Can't install w2k

  • Thread starter Thread starter zim
  • Start date Start date
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zim

Hello. I've got a Compaq P3 I'm trying to upgrade to Win2k. I boot from the
w2k CD, delete and recreate the C: partition and format using NTFS.
Sometimes during format (I've tried several times) the process stops with an
error stating "Setup was unable to format, disk may be damaged). I've tried
this on three different disks including a brand new one, all of which work
fine in other computers.

Sometimes the format completes ok, but then during setup the process stops
and says "setup was unable to copy such and such file (always a different
one) you can skip this file etc. etc. at which point I quit setup.

I know these disks are good, and my media is good (tried three different
media).

What could be the problem? I've cleared CMOS and upgraded the BIOS.

Thanks!

PK
 
Hello. I've got a Compaq P3 I'm trying to upgrade to Win2k. I boot
from the w2k CD, delete and recreate the C: partition and format using
NTFS. Sometimes during format (I've tried several times) the process
stops with an error stating "Setup was unable to format, disk may be
damaged). I've tried this on three different disks including a brand
new one, all of which work fine in other computers.

Sometimes the format completes ok, but then during setup the process
stops and says "setup was unable to copy such and such file (always a
different one) you can skip this file etc. etc. at which point I quit
setup.

I know these disks are good, and my media is good (tried three
different media).

What could be the problem? I've cleared CMOS and upgraded the BIOS.

Thanks!

PK
Click to expand...

Don't know what your problem is, [could be a flaky stick of ram among
other things], but here's a work around:

Partition and format the disk in the "other" PC with FAT32, then put the
HDD back in the target PC. IF all goes well, you can then convert the
FAT32 to NTFS.

I would try one of those DOS-based memory testers though, if you have a
bad stick of ram, it *will* cause you grief later on....
 
zim said:
Hello. I've got a Compaq P3 I'm trying to upgrade to Win2k. I boot from the
w2k CD, delete and recreate the C: partition and format using NTFS.
Sometimes during format (I've tried several times) the process stops with an
error stating "Setup was unable to format, disk may be damaged). I've tried
this on three different disks including a brand new one, all of which work
fine in other computers.

Sometimes the format completes ok, but then during setup the process stops
and says "setup was unable to copy such and such file (always a different
one) you can skip this file etc. etc. at which point I quit setup.

I know these disks are good, and my media is good (tried three different
media).

What could be the problem? I've cleared CMOS and upgraded the BIOS.

Thanks!

PK
Click to expand...

Make sure you use the 'fdisk /mbr' command to clear the master boot record.
Many OEM MFG's put &hit in the boot sector that can interfere with a clean
install.
 
zim said:
Hello. I've got a Compaq P3 I'm trying to upgrade to Win2k. I boot from the
w2k CD, delete and recreate the C: partition and format using NTFS.
Sometimes during format (I've tried several times) the process stops with an
error stating "Setup was unable to format, disk may be damaged). I've tried
this on three different disks including a brand new one, all of which work
fine in other computers.

Sometimes the format completes ok, but then during setup the process stops
and says "setup was unable to copy such and such file (always a different
one) you can skip this file etc. etc. at which point I quit setup.

I know these disks are good, and my media is good (tried three different
media).

What could be the problem? I've cleared CMOS and upgraded the BIOS.

Thanks!

PK
Click to expand...

For IDE drives, how about an "old school" approach?

* Create a DOS boot disk and copy DEBUG.EXE to it. (If you have an old Win98
setup disk, you can use it. The Win98 setup disk, or rescue disk, will
already contain DEBUG.EXE.)

* Boot using the DOS boot disk. (Watch the prompts - if you're using the
Win98 setup disk, you don't want to go the path of installing Windows. Just
get to the DOS prompt.)

* Run DEBUG.EXE from the command line.

* Enter the following series of commands. (I've used all upper case and all
the prompts for clarity.)

A:\>DEBUG
-F 200 L1000 0
-A CS:100
1C5A:0100 MOV AX,301
1C5A:0103 MOV BX,200
1C5A:0106 MOV CX,1
1C5A:0109 MOV DX,80
1C5A:010C INT 13
1C5A:010E INT 20
1C5A:0110 (carriage return)
-G

Program terminated normally
-Q
A:\>

The boot sector will be completely erased. No partitions, no nothing.

BTW - at address 1C5A:0109, you can use "80" for the first HD, "81" for the
second HD, "82" for the third HD, etc.

When you go to install Win2K, it won't see any old disk information and
think it is factory fresh.
 
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