Reformatting XP on m1210

Yes, I am using the guide stickied in this forum, so don't tell me to go there.

I'm at the part where it says "Installing applications... Please wait up to 30 minutes for the installation to complete. Do not press any keys while the installation is in progrress."

Well, it's been nearly an hour since that popped up... what do I need to do?

 

Hold the power button for 5 seconds and see if it will reboot. It shouldn't cause you any problems.

 

Ok, I restarted it. After I clicked my user name, it opened up a command prompt, ran a ton of stuff that I don't understand, and is now just sitting there. No taskbar came up.

 

GRR, this is why I hate XP somedays.

The only reason I can think of for your system freezing up is that something might have been wrong with your disc and didn't format properly. What I would try to do is to repair XP. Here are the steps:

To Repair Windows:

1. Follow the steps in Post #5 regarding "Reformatting and Installing XP" in the guide
2. Once you get to step number 5, select hit R instead of Esc.
3. This will NOT delete any files of your laptop. It is just repairing your system. Takes about a 1 Hour to complete
4. Once it is finished, you'll need to run Windows Update again and install all updates.

Hopefully that will fix any problems that might have occurred during installation and the applications area freezing up. If that doesn't, call Dell and request a new disc. I had this happen one time before and it was because a file didn't transfer during the format properly, and caused all kinds of problems. Apparently the disc had been damage, but Dell sent me a new one.

 

When I was re-doing step 5, an error came up saying

"ngen.exe - Entry Point Not Found"
"The procedure entry point GetRequestedRuntimeVersion could not be located in the dynamic link library mscoree.dll."

 

ugh, sorry about all of this. I was hoping that the format had completed enough where it only need to fix a few things, but I guess not.

You are going to have to reformat again. If it freezes up again during the application process, call Dell and request a new disc. Hopefully this time it will work right and not give you any problems.

If you want, you might call Dell now and tell them that you want a new disc, and then just wait for that disc to come. It will take about 2 business days and free of charge. If they give you any hassel, just tell them that the disc is damage since it won't format correct.

 

umm... how do I cancel the installation process?

I restarted the computer, and it picked up right where it was before (at the error).

 

I wouldn't. I would just let it go and see how far it gets. It might actually fully install, but I would still contact Dell and request another XP disc. That disc shouldn't give you the problems that you've had.

 

It came up with the same error.

 

Try pressing F3 several times. this should exit out of the format process depending on what stage you are in. Definetly call Dell and request that disc.

 

Try reformat and reinstall XP again. That's the only way to ensure the program is installed properly.

 

I gave Dell a call and they're sending me a new disc.

I'll give it one more try I guess.