OK here's the situation, I had a problem where my log in was completely gone. I tried a windows repair but, it didn't work so, I reinstalled windows. Everything went in fine except my gigaraid bios keeps configuring every time I start my comp. My first question is how do I get rid of the double files on my hard drive from the re installation of windows and my second is how do I stop my raid from configuring every time I restart my comp.?

Hi ArchAngel, welcome ( I know where you came from),

I can't help you with this one, I have no experience of RAID. Somebody else may be able to though, and it would be helpful if you said with the operating system is. XP or Vista?

You will also need to tell us your RAID array. How many drives too.

A guess is that you have managed to install a second copy of Windows and that is why you are getting the problems.

When you say double files, do you mean you now have 2 copies of windows on your PC?
If that is the case, then it sounds as you did a "Install" of windows and not a "Re-install".

First of all try taking a look at "Disk Cleanup"
Failing that although doubtful look in "Add or remove programs"
Although you should just be able to delete the original copy of windows without any problems as basically they should all be redundant files now. (make sure you delete the correct copy if doing this)

Personally I would be inclined to go for a fresh install of windows, making sure that the drive was formatted first.
If you cant find the option to format the drive first, then you will have to select "Remove Partition" followed by "Create Partition in the free space" first, followed by "Format"
(This is when you select which drive to install windows onto, after booting onto the disc)


I know it's a pain, but it may be worth while in the long run.
A fresh re-install may also help to correct the other problem which I have no knowledge about. sorry.

************
As for the windows "Repair" option, I have never found it to be of any use.
(On one occasion my system was worse after the repair than before I used it)

I'm thinking that I probably did do a whole install but, the old install isn't showing up. I really don't get into the reformatting thing ( I let the pros handle that) so, if that is what is needed I may end up going without a comp. for a little. I used everest and I am posting a summary of the system with this reply. I hope it can help you help me..lol


--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------


Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2008-12-29
Time 00:10


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name CHANDRA
User Name Family

Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon 64, 2300 MHz (11 x 209)
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-K8NS Pro (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce3 250, AMD Hammer
System Memory 2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award Modular (05/04/05)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 (256 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
Monitor Sampo AlphaScan 871 (000001)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter nVIDIA MCP2-S - Audio Codec Interface

Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller ITE IT8212 ATA RAID Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller SCSI/RAID Host Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller Silicon Image SiI 3512 SATARaid Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive ST3160021A (160 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optical Drive Optiarc DVD RW AD-7190A
Optical Drive SG4326R ZSM732N SCSI CdRom Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 152617 MB (78989 MB free)

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Synaptics PS/2 Port Pointing Device

Network:
Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller (192.168.1.47)
Modem Motorola SM56 Speakerphone Modem

Peripherals:
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP2-S - OHCI USB 1.1 Controller
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP2-S - OHCI USB 1.1 Controller
USB2 Controller nVIDIA MCP2-S - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller

I know it's not related to your original question, but.

If I am reading correctly I see you have a 160GB drive and only one (1) partition which stores not only the operating system (OS) but also all of your own personal data!
Personally I (and probably most other people) would recommend you have at least two (2) partition " C: & D: " this would enable you to have the OS installed on the C: drive and to save your personal data on the drive.
Should you then ever have a problem or need to re-store XP then your personal data will not "or at least should not be erased or lost".

Quote:

I really don't get into the reformatting thing ( I let the pros handle that) so, if that is what is needed I may end up going without a comp. for a little.

You would only be without your PC for as long as it takes to re-install XP (plus about 10 minutes) and all your other programs (which obviously need not be all at once)

If you do go for a format and create a new partition the first thing you are going to have to do is to save all your existing personal files onto some form of removable media, IE, CD/DVD, External HDD, USB pen drive, etc.

********************

If you take a look around there are plenty of basic tutorials around.

But very BASICALLY

1. Insert the XP disc and re-boot the PC.
(You may have to alter the BIOS to allow the PC to be first drive to boot into)
Let the PC run until you get to the option of installing XP from the CD.
Do not select the option to "Repair windows" (because It doe's not work properly most of the time)

2. When you come to the option of where to install XP, there is also the option to remove any partitions.
Select to "Remove the existing" C: partition by selecting "D" followed by "L" (I think)
You will now come back to the last screen asking where to install XP.

3. First select "Create a Partition in the un-partitioned space."
Here I would now select "say 20GB" for your primary partition, followed by the relevant "yes or No" questions, and select the "Quick NTFS" format.
Again you will come back to the previous page where you will now see two (2) partitions (one formatted and one not formatted) so go ahead and now select the second partition and format it, this time there is no need to select the size, as it will automatically select the maximum allowed (as it did the first time)
Again you will come back to the previous page where you will now select the first "C:" partition and select to install windows there.

"Like I said at the start, this is only the rudiments as I can't remember all of the correct keys to press at each given stage, and should not take any longer than "about 10 minutes"

No doubt someone else on here will already have one.
But if you do go down this route "Tutorial" it will be a good idea to print it out before you start.
If you find one, please post the link here and we will see if it's a easy to follow tutorial or one that complicated and confuses people.

