Can't Install XP

if you aren't an expert on computers then it's very possible you introduced static into your machine when you disconnected the drive cables.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS ground yourself each and everytime you reach inside your machine by touching its case.

it's best to leave all your hardware connected.

okay, how long does the machine hang? is there drive activity? does the hard drive light flicker?

 

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Sorry i didnt disconnect my hardware i copid that in from somehwere coz he had the exact same problem as me apart from that everything is the same. The xp bar goes across just after its rebooted to continue with xp installation then freezes after it has been across a few times. The hardrive light stops flickering. i left i for a good hour hoping it might load but it didnt.

 

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Did you just format the existing drive partition or did you delete the original partition, re-make it clean and then format?

If not, try doing that, see if it makes any difference. If you've got a boot floppy from an older version of windows use that to wipe the drive partition, re-set and format - that way when you come to re-try installing XP there's absolutely nothing whatsoever from the previous installation remaining.

ME used to do this thing where it hid a special installation file on its own separate partition - quite invisibly. You're previous installstion of Pro might have done a similar trick and consequently muck things up. Worth a shot trying at anyrate, get it out the way.

You say your previous installation had errors on it - were these drive errors or installation bugger ups - in other words, are you using an old or possibly damaged hard drive?

One other thing - when installing Pro - make sure you tell it to install to an NTFS partition - it will create it for you. If you're currently installing to FAT32, this could be where you're coming unstuck.

Give it a try, let us know how you get on.

 

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If you can't find an old windows disk to do a repartition and format, you can use www.freedos.org to get a DOS version to do it. It will not create an NTFS partition, however it should be enough to remove any old installs.

What the system is usually doing during the XP screen and bar is it attempts to load drivers and activate them with the various hardware. Some hardware will generate stalls, one notible type is Ethernet/LAN cards since it's possible that the computer will freeze and wait for a connection to the network. If the network card hasn't been configured it's obviously going to be waiting a long time to timeout and say that it isn't working.

During install it can be a good idea to remove the Network card to begin with and reinsert it once you actually have booted down after the operating system is installed.

You might want to also check your BIOS settings, if you have changed things on your system you might of altered the settings too. Perhaps its no longer detecting your Harddrive correctly because you have the wrong cable slot attached etc.

I would suggest trying to find out everything about what makes up your computer, from What Motherboard, Processor, RAM you have right through to the Hard drives, Rom's and other various hardware you have attached.

If you can Flash your Motherboard with the Newest Available Flashrom, make sure the BIOS settings are configured for the Right Processor & RAM (and various speeds) Configure if your GFX card is PCI-E or AGP (Since most BIOS's support one or other at one time, not both and only if your card supports both). These things really should be a priority before installing an OS, since mucking around with them after installation can cause alterations in the OS's behaviour.

 

I'll try those today but i think the problem may be when i deleted the patition i deleted drivers for my harware and that might be whats making it freeze. The only problem is how do i install why system drivers from the CD without an operating system.

 

on older OS's such as WINme, 98, 95 when the computer hangs you are supposed to restart your machine.
after you restart you continue with the previous attempt to install, you do not install a fresh copy.
it sounds like your installation is hanging at the hardware detection phase.

 

it doesnt seem to give me the chance to continue unless the setup continues after the logo stage where it freezes it reboots to continue with setup and then either gives me the chance to boot from cd again which gives me the same options as i had at the beginning or leys me continue to the log screen when it freezes im stuck in limbo lol. Im working on getting an old copy of windows now to try that

 

i installed windows 2000 on it then tried reinstalling windows xp. It said an upgrade from 200 to xp was not supported so it would have to be a new installation then after it copied the files and restardted the same problem again it can't get passed the xp logo screen. I'm working on intalling windows 98 instead to see if thats any better apart from that i don't know what to do. windows 2000 loaded fine though.

 

Well, no. Trying to install any version of windows over a previous installation, unless it's an upgrade edition, will terminate the whole installation process before it's begun. You have to completely wipe your partitions, reset and format the new partition clean. Follow Mr Stryders link to download an older 9x series boot disk and use the partition and formatting tools on that to wipe everything and re-format.

You said previously that:

How exactly are you going about installing without you're DVD drive connected - I'm a bit confused here - you say something to leopold about copying in from someone...

Are you installing over a network or some such?

 

no sorry i put that in by accident i copied another guys post who was having the same problem as me but 4got to delete that bit. Im trying to download a copy of windows 98 no but can't figure out how i can turn the downloaded zipped files into cd images to burn.

 

what is the extension? zip? rar?

you don't burn the image to disk, you burn the files in the image to disk

 

Hey thanks everyone for your help your ideas were really good and it was great of you to try and help me. In the end i got myself a new version of xp and tried that this one worked fine i think the other one just wouldnt work with that computer. Thanks again every1.

 

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.... Duff copy, eh? Typical..... Our pleasure, glad you're all fixed up at anyrate and thanks for letting us know. Have fun,

A

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Heh, seems you beaten me to my next suggestion, "The duff copy". Obviously wouldn't be a problem using an original disc unless suffering major scratches (Obviously Win95 disc's are good for coffee mats but I wouldn't put your copy of XP there just yet)

Hopefully Microsofts 'Vista' will lower the "Y'argh, pieces of eight" factor by introducing 'Budget' versions to the shelves (Although many a Salty Sea Dogger is more than likely going to be use to the old habits, which truly die hard)

Glad you could keep us informed like Mr A says, since if the problem pops up again your results will obviously be pulled on as a potential reasoning in the future.(Probably sooner than later in retrospect)

 

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... On reflection, indeed. Would help enormously if people just said upfront - "Oh, by the way chaps - it's a dodgy copy of .......... (<----insert OS here) I'm having problems with...."

Xp is a pretty tough bastard to crack in comparison to the 9x series, far too many truly useless downloadables of it available not to come unstuck with it really.