Clean Install crashes at 34 Minutes Remaining

[Guest]

I am replacing a dead hard drive. When installing Windows XP Pro it crashes
EVERY time at 34 minutes remaining... I tried the suggestions listed in the
support section of this MS site and nothing. I have tried everything that I
could find on the internet as well.

Windows XP Pro (not bootleg)
Intel Pentium 4 Processor; 1.80GHz
MV85010A.86A.0038.P15.0207241616
512MB System RAM
Western Digital EIDE Hard Drive
80GB, 7200RPM

I am sort of a Novice at computers and the lingo, so please excuse my
layman's approach to this!
Data Lifeguard Tools Software included/loaded

 

[Guest]

I also forgot to mention that the hard drive is exactly the same as size and
brand as the previous hard drive. A friend had installed my Windows XP Pro
originally, so this is the first time I am installing the OS from scratch and
I do not know if my friend had problems installing to my previous hard drive
(we are no longer speaking, so I can't really ask him).

 

[neil]

Have you disconnected all peripherals including any USB hubs or card
readers. Otherwise check to be sure you haven't dislodged anything within
the case especially the power for any fans mainly the processor.

Neil

"Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34 Min" <Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34
(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

 

[Guest]

Neil,

I did try disconnecting all periphials and even tried putting them back one
at a time and restarting. Same deal. One newsgroup suggested checking all
connections, which I also did.

This is going to sound stupid, but I cannot find my sound card. My friend
put my computer togethor for me, so I have no idea as to what specifically is
inside this thing. Would it be a traditional card? The only "cards" inside
are from the manufacturer of my modem and another that seems to have the
monitor and keyboard plugged in (which I need to do the install, right?). My
memory is obvious and I tried pulling those one by one and the computer
doesn't even boot when one unit is removed.

I tried using the hotfix that MS offeres in their help article
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;815319
I am either doing that wrong or it isn't the issue. I am not sure what
slipstreaming is and the instructions in the article make no sense to me. Do
you have a more general explanation of slipstreaming a hotfix that someone
with limited knowledge base but the ability to learn can understand?

Thanks,
Traci

 

[neil]

This is going to sound stupid, but I cannot find my sound card. My friend

put my computer togethor for me, so I have no idea as to what specifically
is
inside this thing. Would it be a traditional card? The only "cards"
inside
are from the manufacturer of my modem and another that seems to have the
monitor and keyboard plugged in (which I need to do the install, right?).
My
memory is obvious and I tried pulling those one by one and the computer
doesn't even boot when one unit is removed.

The sound may be built into the motherboard (AKA mainboard) look on the rear
of your PC for small jack sockets often coloured. If you have them the sound
will be built in.

I tried using the hotfix that MS offeres in their help article
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;815319
I am either doing that wrong or it isn't the issue. I am not sure what
slipstreaming is and the instructions in the article make no sense to me.
Do
you have a more general explanation of slipstreaming a hotfix that someone
with limited knowledge base but the ability to learn can understand?

Slipstreaming is when you combine your original XP CD with SP1 or SP2 (would
be SP2 now) to make a new disk you can use as a bootable disk to install XP.
When you have completed the installation XP would already be up to SP2
level.
You can download a program called "autostreamer" which will help do the
slipstream for you, you will need your original XP CD and a copy of the full
download of SP2 or a SP2 CD. Have a look here:
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=223562
I'm not sure this will fix your problem but you won't know until you try it.

best of luck, keep us posted
Neil

 

[S. Taylor]

By "replacing a dead hard drive" do you mean you're reinstalling on an
existing drive
or did you install a new hard drive?

If the drive is brand new, you shouldn't be having this problem and should
take it back.

If the "new" drive is actually a used drive....... I'd say the timing it
deciding to die now,
is rotten

If you still want to troubleshoot the problem, first.

