I am installing XP Pro from scratch. If i only have the
primary drive installed everything works fine. When I add
a second drive, the PC will not boot, it completes the
memory check and hangs during the disk test. (/SOS in
boot .ini) Even if I remove the second drive the PC will
not boot. If I start in safe mode, the PC boots and both
drives work normally.

If I run CHKDSK /R from the recovery console it hangs as
well, usually at 50%.

My motherboard is an Intell Desktop board with integrated
IDE. Both driver are Western Digital. The C drive is off
the Primary IDE channel with the CD-ROM as the second
device. The second drive (E is the only device on the
Secondary IDE channel. First I had the jumpers set for CS
but switched to master settings in an attent to resolve
the problem.

At this point I have no other applications on the machine.

The reason I don't just put both drives in and install XP
is because I want the second drive in a removable chassis;
and when I tried that, I couldn't boot the machine with
the removable drive removed.

Thanks is advance for any guidance.

Hi, Greg.

If you haven't "locked down" the drive letters by specifically assigning
them in Disk Management, then WinXP starts fresh and re-letters them
according to its own defaults each time you reboot. So, Drive E: might not
be Drive E: for this session. How many volumes (primary partitions and
logical drives in the extended partition) do you have on each HD? What
about your CD/DVDs, networks drives, etc.; anything that uses a drive
letter?

Many users still haven't found Disk Management. Type at the Run prompt:
diskmgmt.msc

In addition to taking over the jobs of creating, deleting and formatting HDs
(which we used to do with FDISK and Format.exe under MS-DOS and Win9x/ME),
it also handles assigning and reassigning "drive" letters, which we did with
Device Manager in Win9x/ME.

If you assign your CD/DVD drives letters further down in the alphabet (V: or
DVD and W: for Writeable?), then they are less likely to jump around as you
add and remove HDs and partitions. And HD volumes don't have to be lettered
sequentially, either.

My WinXP Pro Resource Kit says the /SOS parameter in Boot.ini "displays the
name of each device driver as it loads". I see nothing there about a "disk
test". The page I'm reading is online at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tre...c_str_bjap.asp

(I'm not sure what's going on with MS website security these days. I had to
temporarily disable Norton Internet Security 2004 to get past the
"gatekeeper" into the Resource Kit website; then I re-enabled NIS and was
able to navigate to the page.)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Greg Wilton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:5cf301c3ad39$cf95fbc0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I am installing XP Pro from scratch. If i only have the
> primary drive installed everything works fine. When I add
> a second drive, the PC will not boot, it completes the
> memory check and hangs during the disk test. (/SOS in
> boot .ini) Even if I remove the second drive the PC will
> not boot. If I start in safe mode, the PC boots and both
> drives work normally.
>
> If I run CHKDSK /R from the recovery console it hangs as
> well, usually at 50%.
>
> My motherboard is an Intell Desktop board with integrated
> IDE. Both driver are Western Digital. The C drive is off
> the Primary IDE channel with the CD-ROM as the second
> device. The second drive (E is the only device on the
> Secondary IDE channel. First I had the jumpers set for CS
> but switched to master settings in an attent to resolve
> the problem.
>
> At this point I have no other applications on the machine.
>
> The reason I don't just put both drives in and install XP
> is because I want the second drive in a removable chassis;
> and when I tried that, I couldn't boot the machine with
> the removable drive removed.
>
> Thanks is advance for any guidance.

