General Chat

I think we know what you meant ;-)

I used to have Dell a few years ago. Dell almost seemed to have a default to, 'buy a new one'!!

I have Apple hardware, the old Dell in the office (only used to download stud) but love my Acer which is getting on a bit, two years old in December

I used to replace the Dell(s) about every 1-2 years....no more

Also the consumables for Dell were so expensive that they gave you a free printer with any dt purchase

Edit: When I said 'stud', I meant stuff!

I meant the cost of a few fires were inc in the settlement not a few caps ;-)
The terms of the settlement have an NCD so it is not known for sure whether anybody was deceased on account of the fires.

The difficult of dual booting with Windows 10 lies with the BIOS replacement called Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (or UEFI) which, if the OEM has used it, can make dual booting linux a real tough proposition. The OEM decides whether or not to turn off UEFI (not the end user) and it is not even an option on Win10 tablets or mobile. So no jailbreaking then. UEFI does not usually affect people UG machines hitherto running LX or Windows.

Ubuntu, Mint etc have developed workarounds but they are problematic.
As some EU countries notably Germany mandate linux for govt contracts EUFI could get interesting. UKGov nearly always use Windows delivered through the same handful of companies that have been screwing up to the tune of billions for the last 20 years ( eg NHS, DWP ). Why I have no idea. Schools are discouraged from using linux. So far LEA's do not seem to have sussed that the Raspberry runs linux still less its powers of disruption.

fwiw I reckon that Win10 is the end of the line for the classic monolithic general purpose OS. Same thing for desktop linux except that linux can morph and Windows can only do so slowly like a lobster casting its shell.

The idea that you have to go to where yr data is, whether home or office block, is a nonsense concept rooted in available technology. It has been the biz model since the days of the East India Coy. It has created the mad land use patterns of (especially) London and the SE and is generating such white elephants as HS2. Given universal high bandwidth ( which will come like it or not ) data can be served up where and when it is needed to those who need it. Don't tell me that it will break the security model the current supposedly secure govt and corporate databases are routinely hacked.

Must try harder.

teehee...

...and people wonder why I have such an inbuilt hatred of Dell machines - and love of Linux (I've just dual booted a machine with 10 and linux but guess which I will use mostly).

for Errol

the fix on DELL machines which refuse to boot into safe mode is somehow linked to the keyboard and sometimes the mouse - yeah go figure. Using a non-DELL kbd does not help. One fix is to keep jabbing at the Esc key during boot.
Another one is to use an old PS2 keyboard.
If the machine is connected to a LAN then set it to boot headless with no kbd or mouse in the BIOS then sort it out over the LAN.

Up until about 2008 DELL boxes had a big problem with out-of-spec Chinese capacitors which tended to overheat, swell and even burst spilling electrolyte. This was most acute with the SFF and USFF boxes which had poor cooling and ran hot. Most of them are now dead but if you find one the early stages of capacitor death can give rise to all sorts of funnies including the current topic of no graphics on boot. I think by revolution resolution is meant ... if you were really out of luck one or more of the caps would split in the external PSU which could then catch fire. The costs of a few of these were built into the class settlement.

The CoreDuo towers are not immune it just takes them longer to die. DELL lost a class action and had to fork out shedloads of money. M.D. is a real *** if you have never met him be thankful. Worse than Amy's Bakery.

If you are really, really mean and can use a soldering iron then replacing the caps. is fairly easy - they are cheap or you can get a whole set for around $ 10 US + shipping. I am lazy so only fix dead or dodgy caps. The USFF machines have v limited graphics options but were/are popular with public service or maybe not popular but foisted on them by low bid contracts. Just like cockroaches really.

At a guess the wilder reaches of Pluto will be better known to people on these boards than linux. Cool when you consider that Apple OS is built on BSD Unix and Android on Linux ... Why plugging in a Ubuntu boot DVD and running the OS off it brings people out in spots or a sweaty rash I have no idea.

Too much Yorkshire tea maybe.

Rollo - good old Hiren has dug me out of a hole on more than one occasion (even if it does show as a false positive on some scans, which seems to confuse and panic some folk).

As you well know I would, of course, advocate the linux route but I think I may confuse things if I go into that here. Incidentally, if memory serves correct there can be sometimes issues on Dell machines when trying to boot into safe mode

try starting windows in safe mode | command prompt
very likely it will start, display a lot of text to the screen and then stop

post the last dozen entries here

it will v likely indicate what is gumming up the works.

NB: just because Windows cannot be started does not mean that any data on the machine or is in accessible, far from it. The easiest way to recover it ( assuming you know nothing of linux ) is Hiren's Boot CD
http://downloads.tomsguide.com/Hiren-s-BootCD,0301-32451.html
then copy to a USB key from "my documents\..." Bear that in mind when disposing of an old pc. Another widely used method is to put the disk in a SATA case and plug it into a USB port where it will show up fine.

Good luck.

I am not a computer expert and leave all such things to others, but I am intrigued by your comment that FTM 2006 was not compatible with Windows 7.

We have FTM 2005 and transferred it successfully to our new Windows 8.1, from XP. It looks slightly different - everything is a bit smaller - but otherwise works exactly as before. :-S :-S

Even though you have the "floating message", are you able to RIGHT click on a blank area of the desktop?

