Re: Win2k setup won't copy files...

Oh my freakin' God! This is the most annoying thing I've encountered in
years!

I tried copying the disk to a second hard drive to install from there after
booting to a 98 boot disk. No smartdrive! So I then go hunting on the
internet for smartdrive, after I get that I continue with the second hard
drive. All looks to be going well, nice and speedy this time. Finally when
it reboots and gets to the point where it installs it does the _same exact
thing_ it did with the CDs. Won't read _any_ files!

Before trying with the second HDD I remembered I had installed a third NIC
in the system, so I removed all the cards for the hell of it. It's just the
motherboard with RAM and integrated video. I disabled _everything else_ in
the BIOS. I just don't understand. Figured I'd try another copy, so I tried
copying the files and slipstreaming off another CD, with no luck. Tried it
without slipstreaming the i386 on the HDD as well. I'm getting desperate,
can you tell?

I about ready to try a copy of .NET/2003 server RC2 that I tried a few
months back but after I got it installed it would always lock up the system
within a few minutes of logging on. At this point I'm at a loss as to what
to do next. I want to get this thing running again. I used it all the time
to experiment while I study. Not to mention the convenience and coolness of
having all my systems in a domain. I was thinking I could just do a fresh
slipstreamed install and restore my system state and be ready to go... So
much for that idea. If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate them.
I just don't know what to try next. I don't understand why it worked fine
the last few times I installed Pro or Server on it.

Cory

NorthCheney wrote:
> I had the same problem a few years ago. The CD worked
> fine first time and then the next time I wanted to use
> it, it wouldn't copy some of the files. I've had the
> same problem with an XP CD also. Back then, I was forced
> to install Win98SE again and after I did it, I thought
> I'd try using Windows to copy the whole 2K CD to the
> second hard drive. That worked, Windows copied the whole
> thing without a hiccup and setup ran fine from the hard
> drive after I disabled the first drive in the BIOS so
> setup would run. It gave the error "Can only have one
> active/boot partition." when I tried to install it with
> the Win98SE hard drive active in the BIOS. And, yes, it
> was a hassle!
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> I'm having trouble getting Win2k Server to install on a system of
>> mine. I've installed it twice before on this system without this
>> problem happening.
>>
>> What happens is when I get to the part where it copies files from
>> the CD it gives me an error message...
>> Setup cannot copy the file: _default.pif
>>
>> Gives me options to retry or skip. I've tried cleaning the CD, as
>> well as 4 other CDs and one other CD drive. I also switched the CD
>> drive to the secondary master as opposed to primary slave. No luck.
>> I've tried both burned disks and MS Press disks, both do the same
>> thing. When I say to skip it will keep giving me the error message
>> for what appears to be every file it needs to copy. The CD drive
>> read light flashes when I hit escape, so it is communication with it.
>>
>> The motherboard is a SiS chipset running a Celeron 400. Nothing
>> fancy, but it's been great for me to play with and experiment while
>> studying. If anyone could offer any suggestions I'd appreciate it.
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Cory
>>
>>
>> .

An idea just occurred to me... I tried installing to the second HDD and it
worked. That drive is formatted FAT32. The first drive is a 30 gig NTFS
drive which has lots of data that I don't want to lose, so I didn't format
it during the install. I don't have the room to backup everything to my
other drives... Looks like I may have to either do some house cleaning or go
out and get another HDD.

Anyone have any ideas as to why it wouldn't install to a drive that is
already formatted? Oh dear... I think I may have answered my own question...
If this is really the problem I'm gonna be kicking myself forever! I seem to
recall at some time setting the NTFS permissions on the root of that drive
to only allow write to domain admins, and read to everyone... Or I may have
gone even more restrictive than that... I almost don't want to check, but I
suppose I ought to do that now...

Cory

Cory Dunkle wrote:
> Oh my freakin' God! This is the most annoying thing I've encountered
> in years!
>
> I tried copying the disk to a second hard drive to install from there
> after booting to a 98 boot disk. No smartdrive! So I then go hunting
> on the internet for smartdrive, after I get that I continue with the
> second hard drive. All looks to be going well, nice and speedy this
> time. Finally when it reboots and gets to the point where it installs
> it does the _same exact thing_ it did with the CDs. Won't read _any_
> files!
>
> Before trying with the second HDD I remembered I had installed a
> third NIC in the system, so I removed all the cards for the hell of
> it. It's just the motherboard with RAM and integrated video. I
> disabled _everything else_ in the BIOS. I just don't understand.
> Figured I'd try another copy, so I tried copying the files and
> slipstreaming off another CD, with no luck. Tried it without
> slipstreaming the i386 on the HDD as well. I'm getting desperate, can
> you tell?
>
> I about ready to try a copy of .NET/2003 server RC2 that I tried a few
> months back but after I got it installed it would always lock up the
> system within a few minutes of logging on. At this point I'm at a
> loss as to what to do next. I want to get this thing running again. I
> used it all the time to experiment while I study. Not to mention the
> convenience and coolness of having all my systems in a domain. I was
> thinking I could just do a fresh slipstreamed install and restore my
> system state and be ready to go... So much for that idea. If anyone
> has any ideas I would greatly appreciate them. I just don't know what
> to try next. I don't understand why it worked fine the last few times
> I installed Pro or Server on it.
>
> Cory
>
> NorthCheney wrote:
>> I had the same problem a few years ago. The CD worked
>> fine first time and then the next time I wanted to use
>> it, it wouldn't copy some of the files. I've had the
>> same problem with an XP CD also. Back then, I was forced
>> to install Win98SE again and after I did it, I thought
>> I'd try using Windows to copy the whole 2K CD to the
>> second hard drive. That worked, Windows copied the whole
>> thing without a hiccup and setup ran fine from the hard
>> drive after I disabled the first drive in the BIOS so
>> setup would run. It gave the error "Can only have one
>> active/boot partition." when I tried to install it with
>> the Win98SE hard drive active in the BIOS. And, yes, it
>> was a hassle!
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> I'm having trouble getting Win2k Server to install on a system of
>>> mine. I've installed it twice before on this system without this
>>> problem happening.
>>>
>>> What happens is when I get to the part where it copies files from
>>> the CD it gives me an error message...
>>> Setup cannot copy the file: _default.pif
>>>
>>> Gives me options to retry or skip. I've tried cleaning the CD, as
>>> well as 4 other CDs and one other CD drive. I also switched the CD
>>> drive to the secondary master as opposed to primary slave. No luck.
>>> I've tried both burned disks and MS Press disks, both do the same
>>> thing. When I say to skip it will keep giving me the error message
>>> for what appears to be every file it needs to copy. The CD drive
>>> read light flashes when I hit escape, so it is communication with
>>> it.
>>>
>>> The motherboard is a SiS chipset running a Celeron 400. Nothing
>>> fancy, but it's been great for me to play with and experiment while
>>> studying. If anyone could offer any suggestions I'd appreciate it.
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Cory
>>>
>>>
>>> .