Start by removing all removable hardware, you just want the following items
in it:
Motherboard
Hard Drive
Memory
Video Card
PS/2 Keyboard
CD/DVD drive

Enter the BIOS and disable all built hardware, such as Sound, LAN/ethernet,
onboard video, etc.
If you're using a pci or pci-e video make sure your bios is set to boot with
a pci video device.
Or from agp if you're using an agp video card.


Then make sure the IDE is plugged in correctly and has no obvious damage,
has no creases trained into, frays, exposed wires or any other damage that
say
"replace me!!"
The ide cable should have 3 plugs on it (if it doesn't. it's too old and
should be replaced),
2 of whiched will be close to each other and connect to the drives.
The 3rd connector may be a different color and must be the end plugged into
the
motherboard's IDE0 connector

Make sure the cable is firmly seated into the hdd & the motherboard.
Make sure the hdd's power supply is firmly seated into the back of the
drive.

Check the pins on the back of the drive, beside the ide connector on the
drive,
make sure it's set as Master, and that it's plugged into the end plug on the
ide cable.

Boot into BIOS and make sure the hard drive is being recognized and that it
is being
recognized as the correct make/model, by BIOS, and that's being recognized
as the Primary Master device.

I've never gone through this procedure with XP, so I can only advise you how
to use
a windows 98 startup disk.
If you can get one from someone, then do so.
Boot from the diskette and use fdisk to delete all partitions on the drive.
Then use fdisk to recreate partions and when it asks if you want to enable
large disk support,
choose yes.
I, personally, prefere to use 2 or more partions ( or multiple hdd's),
the primary for the os and the others from my software/use.

Then format the drive, with the windows 98 diskette
Enter BIOS and set the CD/DVD drive as the 1st boot device and try to
re-install XP

If you can't get a windows 98 startup disk or just prefere to to, you can
let the XP CD
recreate it for you.

Or someone elase can lead you throught the commands used to have diskpart
delete/make partitions.


"Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34 Min" <Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34
(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message

 

[Guest]

I am installing a brand new, right out of the package, hard drive. I have
found this problem to be quite common with the Windows XP Pro installation on
the search of the web I have done, but nobody seems to be posting anything as
far as whether or not they resolved the issue and how.

I unplugged everything except the parts you indicated below and the same
thing occurs.

The BIOS screens are very basic compared to other BIOS screens that I have
seen in the past. I have disabled everything it has to offer.

Plugs and connections are all good.

I will keep trying everything.

Traci

 

[S. Taylor]

Whelp .... There's a definate possibility that your motherboard just aint
compatible enough with Xp
if it's that old.
It's also possible that the motherboard is just dying.
If your hdd is brand spanking new, the odds are against it being bad.
So the next thing to suspect would be video card and motherboard.
The odds of a bad video card causing the same lockup at the same exact point
in the installation process are probably infinately larger then the chances
of me
winning the lottery.

Before you give up on the motherboard, check the manufacturer's website for
any info on xp compatability issues and any bios updates that may address
ide issues



"Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34 Min"

 

[Anna]

"Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34 Min"

I am installing a brand new, right out of the package, hard drive. I have
found this problem to be quite common with the Windows XP Pro installation
on
the search of the web I have done, but nobody seems to be posting anything
as
far as whether or not they resolved the issue and how.

I unplugged everything except the parts you indicated below and the same
thing occurs.

The BIOS screens are very basic compared to other BIOS screens that I have
seen in the past. I have disabled everything it has to offer.

Plugs and connections are all good.

I will keep trying everything.

Traci

Traci:
As you learned from your net search, this problem re the balking of the
installation of the XP operating system at the 34 minute point is,
unfortunately, quite common. It's all the more unfortunate because in many,
if not most, instances it's well-nigh impossible to determine precisely why
the installation process freezes at that point, even when there are no
hardware/software problems which should be affecting the installation
process in this negative way.

Sometimes we've found it necessary to repeat the installation process three
or four times before it "catches". I assume you've tried this but the
problem still persists.

