win98se to XP pro upgrade error

[David Sheetz]

I am trying to upgrade a windows 98se pc to windows XP Pro
it gives a blocking error saying that I have more than one OS installed but
I don't! There was a previous attempt to install windows 2000 on another
drive but never completed and I believe all the files were deleted except
what remains for Win98.

I have tried reinstalling Win98SE after running fdisk /mbr and deleting any
boot files from NT that I saw like boot.ini ntldr, etc. with no luck.

What files is the compatibility check seeing that it thinks there is more
than one OS?

Help Please ! it is driving me nuts [ which is a very short drive ]

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jack]

David...
relax...don't loose it just caus of this...you gotta keep your wits about
you...sure hate to see you at work this way...
OK...

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| I am trying to upgrade a windows 98se pc to windows XP Pro
| it gives a blocking error saying that I have more than one OS installed but
| I don't! There was a previous attempt to install windows 2000 on another
| drive but never completed and I believe all the files were deleted except
| what remains for Win98.
|
| I have tried reinstalling Win98SE after running fdisk /mbr and deleting any
| boot files from NT that I saw like boot.ini ntldr, etc. with no luck.
|
| What files is the compatibility check seeing that it thinks there is more
| than one OS?
|
| Help Please ! it is driving me nuts [ which is a very short drive ]
|
| Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[David Sheetz]

sorry but you all did not get it or I did not explain it well enough
I want to ***upgrade*** the existing installation there are apps and
settings I do not want to reinstall ( disks are missing and or are hard to
locate) that can be imported by a normal upgrade. I do NOT want to do a
clean install I am more than capable of formatting a drive and doing that.
Does anybody know a real way around this error?

David Sheetz [MCP, DELL certified, Novell CNE, IBM Certified, 10 years
experience, currently supporting 20000 usersin a domain with 1700 Windows
servers ]
forgive the ranting but I hate to see these mcp, mvp blah blah blah....

so what can any one give some real ideas?

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------


| I am trying to upgrade a windows 98se pc to windows XP Pro
| it gives a blocking error saying that I have more than one OS installed but
| I don't! There was a previous attempt to install windows 2000 on another
| drive but never completed and I believe all the files were deleted except
| what remains for Win98.
|
| I have tried reinstalling Win98SE after running fdisk /mbr and deleting any
| boot files from NT that I saw like boot.ini ntldr, etc. with no luck.
|
| What files is the compatibility check seeing that it thinks there is more
| than one OS?
|
| Help Please ! it is driving me nuts [ which is a very short drive ]
|
| Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You mentioned that you "tried reinstalling Win98SE after running fdisk /mbr" so
I assumed you had no apps installed. I thought you were attempting to reinstall
Windows 98 and then trying to upgrade to Windows XP. I merely pointed out
you can perform a "clean install" of Windows XP without first installing Windows 98.
In any case, a "clean install" is probably the only way to get Windows XP installed
on a computer that has an undiagnosable blocking issue.

I assume you are using a "retail version" and not an "OEM version" of Windows XP.
Did you also run the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor and review the report?

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| sorry but you all did not get it or I did not explain it well enough
| I want to ***upgrade*** the existing installation there are apps and
| settings I do not want to reinstall ( disks are missing and or are hard to
| locate) that can be imported by a normal upgrade. I do NOT want to do a
| clean install I am more than capable of formatting a drive and doing that.
| Does anybody know a real way around this error?
|
| David Sheetz [MCP, DELL certified, Novell CNE, IBM Certified, 10 years
| experience, currently supporting 20000 usersin a domain with 1700 Windows
| servers ]
| forgive the ranting but I hate to see these mcp, mvp blah blah blah....
|
| so what can any one give some real ideas?

 

[David Sheetz]

fdisk /mbr only restores the Master Boot Record does not change partitions
in any way, it is a neat trick from the old days of DOS and win3.x that
fixed a lot of pc's that could not read the HDD

yes I ran the XP upgrade advisor from a RETAIL version CD ,that is where I
got the message first. This is not really an undiagnosable issue but rather
an isssue of finding out from someone who knows what it looks for to
determine that multiple OS's are installed. Someone HAS to know what it
looks at running the wizard...

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Download the free 30 trial version of System Mechanic (www.iolo.com)
and perform a thorough cleanup of the Windows 98 registry. Then try
upgrading again.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| fdisk /mbr only restores the Master Boot Record does not change partitions
| in any way, it is a neat trick from the old days of DOS and win3.x that
| fixed a lot of pc's that could not read the HDD
|
| yes I ran the XP upgrade advisor from a RETAIL version CD ,that is where I
| got the message first. This is not really an undiagnosable issue but rather
| an isssue of finding out from someone who knows what it looks for to
| determine that multiple OS's are installed. Someone HAS to know what it
| looks at running the wizard...

 

[David Sheetz]

no luck, will just stick with Windows 98 til it can't be fixed no more...
shame no one knows what the heck is going on. Microsoft should allow
technicians to override crap like this somehow and just choose which OS they
are going to upgrade and give a warning that other os's will become useless.
Poor error trapping again by MS programmers who don't know what the heck
they are doing....

