I had to reinstall windows xp on a Dell laptop and now when I turn on the laptop, it says "This copy of windows must be activated with microsoft before you can log on. Do you want to activate windows now?" Then there are the yes/no boxes. Doesn't matter if I choose yes or no, as soon as you click on one the computer logs off and starts the process over (log in screen then that window pops up). I also cannot get an internet connection (tried in Safe Mode). Any suggestions on how to fix this or someone I can take it to that won't charge me a fortune to fix it??? I don't need anything fancy on the laptop, it's going to a child who will just use it to play games and get on the internet.
How did you reload XP? With an XP CD, or using the recovery drive on the laptop? All Dells come with the O/S (XP) and other original software on a partitioned drive in the laptop. The access to that recovery is usually an "F" key when you start the computer. It varies by which model / series. List the exact model / tag # off the back of the laptop and I'll give you the instructions for reloading the software to the original configuration.
I used the Reinstallation CD that came with the laptop. It's a Dell Latitude D510 Tag # 91G3G81. I appreciate the help
The D510 was notorious for problems with the battery charging circuit and a poor quality BIOS battery. Make sure the recovery disk is for your model and not some other laptop. If you don't have the right one, your Operating System is one of the only ones you can download from Dell and burn an ISO image to a CD. Check the laptops date and time setting. That will tell you if the BIOS battery is bad. Steps are below: 1. Remove the laptop battery from the laptop & plug the A/C power cord into the laptop. 2. Turn on the PC ... start tapping the F1 key immediately ... about 5 times, once every 2 seconds or so. That will bring you to the Bios Setup. If the time and date are drastically wrong, more than a few days, your bios battery is weak. (Removal & Replacement Instructions) ...................... $2 part on the web 3. If the date is good ... open the CD tray, put the recovery disk in, and close the tray. Hit the ESC key to get out of BIOS, it will prompt you to exit without saving, chose 'Yes' (the 'y' key) and then enter. 4. It will reboot and go to the CD again to reload the operating system. Chose yes on over-writing the existing XP installation. In the first few screens it will ask you if you want to format the drive. Chose the drive with the largest number after it. Chose the complete format not the quick. And chose NTFS format not FAT. Go slow during these screens, read twice chose once. 5. Follow the prompts like you did the last time. Removing the laptop battery should give you a constant power supply during the XP load. If you come to the same problem let me know.
Thank you! I checked the date/time and that was perfect. Followed your steps with no problem and was able to reinstall XP. Now I can get passed the log on screen!! Thanks again for your help. Still cannot get online and not sure what the problem is there. I am trying to connect it wired directly to the modem and it's not working. I used the same cord to connect to a desktop and it works fine. When I plug into the laptop I reset the modem but it still doesn't work. When I click on the internet icon a window that pops up and says "No connection ot the Internet is currently available." Also get the "The page cannot be displayed" message. If I go to Start, Control Panel, Network Connections, it has LAN or High-Speed Internet and under that it shows "1394 Connection, Connected, Firewalled, 1394 Net Adapter." Turning off the firewall made no difference. Any suggestions?
Sounds like XP did not run you through "Settting up a Network" just after the install completed and the first time it opened the new XP load. Or, you clicked "SKIP"? It's defaulting to the ghost 1394 connection when you don't have a network setup. Go to START, then CONTROL PANEL then NETWORK SETTINGS. Find the item that says "create a new network". It's hard to give you an explanation of which types of connections to choose, but, if you "Read Twice and Chose Once" you'll probably get through it. You've done pretty well so far. If it doesn't work the first time, go back to network settings again, delete the network you created that won't work, and try again with different choices. Rinse & Repeat NOTE: Write down or take a mental picture of the network screen before you start creating networks. That way you won't delete the wrong one. Google "Creating a new network in XP" to get a better understanding. Hope that helps.
I tried to create a network connection, connect to the internet, set up my connection manually, connect using a boradband connection that is always on (I have dsl). Then a screen comes up that says "your broadband connection should aready be configured and ready to use. If your connection is not working properly, click the following link." I click on the link provided which then tells me to click on Network Connections and under LAN or High-Speed Internet, click the connection that you want to repair...but the only connection is the ghost one you mentioned previously. It won't allow me to set anything up. I also went to the Control Panel, System, Device Manager and a question mark apprears by (all listed under "Other Devices") : Eterenet Controller, Multimedia Audio Controller, Network Controller, PCI Modem, Video Controller, Video Controller (VGA Compatible). At some point in all of my clicking on those I found an error code of 28. Figured out that meant the driver was not installed. Went to the internet and found the driver for the Motorola SBV5121, saved it to my flash drive, put that on the other laptop but can't access it because I can't get online!!!! :banghead: Where in the world do I go from here? Do I need to start all over at the beginning and reinstall XP? I don't recall skipping the "setup network connection" step (doesn't mean I didn't, obviously!). Again, I appreciate all of your help.
Sounds like your PC isn't recognizing the network adapter. To check, please: 1. Right click on the MY COMPUTER icon on the desktop 2. Click on PROPERTIES 3. Click on the HARDWARE tab 4. Click on the DEVICE MANAGER button This will display a list of hardware items on your PC. Under Network Adapters, if you have an item listed with a warning icon, then normally this indicates that the driver for it isn't properly installed and therefore it can't be accessed. This can happen with a new load of the operating system if XP isn't able to load a driver for your network adapter. If this is the case, you will need to identify the adapter on your PC, download the proper driver on another computer that has Internet access, and then move it to the problem PC on a flash drive. You should then be able to update the driver and have the adapter start working. If you have a DRIVERS and UTILITIES CD that came with the PC, the driver you are looking for is likely on it. Hope that helps.
Here's all your drivers in case you don't have the driver CD that Appcomm mentioned. Dell Drivers Your network card is under the header "NETWORK (4)" the driver you want is "Version 7.1.2,A02". Your wireless driver is the next one down.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I've got it working. Thank you so much for all of your help. You have made my 8 year old little boy thrilled beyond belief :hurray:
