OS will not load defies all logic

Dell Dimension 3000 ... new Mobo TC665, New hard drive, Caviar 80GB used Data Lifeguard (Western Digital) to format and set up partitions. Ready to go ...
Install reformat disk Dell XP Home edition) and it will load up to the blue screen that reads "Starting Windows .. please wait" after a half hour I abort the wait. I'm thinking maybe a bad disk so I try another Windows XP Home Disk and lo and behold I get to the same screen and it freezes at "Starting Windows .. please wait".
Any idea why I am freezing at "Starting Windows .. please wait"?

 

I don't recognise the motherboard reference is it Dell?
Dell operating system disks are customised versions of XP that contain extra software in $dell$ to recognise Dell hardware and will not boot to non Dell stuff.

Studio T

 

Yes it is a Dell Mobo and I am using the original Dell restore disc that came with the machine.

 

have you upgraded the hardware that was orgional installed in your dell
and are you trying to re-install windows XP Home using a Dell install disk th
was orgional set up with the drivers for the old hardware that came with your dell?

from what i have read you have a new motherboard and a new hard drive

if that is the case then you probly have a XP home disk with drivers
for your old hardware that maybe installing the old drivers that aren't compatible with your new motherboard and hard drive

this can be a compucated prosedure to solve
if you don't have another XP home CD to do the install on
then i would advise making sure the CD-ROM drive is not cousing the crash
by simply trying a differant CD-ROM drive

or if that don't work
put back the old motherboard and hard drive

see if the Dell XP home CD install then

if it does install and your able to boot up to xp home

go into the device manager and uninstall

under the system devices uninstall the PCI devices
i think also any onboard network adapter

then windows should requier a restart instead shutdown the PC

after uninstalling the device your PC sould be in a state where the motherboard can be changed for a new one and on restart you should be prompted with the nice found new hard ware message

priour to this you should have the motherboard drives ready so it can be installed

this can be a compucated procedure.

 

The machine comes with 2 optical drives. I have tried the Dell restore disc on both drives and got the same result. "Starting Windows ... Please wait " I can't imagine both DVD/CD drives being dead at the same time.

The new hardware should be compatible with the Dell original hardware. The original mobo was TC 666 and was replaced with a TC 665.
The HD is a 80GB. The original was a Seagate 80GB HD and has been replaced with a Western Digital Caviar 80GB HD.

I have configured the HD the same way the as the original settings:
75 GB NTSF Active Partition the remaining 4.7GB will be for the ISO when the install finally takes.

BTW - The original Dell restore disc would not install on the old mobo and HD.

At this point I can't get Windows to fully install. Diagnostically speaking this one just doesn't make sense.

 

Reading your post more thoroughly I am interested in several things.
Firstly why did you create and format the partitions with DL not let windows setup do it?
Please confirm some points about the point of hanging. I understand you to say that setup creates the ram drive and loads the initial files to kickstart the bootstrap process. Are you saying the 'hang' occurs when the baby windows in ram is started or later when the infant windows has been loaded to hard drive and started or later still when all windows is loaded and the final startup is actioned?
If the hang is in the initial RAM stage, check your RAM. have you enough?
If the hang is because windowsboot is looking for the windows files on hard drive but looking at the wrong partition due to data lifeguard use winsetup to format etc

Dell will have copied a complete image to the hard drive at the factory, not installed anything. Dell pcs,usually also have a small FAT32 partition at the start of the hard drive with Dell diagnostics and Dell recovery loaded. The purpose is to use this to kickstart re-installation. Your Caviar will not possess this partition.

The drivers have nothing to do with the initial installation of Windows they are all loaded after installation.
Dell supply two disks (at least) and OS disk and a Driver disk. The OS disk is 'generic' which means it will work with a range of Dell computers, that is you do not need a specific one for a specific pc. The Drivers disk is more specific because hardware varies. The drivers disks, but not the OS, can be downloaded from Dell. Both disks are specific to Dell, however. Dell motherboards are custom even if they bear a superficial resemblence to general release from other manufacturers. Their type numbers do not appear in motherboard manufacturers catalogues or websites.


Hope this fuller explanation helps.

Studio T

 

Studiot has given a total description of Dell's set up.
The only way that you might have got away with it would have been to copy the old hard drive to the new, while the old motherboard was still working.- I often do this with Maxtors Maxblast, and even then, as the motherboard is not a genuine Dell, Windows would probably have groaned at it.
I cannot, otherwise seeyou getting away with it without a new Windows disc.

 

Thank you studiot and baklogic. I appreciate your info.
I spent sometime on Dells website last night and downloaded several utilities which I will work with this evening.

To clarify a couple of questions and address a few other issues.

When I say "Starting Windows ... please wait" I am referring to the point when using either the Dell restore CD or my Windows XP Home disc ...
Press any key to boot from CD ...
The CD starts reading the disk and you get all the messages down at the bottom Press F6 if you need to load a SCSI device, etc., after windows has loaded all these files (about 5 -10 minutes into the process) then the message comes up "Starting Windows ... please wait" and it just hangs there.
I guess that is what "studiot" is referring to as "infant windows".


There is enough RAM I am able to boot up via a start up disc.

studiot - "Dell will have copied a complete image to the hard drive at the factory, not installed anything. Dell pcs,usually also have a small FAT32 partition at the start of the hard drive with Dell diagnostics and Dell recovery loaded. The purpose is to use this to kickstart re-installation. Your Caviar will not possess this partition"

I am trying to recreate this 2 partition scenario. I guess part of my ultimate goal is find a way to get the original Dell diagnostics and Dell recovery loaded
back into the small 4.5GB partition. I did set the caviar up with 2 partitions.
I have been trying to load the OS into the bigger NTFS partition where it gets hung up.

I am just wondering if in the end I will have to buy a disc of some sort from Dell for this particular machine.

I believe based on the information you have passed along coupled with what information I was able to get from Dell's website I may be able to make it all come together.

I will work on it more this evening and see where I can get.

BTW - Not knowing about the F11 key before this nightmare began-I feel like I have shot myself in the foot. ID10T error on my part.

And I thought Compaq's were propriatary. rolleyes

I will post again. Thanks.