IE7 trashed internet connection

[navychop]

My boss was having trouble with his computer. The machine is lightly used- email and very little web surfing, maybe a bit of access to an accounting program and very little WP. 5 years old, XP Pro on domain network. Kept getting an error msg about his video card (nvidia 64) driver, NV4_disp. No more recent driver was available, but I uninstalled it and reinstalled it.

Then I ran Windows update, and decided, foolishly, to let it install IE7. Now IE will not connect, says there's no connection to the internet. So I installed FF 2.0.0.4 and it (once) gave an error msg about missing some file, but loaded and just sat there. So I uninstalled and installed FF 1.5, thinking maybe I had a bad download. FF starts, address field stays blank. I can hit home or select or type in a URL, it just sits there with a blank white page.

I tried to force down a reload of IE from the server, but it goes into some loop with an error msg about no such (unnamed) file at C:\PVSW\temp0 (Pervasive SQL 9 SP1).

I cannot buy him a new PC because they all have Vista. We cannot use Vista because our accounting system will not support it until, maybe, October 2008. That's right, October 2008! I've got a call in to see if that's a typo on their web site.

I can't reinstall the OS because someone ripped the sticker off of it that has the Product Key. I MIGHT be able to find a new copy of XP Pro and reformat his hard drive and start over. Wonder if it's worth it for such an old machine. I'd probably replace the video card just on GP if I did that. Or I build him a new one with XP Pro, assuming I can find it. Or buy a refurb real cheap that comes with XP Pro.

Doing a DL of IE7 on another machine and moving it to his does not seem to be an option- MS requires validation and apparently just installs IE7, doesn't give you an install file to move and use elsewhere.

Any ideas on how I might get IE working again? This problem must be resolved tomorrow.

 

[FunkyBoss]

I've almost given up on trying to repair older Windows installs. It's usually quicker just to reinstall if you have all the data backed up somewhere already.

Some possible longshots to try:
- Boot into safe mode (with networking) to try the download again
- Try the System Restore feature in XP if enabled. I personally have never gotten it to work, but maybe theres a first!
- Re-install XP. You can use a great little util called system information for windows located at: System Information for Windows to retrieve a lot of good info about the machine before re-installing such as software keys (including the windows key).

Good luck. A 5 year run for a Windows operating system without a re-install is pretty good.

 

[Pepper]

Nobody will admit this but I suspect MS is in "break XP" mode. Every cycle of updates that come out seem to cause more problems. I guess they think if XP becomes broken enough people will upgrade.

Has the machine been checked for virii and malware? It suspiciously sounds like the TCP/IP stack has been hijacked.

 

[LJALLEN97]

Mac powerbook

The simplest way to solve the PC problem is to go
MAC with the intel chip. This little
Model Name: Mac
Model Identifier: MacBook2,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
240 GB hard drive
bluetooth
superdrive
ect
ect

will run almost all others under the table. Dell needs to take notice.

$1299 delivered


MAC ATTACK

 

[Pepper]

That mac won't touch the machine I just built using parts from newegg.com (total less than $1K).

Antec Nine Hundred case
600W SLI-ready PS
ASUS P5B-E board
XFX NVIDIA 8600GTS 256MB
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 (OC'ed to 855)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz (OC'ed to 3.07GHz)
WD 500GB SATA
Dual-layer DVD burner with litescribe

building your own machine gives a great sense of accomplishment too so maybe I can deduct the expense as "therapy"

For the OP, if all you need for a windows reinstall is the product key, get the keyfinder at Magical Jelly Bean Software and it will give you all the product keys it can find on the machine.

And if you're wanting Vista but not willing to wait till all the apps are ready, you can always download (free) Microsoft's VirtualPC and run the old apps in their own virtual machine.

 

[Van]

Navy's boss's comp is a business machine not a home machine so custom built is out of the question as is a mac as most businesses dont and wont use macs.

