O.T. Missing Folder/files

The Startech case is the same one I've
been using all along for all the external
hd's from when we first started making
Mrimgs. If there was a problem with the
limit size surely we would of detected it
long before this.

Yes, I always use the safely remove feature.
If I don't see an icon there then I either restart
or power off and then remove it. I didn't know
that I could just unplug it because the
partitions didn't mount. That sure will save me
allot of time!

I have this:

https://postimg.cc/PpYPJbq9


It looks the same to me so I haven't downloaded
anything as yet unless you say I should.

My front USB ports are blue, I have 2 on top
one is being used for the mouse and the other
is black and on back I have blue and black ports.

I normally connect to the front blue ports.

So you recommend I call Microsoft to activate my
OS again ? Will this screw up the 8500 if I do this?

I searched and found these 3 different responses.
Which should I use?

To activate your product over the telephone, use one
of the following numbers:
1. Windows activation: (888) 571-2048.
2. Microsoft Office activation (United States only): (888) 652-2342.
3. TTY number: (800) 718-1599.
4. If you are an international customer, find the t
telephone number from the following list: Country/region.



Microsoft Corporation/Customer service
1 (800) 642-7676



Information that needs to be gathered prior to talking with the Microsoft Assisted Support team.
....
Country/Region Volume License Keys: toll call only Volume License Keys: toll-free call
United States (716) 871 2781 (888) 352 7140


They can hardly get huffy with me since this would be
the first time I've called them.


Robert

The 8500 hung up again, twice! I was copying a file
and also trying to delete a file and both times the 8500
hung up again on me. These are things I do all the time
and I believe it's acting finicky because I lost my activation
code.

I had to power off both times and the last time I just shut
it down, then restarted it after about 20 minutes or so.

When I call Microsoft I give them my product key of course
so they can activate it or walk me through the steps to activate
is that correct?

Once they activate it can I use the #4 hd as is and create a
clone? Also #3 should then connect if it finished cloning
correctly despite the 'Invalid Windows OS' message.

Is there anything else I should do?

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
The 8500 hung up again, twice! I was copying a file
and also trying to delete a file and both times the 8500
hung up again on me. These are things I do all the time
and I believe it's acting finicky because I lost my activation
code.

I had to power off both times and the last time I just shut
it down, then restarted it after about 20 minutes or so.

When I call Microsoft I give them my product key of course
so they can activate it or walk me through the steps to activate
is that correct?

Once they activate it can I use the #4 hd as is and create a
clone? Also #3 should then connect if it finished cloning
correctly despite the 'Invalid Windows OS' message.

Is there anything else I should do?

Robert


To attempt a local activation, without Microsoft assistance,
you could try

Administrator Command Prompt
slui

Now, if that fails for some reason, then you would do this:

Administrator Command Prompt
slui 4

This does two things.

It passes information to Microsoft, while that interface is on the screen.

The screen will present a support phone number. You can
send information to Microsoft using touch tone keypad input.

Normally, "slui 4" would be a challenge response sequence,
You type 56 digit number into touch tone phone pad,
after connected to the support phone number, the
support phone number returns a 56 digit response.
But somewhere along that sequence, you can get a human
on the line. I don't think they have a way of
associating your phone call, with the 56 digit
step on the screen, so they may need to ask other
questions.

slui 4 should at least give you a phone number to work with.
That's if you don't trust the support phone number you
have in hand.

*******

I don't, for one moment, assume a correlation between
machine behavior and activation state. The machine should
still work properly, until it decides to stop offering
service (reboots on its own, being an example, or
freezing right after boot). Activation issues must
be sorted:

1) Immediately. Thus, the freezing (and of course it's too
late to do anything then).
2) Can be a 72 hour warning.
3) Can be a 30 day warning.

*******

If it was my machine, I would be working on two parallel paths.

1) Hardware test to determine defective component.
For example, RAM test. Windows has a memory tester.

