Bringing donated 2nd PC into use

[Sylvander]

My wife's employer gave her this HP Brio mini-tower (http://www.ciao.co.uk/HP_Brio_BA__5360020/TabId/4).
ErnieK donated a monitor, mouse and keyboard.
The hardware is connected and working well, all drivers were left installed, but PC not online yet.
Windows NT v4.0 Workstation (build 1381 : SP6) was left on the C: partition. The 8.4 GB Fujitsu (http://www.fel.fujitsu.com/home/v3__product.asp?inf=dsc&pid=195) HDD was split into 2 equal partitions.

TASKS SO FAR
1. Logging on as Administrator. Installed "Clean Sweep" and used it to uninstall programs, and delete files, left behind by wifes' employers. Backup files stored.
2. Tried reading my CD-RW disk [with all my Application Install files] using the included CD-ROM drive. Found that the "Direct CD" UDF reader installation was prompted, so did this. GREAT! Able to read the disk!
2. Installed "Powerquest Drive Image" and used it to backup the C: partition to a file on the D: partition. This backup would include the "Clean Sweep" backup files.
3. Deleted "Clean Sweep" backup files.

My broad strategy is to [make a backup of the C: partition,] eliminate all unnecessary "trash" from the HDD, clean up the software and make sure it's working well, [make another backup], Then [begin building the software by] installing applications.

I wonder if a better strategy would be to obtain drivers, re-format the C: partition, buy a Windows disk [for Win2000 perhaps], and do a fresh install?

PROBLEMS SO FAR
A. As boot of Win NT completes:
a. The folder "C:\WINNT\System32" opens at every boot and must be closed manually.
b. A notice reports "The DHCP Client could not obtain an IP address."

I'd REALLY like to get rid of Aa & Ab first.

B. I notice something installed named "Microsoft Proxy Client". Anyone know about this?

[david eaton]

The folder "C:\WINNT\System32" opens at every boot and must be closed manually.

I don't know about the rest, but this can be a sign of a malware infestation! Have you run Hijack this on there yet?

[Sylvander]

So far I've installed and run:

Ad-Aware v1.05 [1 item found & eliminated].
Spybot S&D v1.3 [8 items found & Eliminated (FriendGreetings;DSO Exploit;Alexa)]
Hijack This v1.99.0 [link to log will follow ASAP]
See it here http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?p=216211#post216211

The same problems [Aa & Ab] are still there.

[shanmuga]

"The DHCP Client could not obtain an IP address."

If you are not supposed to connect to a DHCP server, use the Event Viewer to find out which network device wants to connect to your system, open the Start menu, select Settings, and click Control Panel. Double-click the Network, access the TCP/IP Protocol Properties for the offending device, and disable DHCP resolution.Error:The DHCP client could not obtain an IP address. (http://www.smartcomputing.com/techsupport/detail.aspx?guid=&ErrorID=23424)

[Sylvander]

I'd like to "disable DHCP resolution", but I cannot find any way to do it.

Do you know how?

By the way, this PC was a Network Server on a network of 10 machines. There are Recycle Bin's for all of them on the D: drive, and I cannot delete them.
How would I eliminate all reference to the former network?

[david eaton]

It begins to look as if your earlier strategy of obtaining a full copy of Windoze, and running a complete reinstall on a zeroed hard drive would be the best thing to do.

Most of the drivers should be available on the HP website, but if you change to another version of Windows they may not be available there.

[shanmuga]

I agree with david here. I am not much of a help with networking issues :sad:

This link seems to provide a step-by-step solution for resolving the DHCP issue.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.cad.pro-engineer/browse_thread/thread/841696b4aa77e6b1/e355a84fec55d547

[Sylvander]

This appears to have worked; there's no sign of the warning.

I have the feeling that if I knew how, it would be possible to remove all traces of the former network.

I like my oldie, because it's tweaked to perfection, but this newer one is much faster.

INSTALLED SO FAR
1. Clean Sweep
2. Office 97
3. Powerquest "Drive Image".
4. TclockEx
5. Ad-Aware v6.0
6. Spybot v1.3
7. A-Squared v1.0
8. Ultimate Zip v2.7
9. Hijack This v1.99.0
10. Regcleaner v4.3 build 780
11. Disk Frontier v1.2.0.0
12. Eraser v5.7
13. Everest Home Edition v1.10
14. Open Expert v1.10 [EN]
15 Startup Control Panel v2.8

[Sylvander]

Continuing to install programs and tweak/fix the software.

Does anyone know how to remove the former network?
There are lots of recycle bins on the D: partition. Disk Frontier shows them all holding contents, some huge, but when I use "Eraser" to "Erase the Recycle Bin" [contents], it reports them empty! When I "Open" or "Explore", nothing is visible.

Trying to find if the following is needed:
"Microsoft Winsock Proxy, version 2.0".
"Microsoft Proxy Server".

[Sylvander]

OK, I think it will be necessary to start afresh and install a new OS, probably Win98 SE.
This HP website (http://h200003.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Home.jsp?locale=en_US&prodSeriesId=32889&prodTypeId=12454) tells that the BIOS MAY support a HDD of 65GB if the latest BIOS revision is used, otherwise it may only support 8.4GB.
My BIOS details:
PhoenixBIOS 4.0 release 6.0
version = HX.07.02
[latest is HX.07.08 flash upgrade seen here (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?locBasepartNum=vc3991en&lang=English&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=32889&locale=en_US&locBasepartNum=vc3991en&lang=English&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=32889&locale=en_US&attTypeId=110).]

I need to know what size of HDD my BIOS version will support and do I need to flash upgrade it to the latest to get 65GB HDD to work?
I've never flashed a BIOS before.
If I do need to flash it, will a system disk made on my Win98 PC do the job if I copy the downloaded file "sob4z2en.exe" to it?
What does "Copy the contents of folder (ex: c:\bios\hw2709\disk1) onto this diskette" mean? [Seen here. (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?locBasepartNum=vc3991en&lang=English&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=32889&locale=en_US&locBasepartNum=vc3991en&lang=English&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=32889&locale=en_US&attTypeId=110)]
Where is this folder? It isn't on the Brio's C: drive.

[pentachris]

I prefer to use a boot disk with no drivers to flash the BIOS, available here (http://www.bootdisk.com).

Generally, you need the system files on the boot disk plus two files to flash a BIOS: a flash utility, and a file containing the BIOS version. I'm not sure how these particular HP's handle it, or what is meant by the instructions you quoted.

[david eaton]

I think that the file you downloaded is a self extracting ZIP file. It probably creates that folder, and puts the files there as part of the extraction process.

[Sylvander]

That's exactly what I thought, BUT:

When I ran it, got a nasty shock!
The flash utility began running full-screen and black background.
[And this was on the MJN (wrong PC).]
I thought it might flash the wrong BIOS if I made a wrong move!
Used "Alt+tab" and shut it down.
Whew!

To confirm, I just tried to "Extract to here" [the file contents] and got an error from "UltimatZip".

[Sylvander]

Found here (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=tis09140&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=32889&locale=en_US) that the BIOS [in an HP Brio ba] limits the HDD size to 65 GB.

That's good news. :D