You should, as S. Taylor indicates, make certain that your hardware
components are correctly connected & configured. We'll assume that all those
components are non-defective.

You indicate your HD is a Western Digital. And you do not indicate any other
components such as another HD nor any optical drives are connected in your
computer. Assuming the WD drive is the *only* device on its IDE cable, you
have "jumpered" (actually no jumpers) it as Single, right? I just want to
stress that *all* your components are properly connected.

You also stated that (Western Digital) "Data Lifeguard Tools Software
included/loaded". What do you mean by this? Did you first partition/format
your drive with that utility before you undertook the XP installation
process? There is *no* reason to use any third-party partitioning/formatting
utility other than the one integrated in the XP OS. Even if that utility
comes from the manufacturer of the HD. So if you're still having problems,
repeat the installation, but this time delete the existing partition and let
XP perform the partitioning/formatting. Then continue with the installation.

There's no reason to access your motherboard's BIOS to determine if your HD
is being recognized. If it wasn't, you would have found that out at the very
beginning of the XP installation routine. But there's no harm in accessing
your BIOS to verify this.

BTW, you mention that you've "disabled everything it (BIOS) has to offer".
What do you mean by that? Generally speaking the default BIOS entries do not
need "disabling" except for very specific purposes. You're sure your BIOS
entries are correct, yes?

Forget about using a Windows9x/Me boot disk to partition/format your drive.
That's not your problem.

Try what I've suggested and if it's "no go", we'll try to suggest other
approaches.
Anna

 

[Guest]

Wow! Everyone has such great advice!!! I really appreciate all of the
replies just since my posting today : ) Great teamwork!

Anna - I basically played around with my BIOS settings as much as I could to
no avail. After doing this, I reset to the same settings I had before
getting myself into this mess!

The Western Digital hard drive is the only hard drive I have (it is exactly
the same size and brand as the one that just crashed). "Lifeguard Data
Tools", I later read on the user comments on the Circuit City website is not
compatable with Windows XP Pro. So, I reformatted the hard drive using the
XP Pro CD and created a partition (I don't really understand partitions, so I
only did one). Same end result.

Jumper is off. I even tried another setting suggested in the hard drive
installation guide, but ulitmately removed the jumper.

I'd say I have repeated the installation process 50 times : ) At one point,
it went a tiny bit longer(during installation, the screen flashes little
facts about the OS - One time, I was able to see a screen that I had not seen
before before it crashed, but that was fleeting and only happened the one
time!). I keep hoping that the 51st time is a charm, but I am also a
hopeless optimistic!

I will recheck my components.

Traci

 

[Guest]

S. - The motherboard is the same that I used with the previous hard drive
that had this Windows XP Pro OS installed. I really hope that it isn't the
motherboard! It's only about a year old. I looked up BIOS updates, but if
the BIOS supported this OS in the previous drive, there should be no conflict
with OS.

 

[Guest]

Neil,

I am an idiot or something... I couldn't get the Autostreamer to work. Of
course, I forgot to take home the instructions... Since I can't get online
from home yet, I couldn't go back to the website. I will try again today
when I get home.

Traci

 

[Guest]

Anna,

I tried all of the connections again, but nothing new happened. I did,
however, figure out how to clear the administrator's password in my BIOS that
I set and realized I did not want set! I guess I have to be glad that I
learned something new even though I still have my original problem!

Traci

 

[S. Taylor]

Do you have any extra IDE cables you can try out and are you sure the
cable you're currently using is "ATA/ATAPI 133" compliant? (I hope i worded
that right )
Do you have the BIOS' "anti-virus" or MBR protection disabled?





"Windows XP Pro Install Crash at 34 Min"

 

[Guest]

S. I am using the IDE cable that came with the hard drive (it specifically
told me to use this in the setup instructions). But I do still have my
original cable from my previous HD.

