can't load win xp onto new build!! (again)

[deadman.inc]

well this is my third mobo, i rma'ed the first two back to newegg ! i posted on here twice (first time , second time ). here are my sys specs . well i hooked up only the bare minimus required to run the system, mobo, cpu, video card, cd rom (cd burner in this case), and hd. all this is in the case. everything is working, the hd led, the power led, on/off switch. but here's the prob. . . after hooking everything up, i clear my cmos, turn on the comp, go into bios, change my boot device to cd rom, put in the cd, then save and exit bios. it restarts the comp, reads the xp cd (hear it spinning really fast) and then jus hangs there. . . . after a few secs (15 secs approx.) the cd slows down (it starts spinning slowly) till the point that i can barely hear it . . . . here are somthings i have tried. oh btw i have two xp cd's and one win 2000 pro cd (1 xp cd from my dad, 1 from my friends, 200o pro from my friend aswell)

1) change the jumper on the cd from 'cable select' to 'master' and back.
2) tried all the win cd's ofcourse
3) try another cd rom (50x)
4)after clearing cmos and changing bios, turn off comp, and restart it with the cd in the cr rom (cd burner/ cd rom)

here is what i havn't tried:
1) creating a boot disk (floppy disk). i did it on my first mobo, but it didn't work. i havn't got a chance to try it with the new mobo. . .

im gonna have a friend over to check out whts wrong. . . i think thats it, but i'll post if i rmr anything else.

[TeenPcknowit]

With NT operating systems you cannot access a setup file from DOS. (Or the command line you get by using a boot up disk.)

You need to boot directly from the cd,
or boot from setup disks (like those that came/come with windows 2000)

[deadman.inc]

he dosn't have one, it came from my friend, win 2000 pro. i got oem win xp, didn't get any bootup disk with it another other suggestions?

here , whts the difference between ' MS Windows XP Pro (including Corp) 6disks' and 'MS Windows XP System setup disk' (at the bottom of the list)?


Start the computer with your chosen boot disk.
Change to the cdrom drive.
Go into the \i386 directory on the cdrom.
Run WINNT.EXE to begin the install process.

how do I this? chosen boot disk, the boot disk i made, rite? how do i change to the cd rom drive? because it dosn't give me the option to type, or go into dos it directly reads from the cd. . .

[doctorgonzo]

Have you tried a different disk? Maybe the CD is the problem.

[deadman.inc]

i have two win xp cds, tried both, failed on both. . . .and the win 98 cd i had, it loaded that with ease, well, it went into setup and everything, but as the my sys is not compatible with the os, it just hanged there. the cd isn't the problem, the processor and mobo are jus fine. on the start up screen it reads the ram (524 mbs i think, i have 512 on ther tho), it reads the hd aswell (74 gb, i have a 80gb western digital hd. . .) the video card is fine too, i have tried to cd roms, so that can't be the prob. . . i think it's the connections. . . i have double, triple, quadruple checked the connections, but ic nothing wrong. . . . mind you i do have the bare minimum. . . so wht can be the problem?

[doctorgonzo]

I would check the RAM next. If you have two sticks of RAM, try the install with just one or the other.

What do you mean your system is not compatible with Windows 98?

[deadman.inc]

thats wht my dad said (he's a software engineer) its the old version of win 98. the technology on the mobo has changed so much that the 5 yr old win 98 is not hand shaking with the hardware if you wanna call that, that's my theory. anyways i don't have two stick of ram, only have one. it reads the ram, i made it count the ram, i think, and it did it. my mobo isn't compatible with sdram other wise i would have tried that hmmmmmm. . . .i don't wanna give it to micro center becasue im afraid they mite not tell me wht the problem was if they ever get the problem solved. i want to fix my self. but it mite end up me givin it micro center. . .

[doctorgonzo]

Can you post your complete system specs? The link you provided doesn't have any information. Be sure to include everything.

[trulad]

What I did one time on an almost similar case was I used a zero fill downloaded from the hard drive manufacturer then booted from the XP cd and it installed. Up until then I tried every way possible with no results.
trulad

[deadman.inc]

first off sorry about the sys specs, forgot that was my wish list, i'll ahve it this evening, i am at work, and cannot do it rite now.
secondly, whts 'zero fill downloaded' trulad?

post back later, thanks

[deadman.inc]

http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishHis...VIEW&ID=796912 , there you go

[trulad]

Go to the web site of your hard drive's manufacturer,(Western Digital,Maxtor,who-ever) and under downloads you should find diagnostic tools and zero-fill.
trulad

[deadman.inc]

ic data life guard, but no zero fill it's a western digital hd

i called Aopen, the guy i was talkin to was being a jerk! not goin aopen again. .

