(Er that was about.. the return of the Addled Poster(s).)

I was hoping to have something +positive+ lest reports seem mere er more whinging.. {sigh}

Turns out: the label on the refurb mb was wrong - said BIOS Rev A01 == the old one. But.. it's really A09 == latest. Scratch therefore one small hope for an explanation of the Endless Install.

So then I asked self - can this POS install ANYTHING? (It was 'running' on old HD warts & all) Ran the Restore ME disk + the new HD: it got through to Key code - there was no key code stuck to or noted on anything Dell included. Tried the W2K one (in old days, this sometimes worked) - no dice.

Now I'm waiting for Owner.. to er interface with Dell folks and get a code; save my on-fone appearances as conslutant with meter-running, for when we battle over compensation for her denied On-Site service. yada.

Can't try Greg's suggestion re memory exactly - there are the minimal 2 (one pair) so I can't try just one. I will however swap places - on off chance it will matter. As they're already 'Tweek'ed for good contact.. fat chance.

I still don't understand how the default (Oak) CDROM drivers can function well enough to transfer all this stuff (from either DVD or CD/RW players), how it can boot BBC-Linux! while auto-detecting hdwre etc. Then go all Dubya on the last part! I'll try Greg's hot-setup in any next session.

ie yeah.. I wanna find out the solution to this mystery too, and hope she gets on the horn soon. This is nutty and IF there's some BIOS flag which recognizes Dell-sold VS other Doze versions: then I can imagine a few things to do with that info. Nutty indeed.

I envision another wearing down of excuses not to assist, via the Brandioch Aristotelian Method - to get a &*$%# pair of memory sticks and a NEW CPU and/or a new reader (or reason why these need also a BIOS update: something Dell *should* know). I can't reach that data without signing in -with S/Ns- it may come to that (with her #s). Silly you can't access their Kbase generally; what's to lose?

My Dream: new entry at fuckedcompany.com: Dell. [hah]

Cheers,
Ashton, suspended.
Time to bug someone again..