To WFW Heres a new one!!!

Well WFW,
The old Dell wont let me delete any files from before to clear the hard drive,I went thru and uninstalled all the programs,but it wont let me dellete any of the hard drive.I even loaded the Original operating disc that came with the computer and typed in the code (located on the right side of the tower) then it tells me the code is invalid for this disc.Real nice. Tried to go to Start-then run,type in format c: and then format D: asks for Y or N answer,so I type Y, still holding on to the junk on hard drive.Last choice is to try a restore point,as far back as I can go,maybe.If not tomorrow is a trip to Rice Lake for a new tower,keyboard,mouse from local dealer.The old one will be a winter project to clear it all off.See, if it's broke I will fix it much later.LOL.
Regards,
LOU & Victor

If you go to craigslist computer forum, there are computer geeks that can help with about anything. I have had to go there a couple of times and got some really good help. There are also some goofs there too. ha
No doubt there are guys here that can help too.

Lou - I've been reading your posts, and it sounds like you have a hard drive inside the dell that's about to (or already has) fail. If you have data on that drive you want to keep, DO NOT do a format or attemtp to reinstall windows.

If you're in the market for a new PC, I can help you out with that. I'm a computer guy for hire too. I also have wholesale accounts with computer parts suppliers.
Let me know if you want me to touch base with you off the forums to explain more

I would try a clean install on a new hard drive. they are easy to install. four screws and two cables. need to know if it is a sata or ide type drive. sata has a power cable and a small cable for data. an ide drive had a power cable and a flat ribbon cable, probably 2 to 3 inches wide. uninstall should remove the program from the computer. you should be able to delete them if you cannot uninstall, unless you do not have a administrator account. are you an administrator? a new hard drive is a lot cheaper than a new computer. also if you are going to a dealer you might be able to buy just the box without monitor, keyboard and mouse, you can save some money and reuse those. you might also try deleting the programs with the computer in safe mode, do a reboot and hit f8 until it comes up in safe mode. if will ask if you want to boot in safe mode, safe mode with networking, or normal. just chose safe mode. in safe mode only programs that have to run will run, you have to manually start any other programs. it is good when running malware programs such as malwarebytes, spybot search and destroy(both good programs and free), etc. if you try safe mode you can get out of it by rebooting. hard to tell what is wrong without hands on but I am trying.
also be sure when you type in your windows numbers you get them right. I had one that an "8" looked like a "b" (8 B). that is easy to do.
you might try posting in newbies.com and see if Gerrit or Peanut has any suggestions also. they are good.

frank

To both of the replies,thank you very much.The problems that we're having with this Dell,is truly unreal.
Let me explain why we're going to get a new computer tomorrow.the computer will be warrantied for 1 year and the close mileage to the dealer for warranty work.Now as for the new problems with the Dell,is unbelievable.After 12 hours of removal,most of the items that were removed,came back, several more tries for removal failed, there was only three of them left.So one of the computer gurus said to restore back as far as we could and redo the windows xp removal,we did that.Now guess what showed up. All the icons reappeared as though nothing was deleted.Victor had it all down(except the last three of windows) which wouldn't go away.So when it was restored,they all came back.I'm beginningto think Dell has had their fingers in it since the begining,so it would have to be sent back to them for repairs,and parts.At this point we're not sure about the cost of the motherboard and hard drive from Dell,probably as much aS A NEW computer.i PROBABLLY WOULDN'T BUY FROM THEM ANYWAY.dIDN'T THINK JUST CHANGING VIRUS PROTECTORS WOULD CAUSE THIS MUCH PROBLEM.I wish to thank all the fellows who helped to try and get this computer straightened up.My warmest regards to each and everyone.The picture you should have in mind now,is two large fellows,hunkering over a laptop computer,the size of a postage card,cant wait to get back to something that fits our fingers.Thank you both and thank all agin,especially YT for allowing this off topic to be shared.Regards,LOU & Victor

Thanks WFW,
We tried it in just the "SAFE MODE" at 11:15pm.
No go.it says the programs are not able to be acessed by us,contact our supporter.I will be on our way to get a new one tomorrow,and play with the Dell in the winter when "cabin fever" sets in. Then by spring if it still don't work the OC 46 will have a job of computer monster crashing.LOL and the chipper shredder will finish off any unruly pieces.LOL. i really do appreciate all the help from all.Warmest regards,
LOU & Victor.

Dell motherboards are proprietary and will be expsensive. thats a good reason to build one yourself if you can. the motherboard in my barebones kit is about $70 at tiger direct. the old one lasted five years and would still be running except for lightning. both motherboards are made by MSI. maybe you can get it back up this winter. enjoy the new computer when you get it home.

btw, I run microsoft security essentials for my antivirus. it is free, has free updates and works good. I have it on three computers right now and have been using it for about a year on this one.

Thanks again WFW,lots of avenues to explore,We figured Dell would be quite expensive for parts,but maybe we'll look into tiger for parts.
If my memory is right I think this dell is 512 MB shared DDRAM and has 1G hard drive,but the new one we're looking at it 6 gb mem and 1 tb hard drive,so memory and programs shouldn't be a problem. We appreciate all you and everyone done for us on trying to figure to salvage what we got(broken computer) very much.Hopefully replacement parts for this Dell isn't one of a kind and aftermarket parts won't work,but we'll see.
Warmest regards,
LOU

I'm sorry about your problems, but I really can't relate to them. I've been running Linux on my home PC for about 15 years now; currently running Fedora 14. It just works. No monkeying around with anti-virus, fixing weird registry problems or restoring to an earlier version.

There was a time when you needed to be a UNIX guru to install Linux, but that's no longer the case. Pretty much anyone can get Fedora or Ubuntu up and running. Once it's installed and configured, it's a matter of running the updater to install patches every week or so, then upgrading to a current version once a year.

I hear plenty of excuses for sticking with Windows. It's your choice: make the switch and be done with it, or continue to fool around with anti-virus and buying a new computer once a year when it gets so fouled up nobody can fix it.