Topic: Windows XP reactivate due to Hardware changes.

[springbok]

I had to reactivate my XP program today due to hardware changes.  I rang Microsoft, and I think the lady on the other end was reading from a script in a friendly foreign accent, as she just kept repeating over and over that XP requires reactivation if any hardware changes have taken place.

However, I havent made any hardware changes at all.  So this is a conundrum to me??  Anyone had any similar experience with this.

I virus checked, spybot checked, nothing came up.  However I have noticed that one of my drives (D) is no longer showing in Disk Management.

Any computer experts out there that can help: 
1.  Get the 2nd hard drive working again.
2.  Explain why XP had to be reactivated due to hardware change.

Thank you :D

[Baccy Man]

Why XP needs reactivating is a mystery known only to microsoft employees it should allow several hardware changes to take place before it needs reactivating but seems to change the rules as it goes along.

First thing to check is wether the drive has been having problems.
If you go to Control Panel/ Administrative Tools/ Event Viewer the system log should tell you if the drive has been having problems. There will be a red circle with a X in it & the word 'error' in the type column & the word 'disk' in the source column. If there are any errors listed there then double click on one of them to see the error message & let us know what the error message & event ID are.

[springbok]

There was only one error yesterday.  DCOM, thats all it says.  Other than that is just information files.

Rest seems pretty ok.

[davyw1]

I am in no way in the same class as Baccy Man when it comes to computers but you can have a look here
Some thing i dont like to do

Click on START
Click on MY COMPUTER (XP) COMPUTER (VISTA
LEFT click on the drive that is not working
Right clicK on PROPERTIES
Left click on HARDWARE
Left click on the drive that is not working so it turn blue then left click on it.
Left click properties and a box will open telling you if the drive is working or not.
The its up to you wheather you want to TROUBLESHOOT OR NOT

[Baccy Man]

Is the drive showing up in bios? & do you know is it IDE or SATA?

[asbean]

I had the same request to reactivate a couple of weeks ago, having had no changes at all. I just let it reactivate and have not had any problems. I tried the "to speak to MS phone this number" and it was just a keypad activated number, no human contact at all.

[springbok]

Its not showing up at all in Disk management, not looked in Bios yet.
Will have to reboot for that :)  But forgotton what F key I had to press.

Its definately and IDE disk.  180 gig. 
What was interesting with this drive, that XP could only every see 149 gig  of it, even though its not partioned.  But Bios saw 180 gig.

[asbean]

Usually you hit the delete key to get into the BIOS

[Pesky Wabbit]

Valid bios keys include "DEL", "delete", "CTRL", "control", "ALT", "End", "F1", "F10". So you might have try play around, but once you know wright it down somewhere (on the machine, not on the keyboard).

Some Bios are fussy about when you press them. The best time is within a second or two of the keyboard lights flashing on after a cold boot (switch on/power up).

I always think press and hold down until it complains is the best method.

[Baccy Man]

Windows not recognising the entire drive is normal I have 2 500GB drives but windows only recognises them as 465GB each. Linux & OSX recognise the full 500GB but my computer is set up in a far more complicated way than most computers are.

F keys, it should say "For setup hit..." if not then these are some common ones. 
F1 = Gateway, Hewlett Packard or some Packard Bells
F2 = Packard Bell, Sony Vaio
F10 = Compaq

Wether the drive shows in bios or not initially try auto detecting the drive then save settings & exit.

[springbok]

ok, getting into the bios is out of the question, all suggested buttons above result the machine wanting to go into setup..
 ??? ??? ???

[rentawreck]

It may be helpful to try System Restore if windows is up and running.

If Windows won't fire try the back door  (press the F8 key at boot time and select Safe Mode from options).

When running (normal or safe mode):

Press Start > All Progams > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore

Select > Restore my computer to an earlier time

Then choose a date (a couple of days will do) before it all went wrong.

If this fails you can try another date or restore to previous.  It may not work but worth a try.

If you get in difficulties PM me and I will talk you through it on the phone after 6pm.

[springbok]

I have tried that system restore.

Managed to get into the Bios, but its not picking up the 180 gig hard drive either.
I have checked all the cables to see if any loose ones but couldnt see anything.

