REINSTALL WINDOWS XP PRO

[ISIZE="2"][/SIZE]I am having intermittent problems with my computer(dell inspiron 8200 laptop). i have discussed the problem with several techs and based on the info i showed them they all sugested doing a reinstall of win xp and the dell drivers. i did have a failed hal.dll file which made it impossible to boot so i had a comp tech reinstall win xp in a seperate folder. it seems i need to reinstall win xp again. it took me 2 weeks last time to install all my programs and settings. is it possible with acronis 9 to reinstall win xp and then add all the other folders with my programs from a backup image or clone?? i have a spare "c:" drive and 3 external hard drives. i have a one shot contract with dell-on-call using tech connect and they have remote access to my computer and have assured me that there are no remaining viruses or worms. they will help me reinstall win xp but have no experience with acronis. if anyone is interested i can send another tread with my problem as shown in task manager performance.

 

Have you made a backup image of the whole disk or of files and folders?
You mention "clone". Normally this applies to copying all the information, including the OS to another disk. Or have you made an image of your disk?

If you have made an image of your whole disk then you cannot selectively take out bits and reinstall them into your new XP.

If you have made an image of your whole disk and you restore it then you will not need to reinstall XP unless the image contained an already corrupted version of XP.

If you created a backup of files and folders then you can restore them to your newly installed XP.

Those Techies may not have experience with Acronis but they should have had experience with other backup programs, unless their only experience is to reinstall XP.

 

1. The "hall.dll" file is in Windows/system32 folder. The date of the file is 8/4/2004. That tells me it's a Windows file that's needed. Don't know what it's for, but it was apart of XP Pro when the OS was installed on your system.

2. I'm thinking you had problems booting up, and the Tech tried to just copy that file back over to Windows. From the sound of it, it didn't work. I don't think he actually Reinstalled XP because you wouldn't just Reinstall XP over into a serperate folder. You'll wipe off the HD, and Reinstall it.

3. Since this "hall.dll" is missing, Virus's on the computer, and probably other issues you're unaware of, I think you're better off letting Dell walk you through Reinstalling XP. Because IF you make an Image of your HD in this state, you'll just be putting these same problems into the Image to be put right back on the HD. (If you can create an Image)

To eliminate any more problems before you Reinstall XP, get your System specifications by Right Clicking on
My Computer/ Properties/ Hardware/ Device Manager. Tic the little + boxes to expand your devices.
Now, Go H E R E , and enter your Service Tag. Look for updates for your Laptop.
Install any BIOS, and Optical Drive updates ...before Reinstalling XP.

IF you're not sure what to look for....then get Dell Tech Support to assist you with finding the updated drives/ software for your Laptop.

 

MARK3: Thanks for your prompt reply.so far i have used my smallest external HD(80G) to make a complete clone of my "c" drive. if i make a backup image of just the selected files and folders and not include the folder with win OS can i then restore my "c" drive which will only have a fresh reinstall of win XP?? how should i prepare my "c" drive, reformate or some other procedure or just write over?? i have much space open on my 2 other HDs. my "C" drive has only 13GB of info. i store most of my image and photoshop files on the external HDs.

 

STARSFAN09: thanks for your interest. sorry my post was not clear!! the hal.dll problem was solved 2 years ago when win XP was reinstalled and i reinstalled all my programs. it seems i need to reinstall win XP again because of a suspected corrupted file. i will check with dell service about bios and driver updates. they told me years ago to only update from the dell site. i will try to post a "print screen" as i see my problem. i get a marked slowdown in operation which coinsides with "taskmgr.exe" going from 1-2% CPU usage to 5-13%.

 

THIS ATTACHMENT OF TASK MANAGER PERFORMANCE TAB IS AN EXAMPLE OF MY MAIN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM!!
left side of image is proper operation. my computer is operating at fast(normal) speed. i then open photoshop CS2 and open a 40MB image and againg proper operation.note the chart goes down to the baseline(1-2%CPU). i then apply a filter (crosshatch) to the image which hangs the CPU at 100% for about 2 minutes. the chart does not return to the baseline but to 5-15% CPU. after that point the baseline stays at 5-15% CPU for hours and the computer operates at 20% normal speed even after i close photoshop and all other progams or until i reboot when it returns to normal fast operation. the same happens in the middle of playing DVDs just following any action. IN PROCESSES taskmgr.exe goes from 1-3% during normal operation and 5-15% during slow operation. other times i do the exact same operation and the computer stays normal.

 

hingber, I'm not sure whether you are using your terminology correctly. You talk about clone and then you talk about restore. My guess is that you have made an image and it is currently stored on your 80GB disk and that you are prepared to restore it.

As starsfan09 and I have already explained, if you restore an image then the problems that you had before you created the image will be restored also during the restoring process.

Reading through your latest post I get the impression that there are conflicts between different software and maybe even access to hardware. True Image is not going able to resolve these problems for you.

Try the following free software to see if it can resolve them.

http://iobit.com/

Also run this free program to clean out all the leftovers that might be clogging your system.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

After all that do a disk defrag. Double click My Computer, right click C drive, click Properties, select Tools tab, click Defragment Now, highlight C, click defragment.

If you computer is still experiencing problems then you might consider reinstalling XP. If you decide to have it done, backup your data beforehand. You can even use TI to backup the Files and Folders.

After your XP has been reinstalled and before you start reinstalling all the different programs, make an image of your pristine XP. Now install a few programs at a time that are relevant your files and folders. Then restore these files and folders. See how it's all working out. If it's OK, make another image.

Somewhere along the line you might find that you are experiencing the current problems. If that becomes the case simply restore your last created image and ponder what to do next about those programs that are causing the problem.

 

MARK3: I think i am using the correct terminology. the dialog or splash sceen of TI 9 reads in order "backup" "recovery" "clone disk" and add "new disk"!! i did a clone disk of my c drive to my 80G external HD. now i can add nothing to the 80G drive but i can open any file. i was thinking of doing a "backup" of only my files and folders (which is an option) in TI 9 and using recovery mode to add to my "c" drive which would have a reinstalled XP OS. i like your idea of going slow i just dread digging up all my program cds and serial numbers. the dell tech did remove some files in internet options>settings yesterday afternoon and sofar the computer has been doing just fine. if it goes sour again i will follow the method you outlined. thanks again for your efforts.

 

Hello hingber,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.

Yes, you can recover\copy the individual files and folders from the beforehand created backup\clone. However, this will not recover the corresponding registry entries and the alike information. In other words, most programs will not work under the newly installed operating system after you recover\copy the corresponding files and folders. That's because programs need to be installed. Acronis True Image 9.0 Home is not meant for backing up or transferring the applications and therefore cannot help you to recover\transfer the installed programs. The capability of backing up applications will most likely be implemented in the next Acronis True Image version.

At present time, we recommend that you backup your system on a regular basis, i.e. create a disk\partition image of your system partition or the entire system hard drive saving the resulting .tib file(s) to any supported stage media such as internal, external or networked hard drive, CD, DVD, etc. In such a way you will be able to fully protect your system. If the system crash occurs, you will need to boot the computer from the Bootable Rescue CD and restore the beforehand created backup.

You can find more information on how to use Acronis True Image 9.0 Home in the respective User's Guide.

We also recommend that you take a look at the Acronis True Image 9.0 Home FAQ page, Acronis Public Knowledge Base and this article providing the illustrated instructions on Acronis True Image 9.0 Home installation and usage.

If you have any further questions concerning Acronis software, please feel free to submit a request for technical support or post any of them on this forum. We will certainly try to help you in resolving any issues.

Thank you.
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Alexey Popov