I hate DELL... pls help me get around this

[HiHoStevo]

First allow me a short rant!

When I purchased my Dell desktop two years ago, I purchased the 3 year extended warranty and tech support to try and avoid problems. I had built my own computers several times, but thought as the price of the Dell was about the same price as the component purchase, I purchased the pre-built system. About six months after my purchase 3DFX purchased STB, the manufacturer of the video card that Dell used in my system. Of course STB immediately quit supporting my nVidia based STB card. The drivers on the Dell or STB web site never went past version 1.0. A few months later I purchased a game (Homeworld) that would not run on my computer. In talking with the game manufacturers, they told me it was a compatiblity issue with the video card. As there were no new drivers on the web site I called tech support.... there response was "tough." They would offer no other support other than the ver 1.0 drivers currently on the web site. When I asked if they would sell me a newer card that would function with this game at a "reduced" price due to my problems. They said no, just whatever price we offer at on our web site... which was more than double what it could be purchased for at any retail outlet. What a bunch of (*%$^^))&!

Next my Dell included Zip drive one day decided it wanted to be a "floppy" drive and relabled itself to "B" instead of "D." I talked to several people in tech support and none

of them could fix the problem... yes I had tried the Iomega tools..... each time you restart after setting the drive letter back to "D" it shows up again as "B." During POST the BIOS even identifies it as a floppy. If you go to the device manager the drive letter selection is greyed out on the zip drive offering you no choices....... I have called a talked to a dozen tech's and none of them have any idea what is happening.

Okay, those were old rants........ this is today's problem I am hoping for some help with. I have abandoned the pre-built market and built myself a new speedier computer... Shuttle AK31A, AMD XP1700, GeForce3 Ti/200. I am excited and want to get this thing up and running. However, I do not wish to reload all of my applications etc. So I use Norton Ghost and copy an image of my old HD to my new HD and try to boot. Up pops an error message saying that this OS can only be used with a DELL BIOS. OK, I understand they do not wish me to be in a position to "pirate" the OS (that I bought and paid for!) to my new computer...... obviously Dell has some type of file in the start up that checks the BIOS and if it is not DELL will not continue. Okay, a quick trip to my local retailer and I have a shiny new copy of Win98SE in my grubby paws. So I use the new copy of Windows and do a "Dirty" install of the OS over the top of my Dell purchased copy of Win98 (when I first inserted the CD it poped up a window informing me that this CD contained a newer version of Windows than the one I was using and offered to "upgrade" it for me... an option which I selected). After the install and reboot I copied all of the contents of the Win98 folder on the CD over to the Windows\Options\Cabs folder on the HD. I pulled the drive and hooked it up to the new computer... copied an image over to the new computers "C" drive and rebooted............Guess What!!! I still get the (*#& error message that I have to have a DELL BIOS, even after installing a factory new version of the OS!!!

Obviously whatever file Dell has put into it's systems was not replaced with my install of the new OS. I call my "friends" at tech support again, and after talking to 5 people just to find one that understands what I am talking about....... the answer I get is... I don't know what that file is and even if I did I would not tell you!

Okay, this is my plea for help........... I know there are some "wizards" out there........ what do I have to do to get my old drive, or an image of my old drive to boot in my new computer??? What is this file that DELL has infected my system with and how do I purge it?!?!?!?

Thanks for allowing to rant.............. I feel much better now Doctor......... REALLY................... now where did I put that "really big" Hammer!

Steve:|

Ps. I need to create a Dual Boot system as I need Win98 to access my company until they get there software updated..........

 

[dbwillis]

I would think you would have problems with the motherboard chipset also, going from a Dell (guessing Intel chispet and CPU) to your AMD CPU and other than Intel chipset.
I would think if you ever got past that error, it wouldnt be a very good install, somewhere there would be remnants of the Dell installation.

Sorry for the negative post though.

 

[HiHoStevo]

That was my purpose for initially doing a "dirty" install of the OS. I was hoping that by starting the HD in the new system by re-installing the OS that the OS would then detect the new hardware during the installation phase and overwrite all of the old hardware and settings.

