XPpro setup problem

Hi

Returning from picking up the morning paper, I stopped by a garage sale and picked up a computer tower for $10! It's a P4 2G, Asus MB 512Mb with 60Gb HD and CDRW + SW modem. The guy said it had just been reformatted. I fired it up and it 1/2 loads XP and asks for a disk with XPpro Service Pack 1 to proceed. In the background is the setup blue screen showing approx 39 minutes to complete setup. I have PS2 mouse AND USB mouse connected but no mouse showing.

Where to from here?

 

Do you have a CD with some version of XP on it?

 

Yep - with SP2.

I tried that but it still asks for the SP1 disk.

 

OK
You are going to have to start it from the beginning then.
Boot to the CD and follow the prompts.
When asked, choose to reinstall XP not repair existing install..

 

OK Which part of the bios do I set the the boot to CD?
I did this years ago on a earlier Me Super Socket 7 setup only.

 

When you first start up your computer, you will see a screen that looks something like this
http://joelkilgore.com/bios1.jpg
or
http://joelkilgore.com/bios2.jpg

It will say to press "del" "f2" "Esc" or something to enter setup (or possibly boot menu)
Every manufacturer is different.

In any case press the indicated key to enter your setup and look for a boot sequence screen.
Choose your CD as your first boot choice.

 

Thanks Joelsz.

Setup is underway!

Opened it up - was very clean inside. CDRW is working.

 

Excellent

Sounds like you got quite a deal.

 

It has a PCI card I didn't recognize.
It's a Netgear FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter.

I have an external 56K Netcomm Mega-i-Modem.

Can I use this thing:confused

 

Your Netcomm Mega-i-Modem is a device for connecting to the internet using a phone line (RJ11 cord).
You would need to have a "dial up ISP" for this to work.

The Netgear FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter is used to connect to either a cable modem or a DSL modem.
You can use what is called a Cat5 RJ45 cable to connect to the internet through your router or directly into the router's modem.

If any of these terms are unfamiliar to you, ask and I'll try to explain them.

 

Hi joelsz,

I'm using it now - transferred my modem drivers from the old 'puter and am running the Netcomm. It's showing 48K connection, as good as I've seen.

The battery showed a fail on bootup - and the time had to be reset. I have a spare battery - can that be changed while on?

I transferred a few programs over but some are not right yet.

The 'feeling' is of a generally more responsive unit than my old P3 800MHz with 10G HD.

I really notice the difference between 45.3k, 46.6k and 48k connection speed. Would an accelerator/optimizer be any good?

Appreciate yor help.

 

48k is pretty good for a telephone line connection.
The upper limit on these is 56k, until you use the DSL carrier line. DSL uses the frequency band that is above human hearing. A DSL splitter and modem are necessary to take advantage of these frequencies. Of course you also need an ISP to send the DSL signal to you over your phone line.

Although I've never used an accelerator/optimizer myself, I have heard they are good at giving a boost to the kbs of standard phone connections.
As I mentioned though, 56k is the theoretical limit for phone line transfers.

 

Well I decided to trial the new Ashampoo Accelerator 2 which seems to really speed up the loading considerably, although the connection is still 48k. It's quite nice and speedy.

But now I have a new problem.

The USB is not recognising the memory stick I'm using to transfer stuff from the old computer. It's a SiS controller and with XP it is apparently renowned for this.

I've tried the error correction, I've tried the change of driver to Standard Open HCD USB Host Controller. Any suggestions? It seems to recognise the stick if it's there at boot, but then forgets.