Can't get ME to install

Right then,

after a really bad virus infection the resulted in me having to do a full reinstall on my pc I proved once again to the wold that I am complete luddite.

problem: I reinstall XP. of course I forgot that the version of XP i have is the upgrade pack which I used to upgrade from ME. so I didnt use the ME cd first.

ok. well it seems to working fine only now I can't find the drivers for my pc. the CD's i have are for my old pc not the new one. grrr.

problem: no drivers so pc isnt recognising ANY of the hardware like gfx, sound network cards etc. This is easily resolved by discussing the issue with bro in law (read: phone up and whine at him until he gives in and consents to help me.... again)
so he comes round armed with laptops and usb drives etc, we pull down the appropriate drivers for the network card so that I can at least get online and download the stuff myself.

but wait! says I. before I go online I want to get at least some sort of protection so I chuck my AVG 9.0 in the cd drive. it wont upload because the xp version I have is REALLY old.

ok. so we need to update XP and IE so that we can get AVG on asap.

ok. so I'm updating from microsoft only it wont allow me to update manually I am forced to use automatic updates. so I leave it updating. come back after a while and its telling me I need to reboot. so i reboot.

pc then gets stuck in a loop trying to boot up. im seeing a blue screen before it restarts again. problem is I cant see what the bluescreen is saying because its not up long enough.
bro in law has done some investigating and it turns out that I need to get back to ME, update and then upgrade to XP.

problem is I cant get the pc to read the ME disk on bootup.

so. how do I force the pc to read the ME disk and install that?

 

Greetings, dbs1.

Frankly, I think you're going about this the wrong way. For one thing, it looks like you're assuming that ME must be installed in order to upgrade to XP, which is not true. Secondly, if you're using Windows Update for hardware drivers, that's a big mistake.

IMO, I think you should start from scratch:

1. Boot from the XP disk, delete any partitions, create a primary partition, and format it to NTFS.

2. Install XP on the new partition. Since it's an upgrade disk, it will ask you to verify a previous Windows version by inserting the ME disk - but that's all XP will do, just verification, not ME installation.

3. Once XP is installed, record any flags in Device Manager for uninstalled hardware. With that information, and data gleaned from a system info tool such as Everest, we can walk you through driver updating.

4. Once the drivers are updated, then you can worry about antivirus protection and Windows Updates.

If you decide to follow this route, I can guarantee you'll have a better machine than if you try to layer XP on top of ME.

 

ok then

XP is installed and appears to be working fine. however it has yet to ask me for a previous copy of windows.

I was required to put in a key however the instructions specifically requested an XP key that came with the product, NOT a previous version of windows.

so I'm back where i was last time with no drivers, no way to connect to the net.

 

No problem. Is this a custom build, or OEM? If OEM, what's the make and model #, service tag #, etc. of the machine? Any info (especially hardware) you can provide will be helpful.

Also, please download and install Everest, a free system information tool.

Run Everest and click Report (top menu) > Report Wizard > Next
Choose System Summary Only > Next
Choose Plain Text > Finish and wait for report to generate
Click Save to File and leave the File Name as Report
Click the Save as Type dropdown and choose Report files (*txt) and click Save (n.b. Save to desktop, use Browse to locate desktop)

Then attach your log to your next post per these instructions: HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post.

Did you check the Device Manager? If so, what devices are showing flags?

 

i got the PC from PCSpecialist.co.uk they built it for me its not branded such a Dell etc.

i cannot download anything on the pc because i cannot connect to the internet

 

You'll have to download the Everest program onto the machine you're using now, and transfer it to the problem machine.
Run Everest on the problem machine, then transfer the report back and post it here.
Did you get any kind of spec sheet from PCSpecialist.co.uk when they built it?
And, again - what uninstalled devices are showing in Device Manager?

 

then the 1st thing you need to get is the eithernet driver so you can connect to the internet.

 

ok, dumb question - I'm posting from a mac, will downloading Everest to that and putting on the pc create a problem?

right in device manager im assuming that unistalled devices refers to those with a yellow question mark next to them?

afk to read my son his bedtime stories then I'll be back with a list

 

Downloading to a Mac and transferring to a PC shouldn't be a problem.

And, yes - the devices with exclamation/question marks are most likely the ones that need drivers.

