"error loading operating system"

did you unplug the computer when it was formatting?



bb20 wrote:

"error loading operating system"
08-Jan-09

Trying to refurbish an old pc:- install Win xp and I get the following
message when I hit the enter key to 'boot from CD". During the POST, the bios
were able to detect the PRI Master and the SEC Slave and it was set to boot
from cd ron/hdd/floppy. I get the same message even when I change into
another cd rom drive or the data cable. Thinking that CPU at 550mHz,(the RAM
is 384 MB) may not be enough to install Win xp, I tried to install Win 2000
but there is no change in the situation.
Is there any reason why I cant install the OS? Thanks

Previous Posts In This Thread:

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 10:20 AM
bb20 wrote:

"error loading operating system"
Trying to refurbish an old pc:- install Win xp and I get the following
message when I hit the enter key to 'boot from CD". During the POST, the bios
were able to detect the PRI Master and the SEC Slave and it was set to boot
from cd ron/hdd/floppy. I get the same message even when I change into
another cd rom drive or the data cable. Thinking that CPU at 550mHz,(the RAM
is 384 MB) may not be enough to install Win xp, I tried to install Win 2000
but there is no change in the situation.
Is there any reason why I cant install the OS? Thanks

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 11:14 AM
Anna wrote:

"error loading operating system"
"bb202" wrote in message
...


bb202:
There may be other problems affecting your system but first...

First of all, we're assuming that whatever HDDs have been installed in the
system have been properly configured (jumpered) & connected. Ditto for the
optical drive(s). So do be sure to check these. The fact that the BIOS
detects both HDDs during bootup is a good initial sign, but not an absolute
indication that the drives have been properly connected/configured.

Uninstall your secondary HDD from the system before fresh-installing the OS
onto the primary HDD. Again, ensure that HDD is properly
connected/configured. No other storage devices should be connected in the
system when fresh-installing the OS.

Assuming the XP install is successful, then connect your secondary HDD.
Should the system fail to boot with both HDDs connected or you run into any
other problems, check out both HDDs with the HDD diagnostic freely available
from the disk's manufacturer.
Anna

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 4:53 PM
bb20 wrote:

There is only 1 hdd which is corrected jumped and connected to IDE1 (Pri
There is only 1 hdd which is corrected jumped and connected to IDE1 (Pri
Master) while the optical drive is also correctly jumped as Sec slave and
connected tro IDE2.
Siize of hdd is 20 gb. All connections check and seems ok
"smlunatick" wrote:

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:43 PM
bb20 wrote:

"error loading operating system"
It appears to be a bios problem in which I downloaded from
http://www.findmysoft.com/drivers/do...os-driver.html

and save into A. When I set the pc to boot from A:, it just wont boot? Any
idea what are the steps to update bios? Thanks

"bb202" wrote:

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 11:44 PM
sgopu wrote:

Have you installed a bootable sys on the floppy?
Have you installed a bootable sys on the floppy?
Usually you need to format and install some kind of operating system on the
floppy
before it will boot to it, a bios update is not an operating system. try
downloading NTDOS from download.com and follow the instructions to create a
bootable floppy.

"bb202" wrote:

On Friday, January 09, 2009 9:59 AM
bb20 wrote:

When I try to flash, it say my current version is AX6BCPro dd 10-22-1999 and
When I try to flash, it say my current version is AX6BCPro dd 10-22-1999 and
thus I have the wrong bios update. However on the mobo, its stated AX6BC Pro
which I just cannot locate the bios.

fyi, I downloaded the bios from here
http://members.driverguide.com/index...p=3&sm=b&fzz=d

specifically AX6BC Pro II

Any idea where can I get this bios update? Thanks

"sgopus" wrote:

On Friday, January 09, 2009 12:47 PM
Paul wrote:

"error loading operating system"
bb202 wrote:

Why not go to the manufacturer's site ? Click your
product, and then use the download link. You have
to select the model *again* from the pulldown menu.

http://global.aopen.com/search_prod.aspx?modl=ax6bc

Example of a BIOS download.
http://global.aopen.com/userdownload...4402&Model=192

R1.19 1/6/2003 202.0 KB
# checksum 6277H
# Supports DieHard BIOS Lite.

The download is a zip, consisting of a .bin file (256KB)
and a flasher utility. I presume the flasher runs from
a MSDOS boot floppy.