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...d1717f0c3ffb72

mdsched # schedule memory test on next reboot
# likely needs administrator account

2) Work on activation issue. If machine is not healthy, this
may not be a permanent solution. (While bad RAM could
contribute to a Not Genuine, the odds of that happening are
quite quite small. For example, the bad RAM I had, was close
to some disk driver area, and i would have some disk issues
because of where the RAM was bad - my Macrium backups would
not pass Verify if I took the backups to the other machine and
tested them with Verify in Macrium).

If you were to ask "how common are memory failures?", the
machine I'm typing on, is on its third set of DIMMs.

The second set, from Kingston, never seemed to be right
from day one, as they ran "hotter" than I was comfortable
with. This is DDR2 memory, there is no lower power option,
only one type of chips are used. I was not able to
fault isolate to a single DIMM either, on that one, so
I had to replace the entire set. And no, the BIOS memory
voltage setting was not at an abnormal value either. None
of the RAM I own for this, is suited to high VDimm values,
so I don't do that.

I've had a set of four Samsung, no problems.
The Hynix-chip based modules I own at present,
are flawless. Never seen any behavior to cause
concern. If I buy "cheap" memory, like I bought
eight sticks of one product, five of them failed
(fault isolated to nearest module each time). That
instance appears to be electrochemical in nature,
as I can cause the modules to fail on demand.

If the memory is bad, don't panic, these things happen.

I wish everything had good/excellent diagnostics, but
computers have never been exceptionally good at that.
My favorite diagnostic environment, is on the Sun Sparc,
where you flip the diagnostic switch, and they have
test code for everything on a screen. It will even
test the keyboard for you (as the keyboard has a
locale setting via dip switch underneath). No PC or Mac
diagnostic software (the $69.95 kind) has ever found
a damn thing here.

We have to be content, with starting with the memory test,
and working from there.

Testing computers is a continuous process. Maybe once a year,
you should run a memory test, just to catch bad behavior
before it's an issue. I wouldn't have to say this, if all
the memory I ever bought, was still working... :-/

Freezing computer:

1) Bad RAM.
2) Bad CPU (not very common - occasionally a bad lot of CPUs
leave the factory, but they generally misbehave enough, to
be removed via product returns by customers). Back at work,
we did an informal poll amongst engineers, as a response to
our Reliability PhD, and no engineer could remember any
"bad CPU" events on the product lines they'd worked on. There
are a few Windows "MCE" error codes, related to things caught
by the CPU internally. Machine Check Errors caused by ECC problems
on internal CPU busses. You'd have specific Blue Screen events
on the computer, if that were the case.

Some freezing problems, they only happen in power-save states.
You sit quietly for five minutes, the machine freezes, but only
if it's quiet. If you're moving the mouse, maybe it doesn't freeze.
This is a sign of instability at low VID:FID. On enthusiast
computers, you can turn up VCore a bit.

3) Insane disk drive. If the power connector is loose and the
+12V only manages +11V inside the drive, it can make the
drive go into a spin up/spin down loop, and the drive can
lose contact with the rest of the machine ("insanity"). That's
an example of where a storage problem, is the fault of the
drive, but is not a platter problem. More of a controller problem.

Testing the RAM, is easy to do. The rest is harder to test.

memtest
Prime95
Seatools

My machine has exhibited *plenty* of symptoms, and it has yet
to be a motherboard problem.

I have one machine here, in storage, where it looks like I
finally have a motherboard problem. It's possible the ICH5
is bad on it. I could not get the machine to run, the last time
I tried. But the computer case won't be wasted, as there
is a homeless motherboard waiting for a case to house it.

Paul

If Microsoft can activate the 8500 again and if I start
to clone again would that trigger the same message
again of 'Invalid Windows OS' because it detects its
being copied? Because that message came from out of
the nowhere and I didn't have any problems with the 780.

I'll wait until tomorrow to start the slui process.

I'll do the Memory test via Windows Diagnosis in awhile
because it says it could take hours.

I forgot to add that whenever the computer was hung up
I waited for an average of at least 10 minutes before doing
anything and that should be long enough for anything to
complete.

I have a Sea Tools CD

https://postimg.cc/f3xS3Lrc

https://postimg.cc/RWtN8h9k

https://postimg.cc/MMpZWp2K

https://postimg.cc/PPjXxykR

https://postimg.cc/JHWLsrSk

https://postimg.cc/CdLy62SY

https://postimg.cc/CBrc2msL

https://postimg.cc/rzbhCZpf


I downloaded the bottom application (3,085KB) but it doesn't
seem have a way to select the hd. I mean it does but when I tried
it, it searched for it rather than selecting a hd and was still searching.
It shouldn't need to search to locate the hd. It should be instantaneous.
Do I need to download the other application(1,203 KB) for this to work?

In passing, here's the Startech case I've been using.

https://postimg.cc/CZ2gGHnk

Robert

I ran the Windows memory test and it showed no errors.

https://postimg.cc/VJp3Vs4b

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
If Microsoft can activate the 8500 again and if I start
to clone again would that trigger the same message
again of 'Invalid Windows OS' because it detects its
being copied? Because that message came from out of
the nowhere and I didn't have any problems with the 780.

XPS 8500 1TB === clone to 2TB, activate === clone to 2TB

You can clone the "newly prepared by Microsoft" disk, onto
your next disk drive.

You don't have to start with the 1TB each time.


I'll wait until tomorrow to start the slui process.

I'll do the Memory test via Windows Diagnosis in awhile
because it says it could take hours.

I forgot to add that whenever the computer was hung up
I waited for an average of at least 10 minutes before doing
anything and that should be long enough for anything to
complete.

I have a Sea Tools CD

https://postimg.cc/f3xS3Lrc

https://postimg.cc/RWtN8h9k

https://postimg.cc/MMpZWp2K

https://postimg.cc/PPjXxykR

https://postimg.cc/JHWLsrSk

https://postimg.cc/CdLy62SY

https://postimg.cc/CBrc2msL

https://postimg.cc/rzbhCZpf

You can get a fresh copy here. The "Windows" installable
one is at the bottom.

https://www.seagate.com/ca/en/suppor...ols/#downloads

CLR stands for Common Language Runtime. It's a part of .NET library.

These are power routines for software developers.

Versions .NET 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 use the same numerical CLR designation.

Rather than fooling around with older .NET, I would attempt
to use a later version of Seatools, and hope that it references
more modern .NET versions. Windows 7 likely uses up to .net 4.5
for example, or something even more recent.

It's also possible the older Seagate software, isn't signed
properly for a newer OS.

As soon as I saw "spawnCLR", I'm thinking "what are they doing???".
It's not something you spawn typically, so the terminology is
a bit jarring for starters. A name like "CLRhelper" might be
closer to a useful name.

I downloaded the bottom application (3,085KB) but it doesn't
seem have a way to select the hd. I mean it does but when I tried
it, it searched for it rather than selecting a hd and was still searching.
It shouldn't need to search to locate the hd. It should be instantaneous.
Do I need to download the other application(1,203 KB) for this to work?

In passing, here's the Startech case I've been using.

https://postimg.cc/CZ2gGHnk

Robert

ASM1053. That's the controller listed for it.

https://www.startech.com/en-ca/hdd/sat3510bu3

"Max Drive Capacity
Currently tested with up to 2TB hard drives"

That can typically be taken with a grain of salt,
as they only test as the larger drives become available.
Some brands test continuously, and the web page
gets updated as larger drives show up.

Paul

I went back to finish what I had started before the 8500
hung up. It let me delete the files I wanted this time but
when I went to copy/paste it hung up again! This is something
I've done a thousand times so I don't know why its acting
like this. Again, I tried to restart it but it was in a loop and
I had to power off.

In passing, when I sign on my page looks like this and I have
to click the link again to make it look normal.

https://postimg.cc/VJrQvx51

I have no idea what those other links are except the alt.smokers.pipes
which I use to frequent back in the day but its weird it shows this page.

Oh I see what your saying,. clone the 1TB to a 2TB and remove
the 1TB and replace it with the 2TB and clone another 2TB hd.
I always thought the procedure was to only install the clone to
see if it was bootable but this way it protects the original hd and
the Activation and is more streamlined.

However, just to make sure, when I call Microsoft to activate it
should I ask if its OK to clone the 1TB hd or will it trigger the
Invalid Windows OS again?

I download Seatools from your link and ran the tests:

https://postimg.cc/fVGfDH8q

https://postimg.cc/njk4KnpN

https://postimg.cc/KR4PLXVs

https://postimg.cc/LJLZBmVv

https://postimg.cc/sB2sfc1S

https://postimg.cc/rK9BdrB9

https://postimg.cc/cKP2qM3d

https://postimg.cc/QHjPrMFK

https://postimg.cc/RWDbfQXw

https://postimg.cc/q64m0mvH

https://postimg.cc/XXgW5mFF

I tried the short generic on the unknown but it didn't seem to work?
I could try again if you want.

Yeah the SpawnCLR you spotted is a bit jarring and gives
you an idea from my standpoint some of the weird things I
encounter like the 'Invalid Windows OS'. Definitely not user friendly.

The Startech case is the one you picked out for me way back when
but it has been superseded I see. It's a good external enclosure, I like
it allot. I still have (2) extra I've been using to test and clone and the
other (2) are the external hds with Mrimgs for the 8500 and the 780
each with a 2TB hd although the 8500 Mrimgs has the 2TB WD hd.

Robert

I realize now the unknown is for an external
drive if connected, correct?

I did have one question though; if Microsoft succeeds
in reactivating my computer then is #4 hd OK to use as
is to clone?

I would prefer to leave #3 alone for the time being
because it has the OS on it even though it's tainted
it's still an OS. Once I finish with #4 I can then
copy over #3 but to do that would I have to erase it
first or can I just copy over it?

I'm also wondering if I get my Activation back whether
the backspace key will also return?

Robert

It hung up again! This must be connected to the Activation
somehow. This is not normal behavior and I don't know how
many times the hd can take being powered off.

I just hope tomorrow Microsoft can put everything back in order.

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:

I went back to finish what I had started before the 8500
hung up. It let me delete the files I wanted this time but
when I went to copy/paste it hung up again! This is something
I've done a thousand times so I don't know why its acting
like this. Again, I tried to restart it but it was in a loop and
I had to power off.

In passing, when I sign on my page looks like this and I have
to click the link again to make it look normal.

https://postimg.cc/VJrQvx51

I have no idea what those other links are except the alt.smokers.pipes
which I use to frequent back in the day but its weird it shows this page.

Oh I see what your saying,. clone the 1TB to a 2TB and remove
the 1TB and replace it with the 2TB and clone another 2TB hd.
I always thought the procedure was to only install the clone to
see if it was bootable but this way it protects the original hd and
the Activation and is more streamlined.

However, just to make sure, when I call Microsoft to activate it
should I ask if its OK to clone the 1TB hd or will it trigger the
Invalid Windows OS again?

I download Seatools from your link and ran the tests:

https://postimg.cc/fVGfDH8q

https://postimg.cc/njk4KnpN

https://postimg.cc/KR4PLXVs

https://postimg.cc/LJLZBmVv

https://postimg.cc/sB2sfc1S

https://postimg.cc/rK9BdrB9

https://postimg.cc/cKP2qM3d

https://postimg.cc/QHjPrMFK

https://postimg.cc/RWDbfQXw

https://postimg.cc/q64m0mvH

https://postimg.cc/XXgW5mFF

I tried the short generic on the unknown but it didn't seem to work?
I could try again if you want.

Yeah the SpawnCLR you spotted is a bit jarring and gives
you an idea from my standpoint some of the weird things I
encounter like the 'Invalid Windows OS'. Definitely not user friendly.

The Startech case is the one you picked out for me way back when
but it has been superseded I see. It's a good external enclosure, I like
it allot. I still have (2) extra I've been using to test and clone and the
other (2) are the external hds with Mrimgs for the 8500 and the 780
each with a 2TB hd although the 8500 Mrimgs has the 2TB WD hd.

Robert

Which account are you on right now ?

Would the appearance of the Google page be
related to the account ?

I see your Seatools isn't making any progress at all
on the external enclosure. There can't be any passthru
for SMART. That's why you can't do a Short Generic,
because SMART has to be working, for that to work.
Short Generic, is where Seatools sends an ATA command
of the SMART persuasion to the drive controller, and
the drive controller tests the platters itself.

The drive also does Short Generic as a built-in self test,
even when Seatools isn't around.

Your result is messed up enough, I'm really surprised
there is no evidence for us in the Diskmgmt.msc or
the Devmgmt.msc. It's almost like a driver is missing,
because external adapters simply don't respond at all
if the drive isn't plugged in or the ID Probe isn't
working. Seatools should not even be able to scan
and "see" the thing.

Here is mine. I put a 3TB Seagate drive in my enclosure. In
Disk Management, it did not get a drive letter, and
at first I thought it was busted, but assigning a letter
made the rest of the info populate.

https://i.postimg.cc/bv5ywgkR/shortDST.gif

Paul

Robert in CA wrote:
I realize now the unknown is for an external
drive if connected, correct?

I did have one question though; if Microsoft succeeds
in reactivating my computer then is #4 hd OK to use as
is to clone?

I would prefer to leave #3 alone for the time being
because it has the OS on it even though it's tainted
it's still an OS. Once I finish with #4 I can then
copy over #3 but to do that would I have to erase it
first or can I just copy over it?

I'm also wondering if I get my Activation back whether
the backspace key will also return?

Robert

That Backspace key isn't coming back without a fight :-)

If Microsoft activates the clone that is Not Genuine,
it should be fine in every way. You should be able to
make a copy of it.

What we don't know right now, is what is up
with the XPS 8500 from a computing point of
view, and there are still more tests to do.

Whatever is bothering the 8500, may have
caused the Not Genuine.

Paul

Robert in CA wrote:
It hung up again! This must be connected to the Activation
somehow. This is not normal behavior and I don't know how
many times the hd can take being powered off.

I just hope tomorrow Microsoft can put everything back in order.

Robert

At this point, I don't know if this is malware, or
a hardware failure of some sort.

Have you done a Malwarebytes scan lately ?

As for how many times the drive can be powered
off, it should be a large number of times. The
motor switches to being a generator, and it uses
the energy stored in the platter, to generate
enough electricity to retract the heads up the
landing ramp. The heads do not park on the
platter surface, when the power goes off.

Paul

I'm on the 780 and I alway am on the User Account on both
machines unless I am directed by you to go into the Admin
e.g. to download Sea Monkey. You think I should check my
Google Account ?

I didn't have an external hd connected when I did the test
because the 8500 isn't recognizing thembut are you saying the
Seatools would? I didn't let the test finish on the external (no
drive attached)because after some time when I didn't see
anything happening I closed the application and it said test
aborted.

It hung up yet again! This is getting too much.
I'm not doing anything abnormal. I was just clicking
to open a new tab and it hung up, then Paintbrush
hung up. I tried to bring up Task Manager but it
didn't come up. I manage to finally close everything
but it still did not respond. I finally selected reboot
and when that didn't appear to work I selected shutdown.
I had to force it to close and now it cycling with logging off.
I''m afraid I'm going to have to power it off or should I let it
keep cyling? It's been 10 minutes now.

Robert

I powered it off and it logging back on but this is
getting ridiculous. I usually do all the scans on a
daily basis but I'll start a Malwarebytes scan as soon
as it loads all the drivers.

Robert

I waited until the Action Center icon appeared and then
clicked the Malwarebytes icon but it's not opening there's
just the busy circle. I'm afraid its hung up again. This is
getting worst and worst where I can't even open up a
application.

I selected restart and this time it worked and gave me a
normal boot. The first in awhile.

I wait a bit longer and try it again.

Robert