Can't install Windows XP on Brand New Barebones PC

[MJDore]

I bought a barebones unit that had everything in place with the exception of the HDD and my DVD drives which I added. BIOS recognizes all drives.

Problem...I am attempting to load a brand new copy of Win XP Home and i continue to get error messages. It keeps telling me about all of these .dll and .sys files that Setup cannot copy to my system. Eventually, the installation just fails.

Beyond frustrated at this point. Any thoughts? I've already used the software that came with my HDD to wipe it clean and create new partitions but I ended up with the same problem.

I'm lost.

[Cole]

Just as a suggestion as this would be the next step that I would try in your situation, wipe the drive clean again (without creating partitions) and then try to install XP. If it was an unformatted drive, then XP would have checked with you to format as part of the installation.

It may be easier to create partitions afterwards using Partition Magic or some such.

Hope that this is helpful.

[ViRaL1]

You may also want to check the CD for damage or try using another optical drive for the install.

[Ripper2860]

If you are overclocking -- make sure you put everything back to default while installing Windows. If the processor is running too fast or RAM timings are too agressive, the errors could be caused by corrpupted L2 cache or memory errors. This often shows up as invalid files, missing DLL's or corrupt CAB files during install when speeds are cranked up too high.

[MJDore]

I have no idea if I'm overclocking. Is it possible that I am and don't know it? Do I fix this in BIOS?

[Conquest10]

If you don't know then most likely you're not.

[Soopafresh]

Sounds like your hard drive needs to be wiped as well.

Burn a copy of this disk image and boot your machine up with it:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/


Run some of the diags and also run the util to wipe your drive.

This Ultimate Boot CD will also tell you if your CD ROM drive is working properly.

[MJDore]

Soopafresh.....thanks for the link. It looks like the util he has posted for Seagate drives is the same one I already have that came with the drive. I've used it to wipe the drive several times but to no avail. Thing is, the onl option I can find for wiping the drive is one that creates a new partition. This, of course, seems to piss the Win setup CD off......

Dazed and confused.

[Soopafresh]

What is the size of the drive ? How are you partitioning it ?

[ViRaL1]

Have you tried another CD? It could also be a memory problem.

[bugster]

I bought a barebones unit that had everything in place with the exception of the HDD and my DVD drives which I added. BIOS recognizes all drives.

Were these from an old system or bought new.
In either case, if possible, put them in another system and do an install from there. If that goes ok, the HDD, the DVD drive and the install disk are ok. So its the new HW, return it as faulty and get a replacement.

[MJDore]

I bought a barebones unit that had everything in place with the exception of the HDD and my DVD drives which I added. BIOS recognizes all drives.

Were these from an old system or bought new.
In either case, if possible, put them in another system and do an install from there. If that goes ok, the HDD, the DVD drive and the install disk are ok. So its the new HW, return it as faulty and get a replacement.

All components of the system are new except for my DVD drives. Motherboard, chipset, RAM, video card, HDD....all new.

Sounds like it may need to go back...

[bazooka]

The disc is probably scratched.

[monzie]

I once had a similar problem on a pc with a cheapo mobo (and possibly cheap memory)...the answer was to lower the fsb down slightly..then reset to normal fsb AFTER XP had installed. It drove me insane 'till I figured it out.

[MJDore]

I once had a similar problem on a pc with a cheapo mobo (and possibly cheap memory)...the answer was to lower the fsb down slightly..then reset to normal fsb AFTER XP had installed. It drove me insane 'till I figured it out.

Thanks for the response. Care to instruct me on how to do this? I'm guessing it's a BIOS setting?

[stiltman]

is the CD a REAL Microsoft CD or a copy?

[MJDore]

is the CD a REAL Microsoft CD or a copy?

Real...brand new copy I just bought at Best Buy.

[stiltman]

exactly how far do you get into the setup process?
past the blue and white screen?

[MJDore]

exactly how far do you get into the setup process?
past the blue and white screen?

I've yet to make it to the GUI. Sometimes it craps out while it's attempting the partition, sometimes it starts kicking .dll and .sys files back at me as not being able to copy to the system, sometimes it just hangs trying to start.

FWIW, I've tried running the disc from both my NEC DVD burner and my Sony DVD-ROM.

[bugster]

exactly how far do you get into the setup process?
past the blue and white screen?

I've yet to make it to the GUI. Sometimes it craps out while it's attempting the partition, sometimes it starts kicking .dll and .sys files back at me as not being able to copy to the system, sometimes it just hangs trying to start.

FWIW, I've tried running the disc from both my NEC DVD burner and my Sony DVD-ROM.

Sounds like a dodgy CD then. SOmetimes pressed CD's can be bad even though they look fine (no scratches). Take the CD back and get a replacement should be the 1st step before deciding the HW is bad and returning that.

[stiltman]

yep, get a new CD
If that doesn't work, take back the hardware

[monzie]

Go into the BIOS....press either DELETE or F8 or whatever your key is at boot (thats at boot first thing you see)...there will be a QUICK screen saying press ----- key for SET UP

[Soopafresh]

From another machine running Windows, insert the XP CD in question. Don't let it autorun, and have it "Explore" the disk. Try copying the \I386 folder from the CD to a folder on the other machine. That should tell you if the CD is bad.

[Skith]

I had this problem (although, with windows booting). At various stages (even when booting from CD, trying to run system repair, safe mode, etc.) .DLL errors would appear.

The cause... a bad stick of RAM.

If you have more than one stick, try booting with only 1 stick at a time to narrow which one is faulty, or if your mobo/ram just do not get along.

[Ripper2860]

I had this problem (although, with windows booting). At various stages (even when booting from CD, trying to run system repair, safe mode, etc.) .DLL errors would appear.

The cause... a bad stick of RAM.

If you have more than one stick, try booting with only 1 stick at a time to narrow which one is faulty, or if your mobo/ram just do not get along.

I agree.

[Scottie]

I seen this happen 2 times it was bad RAM !!

[redwudz]

Ram problems can definitely do that. Also turn off the computer, re-seat all cables, boards and Ram. May be a loose connection. It seems unlikely a new HD would be the problem, but remotely possible.

What you describe sure sounds like a bad CD, though.

[MJDore]

IT WAS BAD RAM!!!

Got a new stick and all is well now. I'm typing this message from my new machine.

Thanks for all the help!

[redwudz]

Thats Great! Glad you worked it out. Bad RAM has given me all kinds of weird problems in the past. If you are able to substitute a RAM module, that's the easiest. How did you troubleshoot that the RAM was the problem? (Just to help others here.)

[richdvd]

How did you troubleshoot that the RAM was the problem?

A good free program for this is memtest86, I believe it's called.
Used it a few times after having installation errors and it told me the RAM was bad.