Resolved Error Message Loading PBR for Descriptor

I've reinstalled XP, and most everything seems to be working fine. The one glitch I've found, so far, is the Motorola Surfboard modem works fine using a USB cable, but won't work using the Ethernet cable, though the Motorola software says the Ethernet driver is installed and working. Everything checks out fine according to the Motorola software (Ethernet card, active USB port, TCP/IP protocol, and acceptable CPU speed, RAM, OS & disk space, but it fails to make that Ethernet connection. The computer worked fine on the Ethernet connection before the OS crashed. Do you have any suggestions on fixing this problem?

 

I encountered one more issue. Here is what is written in my boot ini:

[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 Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

It seems like the first line is the new XP install, while the next is what I wrote for the previous install. I don't have any problem starting up the computer, but I want to make sure there won't be any problems in the future. Should I delete part of this boot.ini?

I did delete anything related to Windows and Dell from the old HDD my mother's saved files are on, so, hopefully nothing on that drive will impact the primary HDD with the XP SP3 OS.

 

Yes you show 2 OS entries but the first is set to Default. I'll leave it to Evan to advise how best to proceed from here. Neil.

 

According to Everest, here is the information on the MOBO:
Motherboard ID 11/27/2003-nvidia-nForce-6A618BD4FC-00
Motherboard Name DFI NFII Ultra Infinity
I installed nForce_2.45_WinXP2K_WHQL_english.exe from http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_udp_winxp_2.45
Please let me know if you know of a better set of drivers. Unfortunately, I brought everything with me other than the MOBO and GPU driver CDs.

There is only one OS on this computer (though there is a Win98SE ISO, as the XP SP3 is an upgrade CD). Under Startup and Recovery, the only available OS is "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

I have to leave for home in about 3 hours, so hopefully we can fix these issues before then.
I seem to be limited regarding size of thumbnails I can attach. I guess I need to delete old jpgs, but don't know how to do this.

 

Let's see if this works better.
http://imgur.com/a/1Xsxg

 

When I started making XP installs, I was taught to start with a small FAT32 partition and then have the OS partition. At the time, it was believed that someone attempting to access the computer would look to the C drive, not the D drive, making it safer. It also gave a FAT32 partition to run programs that were designed for FAT32. This was the computer my son and I built as his first computer, so we built it the way I was taught.http://windows.radified.com/ We've never encountered any problems having that FAT32 partition at the front of the HDD, so I just kept it that way when we replaced my mother's very slow desktop with my son's. My son and I don't have that FAT32 partition for our 8.1 computers. What would be the reason to change something that has always worked and been very stable? We've never had any problems installing any programs on this computer, and my mother is 94, so doesn't install any programs. As I stated earlier, all worked fine till the OS crashed, and I believe it had to do with something on my mother's old Dell HDD. The computer is working fine, now. I just had one issue and one concern. Maybe installing the original MOBO CD, when I next visit my mother in a couple of months, might fix the Ethernet cable issue, as Internet was fine with the Ethernet cable before the OS crashed, and I used the original MOBO CD for that install. The concern would be whether it is recommended to edit the boot.ini or just leave it as it is. The computer has no problem booting up, but I'm not sure if the extra information may create a glitch in the future. I can edit her boot.ini by using Team Viewer.

 

I don't want to make any more changes than are necessary, as it only confuses my mother. Just now she called to find out how to play a movie (though she's played many before). Once I helped her get the movie playing, she wanted to raise the volume. I explained how to do that and pointed out there is a volume control on the right speaker, also, but she insisted there are no speakers, that the sound comes straight from the mouth of the person speaking on the screen. I described the big white boxes and pointed out they are located on either side of the monitor, yet she couldn't find them. She just gets frustrated when I tell her more work needs to be done on her machine, so I limit changes that won't add to the stability of the computer.

Maybe if you read the logic presented at the link I gave in my last post (to windows.radified.com), it might make sense.

 

Here is another link that states "the boot partition must be formatted with FAT32 if you wish to dual boot." I'm not saying it isn't outdated, but so is Windows XP. This is just what I was taught when I first started building computers.

http://www.blackviper.com/os-install-guides/windows-xp-professional-install-guide/install_windows_xp_pro_10/

 

I am still unsure about the boot.ini. Should I just leave it as it is, or should I edit it?

 

Will do. Thank you.