XP Reinstall

[bluedragon]

Tried to reinstall XP on a hard drive that previously had it installed but it hangs about half way through. Actually, i have tried 3 hard drives that i formatted first but it hangs on all of them. I looked at the disk but it doesn't look damaged. Ideas??

 

[Saga Lout]

Tried to reinstall XP on a hard drive that previously had it installed but it hangs about half way through. Actually, i have tried 3 hard drives that i formatted first but it hangs on all of them. I looked at the disk but it doesn't look damaged. Ideas??

Half way through is around the time it starts looking at hardware - anything in that box you might suspect? Try a different graphics card.[/#000ff]

 

[bluedragon]

Don't think it's the graphics card as the monitor still works, and i was just in the windows system just prior to trying to reinstall the OS.

Regards, BD

 

[bluedragon]

Ok Now when i try to reinstall the OS, i get the blue screen which says that it's dumping memory, and to run a test of my video adapter, or check my memory. My question is how do i run a dianostics if i can't get into Safe Mode??? Regards, BD

 

[aford10]

Try each RAM chip, 1 at a time.

What kind of motherboard? If it has onboard video, unplug the video card, and use the onboard video.

 

[bluedragon]

The motherbooard is an ASUS P3V4X, it has an AGP slot and a
3D Graphics Via VT82C694X system controller (iam guessing that means it has no onboard video?). I will try the Ram memory 1 at a time.

Regards, BD

 

[FALC0N]

The motherbooard is an ASUS P3V4X, it has an AGP slot and a
3D Graphics Via VT82C694X system controller (iam guessing that means it has no onboard video?). I will try the Ram memory 1 at a time.

Regards, BD

Thats a pentium 3 board isn't it? I think Saga is on the right track with hardware. But this adds age and compatibility issues to the mix.

I would like to hear a little more background on this system. Why are you reinstalling? Are you using the same XP disk as your initial install? When was the initial install? Any hardware changes? Etc....

My first thought here is that some older stuff didn't like SP2. But thats just a wild guess.

 

[Saga Lout]

That board was ahead of its time but that was in 2000 which leads me to wonder about this "half way through" thing. Is it half way through loading drivers? Does it get to and past the stage of setting regional and language settings or not as far as that? If it gets there and falls over at that stage, try changing the CMOS battery in case the time is confusing the system. Another possibility is changes that were made to BIOS to accomodate the old system might need to be reset back to default before a new installation can go in.

I'm still inclined to suspect graphics but a board of that age, made for '98 and 2000, may have other issues expecially, as Falcon says, with an XP CD which includes SP2.[/#000ff]

 

[bluedragon]

Thats a pentium 3 board isn't it? I think Saga is on the right track with hardware. But this adds age and compatibility issues to the mix.

I would like to hear a little more background on this system. Why are you reinstalling? Are you using the same XP disk as your initial install? When was the initial install? Any hardware changes? Etc....

My first thought here is that some older stuff didn't like SP2. But thats just a wild guess.

Hi. I am reinstalling because my OS seems to have a problem i.e. I have to two 30gb hard drives installed one master and one slave, however somewhere in time it looked like the OS was running off both drives. My meaning is i had to have both drives installed for the computer to boot to windows. Even if i unplugged the slave it wouldn't boot. So i decided to reinstall on the master only but every time i try i keep haveing problems. SP2 was not installed, and i made no hardware changes. The initial install was a few years ago.As of now I have formatted both master and slave and tried to install the OS on both drives. During the loading of files tonight i got a message " Setup cant copy the file: mdmrock3.inf" and then it wouldn't complete the installation. Additionally, when i turn on the computer it doesn't recognize the drive, however when i go into the bios it shows the drive. I tried installing memory 1 at a
time and the memory appears to be fine, I have not tried another video card, because i don't have another one to try. Ok, alot of info here, so ???? Regards, BD

 

[Saga Lout]

Hi. I am reinstalling because my OS seems to have a problem i.e. I have to two 30gb hard drives installed one master and one slave, however somewhere in time it looked like the OS was running off both drives. My meaning is i had to have both drives installed for the computer to boot to windows. Even if i unplugged the slave it wouldn't boot. So i decided to reinstall on the master only but every time i try i keep haveing problems. SP2 was not installed, and i made no hardware changes. The initial install was a few years ago.As of now I have formatted both master and slave and tried to install the OS on both drives. During the loading of files tonight i got a message " Setup cant copy the file: mdmrock3.inf" and then it wouldn't complete the installation. Additionally, when i turn on the computer it doesn't recognize the drive, however when i go into the bios it shows the drive. I tried installing memory 1 at a
time and the memory appears to be fine, I have not tried another video card, because i don't have another one to try. Ok, alot of info here, so ???? Regards, BD

If it stalls while expanding a particular file, the CD might have a scratch too slight to see. Try cleaning it with a small dab of toothpaste on your fingertip and a piece of lint or very soft cloth.

