How can I get my old version of windows back?Please Help!

I'm running Windows XP Pro right now(I just upgraded from Home edition yesterday). None of my games will run all have problems with some renderer and opengl. I'd like to go back to home edition, but I don't have the disk because home edition came with my pc when I bought it. How can I get back home edition without using the system restore because that won't work for me?

Also, if I were to format my hd is there any way I could get home edition back since it came with the pc even though I don't have a disk for it? Is that what system save disks are for?

The game problem isn't because my graphic card because it is a gefore 4 ti4200 and has always run games and I do have the latest drivers. Also, another reason I won't to change windows or reformat is because when I try to hook my cable modem straight into my pc I just get a dns error or it will work for a little bit and then say I have a dns error, even though I'm not hooked up to a router. However, when I hook my cable modem straight into my other pc it works fine and doesn't go down. Please help if you can. Thanks a lot!!

There is no way to get back the XP Home edition without using the restore disk, unless your computer manufacturer also gave you a separate XP disk. You can check to see if you can find the i386 directory on the recovery disk or system disk and try installing from there, but you're going to have to reformat to install, since you can't upgrade from Pro to Home. If you don't have the i386 directory, you're pretty much S.O.L. You'll have to use the recovery disk, install everything using that, and then remove what you don't want/need.

To fix your renderer and OpenGL problems, go to the website of your video card manufacturer and download the most recent Windows XP driver for your video card. That should resolve any problems you are having. Many times, the default drivers are installed via the Windows XP, but these often do not support many of the features that come with your video card.

The cable modem problem sounds like a configuration error with your NIC. Check to ensure that all of the TCP/IP settings are set up properly for your NIC. Also, are you using the same cable between the cable modem and each of the computers? It may be that you're using a crossover cable when you need a straight-through cable (or vice versa, depending on what kind of cable modem you have). It may simply be a bad cable. Try using a different network cable and see if that works.

Hope some of that helps.

AJ

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Originally posted here by SolidPez
but I don't have the disk because home edition came with my pc when I bought it.

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You do not have a original restore disk that came with the OS, Utilities, and Drivers for that PC?

Quote:

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Also, if I were to format my hd is there any way I could get home edition back since it came with the pc even though I don't have a disk for it?

