AboutCarolyn Meinel Expertise I cover Windows, Unix, TCP/IP and Ethernet security questions. I do not cover Mac, Palm Pilot, or other networking issues.
Experience Books by Carolyn Meinel: wrote a chapter for The Hacking of America book (see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567204600/happyhacker)
My article Code Red for the Web for Scientific American was reprinted in the book Best American Science Writing 2002 (see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060936509/happyhacker). My book The Happy Hacker: A Guide to Mostly Harmless Hacking is now in 4th edition with a Japanese edition (see http://happyhacker.org/hhbook/).
Question I took my computer to get fixed about a year or so ago and they installed a counterfeited copy of window, I did not know until I was able to connect to the Internet and a message came up saying that I am a victim of counterfeited windows software. I found my original window that came with my computer and I have the disk and registration. I tried to install it and the message is that windows encountered a problem and closes the program. How can I fix this problem
Thank you in advance
Answer First of all, you should be able to get a refund for this repair work because what they did to you broke the law. See http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/reporting/faq.aspx for details on how to most effectively pressure this repair shop into a refund. Also you would do others a favor by reporting them to the authorities.
Now for your problem reinstalling Windows. There are several possible causes.
First, did you try to reinstall by turning on the computer, letting Windows load, and then trying to run the installation program? If so, then here's a better way to reinstall. Leave the installation disk in your CD or CD/DVD drive and reboot your computer. Depending upon the manufacturer of your computer and the settings in what is known as the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), your computer may go straight to the Windows installation disk's menu. If so, then choose the new installation option. It will warn you that this will erase your entire hard drive, so be sure that you have backed up all your important files before going ahead.
Alternatively, your computer may ask you whether you want to boot from the CD or CD/DVD drive. If so, choose yes and go on to the new installation option.
If your computer just goes straight into Windows instead, here's how to get it to boot from the installation disk. As your computer boots, it first shows a screen that tells you what key to press to get into the BIOS setup. Usually this is either the del or esc key. Once you are in the BIOS, choose boot options and then set the first boot option to be the CD (or CD/DVD) drive. Save the setting, exit the BIOS and then let your computer finish booting from your installation disk.
If this doesn't work, your next option is to check your hard drive for any damage it might have, as it might be necessary to install a new hard drive in order to reinstall Windows. In fact, unless there is something wrong with your installation disk itself, a new hard drive will solve your problem for certain. However, I'm sure you would rather not have to buy a new hard drive if something else could work!
Here's how to check your hard drive for physical damage. Click Start --> Run and type in the word "command" then hit the Enter key. This will bring up a box where you can type the word "chkdsk/f" then hit Enter. You will get the message
The type of the file system is FAT32 (or whatever file system your computer has, perhaps NTFS).
Cannot lock current drive.
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Hit Y and then Enter then reboot to get a complete disk check.
If you get the message "x number of Sectors on the HDD are Bad", where x is the number of bad sectors that it found, then your hard drive might be going bad. In case it is just a software type error, Windows will attempt to correct the problem. If it can't fix these problems and it still reports bad sectors, your hard drive is going bad and you may as well replace it now before it crashes entirely, destroying all your data.
If your hard drive has no bad sectors, the last possibility is that your installation disk is dirty or damaged, or a faked version. Here's how to test your installation disk.
First, does it have a hologram (shimmering colors) saying that it is genuine? If not, then the place that sold you the computer gave you a fake installation disk. You can use the same procedure as above to force the vendor of your computer to either give you a genuine installation disk or refund your money.
If the disk is genuine, then try cleaning the side with no label with window cleaner and polish it clean with a soft towel.
If this doesn't work, your installation disk is damaged. You can get a new one either from the place where you bought your computer or directly from Microsoft.
