ok heres my problem i made a thread before describing what was wrong with the computer. http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/301520 pretty much nothing will open on her computer but the interent. I tried doing a regular system restore through the start menu but windows cant find the file to open it so im guessing something happened to a couple of windows file. she doesnt wanna reformate her harddrive because it has a load of stuff on it she wants to keep. So my quetion is ..im not firmiliar with the bios of the computer and only once before i've reset the date using it but i dont remember how. if anybody could help me to do this i'd really appreciate it. im also going to try re-installing windows but i want to kno the BIOS thing just incase.
The BIOS has nothing to do with a failing XP installation even though there is a BIOS information file in XP. To set the time in the BIOS, will be in the first, or second section depending what BIOS it is. Usually under "Basic Settings". However, your friend's PC is not at a loss. You can do a couple of things to get it going again. First things first, though, to make sure the components inside aren't cooking themselves, ya gonna need to do what alot of people don't. Open the case, and using a can of compressed air (you can get anywhere) clean out the inside of the case completely. CPU fans, grills, motherboard fans, power supply, case fans, memory slots...you name it. Next, prep yourself to do one of a few things. Side by side installation. Using your XP disk, install a new installation to a different directory on the same hard drive. Repair installation. This is not to be confused with a System Restore. Boot with XP CD. Choose to install XP, accept the EULA, and after setup detects the version already there, you will have a choice to run the Repair installation. Afterwards, you will have to re-install the motherboard, sound, and video drivers...as well as Windows updates. Use an XP SP2 disk if you have one. New installation on another hard drive. Place the existing hard drive in the case as secondary (slave). Use another hard drive to install XP to as a fresh installation. In any case, one of those should work for you. I would suggest if they work, to use that time to get the data you want off that drive, reformat, and do a clean installation from there.
Take it a shop and they will back up the data for you. And reinstall the os. If yeah in pa I charge reasonable rates. Then yeah have someone else to blame if it screws up.LOL!