I don't find an anti-virus or MBR protection in my BIOS. I am unfamiliar
with the BIOS, so I will look through again.

Traci

 

[Guest]

Another interesting tidbit that I just remembered! I have done and redone
the install so many times, I totally forgot where I started!

I actually reformatted and repartitioned the hard drive that I have since
decided was dead and Windows XP Pro did EXACTLY the same thing that it is
doing now. I just figured my HD was totally unusable, so I bought the new
one.

I am going to play around with the Memory sticks too. Seems like that is a
common issue in the postings on the www.

MS also mentions a hotfix for usbhub.sys, which they think is one of the
causes for this mess. I don't have the faintest idea as to how to use a
hotfix. Any suggestions that a Novice would understand?

Last night, I also found a basic CD-ROM drive that I had replaced with a
DVD-ROM a while back so I dug it out of the box. I connected the IDE cable
to only that drive (the IDE was originally attached to a master and slave. I
thought that maybe trying to install the OS that way would be optimal. When
I went through the whole song and dance routine again, it still crashed, but
seemed to go a nanosecond longer than the previous times.

 

[neil]

So you have the new hard drive on its own IDE cable set as primary master on
IDE0 and the cdrom drive on its own cable as primary master on IDE1. Is that
right, and you are sure the drives have their links set correctly.
Just one more thing assuming the hard drive is a ATA133 the cable is a 80
wire with a blue connector at one end, the blue connector should be
connected to the motherboard connector.
But yes you're right to check the memory if you have 2 sticks and can remove
one to half the memory then try the install with just one stick.
Neil

 

[Guest]

Yes, CD-ROM and HD each set as master. CD-ROM only thing on it's own IDE
cable. HD only thing on it's own IDE cable. HD Ide cable Blue end plugged
into motherboard.

I did try removing memory a few days ago and my machine would not boot at
all, but I will play musical memory again tonight when I get home. Can't
hurt!

Traci

 

[S. Taylor]

I'm concerned about your wording in your response to my other post.
You said you took the jumper connector off the hdd?

I've had hdd's in the past that had compatability issues when playing with
the
jumper settings.
You should make absolutely certain the drive IS jumpered as Master
The drive should have a schematic indicating the 3 jumper configurations,
either on it's top or etched onto the back, just above the jumpers.

Since you have 3 EIDE cables, try a different one on the hdd.
It's ok to use different EIDE cable as longe as the cable suppoerts the
drive type.
i.e. Floppy ide cable for the floppy drive & ATA 133 ide cable for an ATA
133 IDE drive
See neils post, about connector colors being used as an easy indicator of a
cable being
ATA 133.

What you say in this post makes me more confident, that the issue lies with
your motherboard
itself.

I use a Western Digital 120gb and a Western Digital 14gb hard drives and
haven't had any
compatability issues with them, and I've had the 14gb since windows 95
(atleast 5yrs).

It could be a problem with the motherboard's chipset.
I'm guessing it's not an AMDor NVidia chipset, probably something closer to
an ALI chipset.

And since you remember having similar issues with the pervious hdd, you
should
check into bios upgrades ...again.
Use extreme cation when upgrading your bios, use the bios from the
motherboards manufacture, only, and only use thier flash utility.

 

[Guest]

S.,

When hooking up the HD for the first time, I followed the instructions to
set it as the Master and removed the jumper as indicated. There was also a
jumper setting to set it as 'cable' and I tried that one as well (I knew it
wouldn't work, but tried anyhow). Removing the jumper from the new HD
matched the HD that I had in that I thought died as I checked it when I
removed it.

The IDE cables are on the appropriate devices and I checked for correct ends
plugged into correct spots.

I am sure I could find this on the www, but is there a way to diagnose the
motherboard before going out and buying a whole new one? The WD Lifeguard
Tools CD works fine and I would think that there would be conflicts with that
if it was a motherboard or connections issue. I could be wrong