On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 9:49 AM, wrote: >> ... I need to find a fast and efficient way to get my nephew's >> win-xp box restored to a working state ... Lisa replied: > This sounds like a virus. You might have tried to boot > into Spybot Search and Destroy initially. I did find an old widows XP install disk so I tried that (several times), but ran painfully slow and locked up several times, so I suspected either a memory or HD problem. Then I tried installing Linux and that installed fine and worked for a while, but it also locked up at various stages. So, I suspect either a memory or HD problem. So ... 1. How can I check the memory and HD integrity on his old box? (or what else should I check? 2. How can I reformat the entire HD to try reinstalling again? I also tried my widows XP install disk on one of my old computers that I retrieved from the attic on which I had installed Linux. The XP install disk worked fine on that, but after it installed, I saw the "activation" requirement shown in the screen capture at this link: http://www.upquick.com/temp/activateXP.jpg What's up with that? More M$ BS I assume. --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss