What you need.

• Windows XP CD (doesn’t matter whether Home or Professional)

  1.  Boot the computer from the Windows XP disk at start-up
  2. Once greeted with the Welcome to Windows XP setup screen select Recovery Console.
  3. Select your Windows installation (if prompted).
  4. Type:  fixboot
  5. Press Enter
  6. Press Y
  7. Type: fdisk /mbr
  8. Press Enter
  9. Restart the computer and remove the Windows XP CD.

This tip is useful if you don’t want to go through the hassle of clicking Start, Shutdown.

1. Right click a blank spot on the desktop, select New, Shortcut
2. In the location field type: shutdown –s –t 00
3. Click Next
4. Type in the name you want it named as, such as Shutdown
5. Click Finish
6. You can now drag the shortcut to the Taskbar or keep it on the desktop.

Note: the “-S” indicates shutdown, changing it to “-R” will mean restart. The “-t” is time adjusting the number from 00 will change the shutdown count from immediate to what you set it to in seconds.

Tested on Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 (inc 64bit) | Should also work with Windows 9 (untested)

Attempting to enter in your wireless passkey and getting “The network password needs to be 128bits or 256bits depending on your network configuration “error? This usually occurs when the networking stack has been damaged/corrupted. Follow the instructions below to repair:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type in: cmd
4. Press Enter
5. The windows Command Prompt should launch, type in: netsh winsock reset
6. Press Enter
7. Restart your computer and attempt wireless connectivity.

Having issues trying to install device drivers in Windows XP and its stopping half way through and giving you the “Data is Invalid” error? Following the guide below to repair.

What you need

• Windows XP Home/Professional CD

  1. Open My Computer
  2. Navigate to: C:WINDOWSDRIVERCACHEi386
  3. Delete the driver.cab file.
  4. Now copy the driver.cab file from the i386 folder from your Windows XP CD into the C:WINDOWSDRIVERCACHEi386 folder.
  5. Right click My Computer
  6. Left click Properties
  7. Click Hardware
  8. Click Device Manager
  9. Right click the device you were attempting to install (should have a yellow exclamation mark next to it) select Uninstall then restart your computer.

You should now be able to re-install the device drivers.

What you need

• Philips Screwdriver

• Small Razor Blade/Flat-Head Screwdriver

  1. Remove the Laptop Battery (to prevent laptop from getting bumped and turning on).
  2. On the casing of the laptop _(just above the keyboard –where the power button is located)_locate a little notch on either side and lift. Gently remove the plastic casing.
  3. You should now be able to see 2 screws (on either side of the top laptop) and unscrew them.
  4. Put your fingers on either side of the top part of the keyboard and gently lift upwards
  5. Lift the keyboard out and unplug it.