Unexplained system failures.

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damn, one other point forgot to mention. Dont do this on dual boot systems or with special partition software, like partition magic.
 
hmm... sorry to keep posting like this, but I keep noticing more and more. Not sure about here recently, but awhile back GoBack and XP did NOT like each other. Unless there was an upgraded version of goback or something. Of course, even upgraded versions wont encompase every system configuration. XP does have its own system restore, although its just for system (reg setting, sys.ini, etc) and not for things like deleted files. Goback actaully creates its own partition... its KIND of like ghosting, but instead of full images it only notes what FILES have been altered (removed, changed, added) and if anything happenes, it will note what was done and when, and remove and add the files that where changed.
 
heres some info found online (oh, and fixmbr for XP, but ONLY as last resort!!!)

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Note: Because the timing of the key-presses that are described in this section can be critical, especially on a fast computer, we strongly suggest that you try this more than once if you are not successful the first time.

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Turn off the computer.
Start the computer, and then immediately press and hold down the Ctrl+Alt+G keys. A message will appear that gives you the option to force the removal of GoBack from the master boot record. Note that some computers require that you hold down the Ctrl+Alt keys while rapidly tapping the G key.
Press F to force the removal of GoBack from the master boot record.
Restart the computer.
 
I just recently discovered that the problem with goback involved the tims change, this has now been fixed, so I can now run in safe mode. gowever the original problem just reccured, and I was forced to revert 28 hours, if it gets past 36 hours it cannot be repaired. I have no floppy or zip, but I have a CD-RW drive and am working un backing up the most important files one at a time. unfortunately I have about 10GB of stuff i need to save. At this point removing goback is not an option as it is the only thing that has been keeping this computer alive. oh, and I don't have DOS on this computer that I can access. after getting off the phone with tech support they still have no idea what is wrong. I will be writing zeros to the drive as soon as I can get everything backed up. I have run system scans now and they detected absolutely nothing wrong with the HD itself or any of the system files. any advice on making an emergency boot disk and a HD backup? I can't use CDs because of the size. and trying to split the entire HD to volumes for CDs is not an option because the compression program uses up all of the ram and forces a reboot before it finishes the first volume. I am considering dropping $200 on an external HD that I can attatch to my USB port.
 
I would say an external HDD would be the best bet due to the amount of data. As far as Dos, you can using a boot disk. XP itself has only a dos shell/emulator and thus you can not boot to command prompt, however you can use a emergency boot disk to get to dos and go that route (again, good luck on that... you'll be copying for days). Since you can get to safemode, though, that should be good enough. Also, how long are you able to stay in safe mode? If you can stay in safe mode indefinatley you should be able to save the system. Try pulling the PCI Bus and have the system reinstall all devices, also check for splats (especially the disk controllers!!! sounds like a generic controller, but who knows), and if nothing else, once you back up all your stuff, try removing go back. Trust me, GoBack and XP do NOT get along. There is a different version of it (using wildfile or roxio version??) that is supposed to address issues with XP and GoBack. Anyway, if you decide to format, uninstall goback and fixmbr and see what that does. I have the feeling GoBack is a corrupted. Kind of give you an idea on GoBack. Not sure if your familiar with the MBR but at the end ROM BIOS bootstrap routine, the first physical layer/sector of the HDD is read. This is known as the MBR. It contains partition table info, etc. Tells where in the partition is bootable. ONLY about 1/4 of this is the boot settings. So fdisk /mbr never TOUCHES the boot settings, only the first 450bytes or so. As GoBack writes itself into this (called the goback MBR, oddly enough), if it is corrupted then it wont boot, and if it does it will be VERY unstable. This is why I think GoBack MAY be the issue. fdisk /mbr rewrties this area with zeroes. But do this only as an alternative to format, as it can sometimes be hazardous to information. Later!
 
actually, since you have XP you would use the 'fixmbr' command. fdisk /mbr is for other versions.
 
ehh... Tech support instructed me to run a repair of the system files... now I can't even get into safe mode anymore. I just ordered a new HD and I will be installing an OS on it so that I can attempt to boot off of it and recover some data. how long do you think it will take to copy some 10GB of select files?
 
if installing a new HDD and put the other in as a slave... shouldn't take to long. I'd just stay away from goback. It's a good idea, but when you have problems, they're big. Especially in the MBR where goback also resides. MBR messes up and you're in for a world of problems. if anything, use ghost drive or some such utility. or use the back up in XP. if you want to use goback... make SURE you use the correct version and research the issues between goback and XP.
 
Okay, I am REALLY starting to hate the tech support they are giving me. I just recieved the new HD (at a cost of $197.02) and I cannot install the OS onto it because the system install CD cannot access the drive. It DOES recognize it, but when I select it and tell it to install it says to pick a different drive because it doesn't have access to it. Now they want to transfer me to $9 a minute tech support to get it fixed, even though I have a free repair warrenty. Is there ANY way of installing XP home onto a USB HD to use as a boot disk? I now know (A little late) that I can't do it using that computer, and if I try to do it on another computer with an OS it will only install to that computers HD and not the specified drive. what's worse, I need it operatinal by tomorrow morning.
 
ouch, not really. Most USB drives are for backup purposes and not for actually running programs. So, no... that wont work. You can use another systems hard drive, put it as master and the other as slave and try accessing the data that way. You'll probably have to install some chipset drivers, etc because the MBD will be different. Oh, and one thing that MAY be the problem is how the OEM disk is tied. I though, though, that it was tied to the MBD bios but maybe the HDD serial number. Kind of copy protection, Gateway started doing this. Started off with the cd checking the bios and if it didn't match installation wouldnt complete. Could be wrong, though. Maybe the HDD. Have you recently flashed the bios, too? Sounds to me like you got someone there who is clueless. Let them know about the OEM tag on the MBD or HDD, and how to get passed that. Maybe you need to have them create a installation log (also called a unattended setup script).
 
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