Steve

 

[MaximK]

There are two things that you can do.
1. Backup all the data you need; Install new OS; Transfer the data you have on to this new system.
2. Get you dell back up and running with your ghosted drive in it; Upgrade your OS to retail OS; now take you new OS and plug in you new PC. Run repair on your system. I think it will do the tric.
Regards.
I hope it will help you.

 

[HiHoStevo]

Maximum.... that is exactly what I did. I installed the new OS on the drive and tried to boot it in the new system... however I am unsure of the "repair" mode you mentioned.

I thought that after installing the new OS over the top of the Dell OS that it would allow me to run in the new pc.

Steve

 

[MaximK]

No it won't because of the drivers? incompatibilities between different systems.
The chipset is different, bios is different (mostly), each MB would handle certain things differently?
What OS are you running.

 

[HiHoStevo]

My Dell was running Win98. The OS I installed over the top on the Dell was Win98SE. I need to create a dual-boot system because my company files have to be accessed through a Compuserve software version that is not compatible with Win2k or XP. First, however I need to figure out how to ghost over my current Win98 install to the new hard drive and have it function in the new computer.

After installing the ghosted drive in the new box I was going to re-run my windows "dirty" install so the OS would load all of the new drivers for the different chipset, video, etc.............

Steve

 

[MaximK]

This is exactly what you need to do. Get a software that is able to copy HD info from one to another (like pertition magic). It will duplicate ur pertitions from one to another. After u done that, use ur newly created HD in ur dell system (replace old with new) and boot into it. If all ok then take this new HD and plug into new PC. U might have to run dirty 98 instal again to get it working in your new system.
Good luck.

 

[HiHoStevo]

Max...., but if I copy the partition over to the new machine... it copies the file (whatever it is) that at first boot looks for the Dell BIOS. If it does not find that Dell BIOS it aborts the boot-up procedure and give you the error message. This is the file I want to locate and terminate.... with extreme prejeduce!

Steve

 

[eplebnista]

You could try the Tip Here.

eplebnista

 

[HiHoStevo]

Thanks for the link............

From your name I would guess that you are a fan of the original Star Trek............

Steve

 

[HiHoStevo]

Your link talks about removing the hardware specific settings.............. do you suppose this will remove Dell's BIOS check also?

Steve

Right after the machine POST's, it pops up the error message about this operating system must run on a Dell Bios... even though I have replaced the original Win98 on my Dell with a retail version of Win98SE!


Steve

 

[bunker]

I don't have an answer for you, but there has to be a setting in the registry on the Dell that's still saying it's a dell version of the OS. That's what you need to find.

 

[ojai00]

Adding to MaximK's reply: I think you should try to move/copy all your Applications to a separate partition using Partition Magic, but don't move Windows. Then try to image that partition and restore it on your new computer. Hope this helps.

 

[eplebnista]

The only thing I could find in the registry(Ihave Dell XPS-R) would be to search for oeminfo, although I'd recommend using a program like This(Registry Cleaner) first, before deleting the oeminfo key, to see if it is listed. A lot of things will stay in the registry, even if deleted from Windows. Like the original and happened to see the episode shortly before registering in AT.

hth,
eplebnista

 

[MaximK]

What if you upgrade you OS to WinME retail version (If you have it if you don't get it of the WEB on one of the warez sight).
You can olso try this.
Istall new OS on you new drive.
Istall HD as slave in your dell sys.
Copy you dell Win directory over on you new drive (yes it must overight you new HD directory)
Copy programs folder and all you need.
DO NOT TOCH ROOT OF YOUR DRIVE
See if it works.
***************************************************
Did you try to upgrade your OS befor moving to new syste.
If not try to ugrade it in you dell sys and then mov it to new sys.
You whould have to run you install again from dos to fix all drivers incomp.
I think that should do it.
***************************************************
I would also call DELL tech support and see what they can tell me.

