Problem repairing Windows XP

[MSgherzi]

I'm currently working with a Dell Inspiron 530S. I needed to solve a problem for my customer and decided to repair the XP installation. Well, problem is, it boots back up and goes through the setup, but half-way through "Installing Devices" a window pops up and asks for the disk for the audio bus driver, and then I suddenly cannot use the keyboard or mouse anymore at this point.

There's no way to select "OK" or "Cancel" and when I put the proper disk in, it asks for it's specific location, which I cannot select because the mouse and keyboard stop working. Though they work before the window appears.

Strangely enough, there are no PS/2 ports on this machine, and I'm currently using USB, as I have to.

I tried putting the HDD in a different machine and got through it just fine. However, upon putting it back into the original computer, it just cycles itself and reboots before it even gets to the XP loading screen.

I really just need to get through the repair of XP before I can continue. I looked in the BIOS and the only USB options are to either enable or disable, or low vs. high speed mode (tried them both).

Any suggestions?

 

[diggauk]

I had almost exactly the same problem earlier this year with a Dell. In the end I found that one of the front USB ports was damaged, and one of the pins was shorting out against the casing. The plastic lug inside the socket had snapped off.

It might be something completely different, but it's worth checking all of the USB ports.

 

[MSgherzi]

I had almost exactly the same problem earlier this year with a Dell. In the end I found that one of the front USB ports was damaged, and one of the pins was shorting out against the casing. The plastic lug inside the socket had snapped off.

It might be something completely different, but it's worth checking all of the USB ports.

Well, I tried different ports, but as I stated earlier, they both work before any windows start popping up. Then they suddenly stop. The mouse has power going to it, though, because it's a transparent mouse and I can see it lit up even after this happens.

 

[lciavarella]

Replace Keyboard and Mouse

I don't know if this will help you, but it saved my butt one time. I replaced the keyboard and mouse and it worked. Hope you are is lucking as I was.

lciavarella

 

[diggauk]

Well, I tried different ports, but as I stated earlier, they both work before any windows start popping up. Then they suddenly stop. The mouse has power going to it, though, because it's a transparent mouse and I can see it lit up even after this happens.

Ok, but have you physically inspected all the ports for any damage, contamination blockages etc? Worth a try.

It's just that it sounds almost identical to what I've had before. Also, have you tried booting into a Linux Live CD? This would help to determine if it's a windows fault or a hardware error.

 

[Fish]

Why not use DSR (Dell system restore) ?
depending on the age of the box its f11 or f8 and added to the menu where safe mode etc can be selected just after BIOS post.

When i had a similar issue recently wherein the client had attempted a repair install and it would just loop on setup and mosue / kb wouldnt work (i think the incorrect version of win xp cd had been used) i had to roll back to the dell factory image.
It wasnt straight forward as sometimes repair installation or re-installation can change the partition table info and make DSR inaccessible.
goodells.net has a great article on how to get this partition back (google dsrfix).

I ended up having to do the following

- ghosted the drive (i like to have a rollback option)
- using live cd (UBCD) backup all accessible user data to USB.
- manipulated the partition table using ptedit to make it accessible
- ran dsrfix
- ran DSR
- recovered clients data from usbkey

I hope this helps in someway

Jim

 

[shamrin]

I see you mentioned that you tried different USB ports - have you tried them all? Some Dells pay attention only to certain USB ports at boot and install time.

 

[MSgherzi]

I tried a different mouse with no luck. I even tried a different XP disk last night.

I'm going to try the Dell system restore that was mentioned.


Otherwise, if this takes much longer, I may just need to nuke it and start over.

 

[computerdoc]

Reimage repair might help for this problem. If it doesn't work, you can just roll it all back.

 

[MSgherzi]

Used DSRFIX and found out the partitions were messed up. So, repaired them with DSRFIX successfully, but I see no options to even use Dell System Restore or any of the Dell utilities upon startup (or under the "Safe mode menu"). I'm going to start a backup and just format the thing.

 

[MSgherzi]

Went into UBCD4Win and restored the registry. Voila!

 

[Fish]

Great news
Just as an fyi if ever needed again, the DSR utility for your machine is probably the f11 key during the dell bios screen (when you see f2 for setup etc). It isnt visible by default.

 

[computerdoc]

Did you restore the registry from a prior copy or generate a generic one?

 

[MSgherzi]

Did you restore the registry from a prior copy or generate a generic one?

Prior copy. But ComboFix solved my problem once I got in so it shouldn't happen again.

 

[glricht]

Just as an fyi if ever needed again, the DSR utility for your machine is probably the f11 key during the dell bios screen (when you see f2 for setup etc). It isnt visible by default.

On all the Dell's I've worked on, it's been ctrl-F11, not F11