_________________
If it ain't broke.
Don't fix it.

Regarding the BIOS problem, you may need to reconfigure your BIOS. The manual for your motherboard is here:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/NewTech/old_motherboard_newtech/tech_gigaraid_e_005.pdf

Regarding the double files - are these all system files? If they are, you have done something wrong in the reinstall process. (Although, one HDD with one partition shouldn't allow you to install the OS twice.)

If you decide to go down the reformat and reinstall process, make sure that you have all the drivers you need for your PC first. Also, as Oldfogy has said, partition your drive into two or three logical drives. (I would set two at 40GB and one at 80GB. The C drive should be one of the smaller partitions.)

You will probably need to disable RAID devices in BIOS as you are only using one HDD connected to IDE.

Here are a couple of links I just found.
The first one looks pretty good and straight forward.
The second one "well I have thrown it in just for good measure"

http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/installxp/installXP1.htm

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

************************************************
> (I would set two at 40GB and one at 80GB. The C drive should be one of the smaller partitions.)

Just out of interest.
I normally have my C: drive set about three times the size when windows and all other programs are loaded
Although I do also have this one set at only 20GB, which is 4 times the size of all the software installed.
"5GB of windows and programs + 15GB free space"

So yes, 40Gb should allow for future program installs. (Providing you are not a heavy gamer)
Or take a look and see how much space windows is taking now, then double or treble it for the next time.

Thank you everybody for your help. My husband feels a reformat would probably be for the best. I will take the machine to my computer next week. He said he can wipe the system and start fresh. I am a heavy gamer and the comp. apparently isn't showing the 2 gigs that are there so, my comp. guy said it would be best for a clean wipe and install.

OK - on the other hand, you could bite the bullet and try yourself (with our help).

If you take the easy option, thanks for letting us know.

As Dave has said, thanks for letting us know.

However, it's really not that hard to do, and if it's going to be done anyway, why not have a go yourself.
"Nothing ventured, nothing lost"

Either way, please remember what was said and also with having a separate partition for your own backup's and personal files.

>> System Memory 2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Surely this is the 2 Gig, isn't it.

Or if you mean the hard drive (HDD) is not showing as the full 160GB, then no it will not.
160GB is reduced by approximately 7.5% in the MB to GB translation, so it will only show as "roughly" 148GB.

Sorry to go on, but just thought you might like to know.

Good luck.

OK guys my friend gave me a program called partition magic. he said I should try it before spending money on reformatting. so my question is does this program work and if so would you recommend me using it since I really have no idea what I am doing? I know I have to back everything up before even attempting to use it but, is it going to screw my computer up even more then it is?

Partition Magic is a very good program that I also use myself quite often as i work on other people PC's quite frequently.

Just take your time and read the options carefully.
In the bottom left-hand corner of the screen you will see the list of things that you have selected to do.
Before you select "Commit or Run" again have a good read of the list which should only contain one or two selections. IE, Create partition after C.
You will of course have to format that partition before you can then use to to drag and drop your files onto it.

If you use "Drag and Drop" the files you want to save from the C: drive to the new drive, which might possibly be E: this will only "copy" them, so if anything goes wrong during the transfer (power failure) the originals will still be in place.

Quite a few other people here also use Partition Magic so please feel free to ask if you need to.
"We were all at your stage once" and most of learnt by our mistakes and are happy to pass on our knowledge.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on before you go for the re-install of windows.

OK guys I used the partition program but, it still keeps coming up that there is no room for the bios. Do I need to set the bios up manually? or could I just uninstall everything run my windows cd and a boot CD (ex. Hiren's bootcd) or is there another option?

1. Everything went in fine except my gigaraid bios keeps configuring every time I start my comp.
but it still keeps coming up that there is no room for the bios.
2. Do I need to set the bios up manually?
3. or could I just uninstall everything run my windows cd and a boot CD (ex. Hiren's bootcd)

1. Is this message coming before you actually get into windows?
2. I think so, but there is usually a "Back to de-fault" or "Best de-fault" setting. (but wait for other confirmation)
3. Yes, but only if this message is coming after windows starts.
When you use your windows disc it will give you the option to remove and format the original C drive, so there is no need to uninstall anything, or use the Hiren's bootcd. (it will all get removed anyway)
Although I do tend to bite-the-bullet and hope for the best from time-to-time, and I think for myself this would be one of those times. (But I appreciate it's not my PC to sort out any problem if it goes wrong afterwards) But I don't think you will be any worse off.

As you only have one HDD, I am pretty sure "Raid" is of no use to you whatsoever, so it is not needed.
Have you had this PC long?
As I am wondering if the previous owner has removed the second raid HDD.
Raid is usually used to mirror 2 or more HDD for backup purposes. (as far as I am aware)

""Just thought"" when the warning shows-up, is there a option to disable the raid device?
The notice I receive is to press (F6 or something similar) to enter the message, and is also time limited, so you may have to be quick.

We put the computer together ourselves (it's homemade) and had someone else program it. I have 4 drives on it. (A) 3 1/2 floppy, (C) local disk, (D) DVD-ram drive, and (E) DVD drive.

1) the message is coming during setup (start up)

2) How would I do a back to default?

3) Uninstalling everything and starting from scratch is not the best idea but, might work?

4) I could possibly disable the bios with no issues afterward?


I haven't done any computer programming in about 20 years and everything has become a bit more complicated since then. I remember being able to just wipe a system and put the main program back in with out having to set up partitions or all this other stuff.I know I sound old..lol.