 

right then,

got everest onto my pc. before i run it, this is the list from device manager

Ethernet Controller
Multimedia Audio Controller
PCI device
SM Bus controller
Unkown device
Unkown Device
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)

 

right hope this works, report from everest should be attached

 

The report shows that you have an ASUS P5K SE motherboard. The driver download page is located here (you'll most likely get a 'select operating system' popup: select 'WinXP').

I'd suggest first downloading and installing the Intel Chipset software (if you get the security popup, click 'Run'), reboot, and see if everything installed correctly by checking your Device Manager.

The page is showing multiple downloads for your ethernet (LAN) device - I'd suggest the first one listed. Don't worry about audio yet.

Does the machine have a serial # of any kind? If so, you may be able to contact PCSpecialist for a specification sheet, see exactly what hardware is installed.

 

ok then,

installed those drivers and they appear to be succesful - list is down to


Multimedia Audio Controller
PCI device
Unkown Device
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)

im checking with pc specialist to see if they still have a record of this pc
where would i find a serial? nothing is springing out immediately

 

The report is showing a "Creative Audigy LS Audio Processor" - is there a PCI sound card installed in your system? If so, that could be the "PCI device" listing, and the driver can be found here.

As far as the other devices, all of the downloads are listed at the ASUS link - you'll have to walk through them there.

I'd strongly suggest that you upgrade your XP to at least Service Pack 2, or Service Pack 3 (if I'm not mistaken, you may have to have SP2 installed before you can install SP3). If you wish to do this offline, the packages can be found here: XP SP2 and XP SP3.

At this point, you should be able to install the antivirus package of your choice, and then attempt to access the internet.

 

ok ta muchly.

the soundcard is soundblaster audigy, the gfx card is an nvidia one - 8800GT i think but will find out

 

Glad you're up and running - if you need any help, let us know. :major

 

your help has been much appreciated currently downloading the monster that is SP3 before getting AVG on (I may be asking more questions.)

surprise of surprise, PC Specialist sent me the spec sheet!

tbh I think we're pretty much there the PCI thing is more than likely the gfx card

512MB GEFORCE 8800GT PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT

the sound card is:
Sound Blaster® Audigy® SE with 7.1 Surround Sound

I'll get the drivers for those on from the manufacturers sites and then see whats left in device manager after that (if anything)

 

That spec sheet may come in handy for future reference - hang on to it.

The fact that the sound and video cards are discrete units is a good thing - the drivers should be easy enough to find and install.

One more thing: don't know if you've browsed MG and other forums, but there has been a lot of activity lately concerning AVG issues. There are several good, free alternatives available - just a head's up.

 

right then.....

Im pretty much there - all drivers updated, AVG is running and updated (I did look as you mentioned but I couldnt find anything about AVG. probably my weak forum skills)

As of now, I cant get the soundcard to work. Ive downloaded the driver for it and thats showing on the pc as installed. however I still have an unkown device sitting in the device manager.

there is sound on the MB but I have disabled that in the BIOS. just cant get this audigy card to work. any ideas?

 

For troubleshooting purposes, try uninstalling the Creative card, then enabling onboard sound - do you then have audio through headphones/speakers?

 

ok that works fine, getting sound through the realtek HD audio output on the MB. (Once I remembered to plug the speakers in to the right place that is... *cough*)

 

Good - that pretty much checks out the Windows audio functions, as well as the speaker hardware.

You might try running Driver Sweeper to clean out any remnants of the original Creative install, then try installing the Soundblaster again (that is, if you wish to get it up and running, in lieu of the onboard audio).

Be advised that Creative installations are sometimes bloated: they tend to load a lot of unnecessary panels and such. You may be better served if you find a simple driver for the card, and apply the extraneous apps later.

 

tbh now that ive got the onboard sound working I might just ignore the soundcard - maybe pull it and stick it in my old pc or something

its not like I need high performance sound - after all I only use it for playing the odd movie, cd or listening to my gaming mates throw a paddy on TS or vent

 

I don't blame you.

So: I assume you're able to access the internet with the machine now?

 

to all intents and purposes, I am back up and running. sound card was the last thing really.

once I've got all the bits onthat I want Im going to back up

 

Great - it's been a pleasure working with you. :major