I know I could research all this myself but just looking for some quick input.

Okay, so one of my old desktops has a kernel error that prevents it from starting. The computer is over ten years old so I'd like to recover what data I can from the drives, replace the drives, and then reload XP.

I'm thinking I shouldn't need anything other than a USB to IDE adapter to try to recover the data.

I'm assuming a kernel error is usually caused by some corruption on the drive so replacing and reloading should fix, right?

The PC originally had XP MCE 2005. I should have backup discs for that. Now, I upgraded to 7 with an OEM disc. How hard is it to setup a dual boot system with what I have?

The computer also was upgraded to Windows 10 so is triple boot a relatively simple possibility? Really don't think I need to do so, just wondering.

Okay, so I have a network issue with my primary Windows 10 desktop. My other Win 10 desktop and Win 10 laptop can see it on the home network but it can't see any other computer. Going through some of the steps I've found online I got it to show "Computers" under network devices but it can only see itself. I have no problem sending files to this computer over the network but it's a bit annoying and I'm wondering if I ever put together a home NAS if I'll have issues.

Not usually. It could be just about anything. Corrupt install, bad drivers, failing HDD, bad ram, bad caps, PSU failing/out of spec. Sometimes the kernel panic can tell you what’s wrong, sometimes it’s coincidental.

I don’t think either of us would enjoy diagnosing this problem remotely. Try booting from a Linux USB. If that works, it’s probably HD/install/drivers. If it doesn’t work, you probably need it professionally repaired.

Its not that hard to triple boot, but exactly what you need to do depends on a few things. Like if you’re using UEFI boot. Rule of thumb, make your partitions first, then start with the oldest OS and work your way forward.


Check to make sure you can ping each computer from the other.

If you can’t, check to make sure network isolation is disabled on your wifi access point/router. Make sure all of the computers are on the same subnet (if they aren’t you can still fix it, but it involves routing tables).

If you can, check to make sure file and printer sharing are enabled on the second desktop and laptop.

Thanks, yeah, I'm not looking for anyone to try to diagnose the old PC. Primarily I just want to look at the hard drives and get what I need off it but I also might want to try to build a mame cabinet or something else "useful" with it. Thinking about XP for the old software that Win 7 barks at.

Another rule of thumb: if it’s silver and blue, it’s got bad caps.

The computer gave me some trouble after our move five years ago. I opened it up, didn't see anything obvious, reseated components, then it worked. I started getting bsods but then, I don't remember what I did, they went away for awhile. Then I started getting kernel errors. I have a feeling that if I hook it back up it will work fine. Probably not but that has happened before. It's low priority though.