Built PC-XP Install Problem

[mws254]

Have been buidling PC and was in the other forum but now having a problem getting XP installed. I just bought Windows XP Home OEM and tried to install. It seemed to be working fine.

Things seemed to be going well, "Welcome to Setup", "Please wait while Setup formats the partition", etc,etc,

It seems to finish the install as it says the computer will restart and complete the installation but it just starts the installation process from the beginning. I have tried it a couple of times with the cd out of the drive but then I get a "boot from cd: disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter." If I put the cd back in it starts all over again.

I have checked the bios and virus warning is disabled as this was a previous suggestion.

Please advise if this is the appropriate forum or if I should stay in "build your own pc"

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Regards MWS254






MB-Nforce3-a
Proc-AMD Sempron 3100 BR754
MEM-1GB DDR400 Kingston
Graphics-PNY Technologies GeForce FX 5500 128MB AGP
P/S-Thermaltake 430w
HD-Maxtor 300gb

[AnotherMuggle]

Is the BIOS set so that the hard disk is amongst the boot options?

It may be that hard disk is not selected as a device for the computer to boot from. Set CD-ROM as first boot device and then Hard Disk as the second.

[macko72]

Are you presing any key after reboot?
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...p_sg_clean.asp

[mws254]

I have to BIOS as follows, first CD-Rom, then HDD and floppy as the third option
Macko72 I went to your link and most of what I saw on the screenshots looked familar. I get to the below step
8. Setup folder copy phase and reboot
I actually get to the point where it says "your computer will reboot in 8 seconds"
I just let it do its thing and reboot. I have left the XP CD in the drive and then it start the windows XP install process all over again. I have done this a few times now and I have even taken the CD out once and that didn't work either.

Await your further suggestions. Even now the PC is at the Welcome to Setup screen and I am going to press F3 at this point for it to quit.

thanks
MWS254

[mws254]

After pressing F3 it asks to confirm the quit which I did. It says the computer will reboot in XX amount of seconds.
I took the XP cd out, it restarted, try to boot to windows. It said "boot from CD: Disk boot Failure, Insert system disk and press enter.

at this point I have to power down.
thought I would give you this extra info.

thanks MWS254

[mws254]

I have been away for a while, but I have to finally get back to work on this pc.
currently standard Cmos recognizes
IDE channel 0 master Maxtor 6L300r0
ide channel 1 Master Samsung sc-140b (my cd rom)
Current boot seq
CDROM
Floppy
Hard Drive


Recently downloaded from MS 6 disks to boot from, but this did not help
Current error message with the above in place "Boot from CD: Error loading operating system"

When I put in the XP cd in it goes to the windows setup. Then goes to the Welcome to Setup window. I already have partitioned the harddrive, this time I am going to delete the partition and start again. I created a 100MB partition, formatted using the NTFS system (did not choose Quick)

No matter what I seem to do I get stuck in a loop of just installing and installing XP. I never actually get it to launch.

Any help would be appreciated.

MWS254




I rMB-Nforce3-a
Proc-AMD Sempron 3100 BR754
MEM-1GB DDR400 Kingston
Graphics-PNY Technologies GeForce FX 5500 128MB AGP
P/S-Thermaltake 430w
HD-Maxtor 300gb

[glc]

If the bios antivirus is enabled, turn it off.

[mws254]

In the advanced Bios Features the Virus Warning is

Disabled.

Await your suggestions.
Regards, MWS254

[CrazyPenguinDude]

i am having the same problem you are, so your not alone! ive set the bios the same as u did too and it wont seem to work. I am beggining to wonder if my disk drive isnt working... but i fixed it and double checked it and it seemed to read my asus p5b deluxe updating disk....
------(ps i have the home edition you can buy from best buy and it has already been installed on one cpu)
man i have no clue what to do... im even thinking about calling up... the... the.. geek squad... man i feel like a nub right now!

