computer help: I’m trying to reinstal windows and am having lots of trouble. - Help.com

It’s possible that it’s not recognizing the drive you have it in. Do you have 2 CD drives or just one? Have you tried switching between the two? Also, definitely try to get the CD as clean as possible, sometimes older CD drives don’t like the smallest pieces of dirt but will ignore a large scratch (go figure). Maybe try to burn another copy of the CD with a clean disc and use that.

I like a good puzzle but this one takes the cake. I don’t understand what the service pack has to do with the install process. You should document this and send it to Microsoft. If Windows was operational why did you want to reload Windows? Perhaps the files on the OS CD are to out of date for your system and conflict with the newer files on your hard disk. When you cleared the hard disk there was no conflict. I do remember having a similar problem and I had to do the same thing…

Good luck Ron

You aren’t trying to use an XP Upgrade are? The only time I had problems is when I bought an legal XP up grade.

The upgrade disk will generally check to see what OS is on the hard disk. If it’s noy XP it will ask you to enter your old OS’s disk for validation…

That is what I mean, I had a legal copy of Windows98, upgraded it to a legal copy of of XP. Went rolling along, one day it blew up, now come to think of it? It was right SP1 upgrade, hmmm?

Dafynition of an upgrade = ‘Out with the old bugs and in with the new!’

I have never had problems with full versions of Windows, just upgrades.

That’s because the upgrades have exceeded the original full version! Download Belarc Advisor. You can display all of your downloaded patches…

Ah, like I already know about Belarc, use it. Besides this is the old lady’s computer and it is a Windows98. She has Belarc and we use it religiouly. I always recommend Belarc for doing an internal inventory of systems. BUt thanks a lot for the recommendation and it just reenforces what I have been saying about Belarc.

ronrumpt, how much do you know about HDTV? Government says they are freeing up spectrum? They are not. What is going to happen all digital will be put in the AM band (that is the band that the picture is tranmitted on). So it leaves the FM where sound used to be, it will be open (in fact at the end of the FM broadcast band). What I see going on as you know things being digital I can see the next step. The next generation becoming “ADDREESSABLE”, so that a what used to be commerical supported, you now pay for because the broadcasters see an income base. How can it be over the air addressable, well they do it with networks, why not not an addressable HDTV next generation. So we will still see addressable commerical broadcasters and still the commericals. “PAY OR WE CUT YOU OFF FROM VIEWING YOUR LOCAL CHANNEL (by the local channel).”

In the end there is not so much frequency saving going on at all.

The new digital TV signal is very similar to the video clips that you get on your computer or your DVD. It is called Mpeg-2. This new digital signal will be compressed into the same 6 Meghz bandwidth as it is now. The FM audio and the color carriers were both sub carriers and rode on top of the video signal. All of the TV channels 2 through 13 will be eliminated and redistributed and re-licensed (sold to other services). The government has been waiting for these frequencies because they are capable of traveling over longer distances. All of the TV channels will be moved up to the UHF region (14 to 83). Forget portable TV. Even with a HDTV antenna you won’t get many channels on air.