With some manufacturers, they change the BIOS ID, and
sometimes, when you attempt to change from a really
old release, to a new one, the flasher may deny that
the identity of the motherboard is correct. This
happens occasionally on Asus motherboards, when they
change BIOS release tools in mid-stream.

Flashing a motherboard BIOS is not without its risks.
If you "brick" the board, such that it won't boot,
you'd want the BIOS chip to be socketed, so it can be
removed. Some boards solder the BIOS chip right to
the board. If the motherboard is socketed, you can go
to a site like badflash.com and order another pre-programmed
chip. As long as you can figure out what BIOS version
to get programmed in the chip, it offers another way
to repair a bricked system.

Paul

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 1:03 AM
bb20 wrote:

Many thanks for your info.
Many thanks for your info. I click the 1st link and download from here
http://global.aopen.com/userdownload...4402&Model=192

the model AX6BC Pro file 6bcp107.exe Version R1.07 into the floppy and reboot.
Upon reboot from floppy and type 6bcp107.

The info from the 'old' bios is the same as well as the version except it
says New checksum 9559h. In any case it say 'yes' to reflesh and efter that
re boot/reload defaut.. Its boot sequence is set to cd rom and it still give
me the same error message as when I first try to install the OS, "press any
key to boot from cd....error loading operating system

I then download R1.16 and repeat the whole process and it give me the same
error message "press any key to boot from cd....error loading operating
system"

So what else could cause the error then. Look forward for your guidance,
thanks


"smlunatick" wrote:

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 1:45 AM
Paul wrote:

"error loading operating system"
bb202 wrote:

I suspect we have a terminology problem.

You have two IDE connectors on the motherboard. At least
on my motherboard, one is referred to as primary and one
as secondary. They would correspond to IDE1 and IDE2
respectively.

I generally try to use 80 wire cables (because the signal
quality is better with them, and that is why the cables
can be used for speeds up to Ultra133). The 40 wire cables
can also be used, but the driver is supposed to sense
you're using one, and prevent higher speeds from being
used. A 40 wire cable would still work, but I try not
to use them any more if I have spare 80's sitting around.

You try to fill the connector on the end of the cable first,
if you have only one drive for the cable. Since that first
drive is the only drive, it would be jumpered as Master.
You should never fill just the middle connector by
itself (as that leaves a reflecting stub after the drive).

So I can see a couple ways I would cable your system.
I'd use this method, if it was inconvenient to use
one cable to connect the two drives. I would use a cable
per drive. Since the drives are the only thing on the
cable, they're Master.

(Primary) IDE1 X--------------X----------X
|
Master

(Secondary) IDE2 X--------------X----------X
|
Master

The second method is if the drives are in the same
rack, within a few inches of each other. Now one
cable can fit both without stress.

(Primary) IDE1 X--------------X----------X
| |
Slave Master

Western Digital further complicates matters with
their drives, in that in the first diagram above,
the Master would be jumpered "Master only", meaning
it is the only drive on the cable and is the master.
In the second diagram, if a Western Digital drive
was on the end of the cable as shown, it would be
jumpered as "Master", as in "there is a second drive
on the cable".

Try either of the above diagrams, and see if your
symptoms change.

Cable_Select is an alternative jumpering method,
but it relies on a feature in the cable and typically
is supported by the 80 wire cable. Cable_Select
is preferred by large manufacturers, as all the
equipment can be jumpered Cable_Select and just
plugged in without worrying.

Occasionally one flavor of jumpering won't work for
some reason, in which case you may have to experiment.
If Cable_Select refuses to work for a mix of two
drive products on the same cable, then the Master/Slave
method is the thing you'd try next (keeping that
detail about Western Digital in mind while you work).

When parking extra jumpers (i.e. storing them in
the jumper area), you have to be careful, because
there are an unbelievable number of active combinations
possible on some brands of drives. It is better to
find a small zip-lock baggy and store extra jumpers
in there.

Hope that helps,
Paul

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 4:35 AM
smlunatick wrote:

"error loading operating system"
On Jan 8, 3:20=A0pm, bb202 wrote:
bios
ot
he RAM
2000

What is set as PRI master and SEC Slave?

I also had this. My solution was to:

1) Main hard drive (to be C set as PRI master

2) CD drive (for the install) set as SEC master.