Don't use kitchen towel or even toilet paper - those blighters are made of wood!

 

[bluedragon]

That board was ahead of its time but that was in 2000 which leads me to wonder about this "half way through" thing. Is it half way through loading drivers? Does it get to and past the stage of setting regional and language settings or not as far as that? If it gets there and falls over at that stage, try changing the CMOS battery in case the time is confusing the system. Another possibility is changes that were made to BIOS to accomodate the old system might need to be reset back to default before a new installation can go in.

I'm still inclined to suspect graphics but a board of that age, made for '98 and 2000, may have other issues expecially, as Falcon says, with an XP CD which includes SP2.[/#000ff]

Hi, actually the install would hang about 5 minutes into the install at approximately the 35 minute mark. Both you and Falcon suspect the graphics board ?? could you tell me how to check it?? my understanding of the MB documentation is that there is no graphics chip installed on the MB, so unplugging the video card is a non starter for me. I could try changing the CMOS battery, if i can find one here in Japan.?? How do i reset the bios back to default. More info in my reply to Falcon. I really appreciate the help. Regards, BD

 

[Saga Lout]

Hi, actually the install would hang about 5 minutes into the install at approximately the 35 minute mark. Both you and Falcon suspect the graphics board ?? could you tell me how to check it?? my understanding of the MB documentation is that there is no graphics chip installed on the MB, so unplugging the video card is a non starter for me. I could try changing the CMOS battery, if i can find one here in Japan.?? How do i reset the bios back to default. More info in my reply to Falcon. I really appreciate the help. Regards, BD

My last post sort of supercedes my suggestion of graphics because it seems there might be another problem. You're right about your motherboard not having onboard graphics but in any event, I now think it's the CD - five minutes in is still at the copying stage.

 

[aford10]

If it consistently fails at that spot trying to read the disc, it's likely the disc. If it seems to be a little more random, the optical drive may be suspect. Cleaning the disc would be a good start.

 

[FALC0N]

Is the current XP disk the same one you used for the original install years back?

 

[bluedragon]

Ok, I am back. I cleaned the disk, reinstalled the video card and i was able to load XP on the 30mb hard drive!! however i wanted to install the OS on the 120mb drive but i can't get the computer to recognize the drive on bootup, it says "none" as the primary drive". But if i install it as a slave it will show up after bootup in my computer. I've tried different jumper settings and tried manually installing it as a primary drive, but no joy!! It's a Western Digital drive. on a Asus P3V4X Motherboard. Any ideas.

 

[Saga Lout]

Ok, I am back. I cleaned the disk, reinstalled the video card and i was able to load XP on the 30mb hard drive!! however i wanted to install the OS on the 120mb drive but i can't get the computer to recognize the drive on bootup, it says "none" as the primary drive". But if i install it as a slave it will show up after bootup in my computer. I've tried different jumper settings and tried manually installing it as a primary drive, but no joy!! It's a Western Digital drive. on a Asus P3V4X Motherboard. Any ideas.

WDs are different from the rest of the pack in the jumpering department. For a WD drive to be Master on its own, there's one jumper setting but with a Slave present, there's another.[/#000ff]

 

[bluedragon]

Yes, I tried it as a single, then as a master. The only jumper setting that gives me visibility on the drive is as a slave.
Regards, BD

 

[Saga Lout]

Yes, I tried it as a single, then as a master. The only jumper setting that gives me visibility on the drive is as a slave.
Regards, BD

How extraordinary! If IDE or PATA - and if CS or Cable Select is an option, go for that one. If SATA, is it in the No. 1 slot?

 

[bluedragon]

Yes, I thought so too, but nothing amazes me with computers! It's not Sata, the ASUS P3V4X doesn't have a SATA connection.

 

[Saga Lout]

Yes, I thought so too, but nothing amazes me with computers! It's not Sata, the ASUS P3V4X doesn't have a SATA connection.

Cable Select remains my only suggestion then.[/#000ff]

 

[bluedragon]

All, I was finally able to install the harddrive and OS using cable select. Thanks.

 

[bluedragon]

Best answer selected by bluedragon.

 

[Saga Lout]

All, I was finally able to install the harddrive and OS using cable select. Thanks.

Great stuff and thanks for the thanks.[/#000ff]