2 Computer Problems

[TheVegeet]

I would appreciate any help on either of these. They are unrelated as far as I know:

Problem 1:
A number of months ago, I had to re-install Windows. Since then, when I boot up, it comes up with a screen that says something to the effect of "Choose an operating system: Windows XP or Windows XP". There are also two copies of folders such as C:\WINDOWS and C:\Documents and Settings\All Users. Once I got it working again, I was afraid to mess with it because I don't want to have to re-install again, but maybe somebody here knows how to fix it.

Problem 2:
Whenever I boot up my computer after it has been off for a while, it does nothing except make long, repeated beeps. After I do a hard shut down, I boot again and this time it gives me some prompts in the BIOS. I press F1 to continue, and everything works normally (except problem 1). I can't remember when this problem started, so it's likely it happened spontaneously.

Neither of these are dire problems, but they are a bit irritating, and I have a feeling that they could be slowing my system down a bit. Once again, help is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I do not want to completely wipe my drive. That would be more hassle to me than just living with these problems.

 

[mcurphy]

It sounds like you installed Windows a second time on the same partition.

To fix this, and probably what you meant to do the first time you reinstalled, you will need to delete the partition (C) that contains the previous install. Create a new partition (C) in the resulting free space. Completely format the newly created partition and proceed to install Windows.

Make sure you back up all important files you have. The method above will totally wipe the partition of any existing data and create a clean slate for the new install.

 

[Jiggz]

For the first problem, you can alleviate this by editing the boot.ini. Look for the instances of Windows XP and delete the one you do not need. Make sure you keep a copy of it first by saving it with another name like Boot.one before you edit it. You can also see the boot.ini by running MSConfig and clicking on the Boot.ini tab. While there you might want to change the boot delay to 3 seconds vice 30 seconds.

As for the second problem, you might want to replace the mobo battery. If the problem persist check for an updated bios. If the problem still exist, try a higher wattage or quality PSU.