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That would be a negative. If you format your hard drive you will lose everything.



~~~It seems like you have made up your mind about re-formatting your PC. However, if you do not have a system disk, you might want to jot down all your components, you will need a list when you go driver searching after your install. Also if you have a CD-R/CD-RW, I would make back ups of your games, and DATA. That way you won't have to start from scratch. Just some suggestions from a newbie. I hope they help.

Something I thought of later, if you don't have a restore disk that works, you can always call your computer manufacturer, give them your serial number (usually found in back or bottom of your computer) and they will send you another, free of charge. Also, for drivers, as Joey suggested, you're going to want to jot down what you have before you format. You may want to check out the website of your manufacturer as well. I know many manufacturers, you can simply go to the support section and either type in your serial number of look up your specific model, choose the operting system, and download the most recent drivers for your OS. Maybe if you try that (choosing XP Pro as your OS), you may be able to get it working without reverting back to Home.

By the way, why did you switch to Pro in the first place? What was wrong with XP Home? Most users don't have any use for the added features of XP Pro...

AJ

Nowadays most computers can boot from cd. You can check by going into your bios and looking around for the startup order. Maybe if you pop your cd in and reboot from that you could reinstall XP home. Or maybe you could download the files for the restore disk online, from some help site, or the ms site. You should go check around at the ms site, they're organization is shitty but they have tons of info.

If you did an upgrade to XP Pro, not a full install, then you need to look at the very last enty on your 'Add/Remove Programs' list in your control panel. XP Pro, if done as an upgrade, should give you an uninstall option. Good luck.

I'd follow AJ's advice and depending on who made your computer like Compaq have a disk image on your HD. Dell ships a disk image CD with their system but I know Compaq has a restore function to the original mfg config on the HD.

Thanks for the replies. I do have the system save disks(there are like 4 or 5 of them). If I format my hd should I install the system saves afterwards? Is that what they are for? Also, because of my cable internet problems with my pc I can't download the latest xp pro video card or os drivers for it since I can't get online and the one that can doesn't have a burner. The odd thing about the pc is that I have gotten cable working on it alone without the router a few times after I upgraded, but then the internet just goes down(not for cable service reasons but hardware reasons.


Also, about the cable issue, I have a wireless router with correct cables that have worked fine for months and only stopped working well shortly after upgrading to pro after a dhcp(sp?) mishap.

If you're going to format, all you have to do is stick in the first recovery disk and it'll take care of everything for you (reformatting and reinstalling everything). As for the problems with the cable modem, as I suggested, you may want to try another category 5 cable. It may be a bad cable. Also, did you check your NIC settings? I've heard of a lot of cases where people's cards are simply configured wrong...

AJ

Well with the wireless router I have my pc hooked directly up to it and doesn't have nic (but has always worked without one) through a cable and then a pc from another room has a wireless nic that connects to it without a cable. I have multiple cables including the one that has always worked for me, but I still get the same error. The pc in the other room only gets the internet when the one in the same room with the router is getting it(this is the pc with opengl problem as well). I have perused my linksys manual and configed all settings properly on the pc that connects directly to the router to no avail. This why I think reformatting may do me some good with both problems.

This is SolidPez...

Update:I was able to get online with the pc having problems by directly connecting it to the modem and not through the router(which I'll eventually need to do)... I downloaded the latest drivers for my video card, but when I tried to install it, it said the video card wasn't found. Well I know I downloaded the right drivers. I went to device manager and noticed my video card wasn't listed, infact the "display adapters" icon wasn't even there! Is there anyway I can get windows to recognize my video card? I can't install these drivers until it does. Thanks

I ran into the same problem once myself. Tried everything under the sun. Make sure you remove the display adapter its using (if there is one listed), shut down and remove then reseat your video card. It wouldn't hurt to blow the slot out if you have a can of air handy. I know it sounds stupid, but hey....thats what finally got mine straightened out, so you never know.

bump, have not resolved problem with windows not detecting video card

What sort of video card do you have? And when you go into the Display Properties in Control Panel, what does it register as? It's possible that it's simply showing up as a generic driver. If this is true, then you're going to have to try as allenb suggested, and try reinserting the card. It may simply be loose in the PCI or AGP slot. Then, Windows should redetect it and install the correct drivers. Once it does so, install the newer drivers (which you downloaded) and it should be set. Once that's set up, we can get back to fixing your connection to your router.

AJ

If you Upgraded, then check the Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel... if you speicified the option to rollback in the setup. As for the drivers, try reinstalling them, there have been problems with Drivers after installation. Just install them again and see what happens. DNS error? Right Click My Network Places select properties, Right click coorespending cable connection select properties, click on TCP-IP select properties, and make sure that you have DHCP enabled (automatic assignment)