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 4:35 AM
smlunatick wrote:

"error loading operating system"
On Jan 8, 9:53=A0pm, bb202 wrote:
g
the bios
o boot
o
z,(the RAM
=A0Win 2000

I have personally seen CD drives not "booting" when set up as SEC
slave. Some PCs seem to only be able to boot a CD when the CD is set
up as Master on any IDE port.

IDE settings follow the requirements that a Master should be connected
on the IDE port before a Slave is connected. Usually when an IDE
drive that is set for Slave, the IDE controls are usually "turned" off
in favour to let the Master drive controls.

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 8:26 AM
bb20 wrote:

Thanks for the info. Think found the solution for the 'error loading ...
Thanks for the info. Think found the solution for the 'error loading ..."
When it ask to 'hit any key ......." and if I do so for the second time, it
was able to read the cd and window does the setup. Although I am still unable
to use the pc as it has another set of problem as during the installation or
window setup, an error message "file setupdd.sys could not be loaded. The
error code is 4. Setup cannot continue.Press any key to exit'. Guess back to
the drawing board to see which hardware is the culprit. Wish me luck ///////
thanks

"Paul" wrote:

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 11:18 AM
Paul wrote:

"error loading operating system"
bb202 wrote:

I have a copy of the i386 folder from the CD, and
SETUPDD.SY_ is in that folder. So the install is
having trouble copying that file over. I believe
the underscore means the file is compressed and
the installer will take care of the details.

Sounds like maybe you're having trouble either
reading the CDROM, or any amount of heavy data
traffic on the cable results in corruption or
something.

So how are the drives cabled and jumpered ? Are the
HDD and optical on a single cable ?

When I installed WinXP, I did mine using a hard drive
install. (I did this purely for fun, because I heard
you could do it that way.) What that means, is I created
two partitions on my 80GB IDE drive. The first partition
is 78GB and the second is 2GB. In the 2GB partition, I
copy the contents of the i386 folder of the WinXP CD.
The trick then, is to use that folder to complete the
install. The procedure requires a second computer,
to prep the drive and copy the files from the
Windows CD.

When creating the partitions, it is important to
create the 78GB partition first (so it is the first
entry in the partition table), and the 2GB partition
second. (I determined that empirically, getting it
wrong the first time.) The partitions should be FAT32,
for the purposes of being able to access the partitions from
DOS. The first partition could be converted to NTFS
later if needed (with "convert"), but I didn't bother.

The basic concept is outlined here.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307848

It took me a good part of the day, to cook up a
MSDOS floppy with the necessary files to do what
was required. Including SMARTDRV supports caching
when accessing the disk, and that makes some
improvement to the process. But considering the time
I wasted, I'd be happy to just let it chug along
at 1MB/sec if it wanted, because the caching wasn't
that smart after all.

This is my autoexec.bat on the MSDOS floppy . The
numbers are "cranked", because I was experimenting
with getting the best disk to disk transfer rate possible.
I think I added the MSCDEX stuff later, when I added
support for CDROMs to the floppy (to make it a better
all-round recovery floppy). The "pause" is so I could
read the screen.

mscdex /D:MSCD001 /L:R
pause
a:\smartdrv.exe /V 32768 32768 /E:32768

This is my current config.sys. I've since added
CDROM support to my MSDOS boot floppy, and I downloaded
XCDROM because oakcdrom wasn't working. The "?" in
the first three lines, causes the floppy boot process
to pause. Hitting return lets it continue. I was getting
stuck at the EMM386 step, and had to manually experiment
with the "X" parameter, until I no longer had a resource
conflict. On many attempts, the floppy boot process would
get stuck with the floppy light on, which means the
hardware was being trampled by something being loaded.
The last four lines are pretty standard stuff which
I didn't bother changing.

DEVICE?=HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DEVICE?=EMM386.EXE NOEMS X=A000-CFFF
DEVICE?=XCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001
FILES=20
BUFFERS=20
DOS=HIGH,UMB
STACKS=9,256

My boot floppy started from one made from Win98, and I
added stuff to taste, like a pot of stew :-)

The install ends up being not much faster than doing
it straight from the CDROM. But, if your CDROM
is having problems, the DOS floppy plus hard
disk partition trick, is an alternative installation
method. Naturally, you still need to fix your CDROM,
but if you're living in the woods, and a new CDROM is
a week away, it gives you something to do in the
interim.

Depending on whether you have a broadband Internet
connection, you could also consider experimenting
with Knoppix (Linux LiveCD) from knopper.net. That is
a 700MB download for the CD version, and all you
need in this case, is the latest CD version, as
the DVD version is too big to be practical.

