pezo

using maxblast I assume you at the very least partitioned your drive into a c drive of max 137 gig [ sp 2 is supposed to read above that but may not during install]and set file system to ntfs. Other partition can be full size. You may have to copy setup files to a folder on c drive [or d: call it xpset or something]and run a live cd such as bart's pe or mini xp pe and once setup has started point to your sata drivers in their folder or put All Drivers dvd in dvd drive. Sata drives behave differently than old ide ones and are not recognized by some oem versions of xp. editing reply- dead ram or just need to take out and reseat it or put into different slot. this is a common problem.

Compatibility mode allows you to run - even install programs/drivers, etc. from an emulation of XP or earlier OS. Plus being a 2007 product there maybe a fix out or coming soon from software maker [not MS] You may have to do a help/search/troubleshoot[or compatibility]/why won't my software work to open wizard. Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to find an easier path to the wizard -been too busy to find and only got final Vista 4 days ago. Have RC1 on this computer and what works on it won't work on final release on my laptop.

Get the All Drivers dvd 1.2Gb Dec 06 release from any of several forums online. It has most of the drivers for all windows [9x and up] - however you may have to install original drivers first and you may have to do so by using backward compatibility wizard [search for troubleshooting and choose 'why won't my software work' link - haven't had time to find direct link yet]. Yes it will allow you to Install from an emulation of XP or earlier OS.

try an upgrade to I.E.7 or a mozilla based browser such as firefox 2.x or seamonkey1.1x OR you could download for many free/shareware sites and install flash player directly instead of thru the browser.

If you have a dvd and a cd/dvd drive then try All Drivers DVD available on many forums and boot from a live cd - it may find drivers you need.

windows won't let you modify essential files while in use - thus must be done from dos bootup disk or even a live disk [e.g. bart's PE or minixp PE For booting drive letters - you maybe able to change them in windows but I don't see any advantage since you should have option of which to boot into at startup

Sounds like the curse of windows from 95 up to vista [ really bad in xp]. It is in admin tools/services/remote procedure call [RPC]/recovery. Set 1st and 2nd error what to do as 'do nothing' Activate admin tools on start menue [ right click taskbar properties/startmenue/customize check show admin tools. Do control panel as menue as well. ORrrrr it could be a worm/virus and this may need to be removed using a standalone remover possibly run while using a live cd [ xp running from cd such as Bart's PE or from xp on memorystick/thumbdrive]

Have you tried right clicking on taskbar / properties/startmenue/customize and check marking 'show logoff ' ? It is also good to have control panel as a menue. Don't forget to press Apply then ok.

To clarify. the boot.ini Should be on your c: partition even in a dual boot environment. In a dual boot environment it will have the line as already mentioned above giving you option to change which to boot into. This is the boot.ini that you Need on your c: partition - if you don't then if you have a copy anywhere - replace current with dual boot boot.ini You have to do this either in dos started from a boot floppy/cd or a live cd such as Bart's PE otherwise cut and paste needed line in same spot in new boot.ini and save as boot.ini then do above if it doesn't show change. It may take trial and error-error but it does work.

I am in process of setting up Vista upgrade on my laptop [using it right now in fact]. No problems so far- I have been testing Vista RC1 for several weeks on my test computer and some of my old programs won't work properly - esp. file managers with built-in zip as folders and antivirus programs. Don't download malicious removal tool. You did mention upgrade- you need a base install of win2k/xp/nt to install upgrade properly.

just replace your boot.ini on c: with one that worked from your ghost image that is if you haven't copied it to an essential tool folder which keeps a copy to hand - a trick I learned when I used to dual boot. You can also edit boot with line you described but don't forget to save as boot.ini

try to get the all drivers for windows dvd dec 06 issue- available on many forum. it is about 1.2 gb. you can also try using setup disk for it.

I had no problem installing on Compaq laptop - just waiting for my MS partnership Jan. shipment with my legal keys to activate it.

It is another background program that most don't use. Here is an important service that needs to be looked at. It is called RPC - Remote Procedure Call - you have activate Admin tools on program list by right click on taskbar - go to start/advanced/ show admin tools. once done go to admin tools start/programs/administration tool. Go to services/Remote procedure call [ may be 2 listed] go to recovery and set 1 and 2 to 'Do Nothing' This prevents repetitive unrequested restarts which has plagued windows for years when conflicts arise from certain software/hardware installs -esp symantec/norton products. Another tip - if have symantec/norton products installed be aware that MS malicious removal tool can deactivate them and wipe out your licence even if new subscription. Symantec is aware of this - or some there are.

Drive letters won't change if you have only one physical drive. Otherwise you have to temporarily disconnect 2nd drive or it becomes drive D: most of the time. Plus why would you want Win2K and XP on same machine? I could understand if you had win98 or even Millenium. Xp is basically an updated os of the win2k/NT line as is Vista [NT 6]

clean your drive and disk carefully. If doesn't work you may need a new drive or disk. If it is a cd drive - that could be your problem esp if it is an older drive. They may not read the faster disks properly. A firmware update maybe available - but dvd readers [even dvd burners] are cheap and much faster at reading cd's Plus this is what I do in that situation - works best on a partitioned drive but will work on a clean single partition. make a folder called xpsetup - copy just the xp setup files and folders from cd to that folder -run setup from folder. This trick also works for other programs most of the time - even on a machine running vista.

use an auto ram defragment program such as free ram xp pro - freeware found on many freeware/shareware sites - it also works on vista- adjust to suit each machine. defrag hdd once a week is always recommended or even daily in a heavy work environment. All techs and even MS recommend this. Then there are junk removers such as crap cleaner [ccleaner] which is also freeware - however it must be setup properly so you don't delete cookies from some websites that you wish to keep - such as auto logins.

I just fixed a computer that took 5 minutes to boot to the splash screen. All I did was clean out the dust and most important remove and put back in the ram memory sticks. Ram memory either not seated properly, mismatched sticks or bad memory cause this problem the most often and should be the first thing checked. The computer was given to someone because of the above problem - the giver thought he knew how to fix computers - he wasn't aware of that problem and the easy fix. Improperly seated cards are the next easy things to check. Sometimes you have to change slots. Hope this helps.