avdven, it is not registered as anything in the device manager, generic or not just no display adapters there. Also, If I open up my pc and try to remove and put back in my video card, does this void the warranty? Is there any chance this problem could of resulted from upgrading to pro since it seemed to occur after I upgraded?

Btw avdven, thanks for all your help thus far.

Popping the case off shouldn't void the warranty. One would assume that if this were true, there would be a visible seal that you would have to break in order for that to happen. As a rule, most PC manufacturers uderstand that people are going to add periphrials to their computers at some time during the computers lifespan, and they will have to open the case to do so. Example: A good friend of mine was having modem trouble, and called me to have a go at it. After ascertaining that he had a hardware problem, I called the manufacturer. After having me go thru all the diagnostics and settings to satisfy them that my prognosis was correct, they asked me to remove the modem and send it in to them so they could send a replacement. If opening the case voided the warranty, that would never have happened.

did you check your event viewer for any errors?

also, what kind of pc and video card do you have?

i had some troubles with XP and certain video cards in a compaq presario w/ an AMD chip in it. some games would play just fine others took a dump??? after downloading all the patches and latest drivers that i could find. i tried the cards in another box w/ and Intel chip and WHAM, no problem.

avdven, in display properties it just says not available next to the name and details of my video card, but when I click on properties it shows it has a "vga save" card...

I noticed that there was a device in the device manager labeled unknown by windows. When I look at the properties of this device it says that the drivers for it have been disabled, but when it says below that that the device is enabled. Could this "unkown device" be my display adapter? If so, how could I enable the drivers for it that seem to have been disabled?

I clicked on driver details and it pointed to a single file in the windows dircetory called "stealth.sys"

Some OEM computers such as HP do not ship with a restore disk, instead they come with a backup copy of the OS in a seperate partition on your computer. This is accesed by pressing a Function key at startup (not sure which one.)

When I bought my HP 540n, it came with Windows XP Home; the first thing I did was format my harddrive and made new partitions. I then installed the OSs of my choice (Gentoo Linux & Win XP Pro.) The reason I did this was because the installation of XP home it came with, seemed to be very buggy. This was probally due to all of the tweaks and patches HP makes. I also didn't like the fact that it didn't come with an original copy of Windows XP Home.

So basically, I would suggest you forget about trying to get back the copy of XP Home and worry about trying to get your installation of XP Pro working. You may want to consider reinstalling XP Pro after formatting your hard-drive, ridding any existance of the original OEMs install. Also, you may want to delete the restore partition, it's just taking up usable drive space.


--Sudo

First, try to remove the "Unknown Device" from Device Manager. Next time you restart, it will prompt you if you wish to install it. It may or may not be your video card. Hopefully it is, and the problem will be solved. If it's not, you may still want to try removing and reinserting the video card.

Do you happen to know what video card your computer is "supposed" to have? It should be listed on a spec sheet or something that came with the computer... Otherwise, you can probably look it up on the computer manufacturer's web site. If you need help doing that, PM me with the computer manufacturer and model and I can help you find the info on their web site.

Regarding your warranty, I have had certain cases where there was a visible seal that had to be broken (a little sticker taped over the case) but I figured tech support's never really helped me much anyway, so I just broke it and did what I needed to do. Newer computers, however, shouldn't have such seals. With many laptops, however, you most likely will void the warranty if you open it, but there's not much use in that nowadays since all of the changable components are easy to get to.

AJ

PS: Sorry it took me so long to respond... it's been a very busy morning.

Alright the video card problem has been resolved by taken it out of the pc and placing in there a little better. Thanks for all your help on that everyone who replied.

Now, the only problem now is my router problem. It is a linksys wireless router. The DHCP is correctly configured and so are my tcp/ip settings. I bought new cables for it as recommended, but I still get the same error message when attepmting to access a website. The error message is as follows: "Downloading from site: res//C:Windows/system32/shdoclc.dll/dnserror.htm"

I can now connect to the internet on this pc when connecting the modem directly the pc without any problems. It is when I connect the modem>>router>>pc via 2 seperate cables when the problem arises. All the activity lights on the router that lit up when it was working still light up and the ones that should be flashing are flashing. By the looks of the router it should be working.

Glad to hear that your video card is working again. :-)

When you plug your computer into the router can you access the router itself? (try to access the Setup page by opening a web browser and going to http://192.168.1.1)

If you can access that, at least you computer is communicating with the router. Since it's a wireless router, you may have to choose whether it is part of an ad-hoc network or an infrastructure network. Ad-hoc basically amounts to all wireless computers, while an infrastructure has a combination of wireless and wired computers (such as how yours is set up). See if that is something you can change.

