problem with new Dell system and windows XP

I have a problem. My parents foolishly ordered A dell system instead of letting my build one for them. Anywys, its a Dimension 2400 and it had windows home edition and all the dell crapware on it. So, I booted of my windows pro CD i have from the university and deleted all partitions and installed XP Pro on teh clean partition. However, everytime it boots it askes which operating system i want to boot to XP pro or XP home edition. Well i deleted the partions assocated with home edition and yet this still appears. i figure it migh tme a bios thing so flashe dthe bios to no avail and still i get this question upon every boot. Can someone tell me how to set this up without being asked this everytime this PC is booted?

Thanks

 

You didn't delete the partition first. Go back and start over and boot with the CD. Make sure and get the chipset drivers on the new install. Firewall it until you get all the updates and anti virus software on.

 

i did that i booted from the cd deleted partitions and installed on the unpartitioned space.

 

Then you can go to the system folder>Advanced>startup and recovery, and edit the boot.ini . Here is what mine looks like. I kept the 30mb partition so that is why mine says (2) instead of (1) on the partition.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS= "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

 

mikieboi
You have my sympathy. My dad bought the same computer, instead of letting me build him a garbage-free one, and it has been an enormous headache since the day he took it out of the box. Maggie is right on target, so I'm only going to say to try to remember the 4th commandment...ain't easy not to say "I told you so! "

Johanna

 

Hi Johanna,

*My dad bought the same computer, instead of letting me build him a garbage-free one, and it has been an enormous headache since the day he took it out of the box.*

Out of curiosty, what are the headaches and why is it so hard to identify the "garbage" and get rid of it? Would your Dad do any better in operating the system if you would have built him one? This also applies to mikieboi's parents as well.

IMHO, the issue is not whether there is "garbage" or not - what's garbage to one person is another's valued software - but the compentence and knowledge of the operators.

Regards - Charles

 

Charles,
Point well taken. The headaches are not from the machine itself. It is doing exactly what it was purported to do. In my dad's case, it is the alterations he wants to make to his brand new OEM Dell. The hard drive, 240 gigs, is one giant partition. Defragging will take a week. I gave him Partition Magic and instructions- he says he has problems with it, and decided to just transfer his data onto the new machine anyway. So, he took Laplink and cables and emptied his old 95 into his new Dell. So far, so good. Then he tried the same thing on his main comp, the ME one, and had immediate problems- thank goodness for At&T and their "Who cares who calls?" Plan. It wouldn't boot. It wouldn't let him in BIOS. Safe Mode wouldn't work. So, in a fit of inspiration I said- let's plug that hard drive in as a slave and let XP copy the files. I knew it would be much faster than Laplink, anyway. The Dell hard drive is set to cable select. I sent Dad a chart with the configurations to put it as the master, and the ME drive as a slave, along with how to plug in the cd and DVD stuff. I think he did something wrong, there. Now we are having an ice storm and he is whining that since the kids are off school for MLK day Monday we should be coming to Chicago- all so he can get his precious data off the ME drive, that for some reason, he has never backed up anywhere. No cds, nothing. Says ME was reliable. ( Was, Daddy. If it won't boot, we can't get it!) Then he decided he wanted XP Pro, too, and bought a brand new cd- but has no clue what proprietary Dell software/spyware/garbage that will affect on the computer, so he wants to dual boot-XP Home, Pro and ME (with that old drive) on an UNPARTITIONED hard drive without losing his 95 comp data or his software. We're back to Partition Magic, and he doesn't want to touch it. So, absolutely, it is not the computer that he bought that is the problem. The Dell is exactly as described, and is functioning despite his best efforts to turn it into something it is not. And that is why the whole thing is giving me a headache. I could have built him exactly what he needed for half the cost, and done it right, from scratch, but he wanted a plug and play with neat software (There are 179 internet enabled programs on his Dell) IMO, most of it is junk or spyware, but it's not my computer, and we don't use ours the same way. You said

and you were absolutely correct. I just didn't want to be one of the operators, because I knew this was coming. My dad is a 63 year old semi-retired engineer who has been playing with computers since the mid 80s.

Johanna

 

Hi Johanna,

Good grief! You have my sympathy.

Regards - Charles

 

I may be wrong in thinking this but;

With an OEM machine there is a possibility of propritory driver problems. I ran into that with an older HP machine when I was in Georgia.

All was going fine UNTILL I decided to format C:. I think that is enough said

My Step Daughter had to take it to a Tech Shop and have them get the proper dirvers and get them installed PROPELY.

I understand that it is working fine now.

My Daughter also bought a Dell. Cost her twice as much as it would have if I had but one together. I have TONS of spare parts that work just fine. They are only spare because they came from machines that have been given to me or ones that I have just upgraded.

BTW. I told my Daughter when she bought the machine. " you have problems DO NOT call me. "

BillyBob

 

BillyBob,
I told dad I wouldn't help, either, but he's my DADDY...what am I supposed to do? I can't very well just ignore his requests for help...

Johanna

 

Dear Johanna.

I do understand you. And where you are coming from.

But sometimes us Daddys have to learn the hard way too.

And that is why for more than just Computer reasons you have my Sympathy too.

BillyBob