Tiny System restore disk
Hi guys
A bit of a long shot I know, but I thought I'd ask here anyway. As some of you may know, my dad passed away a couple of months ago. His relatively new Tiny PC, (I know, I know!), was completely virus ridden and needs sorting so we can get my mum online. However, to do so, you need a specific disc to unlock the Windows XP partition. The company that took over their support wants £99 for one of these, so I was hoping that one of you fellow Brits might have one that they could burn me a copy of. It's either that or install 98SE and spend weeks tracking down drivers...
Thanks in advance.
Hi guys
A bit of a long shot I know, but I thought I'd ask here anyway. As some of you may know, my dad passed away a couple of months ago. His relatively new Tiny PC, (I know, I know!), was completely virus ridden and needs sorting so we can get my mum online. However, to do so, you need a specific disc to unlock the Windows XP partition. The company that took over their support wants £99 for one of these, so I was hoping that one of you fellow Brits might have one that they could burn me a copy of. It's either that or install 98SE and spend weeks tracking down drivers...
Thanks in advance.
Al,
I might be able to help if only I understood your question.
Do you want to reinstall XP?
Was it not activated? I'm not sure what should be unlocked on that partition.
/Hugo
I might be able to help if only I understood your question.
Do you want to reinstall XP?
Was it not activated? I'm not sure what should be unlocked on that partition.
/Hugo
Tiny computers need a special CD to unlock the hidden partition where Windows is stored, (from what I can tell, standard practice on PCs these days 😕 ), so you can reformat and reinstall the OS from scratch. This disk didn't come with the machine, you had to buy it separately, but Tiny have now gone bust.
Right, I know nothing about these Tiny things but:
If a partition is hidden, there is AFAIK nothing that can keep you from unhiding it with http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html
BootIt is a nifty tool. You need a floppy or a cd drive to run it from at startup.
/Hugo
If a partition is hidden, there is AFAIK nothing that can keep you from unhiding it with http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html
BootIt is a nifty tool. You need a floppy or a cd drive to run it from at startup.
/Hugo
For normal PC’s:
Unzip the file to a floppy or cd.
Boot the PC with that disk.
A menu will appear, no need to let the software install itself. (Run from floppy or CD)
Let me know if you get that far and I’ll try to guide you trough the process.
If not, well…you’ll need the real thing. 🙂
/Hugo
Unzip the file to a floppy or cd.
Boot the PC with that disk.
A menu will appear, no need to let the software install itself. (Run from floppy or CD)
Let me know if you get that far and I’ll try to guide you trough the process.
If not, well…you’ll need the real thing. 🙂
/Hugo
I suspect this will be long and involved...
It's tempting just to give my mum my old iBook, but I suspect once she gets used to it, I'll never get it back! 🙂
It's tempting just to give my mum my old iBook, but I suspect once she gets used to it, I'll never get it back! 🙂
Hmm...as you like. 🙂
But once you got the files on disk and are able to start up the Tiny PC, it's only a few clicks away.
Nevermind, do what you think is best. 😉
/Hugo
But once you got the files on disk and are able to start up the Tiny PC, it's only a few clicks away.
Nevermind, do what you think is best. 😉
/Hugo
Downloading now!
:edit: Now all I have to do is find a floppy- not easy for a confirmed mac user! 😉
:edit: Now all I have to do is find a floppy- not easy for a confirmed mac user! 😉
Right, I downloaded and expanded it, used the .exe program to create a boot disk, but the PC just ignores it when I restart and goes straight to windows. 
If you are able to get into the bios, tell it to make the PC boot from floppy drive.
In case you don't know how to get into bios, (I'm talking normal PC here), Press either DEL or F1 or F2 or F10 when booting.
These are the most common keys to get there.
/Hugo
In case you don't know how to get into bios, (I'm talking normal PC here), Press either DEL or F1 or F2 or F10 when booting.
These are the most common keys to get there.
/Hugo
Right, I'm showing two partitions, the main one with 188Gig, and a second listed with 8MB free space, which I assume is the hidden partition. What next?
I might of course be wasting your time. 
Just one last attempt. I presume that you'll need the real tool since Windows is starting. However, since I don't know Tiny's, something must be wrong with Windows, otherwise you shouldn't have asked for help.
This Bootit tool can unlock/unhide hidden partition, hence why I recommended it.
I'll be back after supper.
/Hugo
Just one last attempt. I presume that you'll need the real tool since Windows is starting. However, since I don't know Tiny's, something must be wrong with Windows, otherwise you shouldn't have asked for help.
This Bootit tool can unlock/unhide hidden partition, hence why I recommended it.
I'll be back after supper.
/Hugo
Hi Al,
Is it just a password that you need? There was a Linux program that is good at ferriting these things out. You boot off the CD and go to town. 😉
-Chris
Is it just a password that you need? There was a Linux program that is good at ferriting these things out. You boot off the CD and go to town. 😉
-Chris
Well, I'd like to see what Al sees and what exactly prevents the PC from booting normally.
BootIt fixes hidden partitions.
If in BootIt -> Partition Work -> highlight the 188Gb and click properties; the partition is marked 23/7h: Hidden HPFS/NTFS, change it to 7/7h: HPFS/NTFS.
Unless it's FAT which his highly unlikely.
/Hugo
BootIt fixes hidden partitions.
If in BootIt -> Partition Work -> highlight the 188Gb and click properties; the partition is marked 23/7h: Hidden HPFS/NTFS, change it to 7/7h: HPFS/NTFS.
Unless it's FAT which his highly unlikely.
/Hugo
EDIT: oops... I missed this page! nevermind!
Pinkmouse,
When you first start the computer there will be a brief opportunity to press some key and go to the BIOS. Do this and change your Boot Sequence so it looks at the drive first.
NOW, REMEMBER TO REVERSE THIS WHEN YOU ARE DONE FIXIN THINGS. I forgot once and left some C compiler disc in the drive; next time I booted; I crashed hard!!!!!!!!
Just be mindfull of what you leave in the drive until you do... if the drive is empty the BIOS will skip it and go to the next source in the Boot Sequence.
😉
Pinkmouse,
When you first start the computer there will be a brief opportunity to press some key and go to the BIOS. Do this and change your Boot Sequence so it looks at the drive first.
NOW, REMEMBER TO REVERSE THIS WHEN YOU ARE DONE FIXIN THINGS. I forgot once and left some C compiler disc in the drive; next time I booted; I crashed hard!!!!!!!!
Just be mindfull of what you leave in the drive until you do... if the drive is empty the BIOS will skip it and go to the next source in the Boot Sequence.
😉
Poobah,
PM got beyond that process but its nice to remind to set the BIOS back to boot from C: first. 🙂
/Hugo
PM got beyond that process but its nice to remind to set the BIOS back to boot from C: first. 🙂
/Hugo
Hi Hugo,
Well, now you see that two other trouble makers are interested and curious. 😉
OS/2 would fix it, so would Linux.
-Chris
Well, now you see that two other trouble makers are interested and curious. 😉
OS/2 would fix it, so would Linux.
-Chris
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