As a test mechanism, Knoppix gives you

1) No need for a hard drive. It runs straight from the CD.
2) At boot time from the CD, Knoppix gives you boot
time options. Memtest is one of them, allowing
you to test system memory. In addition, Knoppix
has an integrity check boot option, which causes
the checksums of the files on the CDROM to be
verified. If any of those verifications fail,
you know you have a CDROM drive problem (or
bad media). So that makes a quick way to verify
the CDROM drive is good and the cables are OK.

It isn't much of an OS, but as a means of doing
hardware testing, it is a great alternative. But
only feasible if you have some way to download
a 700MB ISO9660 file and burn a bootable CD
with Nero or something.

HTH,
Paul

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 8:40 PM
bb20 wrote:

Thanks very much for the guidance.
Thanks very much for the guidance. Thats a lot for me to digest and I will
give it a go after I get my other hdd back from the manufacturer. (hdd test
shows that the hdd has failed). Thanks for walking me through this.

"Paul" wrote:

On Saturday, January 31, 2009 9:42 AM
bb20 wrote:

At long last, I got my other replacement hdd (80gb ide) back.
At long last, I got my other replacement hdd (80gb ide) back. Before
installing the OS, I cleaned the mobo and found out that the connector on the
mobo end is switch around (ie cable pin80 is on pin1 on mobo). I dont know if
that is the cause of the error but in any case with the new hdd, I was able
to install the Win xp without any problem.
However in the Device Manager-under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers,there is an
item; STANDARD IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller which have an exclamation mark.
The pc seems to work ok.
Many thanks for all the help, regards



"Paul" wrote:


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
C# And The Little Iterator That Could
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...e-iterato.aspx

did you unplug the computer when it was formatting?



bb20 wrote:

"error loading operating system"
08-Jan-09

Trying to refurbish an old pc:- install Win xp and I get the following
message when I hit the enter key to 'boot from CD". During the POST, the bios
were able to detect the PRI Master and the SEC Slave and it was set to boot
from cd ron/hdd/floppy. I get the same message even when I change into
another cd rom drive or the data cable. Thinking that CPU at 550mHz,(the RAM
is 384 MB) may not be enough to install Win xp, I tried to install Win 2000
but there is no change in the situation.
Is there any reason why I cant install the OS? Thanks

Previous Posts In This Thread:

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 10:20 AM
bb20 wrote:

"error loading operating system"
Trying to refurbish an old pc:- install Win xp and I get the following
message when I hit the enter key to 'boot from CD". During the POST, the bios
were able to detect the PRI Master and the SEC Slave and it was set to boot
from cd ron/hdd/floppy. I get the same message even when I change into
another cd rom drive or the data cable. Thinking that CPU at 550mHz,(the RAM
is 384 MB) may not be enough to install Win xp, I tried to install Win 2000
but there is no change in the situation.
Is there any reason why I cant install the OS? Thanks

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 11:14 AM
Anna wrote:

"error loading operating system"
"bb202" wrote in message
...


bb202:
There may be other problems affecting your system but first...

First of all, we're assuming that whatever HDDs have been installed in the
system have been properly configured (jumpered) & connected. Ditto for the
optical drive(s). So do be sure to check these. The fact that the BIOS
detects both HDDs during bootup is a good initial sign, but not an absolute
indication that the drives have been properly connected/configured.

Uninstall your secondary HDD from the system before fresh-installing the OS
onto the primary HDD. Again, ensure that HDD is properly
connected/configured. No other storage devices should be connected in the
system when fresh-installing the OS.

Assuming the XP install is successful, then connect your secondary HDD.
Should the system fail to boot with both HDDs connected or you run into any
other problems, check out both HDDs with the HDD diagnostic freely available
from the disk's manufacturer.
Anna

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 4:53 PM
bb20 wrote:

There is only 1 hdd which is corrected jumped and connected to IDE1 (Pri
There is only 1 hdd which is corrected jumped and connected to IDE1 (Pri
Master) while the optical drive is also correctly jumped as Sec slave and
connected tro IDE2.
Siize of hdd is 20 gb. All connections check and seems ok
"smlunatick" wrote:

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:43 PM
bb20 wrote:

"error loading operating system"
It appears to be a bios problem in which I downloaded from
http://www.findmysoft.com/drivers/do...os-driver.html

and save into A. When I set the pc to boot from A:, it just wont boot? Any
idea what are the steps to update bios? Thanks

"bb202" wrote:

On Thursday, January 08, 2009 11:44 PM
sgopu wrote:

Have you installed a bootable sys on the floppy?
Have you installed a bootable sys on the floppy?
Usually you need to format and install some kind of operating system on the
floppy
before it will boot to it, a bios update is not an operating system. try
downloading NTDOS from download.com and follow the instructions to create a
bootable floppy.

