clean install of windows xp

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

I tried posting this in a windows newsgroup and got no response. I remember
how helpful this group was before i finally laid my old pb to rest. Can
anyone take a stab at this??

Thanks.

I'm trying to help out my neighbor by upgrading from windows 98 to windows
xp. I have configured bios to boot to cd rom, then floppy, the hard drive.

When i restart, it goes through and says "verifying dmi pull data" and, just
below that "boot from atapi cd rom". After a few seconds, it says "failure"
then boots to hard drive.

The cd seems fine.

I'm wondering if it has to do with the way the ide channels are set up.
This is a custom built pc, built by a friend several years ago. This is how
it was set up when i opened the case:

hard drive set on secondary ide channel as master.
cd rom set on secondary ide channel as slave
floppy drive set on primary ide channel as master or slave. i didn't really
pay much attention.

Now, i'm planning to install a second hard drive too. This is what i'm used
to dealing with.

main hard drive (c drive) set up on primary ide channel as master
second hard drive (d drive) set up on primary ide channel as slave
cd rom set up on secondary ide channel as master
floppy drive set up on secondary ide channel as slave.

So, first of all, any reason why i would be getting the failure and pc not
booting from cd rom first?
Secondly, do i need to rewire ide channels? If so, what configuration?
Does it matter?

I've done a few clean installs in my time but have a basic understanding of
some of the processes. I can follow directions pretty well.

Let me know if you have any ideas or if you think this is better posted
somewhere else.

Thanks.
Cut

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

My thoughts:
I believe that you are on the right track with the iDE channels. The
boot drive should be the primary master. The CDs should be on the
secondary channel. I have never seen a floppy on the IDE, although
there were some Zip drives that did this and some high capacity floppy
drives that might have as well. The fact that this is on the primary
channel suggests that there was a problem during construction. But if
it was just a mistake then it should be correctable.

If there is a minor incompatibility between this "floppy" drive and
BIOS you could remove the floppy from system. (after correcting the
IDE irregularities), if it still doesn't boot.

Not all BIOSs, especially early versions, support CD booting
correctly.

There might be a problem with the CD / drive combo. Either weakening
of the CD laser or damage to CD itself.

There are variations in boot proceedures and the BIOS might not
support this variation. Can it boot from other types of boot CDs?

You could boot from a floppy with CD support. Somewhere I have a winXp
boot flopy based on win98 or me. Not certain what the advantage to
this version would be.