Did notice that one CD Rom drive was unplugged though!!  Not sure why.

I could do with somebody helping me out here :)  I have good computer knowledge but this one is beyond me why the drive dissapeared in the first place.

[rentawreck]

If bios not registering drive then either

Drive has failed

Jumper selection incorrect (jumpers @ back of drive i.e. master slave etc)

IDE Data cable Not correctly connected (back of drive)

IDE Data cable Not correctly connected @  motherboard end

IDE Cable failure (IDE cable needs replacement)

Power cable Not correctly connected (Back of drive)

Power connector No Power (if CD working try swap connectors between CD and HD)

Other problems include bent pins, dry joints and onboard chip set failure.

In truth it is usually something quite trivial so check out the simple things.

Unfortunately you are just a little far out for me to get to you (me = Amersham) or I would check it out for you as I am an IT manager for a charity and been building/programming computers since 1980.   I am also wheelchair bound which adds to my difficulties.

If you can get your kit to me then I will check it out while you wait.  Find me on the map or again PM me to talk you through any of this.

[Eristic]

With the hard drive not showing in bios I can only think of 3 causes,

Ribbon cable not seated correctly at one end or other.
Ribbon cable faulty.
Hard drive faulty.

Do you have an old computer you could transfer the suspect drive into to see if if is picked up by bios? Or borrow the ribbon cable from to test?

Dont just do visual checks with these cables, they must be absolutely snug otherwise the connection fails. Also try pulling the connector gently on and off a few times to clear any tarnish from the pins.

Thats all I can think of, anything else you'll have to wait for Baccy Man

[Pesky Wabbit]

With the case open, put your fingers on the none-working drive and power the thing on.

See it you can feel any vibrations. If pos. stick your ear on/close to the drive and listen for activity.

If this is your second drive, can you swap the drives over and see what appears in the bios. This may involve switching a drive from Master to Slave. Although most drives these days are set to Self Select.

(-----------  Oh no - here comes a techy bit -----------)

There are two types of drive modes Master and Slave.

A drive has three mode settings Master, Slave & Self Select/Data Select. The mode setting is determined by a jumper on the drive itself.

(Self Select/Data Select means the drive will determine if its a Slave or Master on its own, you do nothing)

On one the end of the drive is, the power socket (4 large pins), the data connector socket (the ribbon cable thingy plugs in here), and a socket that has three or four pairs of pins.

The latter is the bit for selecting the drive mode (M/S/SS). On the drive should be some indication of which pin pairs refer to what. Also there should be a 'jumper' - a connector to electrically connect a pair of pins together.

Also, the Master drive needs to be on the end of the ribbon cable. A Slave in the middle.
There needs to be a Master drive for a Slave to be seen.

On the 'A' bus a Master will appear as the C: drive, a slave will appear as D:, the 'B' bus dont necessarily follow the same convention.

A CD/DVD is normally the Master on the 'B' bus (ie on the end socket of the other ribbon cable)

The BIOS in a PC will only look at the Master devices for an operating system.
The order (C:/CD drive/Floppy) is selectable within the BIOS. (The floppy drive will be positioned in the end of the floppy bus ribbon cable as a Master)

(----------- Techy bit over, you can remove that glazed over look now -----------)


So ... you may be able to plug your second drive into the socket in the middle of the second ribbon cable (Bus B), as this will require no disk reconfiguring.

You could unplug the Master drive on the same ribbon, and plug your slave in there. It might appear in the BIOS, it will definitely power up (vibrate) if it is working (but it won't boot windows regardless).

If this is understandable and clear, can you explain it to me 'cause I get very confused by it all.

[Baccy Man]

I hope you don't mind but I thought I would add your system specs for those who find it helpful.

Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1700MHz, 1.69 GHz
512MB DDR PC3200 400MHz RAM
Motherboard Intel Garibaldi D850GB (http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d850gb/)

There are lots very good suggestions made in the last few posts but it's just occurred to me I should of asked you what make the drive is.
There are free diagnostic tools offered by most manufacturers if you check what brand the drive is I can give you a link to download them.