[Jessica Laura]

Computer: Dell Dimension C521

Operating System: Windows XP, Home Edition - Service Pack 2

Okay, to start my mother called me and said she had "the blue screen of death", being 2.5 hours away from her at the time there was nothing I could do. Later she claimed my brother would fix it vaguely saying something about a floppy disk. Which right off the bat I knew she didn't have one so I couldn't fathom the problem could possibly be.

Upon coming home I found that my brother had wiped her hard drive clean and installed Windows XP Professional a burned disc that I don't know where he obtained it, he should have called me because I have all such helpful discs in one spot. I have the Operating System disc and the driver disc. Everything the computer came with.

Now what I would like to do is just wipe it clean and start over with the correct disc and fix the problem with the computer wanting to read a floppy (I keep turning it off in set up but it doesn't seem to stick, although my bigger problem right now is getting the Set Up to take off the ground). The set up screen just keeps looping and wanting to install without getting anywhere.

I don't want to go pay $110 for someone to do this when I know I can do it myself if I just have the proper knowledge, can anyone help me?

Thanks.

Edited by Jessica Laura, 29 May 2009 - 11:59 AM.

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"Now what I would like to do is just wipe it clean and start over with the correct disc and fix the problem with the computer wanting to read a floppy (I keep turning it off in set up but it doesn't seem to stick,"

How are you attempting to turn this off?

" The set up screen just keeps looping and wanting to install without getting anywhere."

where is it rebooting at? Is it even getting to where you can delete current information? Did you set the bios so cd was first boot device?

[rshaffer61]

"Now what I would like to do is just wipe it clean and start over with the correct disc and fix the problem with the computer wanting to read a floppy (I keep turning it off in set up but it doesn't seem to stick,"

How are you attempting to turn this off?

" The set up screen just keeps looping and wanting to install without getting anywhere."

where is it rebooting at? Is it even getting to where you can delete current information? Did you set the bios so cd was first boot device?

[Jessica Laura]

How are you attempting to turn this off?

It comes up as Device Failure 0 so in the Set Up screen under Devices I go to the Device 0 and change it from On to Off.

where is it rebooting at? Is it even getting to where you can delete current information? Did you set the bios so cd was first boot device?


The computer starts up normal with the Dell splash screen and then because I have the operating disc in it goes into the Windows Set up, without the disc in it asks for it and won't go anywhere else.

It will then ask what partition I want to install Windows onto and since there is already XP on C: it will ask if I'm sure I want to have two, I say yes because I can't think of anything else.. then it asks for me to click "f" to format I do so and it has the bar with the percentage and then it just repeats with the splash screen.

I don't think its getting anywhere to delete information. Also I have changed the order but I'm not quite sure it helped or that I did it right, I might possibly just be doing the right things but in the wrong order?

[rshaffer61]

Ok the floppy problems needs to be turned off in the bios.
You will need to disable the floppy drive and \or change the boot sequence so that it does not look for a floppy.
The boot sequence should be
HD
CDrom
if you have a floppy drive then make it last. If no floppy drive then the two above would be all you need

[Jessica Laura]

Ok the floppy problems needs to be turned off in the bios.
You will need to disable the floppy drive and \or change the boot sequence so that it does not look for a floppy.
The boot sequence should be
HD
CDrom
if you have a floppy drive then make it last. If no floppy drive then the two above would be all you need

Okay I can do that, I think.

BIOS is the Set Up screen right?? (Sorry I just want to clarify, I'm not a total nOOb but I'm going to pretend to be since I want to have this problem fixed for my mother).

Also will this help this help the install problem with Professional and Home Edition?

Edited by Jessica Laura, 29 May 2009 - 04:05 PM.

[rshaffer61]

"Also will this help this help the install problem with Professional and Home Edition?"

I'm not sure what you are asking?
Are you attempting to put two different OS's on your system or replacing a exiting OS?
Ahh ok I see what you are saying. You are trying to format what your brother did since the Professional is not owned by your mother and put the original OS back on the system with the recovery cd's that came with the system correct?

The BIOS is also called the CMOS
I believe the setup is the same thing as you state.

Edited by rshaffer61, 29 May 2009 - 04:09 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Please go HERE and follow the instructions on how to format and install XP via a clean install.
If this doesn't work then we can try other options to format the drive and install.

[Jessica Laura]

"Also will this help this help the install problem with Professional and Home Edition?"

I'm not sure what you are asking?
Are you attempting to put two different OS's on your system or replacing a exiting OS?
Ahh ok I see what you are saying. You are trying to format what your brother did since the Professional is not owned by your mother and put the original OS back on the system with the recovery cd's that came with the system correct?

The BIOS is also called the CMOS
I believe the setup is the same thing as you state.

Yes, put the original OS back and undo what my brother did. I will follow the link you posted and keep you posted. I really appreciate all this help as does my mother.

[Jessica Laura]

Okay, I changed my Boot Sequence and inserted the disc, I tried following the link but I'm not quite sure if what it is saying to me is related to what I see on the screen.

A Windows Setup (blue screen comes up and at the bottom it says Setup is loading files (in the brackets it is listing everything).

Next I get the Windows XP Home Edition Setup screen with the options:

To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

So I press ENTER.

I get the License agreement and hit F8. Then it asks me to choose the partition space so I choose "C:" and hit ENTER. It prompts me that I am choosing to install XP on a partition that contains another operating system.. and this is where I got before that even when I say yes to do this it does nothing but repeats back to the Boot up from CD and does the whole Set Up process again. I'm just not sure where I am going wrong or what I am missing.

Edited by Jessica Laura, 29 May 2009 - 04:47 PM.

[Jessica Laura]

Okay, just to maybe see if something would be different from last time I ran it again and after the install it says that there is a "floppy disc in drive A and to remove it"... then it goes back to the Boot CD and Windows Setup screen.

This is highly frustrating since we don't have anything but a CD-ROM, does this help in uncovering the problem more? Should I just delete it? "Onboard Floppy Drive"?

Thank you again for your patience and help.

Edited by Jessica Laura, 29 May 2009 - 05:02 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Did you get into the bios and disable the floppy drive?
Also check and see if there is option thats says
Floppy Drive Seek
If there is then disable that also.

[123Runner]

Please follow the procedure found HERE. It has some pictures.

During the install you need to delete the existing partition. It will initially show the one that you have. This is the one you delete.

Under boot sequence (or something similar) in BIOS, what is the boot sequence?

[rshaffer61]

123Runner
:bashhead:I forgot that step

[Jessica Laura]

I deleted them all and its still saying its not installed.. I'm not sure.. I'm thinking something might be seriously wrong now.

[rshaffer61]

Do you have access to another system you can use?
If you can then take the drive out and slave it to another system and format it that way. Better yet I would suggest deleting the partitions completely and repartition it and format it with NTFS
That should make it then where Xp can be loaded on it.
If you need instructions on how to do this we can give you step by step instructions for setting it up on another system and doing the above suggestion.