Thanks for the input.
I have not "locked down" the drives but I'm not having
trouble with the letters changing, it just won't boot. But
I'll give that a try.
The /SOS displays the drivers being loaded and also
displays other messages. The memory check and disk check
are among them.
>-----Original Message-----
>Hi, Greg.
>
>If you haven't "locked down" the drive letters by
specifically assigning
>them in Disk Management, then WinXP starts fresh and re-
letters them
>according to its own defaults each time you reboot. So,
Drive E: might not
>be Drive E: for this session. How many volumes (primary
partitions and
>logical drives in the extended partition) do you have on
each HD? What
>about your CD/DVDs, networks drives, etc.; anything that
uses a drive
>letter?
>
>Many users still haven't found Disk Management. Type at
the Run prompt:
>diskmgmt.msc
>
>In addition to taking over the jobs of creating, deleting
and formatting HDs
>(which we used to do with FDISK and Format.exe under MS-
DOS and Win9x/ME),
>it also handles assigning and reassigning "drive"
letters, which we did with
>Device Manager in Win9x/ME.
>
>If you assign your CD/DVD drives letters further down in
the alphabet (V: or
>DVD and W: for Writeable?), then they are less likely to
jump around as you
>add and remove HDs and partitions. And HD volumes don't
have to be lettered
>sequentially, either.
>
>My WinXP Pro Resource Kit says the /SOS parameter in
Boot.ini "displays the
>name of each device driver as it loads". I see nothing
there about a "disk
>test". The page I'm reading is online at:
>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp
url=/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prmc_str_bjap.asp
>
>(I'm not sure what's going on with MS website security
these days. I had to
>temporarily disable Norton Internet Security 2004 to get
past the
>"gatekeeper" into the Resource Kit website; then I re-
enabled NIS and was
>able to navigate to the page.)
>
>RC
>--
>R. C. White, CPA
>San Marcos, TX
>(E-Mail Removed)
>Microsoft Windows MVP
>
>"Greg Wilton" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:5cf301c3ad39$cf95fbc0$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> I am installing XP Pro from scratch. If i only have the
>> primary drive installed everything works fine. When I
add
>> a second drive, the PC will not boot, it completes the
>> memory check and hangs during the disk test. (/SOS in
>> boot .ini) Even if I remove the second drive the PC will
>> not boot. If I start in safe mode, the PC boots and both
>> drives work normally.
>>
>> If I run CHKDSK /R from the recovery console it hangs as
>> well, usually at 50%.
>>
>> My motherboard is an Intell Desktop board with
integrated
>> IDE. Both driver are Western Digital. The C drive is off
>> the Primary IDE channel with the CD-ROM as the second
>> device. The second drive (E is the only device on the
>> Secondary IDE channel. First I had the jumpers set for
CS
>> but switched to master settings in an attent to resolve
>> the problem.
>>
>> At this point I have no other applications on the
machine.
>>
>> The reason I don't just put both drives in and install
XP
>> is because I want the second drive in a removable
chassis;
>> and when I tried that, I couldn't boot the machine with
>> the removable drive removed.
>>
>> Thanks is advance for any guidance.
>
>
>
>.
>

Western Digital hard drives have a single drive setting
(no jumper). Try removing the jumper from the hd that is
alone on the secondary IDE.
Have seen this problem before, however the CS setting
should have worked as well.

Hope this helps

>-----Original Message-----
>I am installing XP Pro from scratch. If i only have the
>primary drive installed everything works fine. When I add
>a second drive, the PC will not boot, it completes the
>memory check and hangs during the disk test. (/SOS in
>boot .ini) Even if I remove the second drive the PC will
>not boot. If I start in safe mode, the PC boots and both
>drives work normally.
>
>If I run CHKDSK /R from the recovery console it hangs as
>well, usually at 50%.
>
>My motherboard is an Intell Desktop board with integrated
>IDE. Both driver are Western Digital. The C drive is off
>the Primary IDE channel with the CD-ROM as the second
>device. The second drive (E is the only device on the
>Secondary IDE channel. First I had the jumpers set for CS
>but switched to master settings in an attent to resolve
>the problem.
>
>At this point I have no other applications on the machine.
>
>The reason I don't just put both drives in and install XP
>is because I want the second drive in a removable
chassis;
>and when I tried that, I couldn't boot the machine with
>the removable drive removed.
>
>Thanks is advance for any guidance.
>.
>