"bb202" wrote:

On Friday, January 09, 2009 9:59 AM
bb20 wrote:

When I try to flash, it say my current version is AX6BCPro dd 10-22-1999 and
When I try to flash, it say my current version is AX6BCPro dd 10-22-1999 and
thus I have the wrong bios update. However on the mobo, its stated AX6BC Pro
which I just cannot locate the bios.

fyi, I downloaded the bios from here
http://members.driverguide.com/index...p=3&sm=b&fzz=d

specifically AX6BC Pro II

Any idea where can I get this bios update? Thanks

"sgopus" wrote:

On Friday, January 09, 2009 12:47 PM
Paul wrote:

"error loading operating system"
bb202 wrote:

Why not go to the manufacturer's site ? Click your
product, and then use the download link. You have
to select the model *again* from the pulldown menu.

http://global.aopen.com/search_prod.aspx?modl=ax6bc

Example of a BIOS download.
http://global.aopen.com/userdownload...4402&Model=192

R1.19 1/6/2003 202.0 KB
# checksum 6277H
# Supports DieHard BIOS Lite.

The download is a zip, consisting of a .bin file (256KB)
and a flasher utility. I presume the flasher runs from
a MSDOS boot floppy.

With some manufacturers, they change the BIOS ID, and
sometimes, when you attempt to change from a really
old release, to a new one, the flasher may deny that
the identity of the motherboard is correct. This
happens occasionally on Asus motherboards, when they
change BIOS release tools in mid-stream.

Flashing a motherboard BIOS is not without its risks.
If you "brick" the board, such that it won't boot,
you'd want the BIOS chip to be socketed, so it can be
removed. Some boards solder the BIOS chip right to
the board. If the motherboard is socketed, you can go
to a site like badflash.com and order another pre-programmed
chip. As long as you can figure out what BIOS version
to get programmed in the chip, it offers another way
to repair a bricked system.

Paul

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 1:03 AM
bb20 wrote:

Many thanks for your info.
Many thanks for your info. I click the 1st link and download from here
http://global.aopen.com/userdownload...4402&Model=192

the model AX6BC Pro file 6bcp107.exe Version R1.07 into the floppy and reboot.
Upon reboot from floppy and type 6bcp107.

The info from the 'old' bios is the same as well as the version except it
says New checksum 9559h. In any case it say 'yes' to reflesh and efter that
re boot/reload defaut.. Its boot sequence is set to cd rom and it still give
me the same error message as when I first try to install the OS, "press any
key to boot from cd....error loading operating system

I then download R1.16 and repeat the whole process and it give me the same
error message "press any key to boot from cd....error loading operating
system"

So what else could cause the error then. Look forward for your guidance,
thanks


"smlunatick" wrote:

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 1:45 AM
Paul wrote:

"error loading operating system"
bb202 wrote:

I suspect we have a terminology problem.

You have two IDE connectors on the motherboard. At least
on my motherboard, one is referred to as primary and one
as secondary. They would correspond to IDE1 and IDE2
respectively.

I generally try to use 80 wire cables (because the signal
quality is better with them, and that is why the cables
can be used for speeds up to Ultra133). The 40 wire cables
can also be used, but the driver is supposed to sense
you're using one, and prevent higher speeds from being
used. A 40 wire cable would still work, but I try not
to use them any more if I have spare 80's sitting around.

You try to fill the connector on the end of the cable first,
if you have only one drive for the cable. Since that first
drive is the only drive, it would be jumpered as Master.
You should never fill just the middle connector by
itself (as that leaves a reflecting stub after the drive).

So I can see a couple ways I would cable your system.
I'd use this method, if it was inconvenient to use
one cable to connect the two drives. I would use a cable
per drive. Since the drives are the only thing on the
cable, they're Master.

