Dumped Vista, Can't install XP Pro

[Guest]

I installed Vista Business on my comp that has a Lanparty nf4MB, Athlon 64
cpu and 2Gb of ram and a Seagate 120Gb HD. Unfortunately it's incompatible
with my new analog/digital TV tuner card so i want to switch back to XP Pro.
I decided to "wipe the HD" clean with Dban and load XP Pro using the
installation CD. The installation process began OK.
I carefully followed the instructions from several MVP's here and deleted
the existing partitions, created a new one, formatted it, and Windows then
loaded files and rebooted.
Well, sort of....because that's when I got the "error loading operating
system" message, right after the "press any key to boot from the CD" prompt.
Does Vista leave code planted elsewhere on the HD that's not cleaned by
Dban? Any suggestions?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Whether or not Dban removes everything is not really relevant.
If you are deleting the partition using the Windows XP procedure,
everything will be gone.
I assume you are deleting and recreating the partitions and formatting
using the tools included with Windows XP and during the installation
process.

If after doing that and you get an error, the most likely cause is a
failing DVD drive or dirty DVD.
Clean both.

Were you in the case swapping cards?
Power off and open the case.
Check and reseat all connections paying particular to the cables
attached to the DVD drive and motherboard.

 

[Guest]

Whether or not Dban removes everything is not really relevant.

Let me try to understand this. If "everything" that Vista has written to
the HD is removed, the HD should be like "new", correct? But if there is
code that Vista has installed (for instance, "the rescue installer") in the
Host Protected Area ("HPA"), which hasn't been removed, that may be the root
of the problem. Now, wouldn't that be relevant? If I'm incorrect in trying
to understand this, please let me know why having a "totally clean" HD is not
"relevant".

If you are deleting the partition using the Windows XP procedure, everything will be gone.

I did that but how can I confirm that "everything is gone". When a 120Gb HD
shows only 114Gb in the partition, there's 6Gb of something else still in
there.

I assume you are deleting and recreating the partitions and formatting using the tools included with Windows XP and during the installation process.

Yes, I did that, following the directions to the letter - twice

If after doing that and you get an error, the most likely cause is a failing DVD drive or dirty DVD.

Nope, near-new DVD drive worked flawlessly with Vista and XP Pro before
that. Swapped it to another computer to test - no problem.
Note: I'm not alone with this issue (attempting to reinstall XP Pro after
"uninstalling Vista), so there may be something a little more complex
(related to code that Vista installs on the HD) than a dirty DVD or failing
DVD drive. I'm just trying to get educated here and appreciate the help.

Clean both.

I am always fastidious about cleanliness - the DVD/CD's are spotless.

Were you in the case swapping cards?

No - it is as it was.

Power off and open the case. Check and reseat all connections paying particular to the cables attached to the DVD drive and motherboard.

I did that twice

I did read, from another MVP said that a call to MS may be needed to have
them send a file(s) to resolve this issue. Might that be the case here?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

If you delete all the partitions, EVERYTHING on the drive is gone.
Use other tools if you want, but after using other tools, be sure to
delete partitions (if any), add partitions and format using the
Windows XP Media.
Deleting all partitions will delete the HP.

Your missing 6 GB is normal and expected.
It has to do with the difference between the way manufacturers
advertise the drive and the way the computer sees the drive.
this explains it somewhat:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/storage/a/ActualHDSizes.htm

"Might that be the case here?"
I doubt it.

You may need to press F6 to install, the drivers such as RAID etc.
Check your hardware manuals for details.
Step 2 of the installation on this page:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org

Whether or not Dban removes everything is not really relevant.

Let me try to understand this. If "everything" that Vista has
written to
the HD is removed, the HD should be like "new", correct? But if
there is
code that Vista has installed (for instance, "the rescue installer")
in the
Host Protected Area ("HPA"), which hasn't been removed, that may be
the root
of the problem. Now, wouldn't that be relevant? If I'm incorrect
in trying
to understand this, please let me know why having a "totally clean"
HD is not
"relevant".

If you are deleting the partition using the Windows XP procedure,
everything will be gone.

I did that but how can I confirm that "everything is gone". When a
120Gb HD
shows only 114Gb in the partition, there's 6Gb of something else
still in
there.

I assume you are deleting and recreating the partitions and
formatting using the tools included with Windows XP and during the
installation process.

Yes, I did that, following the directions to the letter - twice

If after doing that and you get an error, the most likely cause is
a failing DVD drive or dirty DVD.

Nope, near-new DVD drive worked flawlessly with Vista and XP Pro
before
that. Swapped it to another computer to test - no problem.
Note: I'm not alone with this issue (attempting to reinstall XP Pro
after
"uninstalling Vista), so there may be something a little more
complex
(related to code that Vista installs on the HD) than a dirty DVD or
failing
DVD drive. I'm just trying to get educated here and appreciate the
help.

Clean both.

I am always fastidious about cleanliness - the DVD/CD's are
spotless.

Were you in the case swapping cards?

No - it is as it was.

Power off and open the case. Check and reseat all connections
paying particular to the cables attached to the DVD drive and
motherboard.

I did that twice

I did read, from another MVP said that a call to MS may be needed to
have
them send a file(s) to resolve this issue. Might that be the case
here?

 

[John Barnes]

Hard to understand what you are saying, but you do not 'hit any key' at that
point in the installation.

 

[f/fgeorge]

Hard to understand what you are saying, but you do not 'hit any key' at that
point in the installation.

Actually many Bioses say that when helping you chose whether to boot
from the bootable cd or not. Hitting 'any key' will boot from the cd,
doing nothing boots from the next device on the list.
You may end up getting a new hardrive. That one was loaded wit han OS
that may have left vestiges of itself. There is a program, if you have
a floppy drive, called 'hardrivekiller'. It is basically a Linux boot
disk that will wipe your drive to DOD specs. That may do the trick. I
have heard of people making boot cd's and using it, but never have
personally.

 

[John Barnes]

After the system has installed and is rebooting, you DON'T want to boot from
the CD.