Major Problem

[MajorProb]

I'm running an Emachine w/ Windows XP Home SP2, 512mb, AMD Athlon XP 2400+, beleive 2.4ghz, 80 gig harddrive...not sure on anything else can't get to OS.

I just bought Rome:Total War yesterday and tried installing today and during the installation of GameSpy, a program to allow you to play on net w/ Rome:TW, my computer froze and I had to restart. After that, I could barely get into my OS and everytime I clicked on something it froze, Start Menu, icons, etc. I even went into Safe Mode and tried uninstalling Rome:TW and it wouldn't let me. It would even freeze up in Safe mode. I also tried restoring my past configurations and it froze up in the middle of that. After talking to a few people I ended up trying to reformat my computer and all it does is either shoot up an error about GHOSTERR.TXT or, most of the time, it freezes. I can't access my OS anymore. I have all the system requirments and some I don't understand. Can anyone help?

[MJaeson]

That's a know eMachines issue
Post back if you know how to use FDISK, i'll tell you the answer then, good luck.

[MajorProb]

I've used FDisk before, but not in a situation like this...I'm very good at follow instructions any help would be greatly appreciated help.

[MJaeson]

Please make sure you only have the monitor, keyboard, mouse and power cord hooked up to the system. No 3rd party scanners, printers, cable/DSL modems, added internal drives or cards, etc.


The most common cause of this error is when the CD is in the wrong CD drive (optical drive). If you have more than one optical drive, try placing CD 1 of 1 shiny side down in the other optical drive. Now reboot the computer and see if the restore works.


If you are still getting the same error then follow the instructions below.

Symantec Ghost must be able to read from the CD drive (optical drive) and write to the hard disk drive. If at any point during the restore process it is unable to read from the CD drive or write to the hard disk drive then Ghost will report “Error Opening Ghosterr.txt”.

Resolution(s):
Press the space bar to reveal if it is a ‘read’ error or ‘write’ error.

For Read Errors:

Ensure the disk is clean and has not been scratched. To properly clean the CDs, run them under some lukewarm water with a couple of drops of dish soap. Use a soft, lint-free cloth to dry them such as a clean T-shirt. Wipe from the center hole to the outer edge. Do not wipe in circles. Now try the restore again.

If the disk is not defective, the error likely resides with the CD drive (optical drive).

For Write Errors:

Use FDISK to delete all the partitions and then attempt the restore process again. The restore process for Windows XP will recreate the partitions.


FDISK:

Please note: For Windows 98 only you will need to also create a new partition after deleting all of the old partitions.

The fdisk utility can be used to delete and recreate the partition information on the hard drive. Please be advised that when you run an fdisk on the system, all the information on the hard drive will be lost. You will need to make sure that you have backed up any critical information before you run this utility.

You will also need to make sure that you have your Windows 98 Product Key (Windows 98 only), as you will need to re-enter this information after the restore is completed. The Product Key can be located on:

The cover of one of the manuals that came with the system, a separate certificate that may have come with the system or on a sticker on the back or side of the tower.

Once you have the Product Key and all your critical information backed up, you are ready to run an fdisk on the drive. Make sure that you have all third party hardware, (such as printers, scanners, cameras, DSL or cable connections, etc), disconnected from the system. Then place the restore CD in the drive (or if you have two optical drives, use the top drive) and reboot the system.

You will now see a menu with different options. Select the option to boot to DOS from CD-ROM and press Enter.

In a couple of moments you will see an A:\ prompt. At this prompt type in fdisk and press Enter.

You will receive a message about "Enabling large disk support". At this message press Y for Yes (you do wish to enable large disk support) and Enter. This will take you to the fdisk menu with 4 options.

Choose option 3, Delete Partition or Logical DOS Drive and press Enter.

Then choose option one (Windows 98/ME), Delete Primary DOS Partition and press Enter. For Windows XP choose option 4, Delete Non-DOS Partition .

You will now see a warning that “The Data In The Primary DOS Drive Will Be Lost”. Select the option to proceed.

On the next screen it will ask, “What primary partition do you want to delete?” Verify that "1" is selected in the, "What primary partition do you want to delete...?" field and press Enter.

Next enter the Volume label if there is one listed. If there is not one listed, simply leave the field blank and press Enter.

When asked, "Are you sure (Y/N)". Type (without the quotes) "Y" and press the Enter key.

You will see a message "Primary Partition Deleted". Once the partition has been deleted, press the ESC key to return to the fdisk menu.

Next you will recreate a DOS partition.


NOTE: For Windows XP you do not need to create a partition. Simply press the ESC key until you are back a the A:> prompt. Then leave the restore CD in the drive and press Ctrl+Alt and tap the Delete key a couple of times. This will boot to the restore menu again.


Windows 98 Continued…

From the fdisk startup menu select option 1, "Create DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive" and press the Enter key.

On the next screen, select option 1, "Create Primary DOS Partition" and press the Enter key.

Enter "Y" (without the quotes) when asked to use the maximum available size and make the partition active.

You will see Primary Partition Created. Press the ESC three times (to exit to DOS) once the partition has been created. You must reboot the system after the partition has been created. NOTE: It will be necessary to format the drive (either via the restore process or the format command) after the partition has been created.

Leave the Restore CD in the CD-ROM drive and restart the computer. At the Startup Menu choose Boot to DOS Prompt from CD-ROM.

At the A:\> type "FORMAT C:" without the quotes and press Enter.

It will ask you are you sure? Type "Y" for yes and press Enter.

The drive will begin to format. The process should complete to 100%, taking about 10 - 15 minutes. If any errors occur during the format process, write the error message down and contact our Technical Support Department at 801-401-1419 or feel free to email it to us as well.

At the end of the format process, you will receive a message asking to enter a volume label. Leave this blank and press Enter. This completes the format process and will take you back to the A:\>


Running the Restore CD to Restore Your Computer Back to Original Configuration

Restart your computer with the restore CD in the primary CD Drive. At the Restore Startup Menu, choose Option 1 to restore Windows 98 and follow the on screen prompts.

Once the restore has finished, you will need to remove the restore CD and restart your computer.

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Also I need information on your unit
Good luck.

[MajorProb]

Nothing worked, I didn't have a DOS partition to delete, um...FORMAT C: does not work for format, yeah, nothing worked...I doubt I did n e thing wrong....um....I don't know, thank you though.

[MJaeson]

Have you tried to check if the Hard drive is detected in the BIOS along with the CD Drives?

If they are, try resetting the BIOS to default values and try the Restore process I gave above okay...

We'll lick this or we'll send it for warranty.

[MajorProb]

I had called Emachine Tech Support and they ran me through an hour speil and could not find out what the problem is. We tried del. my partition and the name of my partition was off the wall w/ the alt-#### to make crazy ass characters. He suggested that I get an XP disc off of someone and trying using that to delete my partition, he said that the disc has a better program for deleting partitions. We even went inside of the computer and took out battery and unplugged harddrive to try and reset everything and name still did not change. I think the best part about the entire conversation is that I don't feel like an idiot and the problem is def. one of a kind. He also said that it may be a hardware prob., but not sure. well...it's been fun, off to find an XP disc!!!
Thanx a lot though!!!