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Upgrading to Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| no luck, will just stick with Windows 98 til it can't be fixed no more...
| shame no one knows what the heck is going on. Microsoft should allow
| technicians to override crap like this somehow and just choose which OS they
| are going to upgrade and give a warning that other os's will become useless.
| Poor error trapping again by MS programmers who don't know what the heck
| they are doing....

 

[David Sheetz]

Sorry Carey I do appreciate your attempt to help me but you have only
pointed out what a good tech already knows to do. You obviously can't answer
the question and it appears nobody else in this group has even a fair idea
of anything what to do beyond the MS knowledgebase. Some advice- think
outside the box.

MVP and any of the MS certifications like it mean nothing when you have no
clue what is going on. your attempts to help show you don't have a clue as
to what I am even talking about.Suggestion - don't just cut and paste links
when you are dealing with a tech that shows even a little bit of knowledge.
I have been there and done that and yet no one can answer my question - WHAT
THE HECK IS IT LOOKING FOR TO DETERMINE THAT ANOTHER OS EXISTS? WHICH FILES?
boot.ini is gone and bootsect.dos and ntldr..... what else could it look at
to give me an error that another OS exists?

I will try my inside sources with MS at work tomorrow , I support a large
company and MS actually has a full time engineer at our home office working
on some issues right now. maybe he has a clue.

Please stop responding if you can not answer the question , I think other
people actually think you are helping me when in fact you are just pissing
me off with first grade tekkie advice.

Sorry but I am frustrated by MS's lack of support on a higher level...

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Call Call (425) 635-3311 (U.S.) for support advice.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Sorry Carey I do appreciate your attempt to help me but you have only
| pointed out what a good tech already knows to do. You obviously can't answer
| the question and it appears nobody else in this group has even a fair idea
| of anything what to do beyond the MS knowledgebase. Some advice- think
| outside the box.
|
| MVP and any of the MS certifications like it mean nothing when you have no
| clue what is going on. your attempts to help show you don't have a clue as
| to what I am even talking about.Suggestion - don't just cut and paste links
| when you are dealing with a tech that shows even a little bit of knowledge.
| I have been there and done that and yet no one can answer my question - WHAT
| THE HECK IS IT LOOKING FOR TO DETERMINE THAT ANOTHER OS EXISTS? WHICH FILES?
| boot.ini is gone and bootsect.dos and ntldr..... what else could it look at
| to give me an error that another OS exists?
|
| I will try my inside sources with MS at work tomorrow , I support a large
| company and MS actually has a full time engineer at our home office working
| on some issues right now. maybe he has a clue.
|
| Please stop responding if you can not answer the question , I think other
| people actually think you are helping me when in fact you are just pissing
| me off with first grade tekkie advice.
|
| Sorry but I am frustrated by MS's lack of support on a higher level...

 

[Darrell Gorter[MSFT]]

Hello David,
You may want to check for information in the winnt32.log file or the
setupact.log.
If not try re-running setup this time using winnt32.exe /debuglevel:5
This increases the amount of logging detail to the winnt32.log.

How many drives and partitions are in this system?

Thanks,
Darrell Gorter[MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
--------------------
| Reply-To: "David Sheetz" <[email protected]>
| From: "David Sheetz" <[email protected]>
| References: <#[email protected]>
<#[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
<#[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
<#[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
| Subject: Re: win98se to XP pro upgrade error
| Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 20:45:48 -0600
| Lines: 62
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| X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windowsxp.setup_deployment
|
| Sorry Carey I do appreciate your attempt to help me but you have only
| pointed out what a good tech already knows to do. You obviously can't
answer
| the question and it appears nobody else in this group has even a fair idea
| of anything what to do beyond the MS knowledgebase. Some advice- think
| outside the box.
|
| MVP and any of the MS certifications like it mean nothing when you have no
| clue what is going on. your attempts to help show you don't have a clue as
| to what I am even talking about.Suggestion - don't just cut and paste
links
| when you are dealing with a tech that shows even a little bit of
knowledge.
| I have been there and done that and yet no one can answer my question -
WHAT
| THE HECK IS IT LOOKING FOR TO DETERMINE THAT ANOTHER OS EXISTS? WHICH
FILES?
| boot.ini is gone and bootsect.dos and ntldr..... what else could it look
at
| to give me an error that another OS exists?
|
| I will try my inside sources with MS at work tomorrow , I support a large
| company and MS actually has a full time engineer at our home office
working
| on some issues right now. maybe he has a clue.
|
| Please stop responding if you can not answer the question , I think other
| people actually think you are helping me when in fact you are just pissing
| me off with first grade tekkie advice.
|
| Sorry but I am frustrated by MS's lack of support on a higher level...
|
|
|
|
| | > Upgrading to Windows XP
| > http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm
| >
| > Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
| > http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm
| >
| > --
| > Carey Frisch
| > Microsoft MVP
| > Windows XP - Shell/User
| >
| > Be Smart! Protect your PC!
| > http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/
| >
| >
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| -----------------
| >
| > | >
| > | no luck, will just stick with Windows 98 til it can't be fixed no
| more...
| > | shame no one knows what the heck is going on. Microsoft should allow
| > | technicians to override crap like this somehow and just choose which
OS
| they
| > | are going to upgrade and give a warning that other os's will become
| useless.
| > | Poor error trapping again by MS programmers who don't know what the
heck
| > | they are doing....
| >
|
|
|