Uninstalled IDE driver now freezes during re-install

[wonderin]

I have an HP laptop using Windows XP Home; while trying to remedy another issue I came upon the IDE settings and was going to uninstall and reinstall the driver. However, now I have a huge problem. The computer boots fine, loads my start up page, a "Found New Hardware" message pops up in the toolbar for the VIA Bus IDE Controller. Everything seems fine. Then, within a minute, the system will freeze.

There is a period of a few seconds before it totally freezes where I can use the mouse but not click on any programs. And during the first thirty seconds or so after the machine starts up, I can open any program or file, it's just after a minute or so everything freezes. When I try to start at last best configuration, I'm getitng the same thing. When I boot in safe mode as a user I get the same thing. And when I try to boot in safe mode as an administrator, it freezes up right there.

I found what I think is an identical problem on another board but no one replied to it:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:...ndows+xp&hl=en

Any help or perhaps a better place to post this?

[Smidley]

Do you have a restore point saved prior to the change?

[John Prophet]

Welcome to the forum!

hmmm, is there anything on Via's site about it?

nasty sounding problem

I wonder if you can boot to the cd to the recovery console and then turn off the IDE driver somehow??

or if there is a way to boot to the recovery console and delete that 4in1 driver altogether somehow?? (might be a lot of work)

[wonderin]

i am not sure if there was a restore point saved before hand, it is quite possible there wasn't: it was disabled for a while and i enabled it only a couple of weeks ago.

i'm also having problems getting into the BIOS to change the boot order to try to reinstall XP. i get a system beep if I try to press ESC during start up, which I believe is what HP laptops use to get into the BIOS. there really aren't many important files on the computer, i wouldn't mind taking a risk with a recovery or outright reinstall of XP if it were necessary, but i can't even change the boot order to try it!

i'll have a look in the VIA site.