New Mobo and CPU, XP install hangs

[gamer-stu]

Howdy all, any help would me much appreciated. I’m upgrading my motherboard and CPU, and have run in to some issues.

What’s new:
ASRock 939Dual VSTA motherboard (w/ AGP and PCIe)
Athlon64 3700+ San Diego

What’s old:
2x512 MB PC2700 Ram
Radeon 9800 Pro
60 GB IDE HD
100 GB IDE HD
500w PS
DVD Burner

Everything posted fine, and I set the memory divider to accommodate the slower RAM. At first, I would reboot when attempting to install Windows. Just for giggles, I tried to load KNOPPIX Linux, and it crashed during boot to.

I removed everything but 1 stick of RAM, the vid card, and 1 HD. Knoppix now loads fine, but I now hang when trying to install XP Home from the CD. XP gets to the point where it asks if I want to reinstall, new install, or exit…. I select new install, and it says “Please wait….” And I’m stuck there forever. Help!

I’ve disabled all of the nonessential stuff in BIOS (usb, onboard LAN, etc.) I’ve fdisked the drive (had to do this from knoppix). I’ve manually entered the memory timings. No change. Still hang on Windows Home install. I have two of these disks (different licenses), and I’m encountering the same problem.

I suspect maybe it’s the cheap RAM, since I’ve heard that the ASRock Dual VSTA is VERY picky about its RAM. But then, why would knoppix load? I don’t want to buy good RAM (which I intended to do at some point) just to have that not work too. Should I just RMA the mobo and cpu back and buy a friggin Dell? I’m about to give up!

 

[4Ryan6]

If you're setting up a dual boot check out the guide below, if not, Please state your intentions of your end goal.

When you mentioned Memory divider, are you talking about memory timings?

I'm not familiar with the ASROCK M/B or if the divider is necessary to change unless you're OCing.

You say cheaper memory like its inferior or something but have you tested it to be sure its error free, if it is it should be fine.






Knoppix/WinXP dual boot setup steps
1. Make a backup of your files.
2. Boot Knoppix from CD.
3. Press CTRL+ALT+F2.
4. Type "knoppix-installer".
5. Select Partition drives.
6. Press Spacebar to select the drive to partition.
7. Create a swap partition (say 512mbs)
8. Create a linux partition.
9. Create a FAT16 partition for Windows.
10. Mark the Windows partition as "bootable".
11. Write changes to your disk.
12. Quit the installer.
13. Return to knoppix by pressing ALT+F4/F5
14. Reboot.
15. Pop in your Windows CD and install Windows.
16. Boot up Knoppix from CD.
17. Press CTRL+ALT+F2.
18. Type "knoppix-installer".
19. Now flag your linux partition as "Bootable" and remove the one on the Windows partition.

Optional: After this you may want to configure LILO. Open /etc/lilo.conf in KWrite. You can call your OS's whatever you want. I had "Windows XP / hda3" but I didn't like it and renamed it to "Monster Bill Gates". You can configure the delay times too. Just read the comments. Placing "#" in front of a line makes it a comment.

Go to your terminal. And type "lilo".

And you're good to go!

PS. If you're pretty sure you got the partitions right and Knoppix won't let you install, you can type "IGNORE_CHECK=1 sudo knoppix-installer" instead of "knoppix-installer".

 

[gamer-stu]

Thanks Ryan! My goal is a windows XP partition only. I just included KNOPPIX in the mix because I needed to see if anything would boot. What the hell though, I'll do a dual boot to see if that works. At least I'll get a working linux partition, so I can reply to this post on something besides my blackberry. .

Re: mem dividing, I just meant running the ram slower than the fsb. This cpu runs 200 x 11, and the ram at 133.

 

[4Ryan6]

The answer to your problem is to LLF, or Zero Fill the HDD you want to install on, which will totally wipe it clear of all old boot records and partitions, once its wiped clear WinXP will install problem free.

I would remove the HDD access from the machine that I wasn't going to install the operating system on, by unplugging the IDE and Power Supply cable from it, and make sure the Installation HDD is jumpered Master and put on the Primary or IDE 1 M/B connector.

You can LLF or Zero fill from the HDDs diagnostics disk that came with it if you bought retail and not OEM you should have one, if not you can download one from the HDD manufacturers website but that will be kinda difficult with a Blackberry.