Re: OT: new PC catch-22

The Real Andy wrote:

On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 06:19:20 GMT, Robert Baer
<robertbaer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Start with new (6-month old), bleeding edge stuff: motherboard, Intel D CPU, 80Gbyte hard drive, Sony DVD R/W, 500W supply, WinXP Pro.
Major problems:
1) "Intel uCode error...press F1 to continue" no boot from the WinXP CD.
2) Update BIOS to latest available (beta): the uCode error goes away; no boot.
3) Go into the BIOS setup, first screen: *nothing* recognized; Primary Master, Primary Slave,Seconsdary Master and Secondary Slave all have the same message, to the effect "nothing available".

But, in booting up, there is a bit of screen fiddling, and the installed hard drive and DVD drive are listed as present.
The DVD light has a very short blink after that, but the CD is not accessed.

Now, the interesting part: plop in a PartitionMagic (bootable) CD, and that works!
Understand, the PartitionMagic CD is old, way before Micro$uck thought of XP (2002).

Seems to me that M$ has teamed with the BIOS and board makers to make sure that one cannot *install* WinXp from scratch on these new computers.


Ahh, you make me laugh...

If you think that MS could legally get away with matching their OS to
a BIOS manufacturer then you are an idiot. IF you actaully think the
MS gives a *** about what PC there OS is installed on then you are
even more of an idiot.



But..if you happen to have a computer like that with WinXP installed, the WinXP is readable and can be used for updates, etc.

So....
How in the h*ll does one start from scratch?



Beware of the inferior CD ROM. I have seen problems where the CDROM
cant track out the the extreme edges of the CD, and depending on who
cut the MS CD's there may be issues.

Ring MS, and they will get you a new CD. Try that, if that fails then
either your MOBO or CDROM is fucked, or something in between.

Failing that,if you can live with it, download a <insert flavour here>
Linux distro and install that. Chances are if its a new PC then some
of the drivers wont exist, but they are never far away.
1) I think i mentioned that the drive used was a recent (6 months old) issue by Sony and it was a DVD read/write.
2) I had access to five sets of WinXP to work with, all straight from M$ no intervening reseller.
Hard to believe that M$ sells so many screwed up CDs.
3) I believe i mentioned that the original BIOS gave problems, and that the *beta* update only solved one of them.
That update was only a week old at worst.
And the MB maker had a newer MB (about a week old) that was said to work properly, but the seller would not do an exchange; the MB maker only replaces MBs under a warantee basis and also will not exchange for the newer MB.

And Linux will *not* support programs written for XP, programs that are not available any other way and no equivalent(s).
.

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