[drew3351]

I am trying to do a fresh install of windows xp pro on a newly built computer. The optical drive which is set as the first boot device wont begin the setup. I keep on getting the dos promt.

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try making windows xp boot disks and use those and then see if it asks you for a cd- make sure your IDE connections and power supply connections are secure in the back of the device

[Hemal]

try making windows xp boot disks and use those and then see if it asks you for a cd- make sure your IDE connections and power supply connections are secure in the back of the device

[Mistertom]

Just about to suggest that myself! I have found that a boot disk made on one machine will not boot another but that maybe just my configuration.

Make sure also that your BIOS settings are correct for primary master/slave and secondary master/slave. It may not be detecting your cd drive.

Gaz.

[nestorey]

It's curious that you keep getting the DOS. Usually if the CD-rom isn't read a message will come up saying that the boot file is missing. if you're getting a DOS prompt it means that something is already on your HD. after all, that's what OS's were before windows came out. make sure the jumper on the HD is set to single and not cable select. if you can put the two drives on different cables. check the bios and make sure that the CD-rom is set as the 1st boot device. if not then make the changes and be sure to exit SAVING the changes. it's usually the F10 option.

[drew3351]

tried the xp pro boot disk
the IDE and power connections are secure
master/slave settings are correct
have DOS 7.10 Caldera on hard drive, used it to format and partition

This is what comes on screen when i use the xp boot cd


"verifying pool data
from ATAPI CD-ROM

FD 1.44MB system type (19)

Loading Caldera DR-DOS

Searching for USB HDD Devices...........

Error.
USB Driver not installed

No NTSF volumes found, exiting

[DR-DOS]A:\>"

can someone help me find out what's going on here?

[Mistertom]

Can I assume that your cd is now recognised and working?

Can you get a D:\> prompt in your dos?

If so try running XP from the root directory of the disk by typing 'setup'

You can check it's there first with 'dir'

Will have another think but try this for now if your CD works.

Gaz.

[gerryf]

Still sounds like the boot order is wrong in bios....that said, why did you use Dr.Dos for partitioning and formatting -- windows XP will do both.

You are starting out with a fat32 file system, which is inadvisable. You can convert later to ntfs, true, but many people believe this will result in a performance hit.

[gerryf]

I should probably mention that many people includes Microsoft.....the rationale is that the cluster size default for dr dos is 32kb...windows xp and 2000 will set the default size at 4kb clusters.

In many cases (but not all) Windows will process the smaller clusters more quickly...plus the larger clusters size leads to a more fragmented msft (master file table) during the conversion.

I have seen some people claim huge drops in disk performance, but in my own limited tests the lost was negligable....

[drew3351]

was able to get the D:\> promt
checked the directory for setup and it was there
tried running setup from the root directory of the cd
and got
"cannot load program in dos mode"

what can be done next?

[gerryf]

the file you want to run, from dos mode, is

c:\i386\winnt.exe

[drew3351]

great
it worked

i got into windows setup but i got an internal error
it could not find a place for a swap file

what can i do next?

[gerryf]

At what point?

Really, you should do as above and have the windows xp setup routine wipe out the partition (delete).

Then let setup create the partition and format the drive as ntfs.

[Technogeek8]

You can do wipe of partition using fdisk, or a nice program I like to use called delpart. It has the ability to delete any partition (linux, NTFS, Fat32, Mac) So Look into it online. It's a freebie

David

Edited by Technogeek8, 06 May 2005 - 07:02 AM.

[drew3351]

My problem was I was trying to boot a windows xp cd which did not contain a boot record. That is why i was continuously getting a "set up error"

so i created a boot/setup cd which contains a boot record that will allow the operating system to load

when a boot disk contains a boot record, the bios instructs the computer to copy the boot record from the disk into the ram. The computer then runs the instructions and begins the process of loading the operating system.

I do know that you have to load the system file :Io.sys

my problem is finding and getting the computer to open the file which contains the boot record.