Regards

 

[HiHoStevo]

Yes, I upgraded the OS in the Dell computer before trying to move.... after the upgrade I moved the HD to the new computer, used Ghost to image the drive and then tried to boot off the new computer....... that is when the message came up.......... I did another dirty install over the top of the first install, but that did not fix the problem either.

Yes, I did call Dell Tech support....... they refused to assist.

Could the file be in the registry and still be accessed so quickly after the initial POST? I would have thought Registry files would not be active until later in the boot process.

Steve

 

[smirkyboy]

Have you tried a using a 98 boot disk and fdisk /mbr to recreate the master boot record? If viruses can hide there, then I would imagine that a Dell BIOS check program could do the same.

 

[HiHoStevo]

Yes i have used a 98 boot disk several times to FDisk the drive........ however I have never run fdisk/mbr.

Will this command clean out the Master Boot Record?

If so, perhaps that is where they hid the file?

Worth a try.................

Steve

 

[Slikkster]

Here's the fix for your zip disk showing up as a floppy:

Iomega Support fix for Zip appearing as B Drive

Additionally, when posting, always try to give specifics, like the system you're using. You said "Dell", but, of course, that includes a myriad range of pc's. Exact make/model is preferred.

Also, remember, too, to use the EXACT message(s) you're getting. This makes it much easier to troubleshoot. For example, something quoted like "This operating system requires a Dell bios". Word for word, letter for letter makes it easier to troubleshoot.

Did you try the registry fix, as in deleting the Enum key? I couldn't tell from your response whether you did so or not. (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum)

As for the video card, get a cheap new one.

 

[HiHoStevo]

<< Here's the fix for your zip disk showing up as a floppy:

Iomega Support fix for Zip appearing as B Drive

Thanks for the fix..... I will try it tonight...

Additionally, when posting, always try to give specifics, like the system you're using. You said "Dell", but, of course, that includes a myriad range of pc's. Exact make/model is preferred.

Dell XPS T500 (upgraded CPU to P3/800).

Also, remember, too, to use the EXACT message(s) you're getting. This makes it much easier to troubleshoot. For example, something quoted like "This operating system requires a Dell bios". Word for word, letter for letter makes it easier to troubleshoot.

I will write it down next time.......

Did you try the registry fix, as in deleting the Enum key? I couldn't tell from your response whether you did so or not. (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum)

I do not remember reading about that fix........ If I delete the "Enum" file do you think that will clean up the Dell Bios problem.

As for the video card, get a cheap new one. >>



I don't have a problem with the video card I do not think........... It is the new GeForce3 Ti/200.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[HiHoStevo]

<< Here's the fix for your zip disk showing up as a floppy:

Iomega Support fix for Zip appearing as B Drive

Went to site..... This fix appears to be for when your Zip shows up as a B drive and is not accessable. Mine does show now as a B, but it is functional. Iomega does not see this as a problem. They say that if it shows up as a B, but is functional, then that is OK. However, Norton Disk Rescue will not function with a Zip Rescue where the Zip drive is seen as a Floppy (B) drive. That is my heartache with it being a B. It does work, just not for what I considered to be an important purpose.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[HiHoStevo]

Hey Slick........ even though it appeared from the Iomega link that they were working an entirely different problem, it gave me an idea I had not thought of.

I had tried several times using the Iomega software to set the drive letter to D, just to find that every time I restarted the letter had been changed back to B again.

After reading your link, I went in and disabled the IDE position that the Zip occupied in the BIOS (which seems really bizarre to me...), but apparently that is what you have to do to allow the Iomega Software to control the Drive..... Well the Zip is back being the "D" drive as it belongs....

THANKS...........

Steve

 

[HiHoStevo]

Now that I have jumped that small hurdle... I am going to try deleteing the Enum in the registry as selected and see if that will allow me to clone the drive over to my new machine................

Steve


Cross your fingers...............

 

[Slikkster]

Cool on the Iomega thing. I knew it was for a problem slightly different, but the important thing to change was the bios setting, which you did.

Also, my reference to your video card had to do with the STB card you said you had installed. I missed the part about it being in your old pc and not the new home-built one.

Good luck with the Enum deletion.