New installation of Windows Xp Pro

[Guest]

My new system boots to the windows xp cd then It goes to the Windows Setup
blue screen and just sets there? It won't go any futher. Any suggestions on
what is wrong.

The CD Rom is set to mater and the harddrive all ready double checked.
I also used the 6 boot diskes for xp pro it does the same thing.
I can put the cd in another system and it runs perfectly. I'm running out
of options

HELP!

 

[Malke]

My new system boots to the windows xp cd then It goes to the Windows
Setup
blue screen and just sets there? It won't go any futher. Any
suggestions on what is wrong.

The CD Rom is set to mater and the harddrive all ready double
checked. I also used the 6 boot diskes for xp pro it does the same
thing.
I can put the cd in another system and it runs perfectly. I'm running
out of options

HELP!

If the installation doesn't even start, you have some hardware failure.
You haven't provided any information about your computer, so it is
impossible to be specific. However, operating system installation
failures are most often caused by faulty hardware. It doesn't matter if
the computer is new; in fact if hardware is going to fail it usually
will do so right away or go for years. If you built the computer
yourself, you may have done something wrong or gotten some bad RAM. If
you didn't build the system yourself and just bought a barebones
computer, take it back to where you got it.

Test the RAM, hard drive, and power supply. Post back with more details
about the system if you need more help.

Malke

 

[Guest]

I built the system. The bios sees the harddrive and ram. I don't get any
beeps and every thing says it is there. I have even exchanged the cd rom
thinking it was bad. It did the same thing. If the ram was bad that I
bought won't I get beeps at the start?

 

[Malke]

I built the system. The bios sees the harddrive and ram. I don't get
any
beeps and every thing says it is there. I have even exchanged the cd
rom
thinking it was bad. It did the same thing. If the ram was bad that
I bought won't I get beeps at the start?

No, you wouldn't necessarily get beeps unless the RAM was improperly
seated or the wrong voltage. Since you built the machine yourself, you
should strip it down and test everything. Reseat all cables and make
sure you're using the right ones for your hardware. Don't try to
install an operating system with anything installed except the bare
basics and nothing connected to the box except for keyboard/mouse.
Since you are having issues, that means don't even put in a soundcard
or nic, just the optical and hard drives, RAM, and video card.

Make sure you've installed the motherboard properly with all necessary
standoffs. I'm not trying to insult your mad skilz here - I have no
idea what your skill level is.

You again didn't give us any hardware specs. If you are using SATA
drives, did you install the drivers at the F6 prompt during the XP
install? Otherwise, here are some testing suggestions:

1) Open the computer and run it open after cleaning out all dust
bunnies. Observe all fans and make sure you attached all fans properly
to motherboard.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an hour or two - unless errors are
seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Download
the file and make a bootable floppy or cd with it. Boot with the media
and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power supply can be faulty. Make sure
you've installed a powerful enough one and that all connectors are
properly in place.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Malke

 

[Guest]

The hard drive is fine it worked in the other computer I built. IDE not
Sata. I have built about 10-15 other computers and this one is just a pain
in my side!.
The computer history. The first motherboard I put in this case had a bad on
board video so I sent it back and replaced it with another one that could
handle the same socket for the processor and ram and so on.

I will take out the network card and replace the floppy with another one. I
know the connections and motherboard is right I went back through everything.
I'm going bald over this one.

I will get back with you after I have tried some other new componets.

 

[Malke]

The hard drive is fine it worked in the other computer I built. IDE
not
Sata. I have built about 10-15 other computers and this one is just a
pain in my side!.
The computer history. The first motherboard I put in this case had a
bad on board video so I sent it back and replaced it with another one
that could handle the same socket for the processor and ram and so on.

I will take out the network card and replace the floppy with another
one. I know the connections and motherboard is right I went back
through everything.
I'm going bald over this one.

I will get back with you after I have tried some other new componets.

OK, then you obviously know what you are doing. One thing you might try
after testing all the components is see if you can install with the
mobo outside the case. I had a case that was just a *tad* off and even
though everything looked OK, the side of the case was making contact
with the mobo where it shouldn't have. With the mobo outside the case,
everything worked - inside not. Also try a different psu. It could also
be the processor.

Malke

 

[koniecz]

OK, then you obviously know what you are doing. One thing you might try
after testing all the components is see if you can install with the
mobo outside the case. I had a case that was just a *tad* off and even
though everything looked OK, the side of the case was making contact
with the mobo where it shouldn't have. With the mobo outside the case,
everything worked - inside not. Also try a different psu. It could also
be the processor.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User