(Primary) IDE1 X--------------X----------X
|
Master

(Secondary) IDE2 X--------------X----------X
|
Master

The second method is if the drives are in the same
rack, within a few inches of each other. Now one
cable can fit both without stress.

(Primary) IDE1 X--------------X----------X
| |
Slave Master

Western Digital further complicates matters with
their drives, in that in the first diagram above,
the Master would be jumpered "Master only", meaning
it is the only drive on the cable and is the master.
In the second diagram, if a Western Digital drive
was on the end of the cable as shown, it would be
jumpered as "Master", as in "there is a second drive
on the cable".

Try either of the above diagrams, and see if your
symptoms change.

Cable_Select is an alternative jumpering method,
but it relies on a feature in the cable and typically
is supported by the 80 wire cable. Cable_Select
is preferred by large manufacturers, as all the
equipment can be jumpered Cable_Select and just
plugged in without worrying.

Occasionally one flavor of jumpering won't work for
some reason, in which case you may have to experiment.
If Cable_Select refuses to work for a mix of two
drive products on the same cable, then the Master/Slave
method is the thing you'd try next (keeping that
detail about Western Digital in mind while you work).

When parking extra jumpers (i.e. storing them in
the jumper area), you have to be careful, because
there are an unbelievable number of active combinations
possible on some brands of drives. It is better to
find a small zip-lock baggy and store extra jumpers
in there.

Hope that helps,
Paul

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 4:35 AM
smlunatick wrote:

"error loading operating system"
On Jan 8, 3:20=A0pm, bb202 wrote:
bios
ot
he RAM
2000

What is set as PRI master and SEC Slave?

I also had this. My solution was to:

1) Main hard drive (to be C set as PRI master

2) CD drive (for the install) set as SEC master.

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 4:35 AM
smlunatick wrote:

"error loading operating system"
On Jan 8, 9:53=A0pm, bb202 wrote:
g
the bios
o boot
o
z,(the RAM
=A0Win 2000

I have personally seen CD drives not "booting" when set up as SEC
slave. Some PCs seem to only be able to boot a CD when the CD is set
up as Master on any IDE port.

IDE settings follow the requirements that a Master should be connected
on the IDE port before a Slave is connected. Usually when an IDE
drive that is set for Slave, the IDE controls are usually "turned" off
in favour to let the Master drive controls.

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 8:26 AM
bb20 wrote:

Thanks for the info. Think found the solution for the 'error loading ...
Thanks for the info. Think found the solution for the 'error loading ..."
When it ask to 'hit any key ......." and if I do so for the second time, it
was able to read the cd and window does the setup. Although I am still unable
to use the pc as it has another set of problem as during the installation or
window setup, an error message "file setupdd.sys could not be loaded. The
error code is 4. Setup cannot continue.Press any key to exit'. Guess back to
the drawing board to see which hardware is the culprit. Wish me luck ///////
thanks

"Paul" wrote:

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 11:18 AM
Paul wrote:

"error loading operating system"
bb202 wrote:

I have a copy of the i386 folder from the CD, and
SETUPDD.SY_ is in that folder. So the install is
having trouble copying that file over. I believe
the underscore means the file is compressed and
the installer will take care of the details.

Sounds like maybe you're having trouble either
reading the CDROM, or any amount of heavy data
traffic on the cable results in corruption or
something.

So how are the drives cabled and jumpered ? Are the
HDD and optical on a single cable ?

When I installed WinXP, I did mine using a hard drive
install. (I did this purely for fun, because I heard
you could do it that way.) What that means, is I created
two partitions on my 80GB IDE drive. The first partition
is 78GB and the second is 2GB. In the 2GB partition, I
copy the contents of the i386 folder of the WinXP CD.
The trick then, is to use that folder to complete the
install. The procedure requires a second computer,
to prep the drive and copy the files from the
Windows CD.

When creating the partitions, it is important to
create the 78GB partition first (so it is the first
entry in the partition table), and the 2GB partition
second. (I determined that empirically, getting it
wrong the first time.) The partitions should be FAT32,
for the purposes of being able to access the partitions from
DOS. The first partition could be converted to NTFS
later if needed (with "convert"), but I didn't bother.

The basic concept is outlined here.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307848

It took me a good part of the day, to cook up a
MSDOS floppy with the necessary files to do what
was required. Including SMARTDRV supports caching
when accessing the disk, and that makes some
improvement to the process. But considering the time
I wasted, I'd be happy to just let it chug along
at 1MB/sec if it wanted, because the caching wasn't
that smart after all.

