Will not boot

Is this using the newly burnt CD in the computer you are trying to install to?

I haven't read this whole thread so I can't advise too much on the blue screen yet. I know you had that problem before but eventually got past that and had trouble formatting or copying files. I'll read the thread later and see if I can remember why I suggested copying the installation CD.

 

Thanks for jumping in sach2. I have totally run out of ideas on this one. I have read posts from people with Dells that they get the same problem even after replacing a drive.

 

WOW.. well then I am just going to drop this out the window haha

 

Don't give up. Sach2 may come through with a solution. He almost always does.

 

yes, this was using the newly burnt CD. So technically I didn't get as far as the original CD back when I tried before. I also burnt the cd at 1x to eliminate that part of it.

 

I just quickly read the thread. It looks like you are having more problems than I thought. I'll read again more slowly tonight and see if I come up with anything. I didn't realize you burnt a CD with nlite which is the same or better than just copying the original XP CD. I must have missed that when I suggested copying the installation CD.

Just to be sure we are on the same page, you just copied your original XP CD not the nlite one?

Does the blue screen give you any error number or mention any files?

What is the model number Dell? It should be printed in the circle around the power button?

Do any of your XP CDs (nlite or original) load up to the partitioning screen? I'm wondering if they do what would happen if you swapped CDs at that point for the one you just burnt--whether it would get any further in copying files?

 

I used to be able to get that far, but now it's the blue screen

I popped back in my original XP CD and the blue screen came up as well. Just FYI.

 

sach2 can confirm this but I think this relates to not having sata drivers installed on the XP install CD. I know you tried to install using nlite but I believe those are the wrong drivers I am looking for sata drivers for the Intel G965 Express Chipset but have not found them yet. I am still looking.

 

The 7B error should be related to the HD controller. So let's check that.

At the Dell screen hit F2 to enter BIOS. Navigate to Drives and hit <enter>
Then it is probably the space bar that will toggle between Raid autodetect/ATA and Raid On, you want to set it to the ATA option and then hit Esc and save the changes. Let me know what it was set to originally.

Boot from the CD and see if it will get past the 7B error.

 

Nice work man.. it worked. I am now at the Windows XP home Edition Setup screen with the original CD in..

waiting for instructions here..

 

I thought from our post #82 and #83 that we had it on Raid autodetect/ATA. Does this mean you changed it to raid and it worked? No wonder computers give me a headache.

 

LOL.. dude, I do everything you tell me. Unless I missed it. I apologize.

 

I never read the whole thread so let's go screen by screen to see where it hangs. I believe you have an empty HD and had trouble formatting it. So let's see where that goes.

So you are here so select to install:


Accept the license agreement and then what do you see at this screen?

 

305243 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on atapi [MBR]

C: Partition1 [FAT32] 28004 MB ( 27552 MB free )
Unpartitioned space 277239 MB

 

Go ahead and select the C: partition and on the next screen let it do the FAT Quick format. (I would usually say full format to NTFS but you had so much trouble getting a format to complete lets try the quick FAT one first).

Then see if it completes copying files. (If you aren't using the new disc you can just swap it out without restarting before selecting your partition)

 

Here we go guys..

I swapped out the original CD for the one I copied off the original. It is now on its way. Let's see what happens. I leave at 4pm today so if you don't hear me by then I will update you first thing tomorrow morning!

EDIT: Already a problem...

Setup cannot creat the folder:
\WINDOWS

Setup cannot continue until the folder is created.

-Retry
-Quit Setup

 

Just in case the beginning of the HD is damaged lets try putting it on a second partition. It may mess up drive letters but it might give information about whether it is the whole HD that is a problem or part of it.

Quit setup.
Restart and go back to the partitioning screen. So choose Enter to Install Windows XP. Agree to the license. Hit the C key to Create a partition in the unpartitioned space. Let it use the default size so hit enter. Then choose the new large partition to install XP. See if it will format to NTFS using the full option.

If you can't format then we will see if there is anything else we can do tomorrow.

 

Sorry to butt in here and not trying to say I'm an expert but if you're serious about tossing it, which you're probably joking, I would use killdisk or something similar. Especially if' it's a work computer. Killdisk wipes the disk pretty clean, especially if ran a few times. Your hard drive in the wrong hands could be a big headache for you.

 

And we are off! Let's see what that does!

 

Came into work this morning and the screen showed it is stuck at 51% on the "Setup is formatting" screen.

What do you think? Give it another shot?

 

I think the HD is shot. You consistently have problems formatting it with various programs, and the Setup error is about being unable to create a folder on the drive.

I don't think it is worth any more time. Unless you want to run a diagnostic on the drive but even then it just makes sense to replace the drive and get things running.

 

ok cool.. so then I will just have to call it a loss and start doing some shopping. Thank you for all of your help.

 

Yes, I can't see how it can be anything else since there has been so much trouble formatting the drive. Even a full format should take no more than 20 minutes on a 300gb drive. Formatting the drive has been a consistent problem using a couple of different programs. I doubt it is a different hardware problem at fault, everything seems to point to a bad HD even if it had passed a previous test.

 

Yeah man it's cool. Can't thank you guys enough for all of your help.

Quick question.. what is a good program to use to keep my computer up to speed and keep all of it's components running correctly? I have heard of Advanced Pro? Or something like that.

 

I stay away from optimizers because they can cause more trouble than they are worth, especially if you do a registry cleaning and it cause system instability. I would recommend that you periodically do a disk defrag and also a system image backup in case the system becomes unstable or infected with malware. Macrium and Todo are two good choices. Just be sure that the rescue disk each program creates can see your hard drives (internal and external) when they are booted.

 

yeah clearly.. I used to have it on the computer that just broke. DAMN!

Ok well thank you, I will take your advice.