I've Got Those Code Purple Blues

[HYPERThalamus]

SYSTEM: Compaq Presario S5040AN

ABSTRACT: Used the non-destructive System Recovery feature to restore default system files after a run in with malware. Windows Re-install hangs at the splash screen with a CODE PURPLE error message. Is there a work-around?

Hello all you fellow CODE PURPLE sufferers and (hopefully) solution-laden experts out there. I've fallen foul of Compaq / HP's "booby trap" through no fault of my own. Here is my tale of woe.

About a month after I purchased the system back in 2003 the system was infected by a particularly nasty piece of malware that I couldn't get rid of. Not having much experience with the newer Presario models but on the strength of the previous Presario system my parents had owned I didn't hesitate in using the System Recovery feature to reset Windows to the factory settings. Shortly after the XP splash screen appeared I was hit with CODE PURPLE error message telling me to contact Compaq Support. The initial support person didn't know anything about CODE PURPLE errors and told me to call back later when his supervisor was available. When I called again I was told CODE PURPLE meant the motherboard hadn't been tattooed properly and I needed to send it back to be tattooed. It sounded impressively technical. The computer was still under warranty at this stage so I didn't mind doing this. At least it would prevent such a problem from happening again in the future. In fact I thought I had been lucky in discovering the problem before the warranty had expired. I tend to play round with things quite a bit and more often that not end up having to reinstall the OS at some point after a mistake.

Flash forward 3 years...

Through installing some shareware program or other I inadvertedly downloaded an adware program called winsecure.exe that redirects the ads in search engines to specific sites. None of the usual freeware adware busters detected it (Spybot, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Bazooka) so I was following the manual removal instructions on Symantec's site. This involved playing round with the registry. It seems I inadvertedly deleted the wrong keys as the next time I booted the system I couldn't access the desktop at all. Even Safe Mode wasn't working. Since I couldn't access Windows and had never needed to create an XP bootdisk I was effectively locked out of the system. The first thing I did was to use the System Recovery feature. It had been fixed after all hadn't it? Well I soon found out the answer to that. No - it hadn't. I then tried using the System Recovery CDs I made the second I got the system back the first time only to be told the CDs weren't compatible with this Compaq model. Funny seeing how I created the CDs with this computer!!

In hindsight when I got the system back the attached job order (which I threw away years ago) didn't mention anything about the motherboard being re-tattooed. I suspect that all the technician did was re-image the HDD with a generic copy of XP. That might also explain why the DVD drive didn't work properly afterwards (which I only discovered after the warranty had expired).

Been googling CODE PURPLE for a while and it is a much more common problem (or more commonly talked about on the web) than it was when it first happened to me. It seems to be caused by a number of factors including power surges, changing hardware parts and, in my case, using their supposedly full-proof recovery software.

I'll list some of the sites I came across that may be of use of use to some people with various models of HP/Compaq systems.

One site (http://www.billoblog.com/billoblog/?p=152) has a work-around that works on some systems and requires the intermediate user to use a bootdisk and change the contents of a .bat file to by-pass the tattoo check. Didn't work for me as the file doesn't seem to exist on my system. The only thing I found in that directory (C:\HP) was a directory called PATCHES (there were no hidden files in the directory). The file PATCH.CMD was headed "FALL 2003 - Patch.cmd 06-10-2003" and ran .bat files in a number of sub-directories but nothing corresponded to the files listed on this site. The only thing I can think of that might prevent the procedures mentioned in this site from working for me is that I've been using a WIN95 bootdisk I had lying round rather than an XP bootdisk. I can't see how this would cause any problems.

This site (http://www.sysopt.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-182700.html) claims updating the BIOS should enable you to re-install any version of windows on your system but doesn't mention anything about it working in this type of situation. Playing round with the BIOS is not something I want to do without a little more detailed info.

