Z
zweaver@uni-mart.com
Guest
This will be long-winded, but I'm going to try to be as specific as
possible. I'm a network administrator for a company and we started a
process of upgrading all of our off-site computers. All of our
existing clients are old Windows 98 and 2000 Pro that were cranked out
assembly-line style with images I created with Symantec (Norton) Ghost
years ago. Starting with this current "upgrade" project, I started
with 10 brand new Dell Vostro 200 machines - Intel Duo Core, 1-Gig
Ram, 80-gig hard drives, etc. (if that matters). I took the first Dell
Vostro out of the box and fired it up and let the Windows XP Pro
install and did all the updates - including Service Pack 2. I
installed a serial card (no serial port on board and I need one), I
removed the junk software that isn't needed, put on things that are
needed (like Adobe Reader, OpenOffice, etc.), put on the software,
links, and settings needed for the clients to access our backoffice
systems and tested everything fine.
Then I started creating policies (user policies via the Win 2000
POLEDIT, not group policies), testing all the way. After I did all the
fixes, changes, updates, script changes, and all that, I hooked it up
to a "live" test lab hooked to one of our POS systems (sales registers
- did I mention I work for a convenience store chain?). I tested it
for a couple of weeks, ironing out all the wrinkles and getting it
working just as I wanted it. At that point, I made a new image of it
with Norton Ghost and took the original computer to one of our stores
and set it up.
I let it in the live location for a week, checking on it daily for
anything wrong or needing attention. Other than a few simple bugs, the
machine worked fine. At that point I opened the other 9 Vostros and
imaged them all and started having the techs put them in stores and
placed an order for another batch. Here's where it gets weird.
I had four machines installed on Thursday, three on Friday, for a
total of eight (counting the one original). Things were fine for a day
or two, and then over the weekend they started dropping like flies.
When the machine would start up, either from a cold boot or reboot, it
would post thru the BIOS, get the Windows XP splash screen, and at the
point where the splash screen should disappear and display the
"loading windows" display box the machine just dies. It won't continue
past that, it won't reboot, it won't beep/whistle/churn, or anything.
I let it sit for hours and it never does anything. Nothing will work
except for holding in the power button to force the power off.
After trying everything I could think of, I called Dell support and
they didn't have an answer either. The best thing they could come up
with was to go into BIOS and disable the "multiprocessor" option -
basically disabling my dual processing. After doing that at the one
location I was at, the machine booted wonderfully - even after trying
it multiple times. I went to two other locations and turned off the
multiprocessor option and it worked. At that point I dispatched a tech
to go to the other locations with instructions on the "fix" and they
all seemed to be repaired. All but one.
There is still one machine that no matter what I try, it doesn't boot
past the splash screen. I even tried removing the serial card
(thinking maybe there was a hardware conflict with something) but that
didn't work. It does boot to any kind of Safe Mode I want - command
prompt, with and without networking), and if I do a System Restore.
But it doesn't matter if I restore from yesterday, last week, or last
month... I do a restore and it boots fine - ONCE. If I reboot again
after that it happens all over again. I've searched groups, forums,
you name it and can't find anything else to try. Anyone have any
ideas? I'm willing to try anything at this point. It makes no sense to
me how it worked flawlessly during my testing, during the test lab
sessions, during the "live" test for a week, then all the sudden they
just start dropping. I'm at a loss.
Zane.
possible. I'm a network administrator for a company and we started a
process of upgrading all of our off-site computers. All of our
existing clients are old Windows 98 and 2000 Pro that were cranked out
assembly-line style with images I created with Symantec (Norton) Ghost
years ago. Starting with this current "upgrade" project, I started
with 10 brand new Dell Vostro 200 machines - Intel Duo Core, 1-Gig
Ram, 80-gig hard drives, etc. (if that matters). I took the first Dell
Vostro out of the box and fired it up and let the Windows XP Pro
install and did all the updates - including Service Pack 2. I
installed a serial card (no serial port on board and I need one), I
removed the junk software that isn't needed, put on things that are
needed (like Adobe Reader, OpenOffice, etc.), put on the software,
links, and settings needed for the clients to access our backoffice
systems and tested everything fine.
Then I started creating policies (user policies via the Win 2000
POLEDIT, not group policies), testing all the way. After I did all the
fixes, changes, updates, script changes, and all that, I hooked it up
to a "live" test lab hooked to one of our POS systems (sales registers
- did I mention I work for a convenience store chain?). I tested it
for a couple of weeks, ironing out all the wrinkles and getting it
working just as I wanted it. At that point, I made a new image of it
with Norton Ghost and took the original computer to one of our stores
and set it up.
I let it in the live location for a week, checking on it daily for
anything wrong or needing attention. Other than a few simple bugs, the
machine worked fine. At that point I opened the other 9 Vostros and
imaged them all and started having the techs put them in stores and
placed an order for another batch. Here's where it gets weird.
I had four machines installed on Thursday, three on Friday, for a
total of eight (counting the one original). Things were fine for a day
or two, and then over the weekend they started dropping like flies.
When the machine would start up, either from a cold boot or reboot, it
would post thru the BIOS, get the Windows XP splash screen, and at the
point where the splash screen should disappear and display the
"loading windows" display box the machine just dies. It won't continue
past that, it won't reboot, it won't beep/whistle/churn, or anything.
I let it sit for hours and it never does anything. Nothing will work
except for holding in the power button to force the power off.
After trying everything I could think of, I called Dell support and
they didn't have an answer either. The best thing they could come up
with was to go into BIOS and disable the "multiprocessor" option -
basically disabling my dual processing. After doing that at the one
location I was at, the machine booted wonderfully - even after trying
it multiple times. I went to two other locations and turned off the
multiprocessor option and it worked. At that point I dispatched a tech
to go to the other locations with instructions on the "fix" and they
all seemed to be repaired. All but one.
There is still one machine that no matter what I try, it doesn't boot
past the splash screen. I even tried removing the serial card
(thinking maybe there was a hardware conflict with something) but that
didn't work. It does boot to any kind of Safe Mode I want - command
prompt, with and without networking), and if I do a System Restore.
But it doesn't matter if I restore from yesterday, last week, or last
month... I do a restore and it boots fine - ONCE. If I reboot again
after that it happens all over again. I've searched groups, forums,
you name it and can't find anything else to try. Anyone have any
ideas? I'm willing to try anything at this point. It makes no sense to
me how it worked flawlessly during my testing, during the test lab
sessions, during the "live" test for a week, then all the sudden they
just start dropping. I'm at a loss.
Zane.
