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Genuine KEY product,

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Hi I have borrowed my friends xp home editon disc after having a bad virus, because my xp came built in but i have the key code on the side of my tower, have reinstalled from scratch, but have no sound or can not plat dvd’s or cd’s, with windows media polayer, in my system info its got a Yellow ? by multimedia Audio Controller, and windows is saying its not a genuine disc is this because i borred my friends disc, is there any way i can down load xp home editon and then start again with my key number from side of tower, please,

Topic

Clarifications

In reply to Genuine KEY product,

Clarifications

I’m afraid you’ve caused yourself a bit of a problem

In reply to Genuine KEY product,

Without knowing the make / model of your computer I can’t be certain – but I think you would have found a ‘recovery partition’ was built-in to your harddrive. This partition would have been for reinstalling your system if it were needed.

By installing from the ‘borrowed’ disc you have not installed any of the bespoke drivers that are individual to your own machine. That is why you are now suffering various problems.

The key code on the side of your machine will only be valid with the installation disc / recovery partition for your machine.

Your friend will have already activated their own system anyway, so even if the code and disc matched up (which they don’t) when you attempted to activate your installation it would fail.

XPHome has never been a downloadable installation, and now it is not a currently stocked system in retail outlets in the UK.

Your best option would be to find someone selling a secondhand XP with its own COA certificate.

old xp

In reply to I’m afraid you’ve caused yourself a bit of a problem

Old Mycroft would i then be able to installit in my machine, as i have a Packard Bell with 1024mb menerory, Service Pack 2 with 2813mhz so i would like to keep this if possable. any ideas thanks

Is your friends copy

In reply to old xp

A retail Home version?
If so you can copy the entire CD (include any hidden files). To a folder on a PC. Then look in the I386 folder for the Setupp.ini file. Open it and change the last Three digits in the Pid= line to OEM
Example:
PID=76487000
PID=76487OEM
Do not change the EXTRADATA= line.
Insure his version has the same level of SP packs as your original had.
Create an ISO and use your current key. An easy way to accomplish this would be to search for, download and use NLite.exe This will also allow you to add the drivers you need. Drivers can be downloaded from your manufacturer’s support site.
Read the help files for NLite. Sorry but I will not hold your hand during this process.

I’m not sure what you’re asking now . . .

In reply to old xp

If you mean would you be able to install an ‘old secondhand xp’ as I described above, then yes you would. Being secondhand it may OR may not come with Service Pack 2, but SP2 IS DOWNLOADABLE if required.

One of your friends might have SP2 on a magazine disc – they were given away a couple of years ago, to save readers having to download it.

[b][u]I just had a thought !!!![/u][/b]

Depending on [b]HOW[/b] you installed XP from your friend’s disc, there is a slim possibility that your Recovery Partition [b]MIGHT[/b] still exist on your harddrive.

Navigate to Start > left click Control Panel > left click Folder Options > click ‘View’ tab > click the box for ‘Show hidden files and folders > come back and left click on Desktop.

Start > left click on My Computer > [i]How many drives can you see?[/i]

If there is a drive you have never seen before, THAT is your recovery partition.

Post back.

From Scratch

In reply to I’m not sure what you’re asking now . . .

Old Mycroft
Cheers for the try but i can only see the C drive which has always been there, tried my sons but it would not load, so reloaded friends which as installed but i have no sound or cant not play any dvd ‘s but it will let me install things like my printer and camera, from their cd’s it’s saying i dont have multimedia Audio Controller,

Your friend’s copy isn’t specifically for your machine . .

In reply to From Scratch

Therefore the machine specific drivers that your install disc would have featured, are not on the one you’ve used.

Head-scratching time :

You’ve got to get hold of the machine-specific drivers for your system. Do you know (I mean, can you remember!) what your sound chip is called – which manufacturer’s name used to appear on your system?

It’ll be something like SoundMax, VinylAudio, AC’97, Creative, or whatever.

You can’t download just ANY driver coz it won’t work. It has to be the one for your sound chip.

As for the DVDs you’ll have to get hold of what is called a ‘CODEC pack’. There are lots of them available on the ‘net.

Try this:
http://www.xpcodecpack.com/

If you can remember your sound-chip’s name just Google for its drivers.

XP Professional

In reply to Your friend’s copy isn’t specifically for your machine . .

I have just phoned my friend and asked him if its xp home edition and he as now its to late told me its, WINDOWS XP Professional, so it looks like im stummped, bowled out as thay say, and i so wanted to keep this Packard Bell having spent money on upgradeing the memory to 1024mb putting in 4 new usb points at the back dont know which way to turn now, what a plonker i am, could i buy a new xp home disc and if so will it work now its been over rode by this professional i just never took any notice at time of installing, i was just glad i was getting some where, all this happened because of some virus which took my controll panel away, would not let me restore, and also took away my addmin, rights, so i was told by some one on another forum to install from scratch, to get all this back but im now in a worse postion, thats what you get for being a novice learn the hard way, ???

Wait . . .All is not yet lost – Why the panic ?

In reply to XP Professional

OK – so you’ve installed XP Pro. So what?

XP Home would have left you in exactly the same position as you are now!

When I said ‘not machine specific’ I didn’t mean . I meant not supplied by the manufacturer of your computer. Only your manufacturer can ‘tune’ the installer with drivers specific to your machine.

If the XP Pro is running – LEAVE IT!

