Help installing XP

[rubberman]

I erased windowsME off my computer and formatted it. I used my boot disc to get to a: then ran 'SMARTDRV' then inserted XP. Typed 'c: cd\i386'. then 'winnt'. It copied all the files and did its thing. It then said it copied the files and needs to restart, if you have a floppy in, please remove it. When i restarted it starts to boot and shows NO PT, insert disc, hit enter. If i hit enter then it start the install XP process but then Pops up a windows error message. any ideas what PT means?

[reboot]

Change your BIOS setup to boot from CD first.
Insert CD, restart computer, follow onscreen prompts.

[glockjs]

hehe. i do that all the time. most mobo's have it so the hdd goes before the optical...im like "what the...." "oh"

[rubberman]

well i did that. no go. either says 'no valid disk' or 'no PT, insert disc, hit enter'. 'bout to throw the computer out the window.

how should i have the HD? i format it but dont create no partition.

[reboot]

If you're formatting, it's already got a partition.
You should get prompted to "hit any key to boot from CD".
If your computer isn't recognizing the CD-ROM, then shuffle it to another spot on the IDE bus.
Change the boot sequence, and temporarily disable IDE0 and IDE1.
After the FIRST restart, re-enable IDE0 and 1, and set boot sequence to HDD-0 first.

[glockjs]

it should have asked you what partition u wanted to create? yes u want to create an ntfs partition

[rubberman]

i never get 'press any key to boot from CD'. WHat do you mean switch it to a different IDE? attach the Cdrom to adifferent connector?

[glockjs]

the cables that go from the mobo to the drive are ide cables. yes try switching them around. but make sure your jumper setting are correct. master is the middle of the cable(usually shows as MA on the drive) and slave is at the end(usually shows as SL on the drive)

[reboot]

Better still, mount the hard drive on ide0 the cd-rom on ide1, both as master.
Double check your BIOS settings.
BTW, XP install doesn't care if it's ntfs or fat32.

[rubberman]

of the cables, my cdrom drive(master) is using connector named CD1 and my dvd-rw drive(slave) is using connector named cd2. My HD uses connector HD1. if i delete the partition then try to boot with the start up disc then it does not recognize the c drive and names the ramdrive as c: instead of d:. If i format c: then boot up using the start up disc then HD is C, ramdisc is d: and cdrom is e:. BUT i still get 'No PT'. no idea what that is. Ihave never had any issues installing XP on other computers.

[bazooka]

Why are you using ramdrive?

You do not need it.

Just insert the XP install cd and boot from cd.

The cd will walk you through partitioning and formatting.

[handyguy]

Be sure to turn off bios boot sector protections if there are any so it can write a new boot sector.

[reboot]

You only get a ramdrive if you're using a Win9x startup diskette.
If you want to install XP properly, boot from the CD.
If you cannot do this, for whatever reason, download and make the 6 diskette XP install from MS.

For XP Home: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=33290

For XP Pro: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=33291

[rubberman]

i have no option of turning bios sector protections off, its an EZ Bios on my DEll. somehow it will not boot from CD.

[bazooka]

i have no option of turning bios sector protections off, its an EZ Bios on my DEll. somehow it will not boot from CD.

Follow reboot's advice and download the boot floppy images.

[rubberman]

yeap last resort

[ViRaL1]

If it's the system in your profile, I think it's too new NOT to be able to boot to CD. What options does your BIOS give you for boot?

[reboot]

The key word above is, "Dell"...

[ViRaL1]

Yeah, but even for a DELL, I supported older DELL machines that could boot to CD.

[rubberman]

Got the following error after it converted it NFTS.

windows could not start because of the following ARC firmaware boot config. problem:
Did not properly generate ARC name for HAL and system paths - please checkyour windows docs. about ARC config.


what the hell does this mean?>...

[glockjs]

dude you're having way too many probs for a simple install....you might have a bad disc or your hdd is messed up

[rubberman]

dude you're having way too many probs for a simple install....you might have a bad disc or your hdd is messed up

your not a kiddin'

[stiltman]

hehe. i do that all the time. most mobo's have it so the hdd goes before the optical...im like "what the...." "oh"

I worked on an IBM Metvista today, damn thing wouldn't even boot from the CD......

[glockjs]

hehe. i do that all the time. most mobo's have it so the hdd goes before the optical...im like "what the...." "oh"

I worked on an IBM Metvista today, damn thing wouldn't even boot from the CD......

maybe you and rubberman should go out together and have a couple drink. you probably need it

[crackur]

another thing is ........what type of XP disc do you have? unless you have one that is for DELL or that does not have a certain brand then it should work with no problem......if it came with a different brand then its not going to work


also just redo it with ME then when you are booted to desktop put it in and it will work........your going about it the wrong way

[reboot]

also just redo it with ME then when you are booted to desktop put it in and it will work........your going about it the wrong way

Huh!?!?
Why would anyone want to load ME, then do an XP upgrade over top? Is that even possible? I didn't think ME would "take" XP over top, even if you rename win.com
I know 98/SE will do it, but still, why bother?

[bazooka]

also just redo it with ME then when you are booted to desktop put it in and it will work........your going about it the wrong way

Huh!?!?
Why would anyone want to load ME, then do an XP upgrade over top? Is that even possible? I didn't think ME would "take" XP over top, even if you rename win.com
I know 98/SE will do it, but still, why bother?

It is possible, but it is extra work.

[rubberman]

its a regular xp pro disc that you buy at a store.

[bazooka]

its a regular xp pro disc that you buy at a store.

Is the disc scratched?

You might try a disc recurfacing kit.

[reboot]

Don't buy no stupid kit
Get a white wax candle, soften it up a bit, and rub the play surface all over.
Polish with a good chamois or very soft cloth.
The wax fills in lots of imperfections, and when polished, acts just like the original plastic, so the laser reads it correctly.

On another note: Why haven't you tried contacting Dell support? I'm sure they have answers.

One last try: Insert the Win98 startup diskette.
At the A:\ prompt, type fdisk, and refdisk the hard drive, creating a FAT32 partition (say YES to the "large disk support") question.
Then boot to the CD, or use the startup diskettes.