Loon-A-TiK Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 hiya- i haven't reformatted this computer in about 2 years, and it NEEDS it. the reason i haven't done it is that there is software on it that i use and don't know if i'd be able to get back. do you think i should just see if i can find sources for that software, go ahead, do my format, and then get that software again? also, my digicam will NOT work with win XP even though it is technically supposed to. i've gotten the drivers off the site and nothing works. i can view the pictures that are on the card, but can't do anything to them, and can't take more pictures because the card is full. i don't know what the problem is. it worked fine when i had win 2k but when i switched, it suddenly didn't work anymore. i'm thinking of dual booting or something to get around what i think is an issue with XP. but it could just be my xp installation and maybe would be fixed by a format- who the heck knows? i've worked in tech for 6 years and am still sometimes confused about the little things. grrr! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null0trooper Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 hiya- i haven't reformatted this computer in about 2 years, and it NEEDS it. the reason i haven't done it is that there is software on it that i use and don't know if i'd be able to get back. "reformatting" a hard drive, esp. low-level formatting, goes back to the days of RLL drives and such. IDE and SCSI drives normally will not need this unless you really have problems with the disk (unmarked bad sectors) or are laying a new OS down. That said, defragmentation IS periodically useful. do you think i should just see if i can find sources for that software, go ahead, do my format, and then get that software again? That is the Microsoft Way. If you were truly entitled to be using the software you would have registered each package and kept the original media safe. You are now free to wipe the coffee from the screen and keyboard. also, my digicam will NOT work with win XP even though it is technically supposed to. i've gotten the drivers off the site and nothing works. i can view the pictures that are on the card, but can't do anything to them, and can't take more pictures because the card is full. i don't know what the problem is. The drivers really aren't all that helpful with many digital cameras. XP is usually happy to recognize the camera as Yet Another Detachable USB drive. If the pics are on an SD package, you can get a cheap SD/Flash/etc USB reader and (once again) treat the media as a drive. Move the pics around as you please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
december_brigette Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Hi: I suck at double quoting. so here i go, Loon said: do you think i should just see if i can find sources for that software, go ahead, do my format, and then get that software again? Null said: That is the Microsoft Way. If you were truly entitled to be using the software you would have registered each package and kept the original media safe. You are now free to wipe the coffee from the screen and keyboard. i have registered each package on my laptop. but a lovely ex-bf "stole" the original media. so, am i SOL forever?? or what could be done in this situation? thanks, december Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null0trooper Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 i have registered each package on my laptop. but a lovely ex-bf "stole" the original media. so, am i SOL forever?? or what could be done in this situation? thanks, december Probably. But it might be possible to get the product identification information from the Windows Registry and then ask the company that published the software to send you replacement media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 There is something seriously wrong with this thing, which is why i think reformatting is the solution. it has seemed to work in the past. i'm not concerned about xp, i have xp pro, it is all those stupid little programs i got off of tucows and other freeware/shareware sites. i don't really care enough to do anything about it though. off to a clean start! i'll try the idea about the drive if i can't get the camera to work when the pc is reformatted. i hate wasting my digicam, which was expensive, just because my pc doesn't play nice with it. thanks for the suggestions! keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 If you're still using windows 98 or ME you need to upgrade for security reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 i have win xp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 This is an awesome user-supported forum for free tech support. They specialize in spyware and virus removal, but provide support on just about everything. Couple of suggestions... like any other forum, do some lurking before you post to get the feel for things and how everything works. Posts with titles that are very specific and clear seem to get responded to the best. And a solid basic level of computer experience is needed - they do some, but not a lot - of hand holding. If you're going to try the site, I would deal with one issue at a time in short, concise posts. They've worked some wonders with my systems from time to time. http://geekstogo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 thanks for the tip sunshine! i'll be sure to try them out if all else fails! my bf brought up that it could be one of those mass storage device issues that MS has a patch out to fix. so it might just be needing a patch. we'lll see. i told him that if i can't get the damned thing to work that it is his job, and he can do it! i've worked on it so much and gotten so frustrated by it that i probably am not the best person to continue working on it. after i try these suggestions, and if they don't work, then he's going to work on it for me i'll try http://geekstogo.com before resorting to asking for help too, because i do want to fix it myself, even though i'm getting really, really pissed at it. he trained me at my last help desk job, and is better with these issues than i am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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