Navy try using system restore to take it back a day or so prior to the IE7 update then do a good cleaning on the system. If you want to reinstall IE7 be sure to copy all the network settings down before you do this then re enter them after downloading. Another thing to consider is the optional updates section of microsofts site, it may contain updates that could impact how IE7 functions such as ethernet updates ect ect.

 

[Pepper]

We custom build all the computers at my business and they work a lot better than the brand named stuff I have to work on at some of our clients' offices.

Build our own is about the only way to get what you really want, without all the preloaded crapware.

 

[loves2watch]

You can download a program that will give you the registration/serial number for that particular machine. It is called WinKeyFinder. Once you have the serail/registration number it should be easy to do a clean install. Make sure to download the latest nVidia drivers for the card and voila, there ya go.

 

[RandallA]

I would try a repair installation. I've never been asked for the key when I do repair installations but it's probably because it's an Enterprise license.

You could try it, if it asks for the key just cancel and it will reboot into Windows again. You'll need to run Windows Update again and install SP2 but it will give you a fresh start.

Repair installation;

Windows XP Repair Installation - ITS Help Desk - The University of Iowa

 

[Nebugeater]

I just bought two new PC's from Dell last week that I was able to buy WITHOUT Visita. I was able to get XP Pro SP2 on a pair of Optiplex machines configured on their web site.

 

[RandallA]

I just bought two new PC's from Dell last week that I was able to buy WITHOUT Visita. I was able to get XP Pro SP2 on a pair of Optiplex machines configured on their web site.

That's correct. You can still get Dell machines with XP PRO loaded.

 

[BruceS]

If you are having troubles with IE7, the simplest solution is to just download either Netscape Navigator or Mozilla Firefox and set it to be your default browser.

Unless either your business or some other one that you need to work with has their own software that requires IE, this will work fine.

 

[navychop]

Reporting back

Thanks for the help.

Several points:

Yes, most of the machines at my office were built by me. I find it quicker to build one from scratch than to take the time to remove all the “stuff” that is so graciously pre-loaded on purchased machines. Plus, I end up with a more stable machine and I haven’t lost a motherboard to a PS failure since I moved to PC Power & Cooling. Pay me now or pay me later. I prefer a pound of prevention.

No Mac, Vista, Linux, Unix or other operating systems are possible. Our accounting software runs on XP only. XP Pro, to be precise, across our network.

Thanks for the links to recover the product key and other info. Very good stuff.

Yes, I found out that Dell still offers the XP option. Good to know. Glad I didn’t have to do that. I’d probably have just bought locally instead. I really need to keep a machine or two around in hot standby for when these things occur.

After recovering product key & other info, my first attempt was to do a restore from a few days previous. This, oddly enough, worked. I had no faith that it would- never has before. Not everything came back, but that can be addressed later. So I did not have to try the Repair option. That, too, has never worked for me before. I was ready to do a complete format and rebuild. Lucked out big time. And no, I have no interest in trying to reload IE7 for him. Do I look crazy?

And no, the problem wasn’t just IE7. There was no internet, period. Plus other problems. As noted in post 1, I tried the Firefox route by downloading a copy via another machine, it didn’t work. For the most part, I've shifted almost everybody in the company over to Firefox. IE must remain for some things, sadly.

The info and links you folks provided will no doubt be useful again in the future. :up

Again, thanks for all the help.

 

[Foxbat]

We're looking at Acronis True Image Backup to make standalone backups of our systems for Disaster Recovery. They sell a tool that will take a backup of a system and do an agnostic restore to a different hardware platform. In other words, you could take one of your 2-3 year-old XP Pro accounting boxes, make a backup of the current box, buy a new PC, restore to that new box, and have your Windows XP PC better than before. Doesn't matter if the manufacturer doesn't offer XP anymore.

If you feel bad about not having a legal license to run XP Pro on the new box, get out the tin snips, cut out the license sticker plus a half-inch surrounding the sticker, and pop-rivet it on to the new case...