Also, if you can access the router, check the DHCP settings and find out which IP address is assigned to your wireless computer. Once you have that, try to ping it from the command prompt (go to "Start" | click "Run" | type "cmd" When you get to the command prompt, simply type "ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" where the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx represents the IP address of the wireless computer. If the ping comes back that you have a signal, you know that the problem has to do with routing to the Internet, not necessarily connecting to the router.

Which model Linksys router do you have (i.e. how many network ports does it have)? With that, I can check up the specs and let you know if I find anything specific that may be causing the problem.

AJ

Yes, I can access the dhcp server fine. My linksys router is model No: BEFW11S4. It has 5 network ports.

Have you tried to upgrade to the most recent firmware version? It may be related to that, though not necessarily. If you want to upgrade it, go here: http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid=160

Sorry for all of these questions.... I'm assuming you have it set up as a DHCP server rather than with static IPs? What you may want to try, since it sounds like a router problem, would be to upgrade the firmware and then reset the settings (either through the web-based interface, or via the button on the front). Then go through and reconfigure the router, using the manual if you're unsure about certain settings. It may be that somehow something got changed which is blocking web access from the network ports.

AJ

I downloaded the lastest firmware for my version(1 of befw11s4 btw sorry I didn't mention that), but I'm having trouble installing it. It says it can't connect to server, although I followed the installation instructions perfectly. I guess I'll try resetting the router again and see if I get any luck.

I think I have to be connected to the internet as well as the router to upgrade my firmware version. Since I can't connect to the router and the internet at the same time which is my entire problem, I can't upgrade my firmware.

Try to upgrade the firmware via your wireless computer (which I assume is working on the Internet?). The thing is, even though your computer may not be able to access the Internet, the router still can (since you can connect with the other computer), so it shouldn't be a problem to upgrade the firmware. Once you have the firmware update downloaded, you should be able to upgrade it by only being connected to the router. I updated the Linksys Router with 4-port Switch with it not even being connected to the DSL modem which was normally attached.

I am assuming you have reset your router now? It still doesn't work? If the wireless computer works, then you know the router is correctly connected to the modem. It's possible however, that you have the cable for the modem plugged into the wrong port. I went to solve a problem at a client's house a year or so ago where they bought the router, but could not get it hooked up to the Internet for some reason. It turned out that they simply had the modem plugged into the "Uplink" port rather than the "WAN" port. You may want to ensure that everything is plugged in correctly.

For further help on the router, you may also want to consider checking out some user groups. One I have found useful in the past was as www.dslreports.com. The Linksys router page can be found at:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/equi...,16~mode=shut.

Maybe you can find a solution there.

AJ

EDIT: When I tried to post the link within the URL block, for some reason, it messed up the spacing so I just placed the whole link. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The diag light on my router now flashes red. I'm guessing that means the router is damaged? But why did it just start flashing red when it hasn't been working for me for days now? Is it because I just downloaded the latest firmware and nic drivers? Anway, does this mean that my router is defective? Or just improperly configured? I haven't changed the router settings before it started doing this.

Also, the icon called "network bridge" in the control panel...is that the router? When I connect the pc and modem to the router it says in the properties of the network bridge that my ip address AND my dhcp address are the same...both local ips. Is this normal? When I hook the modem directly to my pc discluding the router, it says in bridge properties my ip is a global one.

I honestly don't know what the Network Bridge icon stands for. I've seen it before on other computers, but never really figured out (nor spent the time to figure out) what it's for.

As for the flashing red light... hold in the reset button on the front for the router for a few seconds. It's possible that a problem occured with the settings after the firmware upgrade. Also, you can try unplugging it for 30 seconds and plugging it in again. I think, most likely, either resetting it or having re-power up should solve the flashing problem.

How old/new is the router? Is it still under warranty? You can always try calling Linksys directly if the flashing persists and they can take you step by step through whatever diagnostics they deem necessary for the router.

AJ

I tried resetting and powering down the router, but had no success. I found out that I can no longer access the dhcp server and the diag red light continues to flash. I will contact Linksys costumer support as they have this problem documented in their knowledge base. I suspect I may have to buy a new router. It has a one year warranty, but I'm not sure if it has been a router or not.

I tried the cmd ping (my ip) thing you recommended and got the "destination host not found" message back, so I guess I'm not connecting to the internet through the router. Anyway, thanks for your help and patience AJ, I'm going to contact linksys and see if I can get this situated. Thanks again