in the morning it was done. But just go buy the boxed version either at a store or on line. Mandrake sells different levels of their systems with all of the big programs in the disk. It contains instructions and support for a couple of months included in the purchase price so you can ask all the questions you want.

Quote:

It's well regarded as the crappiest windows yet.

Yes, kickstart, we have all dumped on SP about using ME. He still uses it anyway. Smile

Go figure.

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:36 am

^^ Well it had to be done again..

Seriousley tho, go to an internet caf� and have a coffee as it downloads, for a nominal fee (payable via WU) I couldnt help it..... they should burn it to a cd, check first tho, they may already have it ready to go!

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Posts: 1

IT SUCKS!!!!!

419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

Not a big Linux fan. As soon as Apple's Leopard is out, I'll be jumping from this PC ship!

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:01 am

As this only shows you as monosyllabic and a troll, I'll leave it here for everyone to see and observe how long you can remain.

419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

I presume you are talking about the poster before me Dr.W Smile

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:03 am

Yes.

Timing is everything isn't it.

You should know Shiver that Apple OSX is based on BSD, which is an offshoot of Unix. So you will be as close to Linux as you can get with out running it. OSX will even let you use the command line if you want.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 571

^^ Shiver, any particular reason you aren't a linux fan? I can probably fix it for you Cool

419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

Quite a few, the main ones being a new distribution of V.XXX just after I install the last 1 million distros. Driver problems. Compatibility problems (admittedly, due to some of the old MS and ancient crappy progs I still use) etc.

Added to that I'm just "tired" of PCs now, and I want to have a change.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 571

Aight then, up to you of course Smile

419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

Don't get me wrong. When it works, it's great. Better than Windoze that's for sure!

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 571

Well non-working hardware is definitely a valid problem, one that I'm lucky enough not to have. With ubuntu at least, it's very easy to upgrade from distribution a to distribution b. But then, I see the case for commercially supported software too. So yeah Smile

Master Baiter Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 186 Location: GA

Quote:

I only have 32MB Ram on this computer.

Wow. You're like the Amish of the computer world!

Wink

I'm getting the "free" Ultimate Home Vista disk because I spent enough to feed approximately 14 people for a year (or 5,160 people for one day, provided they live in certain places in the world where most of us would rather not) on my new computer, but I'm putting it on the shelf until I know Vista is fully matured.

One can tell by two signs:

1) Symantec releases a tool to remove a Vista-specific virus.
2) The first service pack comes out.

As of today, there is no driver support for SLI, which means no Vista install for me.

And yes, I sleep very well at night, even as I do the math to see how my rants of consumerism translate to the needs of the Third World.

Very Happy