[CrazyPenguinDude]

Ok, i think i may know this problem as i recall it happened on my other pc that i built. In order to install window's XP you have to have a previous version on your computer. This really frustrates me as A: it is new years and i have to go to a party soon. B: tommorow i am not sure if the geek squad can come out with those magical copies of old windows they have. Either way my pc won't be functional for a while because of this. But if anyone knows where i can download a version of like Millenuim or something, i can burn it to a disk and insert in old pc and presto! its fixed


now, if i can find Milenuim edition someplace for free without being captured by the CIA and interrogated

[Alaron]

__Moderator Note__

Have a look at the Forum Rules: http://forum.pcmech.com/rules.php We do not allow discussion of pirating software.

Originally Posted by CrazyPenguinDude But if anyone knows where i can download a version of like Millenuim or something, i can burn it to a disk and insert in old pc and presto! its fixed now, if i can find Milenuim edition someplace for free without being captured by the CIA and interrogated

[mws254]

I have tried a couple of different boot disks (for the A drive)that I downloaded from bootdisk.com and came up with an error message that said

"Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additonal informations."

Now I don't want to check the validity of the boot disk (the boot disk included boot.ini,
ntdetect.com,ntldr) but could the error message received be indicating a possible problem.

Do you think there could be a compatibility issue?
Your assistance is appreciated.

Regards,
MWS254

I rMB-Nforce3-a
Proc-AMD Sempron 3100 BR754
MEM-1GB DDR400 Kingston
Graphics-PNY Technologies GeForce FX 5500 128MB AGP
P/S-Thermaltake 430w
HD-Maxtor 300gb

[LittleGhoti]

Are you sure your Maxtor is not SATA?

[mws254]

Just confirmed from product documentation that the HD is definitely an ATA

Just additional info as I see it try to install XP again
"Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Copyright 1984-2003 Phoenix Technologies
NForce3-A Ver 1.0F 09/16/2005
Memory information DDR 400, 2T
IDE Channel 0 Master: Maxtor 6L300R0 GAJ41G20
IDE Channel 0 Slave: None
IDE Channel 1 Master: Samsung SC-140B BT11
IDE Channel 1 Slave: None
IDE Channel 2 Master: None
IDE Channel 3 Master: None

Just thought I would put this additional info in just in case it might help.

[CrazyPenguinDude]

meh i was joking, got this guy i no coming over with n older copy of windows. Apparently my disk only works if you have a previous windows on it.. uggg

[glc]

CPD, you have hijacked mws254's thread, but I will give you the courtesy of one reply - you do NOT have to install the old version - all you have to do is place the CD in the drive during the compliance check. Any further questions, please start your own thread.

[MaxRat]

Do this....when you try to install....

Boot it from the cd and let it install... on the 1st reboot (where you get into trouble...) hit delete and go into the bios and change the boot order...

put ALL of then to disabled but the 1st one....set it to hard drive...

I think whats happening here is..XP is suposed to bypass booting from the cd on the 1st reboot and boot the hard drive and finish loading windows...for some reason it's not bypassing.....could be a stuck key on the keyboard...

[mws254]

thanks, MaxRat will give it a try. Just got back from a few days in Indiana meeting with friends.

I have a spare keyboard which I will try at the same time. Will get to it this Sunday and see what happens.

Appreciate the suggestions, will keep my fingers crossed and post results.

Regards,
MWS254

[mws254]

MaxRat

I have disabled all the boot sequence except the HD.
I now get the following error message.
"Error loading operating system"

Await any other suggestions

[jmann22]

I was having the same exact problem...after reading this post and the link in a previous post I got xp to install by putting CDROM boot in the 1st boot priority(and left the cd in), nothing in the 2nd priority and hard drive in the 3rd slot...after doing this I hit F1 for continue and the installation moved on to the next step...not sure if you have tried this yet if not I hope it works, g/l

[mws254]

I will give it a try this weekend. It seems like I have tried all scenarios but I don't seem to ever be able to get the installation to complete.

Will advise results and await any other suggestions.

Thanks and Regards.
MWS254

[glc]

Have you downloaded Powermax and tested the hard drive yet? I think I would at this point.