Cant install XP

[bluey]

Ok I have tried 3 different discs, (home upgrade, home, and now xp pro) and every time the same problem happens. I reformatted my hard drive there is nothing on it, I boot from the CD it goes to the blue screen says it is unpacking the install files and then it finally says (at the bottom of the screen in the white bar) "Setup is starting windows." Every time it does nothing, the hard drive winds down and it will sit there doing absolutely nothing. I left it like that overnight thinking it might eventually do something, but it doesnt. Whats wrong? I can load win98se just fine. Its a athlon tbird 1.1ghz with 1x128 of pc133 and 1x512 of pc133 ram.

Thanks

 

[bluey]

Ok I was just searching google and found this http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/t999569328

Strangely enough I too have a geforce2 mx400. Could it be my video card? Seems like a lot of them were having problems with the same card 3 years ago. Unfortunately I dont have another card and dont really want to buy a new one.

And this is apparently the MS version of the fix:
http://support.microsoft.com/d...0760&Product=winxp

 

[bluey]

Flashed the bios, still does it.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: bluey
Flashed the bios, still does it.

Did you try forcing a non-ACPI HAL? Generally not recommended, but if it's the only way...

Is there an option in your BIOS to change ACPI behaviors?

 

[bluey]

Ya but which option should I try? I was confused on that and the one I did try didnt work, but I forgot which one it was now.

And I dont know about the options in my BIOS what would it say?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: bluey
Ya but which option should I try? I was confused on that and the one I did try didnt work, but I forgot which one it was now.

And I dont know about the options in my BIOS what would it say?

For your first question, MS has a link (on the page listed) where you hit F5 at the F6 prompt, and then select std HAL a few minutes later. It's documented well there.

For your second question, is there anything in your BIOS about ACPI at all?

 

[bluey]

I know about the F5 thing, but there are a bunch of different options that come up, mutliprocessor acpi, single processor acpi, acpi, other, standard pc, etc... I tried them all still doesnt work. And I looked in my BIOS and couldnt find anything about ACPI, any idea where it would be? I looked through all of it though and couldnt find it. This is really frustrating not having my computer.

This is from MS:
During the first phase of Setup, at the Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware configuration screen, press the F5 key.
Select the appropriate HAL, or Select Other to specify a third-party HAL. The available HALs include:

ACPI Multiprocessor PC
ACPI Uniprocessor PC
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC
Compaq SystemPro Multiprocessor or 100% Compatible
MPS Uniprocessor PC
MPS Multiprocessor PC
Standard PC
Standard PC with C-Step i486
Other
Continue with Setup to complete the installation.


Which one do I want?

Heres their solution

There is a device connected to your mass-storage device that is preventing Windows from being installed. Remove any devices (such as scanners, tape drives, removable drives, and so on) from the mass-storage device controller. If the computer is IDE-based, verify that you have the master and slave designations set properly. If the mass-storage controller is SCSI-based, verify that the termination and bus speed is set properly.

The computer does not have the latest BIOS revision. Contact the computer's manufacturer or check the manufacturer's Web site. Many manufacturers have updated their BIOS revisions to properly support Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI).

An ACPI Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) is being used during Setup. Force the use of a non-ACPI HAL during Setup. For additional information about this procedure, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

see the second one, talking about updating the BIOS for ACPI support. I updated them but I still dont see it, or maybe I dont know what I should look for. Will it just say ACPI and have enable/disable?

 

[uncleX]

Well, bluey, if you tried them all, I guess it doesn't matter which one you should choose. I'd try Standard PC, or maybe Other.

If your drive is actually shutting off as you decribe, that is one symtom of trying to access a non-existant spot on the HD. It is possible the XP setup is doing that while the W98 setup does not. (Or maybe the HD cable is bad.) Very old mobos with old BIOSes sometimes have problems with large HDs. Maybe you could get the HD setup software for your HD (if you haven't already) and use that to inititialize and partititon the HD before you try putting XP on it. The big three all have the software free for download on their sites.

Another possiblilty is that Windows XP thinks your drive should actually be somewhere else when it starts. Make sure the drive is the master on the first cable on the first HD controller, and the BIOS is set to boot C before any other HD letter.

XP is sensitive to the HD "signature" in determining the drive letter. I don't know much more about it than that. If you have never had XP on the HD, I don't know why it should be a problem, but there is one small shareware program (free trial) that can fix signature problems (and a lot more), called BootItNG.Boot It NG site

It is possible to install XP from within W98 as an upgrade. although a clean install is generally thought to be best. Since you are having no luck, maybe it is worth a shot.

Good luck.

 

[nihl8tor88]

I had a similar problem on an Msi kt7 turbo.
Turned out the board was defective.
try a standard hal, or go into bios and set fail safe defaults.
if it doesn't install, try removing one of the dimms.
Try a different hard drive, and finally a different motherboard.
linear and logical baby, it's more than just a good idea.

 

[bluey]

Tried on 3 different hard drives, rotating the dimm's and the BIOS. Nothing. I dont understand this at all.

The hard drive is still on I think, it just winds down and stops making noise. And I had win98 and tried to use the home upgrade disk and it still wouldnt work. I havent tried using the manufacturer specific tools to format/partition the drive yet and I guess I could but I am doubtful. It is master on the jumper and in BIOS hdd-0 is set to boot first. I guess I'll try that boot it ng thing and see if it helps.

I've had the motherboard for close to 3 years now, its a tyan trinity s2390 is the model number. I am buying a brand new computer, so buying a new board for this one seems like a waste, but I still need this one to work so I can leave it at home and not have to bring my new one home from school when on breaks.

Thanks for the help guys I'll that stuff and then I'm not sure what else to do.

 

[bluey]

http://groups.google.com/group...UTF-8%26q%3Ds2390%2Bxp

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/t999569328

^^ Stuff like that makes me wonder (I have the same mobo and gfx card), if I had another gfx card I would swap it out, but seeing as how I dont, I guess I could put in my 6800gt I just bought, or has the AGP slot changed (voltage?) in the past few years? I seem to remember something about that.

 

[bluey]

Fix it, it was my geforce2 mx400. Apparently you cant install windows with one of these in. I popped in a geforce4 mx4000 and it worked fine.

 

[uncleX]

>Fix it, it was my geforce2 mx400. Apparently you cant install windows with one of these in. I popped in a geforce4 mx4000 and it worked fine.

So it was one of the things you suspected. It is amazing that a video card could cause this. It looks like another case of a wierd problem caused by XP outsmarting itself and choosing a wrong driver on its own. I don't know how you could get around it during an install except what you did.

 

[colonel]

I got the same problem, i install XP with Asus Geforce2 and it was a pain, finally XP is ready to go but I ckeck my adapter and it said Geforce4 MX400