[gerrygrit]

There have been a few times when we crossed this bridge.........and installed
Win98SE............then upgraded to XP.............mind you that you will be running XP on a FAT32 partition and have to use the command prompt to
change it to NTFS..........

[deadman.inc]

i can't do that, cause i don't have the win 98 se cd. . . i have a older version of win 98, it goes into setup, and then jus hangs there, it's not compatible with my build. . cause the technology has changed so much. . . the only option i have isto laod winxp, but it's not workin, any other suggestions?

help anyone?

[deadman.inc]

c'mon guys plz help me!! this damn comp of mine is screwed, i seriuosly wish i could take my baseball bat and beat the livin **** out of it, but i can't cause i have gone too far and will not give up!

i have tried my old IDE drive from my old comp, and still its not loading the damn OS on there, formatted it and everything. now it gives a

Invalid system disk
Replace the disk, and then press any key

wht is that suppose to mean?????????
it gave me that error on my first mobo aswell (same mobo)!! WHT AM I TO DO?????? i have tried my old IDE drive, my sata drive isn't workin, two xp cd's, four optical drives! four bootup disks?? wht am i doing wrong???? is it the boot up disks? do i have to do somthing to it before i boot it up with my new comp?

i got the boot up essential disk from that site i mentioned on my first post, i put that disk in and type in dir in dos, gives me 'WBOOTESS EXE' and when i type in 'WBOOTESS' it tells me 'This program cannot be run in DOS mode.' it's my floppy drive btw A:\

and the bios update, how do i update my bios? i can't update my bios, i put in the floppy with the upgrade downloaded on there (Aopen.com, AK86-L) i type in dir, it gives 'WA86L1~1 ZIP', I TYPE THAT IN and it gives me 'bad command or file name!' do i have to open it in a window's environment (my laptop) unzip it and then put it in the new comp, if so, i can't do that either cause the file is toooo big for the floppy!

i have tried everything and i have failed, this has been one nightmare after the other!!!! computer building isn't fun, it's hell!!!!!
sorry i went off like that but my computer is sitting there in front of me and i can't hit it or do anything for that matter! i hate it beyond anything i have ever hated before (i think).
i know i'll get warned for this, if not banned, love this forum, it's the computer thats rotten!

i don't wanna take this to microcenter, 87$!! thas jus too much, they mite go your hd is defective, that's another 80$!! omg!!! so frustrated!!!

[trulad]

On the Western Digital Web-Site under "Daignostic Tools" there is a utility that you can download to a floppy that will diagnose your hard drive and write zeros to it. This will make it as it was when you bought it. Clear your CMOS, set your BIOS to boot from CD first, save,boot with XP cd in drive and cross your fingers. Don't get frustrated. Solving a challenging problem feels great when finally the system boots.
trulad

[fudtone]

I'm going to say try a different power supply.
Is it all hooked up? 2 Plugs to MB?
It would be rare to see an Enlight DOA however the first time that thing really has to put out the juice is when starting setup.

[deadman.inc]

yea the ps is properly setup. . . which one do i dl? the exe version or the zip version of the diagnostic tools?

[doctorgonzo]

Either one is fine. The EXE is just a self-extractor, the ZIP is zipped.

[deadman.inc]

im gonna run it in dos tho, k?

they both are too big! too big for the floppy that is!

[Redfallon]

Originally Posted by deadman.inc Invalid system disk Replace the disk, and then press any key

You're absolutely sure that you're BIOS is set to boot from the CD first? That is the message you get when the comp looks on the HDD for the system files and can't find them. Maybe you're just hearing the CD drive spin up on boot, and it's not actually booting from the CD. Then after it spins up it spins down, and your computer just sits there, thinking there's no OS to boot from. Triple check the boot order settings. And make sure there's no floppy in the drive if you're trying to boot from the CD.

[deadman.inc]

yea, it's set to boot from the cdrom, then floppy, and then the hdd

[deadman.inc]

i finally figured out how to get files on on the floppy!!! you don't download the files DIRECTLY to the floppy, you dl it to your hd, then run it, and then make the floppy!!
im the tru noob :P

[gerrygrit]

Try putting your hard drive as the master and your cd-rom as the slave on the same ribbon cable...
After you've gotten Winxp installed ........then set it back up the way you
want it......

Hope that helps ..........

G

[deadman.inc]

i have a sata hd, anyways, i have gotten an ide hd, and put it in there, from my old comp. i had to disable all my bootdisks, because i ahve 4 ide devices and coulsn't alighn the cablse so that my ide hd could be primary master (i have it on cable select, i think). well anyways, i have windows xp on there after goin thru many boot up disks.

well i got win xp pro on the ide hd, and couldn't get it on the sata hd, tried getting driver on there but failed. anyways, now im hopping that i'll get it thru win xp on my ide hd. see if that works. . . .