Windows xp oem won't finish install

jenfromzen

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Jul 11, 2010
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18,510
I'm trying it one more time, but meanwhile I"ll put the question out there: here's the deal, I'm giving my dad my old intel p4 computer, I think 1G ram, new 80 gig sata drive that I put a bridge on to make ide for the old MB, a Gigabyte RZ series, there's a 3DForce4 MX440-8X video card, one cd rom is connected, well one I pulled the power cord out so it wouldn't be running, there was another memory stick in there with another 256, but I pulled that out. The old floppy is there still. No other HDDs at the moment. I got the oem disk from like ebay or something, I'm not sure, it was sealed and all, looks authentic to me, has key code on a label, has instruction booklet, looks like real deal.

So I'm just baffled why when it is supposed to move onto phase 2 of the install, it goes back to the beginning steps as though nothing had just happened the last 40 minutes. I don't know why win xp takes forever too, I just got win7 loaded on my new computer and it was like loaded regular program, it seemed like 5 minutes or so, now after more than 3 hours I still can't get freaking xp to load on my old computer for my Dad! GRRRR!
 

jenfromzen

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Jul 11, 2010
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Installing on a rather old, but still well functioning machine with a Gigabyte RZ series MB, a 3DForce4 video card, 1G RAM, Intel P4, one cd connected, a floppy for no use tho I suppose, usb connected mouse and keyboard. It starts like it's working fine, it formats the drive, it copies files, then it says it needs to reboot to continue set up and then when it turns back on, it just starts the same process all over again, it doesn't move to the next step. The OEM disk was sealed and all so I don't know why it would be the disk, I did buy it off ebay I think, but then again maybe it was newegg. I mean the min requirements for xp are still below what this machine has and the machine itself works because I was just using it myself up til about couple weeks go when I put my new computer together. This is for my Dad and I need to get it working, his old computer, my old old computer is really on the fritz now. Win 7 loaded on mine in a jiffy and now 3 and half hours later I can't make headways getting xp onto his.
 

jenfromzen

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Jul 11, 2010
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Sorry I accidentally submitted twice because the first time it said that my message didn't post, but apparently it did so I rewrote it, this is like my night for doing things over and over I guess then isn't it?
 
You said this about a CD Drive... "well one I pulled the power cord out so it wouldn't be running"

Bad idea. The mainboard IDE controller is looking at a dis-allowed state if the data cable is still plugged in. Just pulling the power is not sufficient.

The OEM CD, is it brown, and has been engraved with a laser showing "Microsoft" to make it imposible to duplicate?

Does it tell you to press any key to boot from CD when you boot the computer using this CD? or does it just boot to CD whether you want it to or not? (This has little to do with the authenticity of the CD)

You pulled 256MB of memory.. this is bad unless you know it's defective.
If it is re-booting the CD, it will go back to stage 1.
If you can't get it to bypass booting the CD you'll have to interrupt the re-start by opening the CD drive tray when Setup re-starts the computer. Careful!! Your BIOS may try to close it again, and lock the eject button until booting is well under way, so better to take the CD out for a few seconds while it restarts, then put CD in tray and close because Setup will still need it.

Try these few things and see if it makes any difference for the better.

 

jenfromzen

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Jul 11, 2010
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I did eventually get it, but I was using the sata bridge wrong and then I wasn't sure if I broke it or it just didn't seem be working with my computer so I scratched that idea and put in an ide drive and eventually got it to load, but it kept crashing after that, I get everything installed, it seems be working fine, then I go to restart and it gets to the black screen like it's loading xp and then after that the screen turns blue and stays like that. I tried installing a few more times, then once I did a repair bec it actually had recognized for a change that I had already installed it and then even after the repair it hung up again. So at this point I thought why am I killing myself over this stupid old computer? Why didn't I just look on ebay?? I could hit myself. Then I went and had him get win 7, but of course the computer's too old for that, but I think one these refurbs on ebay should be able run win 7. As for the extra drives maybe someone will buy that for a few bucks off me? I dunno, one 80, one 40, not that popular any more and ide too.

But still, I'd like know why it isn't working, I've been building my own computers for 10 years and since they last so long then ok, I've only built 2 and I'm no expert as you can see I did some no no things before, but still, I manage to get computers going so I'm just baffled as to why I can't this time. I changed the hdd twice now so it wasn't that. Is something else about my computer that can't handle win 7 and other stuff? It is a p4 3.2 I think, 1 gig plus 1 256 rams, video card that came with direct x8, not enough usb's so the mouse is connected using an adapter to connect to the mini din 6, then one usb has a hub in it to put more usbs like the printer, and flash drive and the keyboard is connected directly. So maybe is something with my copy of win xp? I have another unopened copy, one of win xp pro that I found here at work, came with my computer maybe, but I guess they didn't need to use it so I took it home.
 

jenfromzen

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Jul 11, 2010
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Oh I wanted to add that on the last install I had everything connected that I was going to need. And I looked up the proper way to do it. I had the new HDD as PM and the CDRW as PS, the CDRom as SM and the old HDD (to copy his files from) as SS. They were reading correctly that way too so I'm assuming I had finally gotten all the jumpers right. So I've no clue why win xp won't stay working once I've got it installed.
 

jenfromzen

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Jul 11, 2010
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Yes they were for years when I used the computer and the first time I tried installing I did pull it out, but maybe that was when I was still messed up bec of the sata bridge, dunno. But yeah, they were in there together for years now. Still thinking anyway, might be worth scoring deal off ebay, now I know better, and just then having him with a good enuf computer to run win7 and hopefully have life be easier!!! lol But thx for trying to think of the problem. I hate to think it's me, I thought I was pretty good with computers, no expert, but I've been running two in my home for about a decade and figuring out everything on my own, we never paid anyone to fix our computers and I put them both together so how bad could I be, is mostly like a puzzle, things only fit together a certain way, but I didn't realize before the rhyme and reason for some of the master slave set ups so that was new to me, but we rarely burn disks anyway. And now I have sata anyway. I guess the feeling of defeat sux, but I did get my new computer to work so I'm happy about that and it's not something I get to do often since once I put one together I leave it for years before I change it. Maybe upgrade a part here and there.