Dumb question - SATA and re-install XP

[SYNACK]

Connecting cable to correct socket means that I now have a connection.

 

Hopefully this is the last you'll hear about this wretched machine!

 

I shall enjoy the red wine tonight that i should have enjoyed last night, but never got round to.

Glad to hear that you got it going. Enjoy the wine, it sounds like you have definitely earned it

 

sorry wasn't meant as a dig at you at all i meant was etc, my sense of humour comes across as blunt at times,

 

Thats ok, I have the same issue at times

[witch]

Glad you have got it going - these things can drive you mad for days and days otherwise.

 

Have a nice Sunday

[elsiegee40]

Glad you have got it going - these things can drive you mad for days and days otherwise.

 

Have a nice Sunday

#

 

Everything installing and updating nicely now. Except the audio drivers, but TBH I haven't tried too hard to find those... they're not exactly fundamental to getting the machine back on its feet!

 

Feeling much more relaxed now. Hopefully next week will start and continue in a better vain than last!

[elsiegee40]

Finished... even got sound

 

* Memo to self * Get image done of this bar-steward first thing Monday!

[srochford]

 

* Memo to self * Get image done of this bar-steward first thing Monday!

 

Good to hear it's all sorted!

 

What may be helpful as well as keeping an image is to start building a set of drivers, particularly if you've got quite a variety of machines.

 

Make some space on a server and set up a folder "drivers" and under that put "network", "audio" and "video" folders.

 

When you find you need to download drivers because they're not in Windows, stick the drivers in there. ideally, you want them unzipped and in the form where you can just browse to it when prompted for a driver (even the .exe files can often be unziipped with 7zip and you'll find a driver folder inside)

 

You can then either connect to this over the network when you need drivers on a rebuilt machine or copy it all to a USB stick and load the drivers from there.

[mac_shinobi]

Good to hear it's all sorted!

 

What may be helpful as well as keeping an image is to start building a set of drivers, particularly if you've got quite a variety of machines.

 

Make some space on a server and set up a folder "drivers" and under that put "network", "audio" and "video" folders.

 

When you find you need to download drivers because they're not in Windows, stick the drivers in there. ideally, you want them unzipped and in the form where you can just browse to it when prompted for a driver (even the .exe files can often be unziipped with 7zip and you'll find a driver folder inside)

 

You can then either connect to this over the network when you need drivers on a rebuilt machine or copy it all to a USB stick and load the drivers from there.

 

Also make a copy of at least the network drivers on a memory stick or burn them all to a disc and do it that way ?

 

If you have the network drivers on a memory stick then you can install the network cards and go from there and connect to the server from there as above.

[elsiegee40]

@srochford, @mac_shinobi -thank you, that's a great idea. Twenty-twenty hindsight is a wonderful thing, I should have done that before.

 

Another job has been added to the Easter holiday list (and the list for any new kit that comes in), "backup drivers" to server AND disk... it's just as well we have an extra week before most schools break up!

[mac_shinobi]

@srochford, @mac_shinobi -thank you, that's a great idea. Twenty-twenty hindsight is a wonderful thing, I should have done that before.

 

Another job has been added to the Easter holiday list (and the list for any new kit that comes in), "backup drivers" to server AND disk... it's just as well we have an extra week before most schools break up!

 

normally when new laptops / computers come in assuming they are all the same model with the same hardware ie graphics cards etc then I keep at least one copy of the driver disc in a safe place and you could if you have a nas or ext hdd then make an iso of it to there.

[tmcd35]

I tend to put a copy of the device drivers for a new pc in a drivers folder on that PC's C: drive and make that a part of the image. With Windows XP I also copy the \i386 folder from the install CD onto the C: drive as part of the image.

 

This means that everything I need in the future is right their on the computers C: driver. Or if I have multiple machines based off the same image I can connect to the C$ share of another PC and access this.

 

Is there a Win7 equivalant of copying the \i386 folder?

[oxide54]

I tend to put a copy of the device drivers for a new pc in a drivers folder on that PC's C: drive and make that a part of the image. With Windows XP I also copy the \i386 folder from the install CD onto the C: drive as part of the image.

 

This means that everything I need in the future is right their on the computers C: driver. Or if I have multiple machines based off the same image I can connect to the C$ share of another PC and access this.

 

Is there a Win7 equivalant of copying the \i386 folder?

 

also look at the sysprep.inf there are options in there so when you image a machine you can tell it to use your custom driver directory you put on your image.