Improving PC Performance

GlueGuy · Jan 5, 2002

Bird,

I've never had that kind of problem upgrading a machine to WinNT, Win2K, or WinXP. Of course, I've never done it on a Dell. All my experience has been on clones that I've built myself, or Compaq machines, or one Micron machine that I messed around with a couple of years ago. All of those have gone like clockwork.

Of course, I did a compatability check on them, but I presumed that if Dell were to offer an XP upgrade, they would have already done that for you.

One of the Compaq machines that I upgraded to Windows NT had a video card that was not supported on NT (but did work on Win98). Compaq listed the machine as "not supported" on NT (presumably because of the video card). I swapped that video card for another, and again, clockwork.

I would be very disapointed in Dell for pulling a shenanigan like that.

Bird · Jan 5, 2002

Terry, the upgrade consisted of several CDs, the prep tool and bios upgrade went OK; just took time (although what the instructions said and what actually appeared on the screen were frequently a little different). Then the installation of XP started, but about half way through, the screen went blank and the computer just died. When I called Dell, we simply turned it off, then back on, and I'd never be able to remember all the things he had me do before we finally got ME running again. At any rate, it wouldn't take the upgrade until we just wiped everything clean, then installed XP. For one thing, it seemed to hang up on the HP software that came with the printer that came with the computer from Dell. Anyway, we got it started installing XP and since that takes about 45 minutes, he told me to call back when it finished for them to tell me how to install some drivers. Well, it seemed the only one needed was for the printer, and after a long time of changing settings, we got it to print a "test page" and thought everything was cool. Then I discovered this morning it wouldn't print anything else. However, I finally worked that out myself, re-installed the software, changed a cable and the port used, etc. and think I've got it now. Now I've got to figure out how to get my SanDisk SmartMedia FlashPath floppy adapter to work (if possible)

Bird · Jan 5, 2002

GlueGuy, I was not impressed with the instructions that came with the upgrade (pretty brief and easy enough to follow, except what appeared on the screen was not exactly what the instructions had - maybe it was for a different machine), but at least the guys on the phone were easy enough to deal with and were helpful.

RickM · Jan 5, 2002

Bird,
Glad you made it back /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. Don't forget to get the latest security updates for the XP soon. Here is a link that may help with the FlashPath. It looks like the Windows 2000 and XP drivers are the same. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_downloads.asp?Category=Accessories+and+Upgrades>http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_downloads.asp?Category=Accessories+and+Upgrades</A> The file size is just a bit over 1 Mb. I don't have XP and not sure I want it yet /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif. Hope this helps.

Bird · Jan 5, 2002

Thanks, Rick. I just downloaded it and after awhile I'll give it a try. I found two different ones at sandisk.com, but couldn't tell what the difference might be, so I sent them an e-mail, but haven't heard from them yet. This one you told me about sure sounds like it ought to work. I'll know by tomorrow. And I think (wouldn't bet on anything) that I've got this contraption about straightened out and running right now.

Well, that didn't take long to install and check it out./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif It works great! Thanks again, Rick. That was what I needed.

MaltbyMower · Jan 6, 2002

Don't know if I'll make more friends than enemies here, Bird, but I'm a test manager for, err... what did we call it... Microshaft. I actually own Windows 2000 service packs in Applicaiton compatiblity, printing and a few other areas. I don't own WinXP test yet but will shortly. If you keep having problems with printing or those apps, let me know and I'll see if I can help.

Bird · Jan 6, 2002

<font color=blue>Don't know if I'll make more friends than enemies here</font color=blue>

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gifSure hope we're all friends here, Brandon, and welcome to the group. There's definitely lots of things about Microsoft that annoy or irritate me (sometimes wish I had Windows 3.01 back), but I'd also be the first to admit that my own lack of technical knowledge is a major factor in my displeasure./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif And since it seems that computers usually require that you type exactly what you want, it really irritates me to find that printed instructions are sometimes not exactly right (in this particular case, I can't say for sure whether the problem was with Microsoft or Dell, but anyway Dell's technical support folks were pretty good to work with). And while I think I followed the directions properly, I couldn't swear that I didn't make a mistake somewhere myself.

Of course, it would be nice if the computer at least does the same thing under the same circumstances every time - good or bad - then you can adapt to what it's doing. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with Windows ME (never knew what to expect), so I'll see if it is with XP.

And now I think I've just about got everything set up and working, except for fax. With my last computer, I had a HP printer/scanner/copier/fax (printed in color, but everything else was black and white only), but now I have a HP OfficeJet G55 Printer/Scanner/Copier. It's not a stand alone fax machine, but in Windows ME there was something called Phone Tools that allowed me to send and receive faxes. I haven't figured out where there's anything like that in XP yet, but suspect it's there if I can find it./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

MaltbyMower · Jan 6, 2002

To set up the faxing, go to the print and fax folder from Start/Printers and Faxes. On the left hand side there is a set up faxing link. Insert your XP CD and fax away.

Good luck, hope you won't need it!

Bird · Jan 6, 2002

Brandon, I spoke too soon; not as close to having this contraption set up as I thought. I discovered that even though I had the printer printing right, the scanner didn't work. I went to HP web site and learned that before the upgrade to XP, you have to uninstall the HP software, then after XP is up and running, DO NOT install the software from the CD that came with the printer (won't work - yep, that's what I found out), but XP has the necessary drivers built in. Wonder why Dell never mentioned that? Anyway, I got that done and have the scanner working, too, now (at least temporarily).

As for faxing, I went to Start|Control Panel|Printers and Faxes|Set up Faxing at which point it said it needed a file "fxsapi.dll" from "E:\TEMP\W2k.i386" and to insert the XP CD, which I did (it showed the default drive to be "E" (which is now my hard drive with XP instead of it being drive C as it always has been before). The drives are now A=floppy, C=Zip Drive, D=CD, and E=Local (wonder why the change?). Well, I've tried both E and D and used "search" to try to find such a folder or file anywhere on the computer and can't find such. And I have two XP CDs; one is simply labelled as "Windows XP Home Edition" for distribution with a new PC only and the other is labelled as "Windows XP Home Edition" Upgrade. I've tried both; still can't find such a file, so the fax setup hasn't worked.

The upgrade package I got from Dell also includes an "application" CD labelled "For Installing/Reinstalling Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.1 Basic". It's not mentioned in any of the paperwork that came with it, but it appears obvious that I'm going to have to use it before I can burn a CD.