This is my autoexec.bat on the MSDOS floppy . The
numbers are "cranked", because I was experimenting
with getting the best disk to disk transfer rate possible.
I think I added the MSCDEX stuff later, when I added
support for CDROMs to the floppy (to make it a better
all-round recovery floppy). The "pause" is so I could
read the screen.

mscdex /D:MSCD001 /L:R
pause
a:\smartdrv.exe /V 32768 32768 /E:32768

This is my current config.sys. I've since added
CDROM support to my MSDOS boot floppy, and I downloaded
XCDROM because oakcdrom wasn't working. The "?" in
the first three lines, causes the floppy boot process
to pause. Hitting return lets it continue. I was getting
stuck at the EMM386 step, and had to manually experiment
with the "X" parameter, until I no longer had a resource
conflict. On many attempts, the floppy boot process would
get stuck with the floppy light on, which means the
hardware was being trampled by something being loaded.
The last four lines are pretty standard stuff which
I didn't bother changing.

DEVICE?=HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DEVICE?=EMM386.EXE NOEMS X=A000-CFFF
DEVICE?=XCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001
FILES=20
BUFFERS=20
DOS=HIGH,UMB
STACKS=9,256

My boot floppy started from one made from Win98, and I
added stuff to taste, like a pot of stew :-)

The install ends up being not much faster than doing
it straight from the CDROM. But, if your CDROM
is having problems, the DOS floppy plus hard
disk partition trick, is an alternative installation
method. Naturally, you still need to fix your CDROM,
but if you're living in the woods, and a new CDROM is
a week away, it gives you something to do in the
interim.

Depending on whether you have a broadband Internet
connection, you could also consider experimenting
with Knoppix (Linux LiveCD) from knopper.net. That is
a 700MB download for the CD version, and all you
need in this case, is the latest CD version, as
the DVD version is too big to be practical.

As a test mechanism, Knoppix gives you

1) No need for a hard drive. It runs straight from the CD.
2) At boot time from the CD, Knoppix gives you boot
time options. Memtest is one of them, allowing
you to test system memory. In addition, Knoppix
has an integrity check boot option, which causes
the checksums of the files on the CDROM to be
verified. If any of those verifications fail,
you know you have a CDROM drive problem (or
bad media). So that makes a quick way to verify
the CDROM drive is good and the cables are OK.

It isn't much of an OS, but as a means of doing
hardware testing, it is a great alternative. But
only feasible if you have some way to download
a 700MB ISO9660 file and burn a bootable CD
with Nero or something.

HTH,
Paul

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 8:40 PM
bb20 wrote:

Thanks very much for the guidance.
Thanks very much for the guidance. Thats a lot for me to digest and I will
give it a go after I get my other hdd back from the manufacturer. (hdd test
shows that the hdd has failed). Thanks for walking me through this.

"Paul" wrote:

On Saturday, January 31, 2009 9:42 AM
bb20 wrote:

At long last, I got my other replacement hdd (80gb ide) back.
At long last, I got my other replacement hdd (80gb ide) back. Before
installing the OS, I cleaned the mobo and found out that the connector on the
mobo end is switch around (ie cable pin80 is on pin1 on mobo). I dont know if
that is the cause of the error but in any case with the new hdd, I was able
to install the Win xp without any problem.
However in the Device Manager-under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers,there is an
item; STANDARD IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller which have an exclamation mark.
The pc seems to work ok.
Many thanks for all the help, regards



"Paul" wrote:


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
C# And The Little Iterator That Could
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...e-iterato.aspx

snipped

nu n wrote:
did you unplug the computer when it was formatting?

Not real quick on the uptake, eh?

Notice - the conversation you chose to respond to began and ended in January
2009. Weclome to April 2010. ;-)

Here it is - archived with dates and everything - including your chime-in 15
month after it ended. *grin*

http://groups.google.com/group/micro...dea4acfaff749/

Better late than never? haha

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

snipped

nu n wrote:
did you unplug the computer when it was formatting?

Not real quick on the uptake, eh?

Notice - the conversation you chose to respond to began and ended in January
2009. Weclome to April 2010. ;-)

Here it is - archived with dates and everything - including your chime-in 15
month after it ended. *grin*

http://groups.google.com/group/micro...dea4acfaff749/

Better late than never? haha

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html