The quasi-mystical tattooing procedure that Compaq Support talk about is, according to Compaq / HP-authorised techs on some forums, no more than inserting a floppy disk(s) and takes all of 5 minutes to do. Some people have managed to get hold of copies of these disks (anyone out there able to help?) through various means (including eBay) but Compaq/HP apparently won't give them out (citing piracy reasons - more likely they want to make money off your misfortune and their buggy products). There was one site set up for technicians to download an ISo of all the tattoos from but the link to the file is dead.

Does anyone know of where I can find a copy of the correct tattoo disk for my system?

From what I gathered from a bit of online research another solution is to just get my hands on another copy of XP and install that. What happens to my data-files if I do that? At the moment (using the Win95 bootdisk) I've got no access to the user partition of the HDD. Will a fresh install of XP detect the files and the existing partitions or do I have to kiss good-bye to all my personal files (30+Gb)?

Any workarounds or solutions would be greatly appreciated!

[TheTerrorist_75]

You could slave your drive in another computer and save the files. If your drive is formatted NTFS make sure the drive you slave to is NTFS also. FAT 32 wouldn't be able to access your drive if it's NTFS. After saving your files format your drive and install a full version of XP. You will also need to obtain the drivers for your hardware. HP/Compaq's website isn't known to be very supportive when it comes to drivers.

The Win95 bootdisk may not be able to help you trying to repair the registry problem. Try creating the WinXP disks.

How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks

You can search ebay for HP/Cpmpaq tattoo utility.

Edited May 2, 2006 by TheTerrorist_75

[HYPERThalamus]

POSTSCRIPT

Well I got screwed by the techies.

I could have got my hands on an OEM version of XP but didn't want to risk losing any personal files so I took it to the "experts". I'd called previously to see if they could "re-tattoo" the motherboard for me. They had said they could. From what I'd gathered from a bit of on-line research the re-tattooing could be done without needing to re-format the HDD so - since I'd only used the non-destructive system recovery - my files should have come through more or less unscathed.

Got a phone call yesterday from the tech (a week after taking the computer in) telling me he had "removed the tattoo" so I wouldn't have to worry about it again if I needed to perform another recovery. I didn't think to ask what he meant by this. I'd assumed he had somehow tweaked one of the scripts in the recovery partition as some HP owners have been able to do.

I hooked everything back up about half an hour ago ready to test it out and it seems I'm missing roughly 20 Gb of personal data (give or take a gig). I'd asked them to back-up the HDD before tinkering with it in case of any mishaps so I was safe in the knowledge that my personal files would not be harmed. I was surprised to find the usually cluttered desktop conspiciously absent. There were a couple of personal folders on the desktop but no icons for a *lot* of programs. I started delving and found the majority of my files were missing. This shouldn't have happened. Seems "removing the tattoo" meant he re-formatted and must have had access to a non-tattooed OEM version of XP. So I've paid NZ$100 for an "expert" to do what I could have done with a OEM version of XP AND I've lost the majority of my files. I'm ringing to complain tomorrow and (hopefully) see if the other 20Gb of data still exists on an HDD somewhere.

Unimpressed.

[TheTerrorist_75]

If you do not write to the original hard drive you might be able to use recovery software to recover the lost data.

File Scavenger®

Active@ File Recovery for Windows

[HYPERThalamus]

POST-POSTSCRIPT

SOLUTION

There is a workaround for the CODE PURPLE error after all. Check out http://www.billoblog.com/billoblog/?p=152. I only just discovered that it would have worked for me if I'd been looking on the right drive (and used a decent XP bootdisk). Took it to a techie when I didn't need to. Ended up paying NZ$98 for the guy to delete a copy of lines of code

Edited May 17, 2006 by HYPERThalamus

[TheTerrorist_75]

Nice find. Bookmarked. I was going to buy the disk that ebay offered. This will work so much easier seeing as I already have UBCD4Win and older versions of Knoppix. I have seen an increase of customers with HP/Compaqs coming in with problems, but have yet to deal with Code Purple.