If you can, then from the menu that pops up select "Properties".

Next click on the "Settings" tab at the top of that box and then choose "Advanced".

Now click on the "Monitor" tab and you can then change the refresh rate. You might need to restart your computer.

This MAY solve your problem.

If this does not work then we can take a look at screen resolution but try the above first.

**EDIT** do the above in Safe Mode

Well been on the 'new' laptop and glad to say its not looking tooo bad. I had downloaded some time back my documents and pictures I had saved on a memory stick so all is not lost.

I don't like the FTM 2012 but at least I have most of my FTM research listed with just a few not added but I can do that manually,

All in all its not lost EXCEPT I don't want grandson on my laptop when he comes to stay so hope to get the old XP up and running before then

Can I say to folks DOOO take some time to back up pictures and documents on a memory stick cos you never know if and when your pc will go kapputt

Yes the monitor boots ok and goes through all the drill ti get to the desktop. I even hear the music it plays as the desktop loads but it's behind a black screen with the floating message
I think I adjusted the revolutions down to make the fonts smaller but probably this was to much and the monitor can't pick up from the PC

Will be ringing for PC help tomorrow as we were out earlier so it wasn't convenient

Fortunately some time ago ie saved all my pictures on a memrory stick and my tree is on ancestry and on the laptop but it's the later FTM not the 2006 which is on the PC
FTM 2006 wasn't compatible with windows. 7 so I had to upgrade. But at least I have it . I also have FTM 6 on a memory stick that could be uploaded again but it would need to be on a PC that will take 2006

Just a thought have you checked the connections to your monitor?

Well if all else fails I did buy a dell laptop months ago with windows 7 on it .

Couldn't get on with it so have been using my old dell tower which does have an external back up on it. Which I disconnected yesterday before it did its daily update just in case

Grandson too uses it when he visits but don't really want him on the laptop .

Going to ring a local guy who does call outs and is recommended So fingers crossed

THANKS :-D

The usual 1st choice out of this kind of hassle is to use Restore Point but you must be able to boot for that to work.

ho hum these boxes were usually sold at wildly inflated prices to corporations who wanted "suupport". Retail they usually arrive as salvaged equipment from work or via eBay/Amazon/Gumtree etc.

The system disks with XPSP2 and drivers can be downloaded and burned to DVD or bought used online eg eBay for £ 10. Many scammers charge £ 40 and pretend it is an installable OS omitting that you need a serial key with Win7 version. XP will pick it's key up automatically. I doubt this is yr kind of thing either tho'.

Taking an age I recently found a DELL XPSP2 installation while fitting a new office carpet. This was about 3 months after Errol asked for it ( sorry :-( ).

If you (or Errol) still need it and can burn the image as a bootable file to DVD (50p) using Nero I can put it on the cloud. The drivers can be downloaded free directly from DELL. Umm. Kinda doubt that this is yr thing either.

Another popular option is just to install a replacement HD ( can send you one foc + p&p ) and do the install onto that and then retrieve the data from the old drive. Doing that still requires an installable media on DVD/USB and enough nous to change a hard drive (ez). Probably still not yr thing!

Really truly yr best bet is time for an upgrade get a better second hand machine running windows 7. It is ez enough to extract the files from the old hard drive whether the machine will boot properly or not. If the replacement box is running Win7 it will most likely run the upcoming Win10 which will be free.

Otherwise call a friend who knows his stuff and lives nearby. As it is XP you'll need a silver friend XP is like something from the Flintstones for the under 16s.

Win10 is excellent and just what Win8 should have been.

All the same my guess is that getting anybody under 20 to use it voluntarily will be next to impossible. Gamers will stay with Win7/Steam. The social resource of young people able to fix windows is going to evaporate as they are going in quite another direction.

:-)

It's a Dell Optiplex 320 . Errol

What is the make and model of the computer?

You most likely have a damaged DLL and/or the reference to it in the registry has been corrupted.

Your for free best option is just to do a restore re-installation of XP using the original CD. Possibly you don't have the CD but a restore volume on the hard drive. The procedure is much the same. At boot time go for the restore option.

Most of the online "help" will not do much more then take yr money. Some will install remote control software and you'll really get fleeced. So don't. Microsoft remote support are OK but XP is a dead letter.

It is still possible to get a Windows7 DVD for about £ 30-50 which will have the advantage of probably supporting older hardware - last 10 years anyway.

Other than that you'll have to spring for a new pc or get somebody who is computer literate to buy a DELL Optiplex on eBay - a decent box with Windows7 and IntelCoreDuo will be under £ 100.

good luck

for XP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15JssBJf1xo
:-D

Thanks Gins

I had a look but it wants £26 pledge for an,answer

I am not a techie and can't get the PC to go into safe mode so think it's a call out for someone to sit at the PC and sort it ,hopefully , for me

Just found this, you can talk to a tech online

http://www.justanswer.com/computer/6pyid-attention-input-not-supported-message-screen-please.html#

Shirley

Try restarting your pc and when it's booting up press the F8 key and select 'enable VGA' mode

You might be able to get to system restore and chose an earlier restore point

Good luck!