You just have to find the specific drivers, that’s all.

Support from your Manufacturer

In reply to Genuine KEY product,

You should be able to get a replacement from the Manufacturer of your computer (they might charge a nominal fee for shipping); If they do not help or give you a lame excuse like your computer is out of warranty then there is always eBay.

Regarding your question, yes you are getting the message because you are using your friends CD and probably his license which is not allowed. Hope that helps, Ed

Drive’s

In reply to Genuine KEY product,

Please how can i find driver’s for Windows XP Pro,2006,i have no sound and cannot play dvd’s any idea’s many thanks,

Right now, – think back to before the ‘virus’ attack

In reply to Drive’s

Before you reinstalled, can you remember what name the sound icon had?

When you hovered the pointer over the speaker icon in your system tray, was there a name for the soundchip?

That name is what you would be looking for in terms of updated drivers.

ALSO, as I have already told you: you need to download a CODEC pack if you want to play DVDs. Here is the link again:

http://www.xpcodecpack.com/

Download from this site and run the install routine.

[For your information: DVD video is compressed in order to fit all the images and sound onto an optical disc, a DVD. The codec pack expands this compressed information as it is ‘read’ from the disc by the laser. Without it – no DVD playback. CODEC is an acronym – it stands for COmpressorDECompressor.]

Here’s another link for a program called Belarc Advisor. Download and run it. It will generate detailed specifications for the inside of your system. Hopefully it might mention the soundchip name.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

If you can post back with the EXACT make and model of your computer I’ll try to find a link to your needed drivers.

Belarc Advisor

In reply to Right now, – think back to before the ‘virus’ attack

Hi Old Mycroft
I have down loaded the above its got alsorts on it could you now please advise me what i do with this report now,
My PC is a Packard Bell NEC PB13302101 Desktop,with a 2.80gigahertz Intel Celron Processor.
16 Kilobyte pma cache.
256 Kilobyte secodary memory cache.
NTFS 80GB hard drive
Bus clock 133 megahertz
can you tell me if this is what you need, cheers for your valued time, with my problem.

Go here for your drivers

In reply to Belarc Advisor

http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/index.php?pn=PB13302101&g=2000

My Drivers

In reply to Go here for your drivers

Hi bwilmot
I am so sorry but i am a complete novice at all the PC tech stuff can i ask you or any other knid person which drivers do i down load once i go to this site, also when i have downloaded them how do i go about installing them please, i know this must be hard for a lot of you to have to nurse maid me, but i am very greatful for your help,

Check the site

In reply to My Drivers

It is fairly straight forward. You may want to try this one to check if it is only an update or the whole program.
PowerCinema 3 update
This is your audio;
SigmaTel C-Major (STAC97N) for SiS audio driver
AGP chipset and then Video;
SiS651 AGP bus driver
SiS651C display drivers

Looks like they are executable files (exe), just download then run. Or download all then double click to execute.

Driver download

In reply to Check the site

Bwilmot i tried thses and when i ran the one for video it aksed do you want to restart your PC which i answered yes to as this complete, the down load but once i did i could not get my pc to work it kept goin to windows starting over and over i had to go into, Safe mode and do a system restore, to get back to normal ant specific reason for this do you know ?

Drivers

In reply to Belarc Advisor

Hi Old Mycroft and other members im still not sure how i install these divers i tried one and my PC kept rebooting over and over so i had to do a restore from safe mode to get back in to my computer, so am now worried if i try them again they will do more damage, can any advise me please.

If the video driver caused a problem, try another first…

In reply to Belarc Advisor

Leave the video driver until the end of the intalls.

Have you installed the codec pack I mentioned earlier? If not, this may be part of the reason the video driver proceeded to crash.

Since you seem prone to crashes after driver installs/updates, ALWAYS restart after each driver installation – that way there will be no confusion as to which driver is causing your system to fail.

Now: the constant rebooting loop is caused by a check box inside your BIOS setup, that instructs the computer to ‘reboot on system failure’. You’ll have to enter your BIOS by pressing a special key at initial start-up, before your Windows boot screen appears.

Read the screen on boot-up – there should be an instruction at the bottom left of your screen, telling you which key to press to enter BIOS SETUP.

Once you are in your BIOS setup, your mouse will not work – you navigate by using your keyboard’s ‘arrow keys’.

If you find the BIOS a daunting task, post back and we can ‘walk you through it’.

bios found

In reply to If the video driver caused a problem, try another first…

Old Mycroft
Thanks found and dealt with that bios when you sat codec pack do you mean the downloads that i got from the site you mentioned, if so how would you go about installing them, ie, in which order? or does this matter, thank you for your time,

Codecs – installing them

In reply to bios found

Usually these codec packs take all the worry out of the installation.

They usually download as a self-installing pack – all you have to do is double-click the downloaded .exe file.

That’s it.

codecs

In reply to Codecs – installing them

Hi Old Mycroft
im not 100% sure i have the right codec pack is there any chance to can put a lead up for me to cliclk on and i can download them from there thanks

Sound back

In reply to Codecs – installing them

Hi Old Mycroft, i down loaded the codecs that you suggested and i have sound back when i play my down loaded music and or video, i have taken on my samsung camera, but i still cannot play DVD’s such as Casino Royle it just states that i do not have a codec i previously told you that i tried the down load for this and it kept sending my Pc to the start mode or rebooting is it called, could you or any one else give any more advise on this please,

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