CONVERTING FROM WIN98 TO XP (hard drive errors)

  • Thread starter Thread starter DROLIJ
  • Start date Start date
D

DROLIJ

When converting to WIN XP Home from WIN98SE, I was not
aware of a need to delete the original partition before
formatting with the XP disk. The hard drive went through
the motion of trying to load XP. The system drivers and
executables were loaded to the drive, but it would not
load the main OS program. It is now stuck in a loop
startup of initial system install and load completion.
The OS (XP) will not fully install. Doesn't even make it
to the "key code" input. I was told to use a WIN98 boot
disk and run FDISK, then reboot, create a new partition,
reboot, reformat, then load from the CD. After learning
of this sequence, I tried to regress back through the
process of FDISK, but the hard drive isn't recognized -
(no fixed disk present)is the response. It will still try
to load the XP CD, but really just goes in a loop and
never finishes the install.
Has anyone been down this road and if so, what is the
work around?
 
Clean Install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Michael Stevens]

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

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

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

:

| When converting to WIN XP Home from WIN98SE, I was not
| aware of a need to delete the original partition before
| formatting with the XP disk. The hard drive went through
| the motion of trying to load XP. The system drivers and
| executables were loaded to the drive, but it would not
| load the main OS program. It is now stuck in a loop
| startup of initial system install and load completion.
| The OS (XP) will not fully install. Doesn't even make it
| to the "key code" input. I was told to use a WIN98 boot
| disk and run FDISK, then reboot, create a new partition,
| reboot, reformat, then load from the CD. After learning
| of this sequence, I tried to regress back through the
| process of FDISK, but the hard drive isn't recognized -
| (no fixed disk present)is the response. It will still try
| to load the XP CD, but really just goes in a loop and
| never finishes the install.
| Has anyone been down this road and if so, what is the
| work around?
 
Hi, DROLIJ.

You need to make a choice: MS-DOS or WinXP. Either of them can do a fine
job of partitioning and formatting your hard disk drive - but they don't mix
very well. Use one or the other.

Having chosen WinXP, now you should throw away the MS-DOS boot disk that you
used with Win9x/ME. Or at least, hide that diskette so that you will never
be tempted to use it again. FDISK.exe and Format.exe are MS-DOS commands
that WinXP doesn't understand and can't use. WinXP does have other tools
(especially Disk Management and the Recovery Console) to do the same jobs.

The WinXP CD-ROM has all the tools you need to repartition and reformat your
hard drive. Just put the CD in the drive, reboot, and follow the prompts.
Read the messages carefully; sometimes they don't say what we expect them to
say, and just automatically pressing Enter often is not the right response.

It is not clear from your post whether you have a single HD with a single
partition, or some other arrangement, or how many partitions you want to end
up with. If Win98 was pre-installed on your computer by the manufacturer,
there may be hidden partitions or other features that you will need to deal
with. Details of what you should do next depend on (a) where you are now
(no matter how you got here) and (b) where you want to end up. If you will
tell us those, we can probably help you get from (a) to (b).

RC
 
Thanks RC,
Working with a single drive that has two partitions. One
is 8MB, which is the lead in partition when WIN98 is
loaded to a drive and the other is 39+G. That's basically
two partitions I'm dealing with and want to end up with
one solid. Will possibly divide in two at a later date. I
started off formatting the drive with the WINXP CD.
That's when all the problems started. Now it gets part
way through the setup and hangs up.
 
DROLIJ said:
When converting to WIN XP Home from WIN98SE, I was not
aware of a need to delete the original partition before
formatting with the XP disk. The hard drive went through
the motion of trying to load XP. The system drivers and
executables were loaded to the drive, but it would not
load the main OS program. It is now stuck in a loop
startup of initial system install and load completion.
The OS (XP) will not fully install. Doesn't even make it
to the "key code" input. I was told to use a WIN98 boot
disk and run FDISK, then reboot, create a new partition,
reboot, reformat, then load from the CD. After learning
of this sequence, I tried to regress back through the
process of FDISK, but the hard drive isn't recognized -
(no fixed disk present)is the response. It will still try
to load the XP CD, but really just goes in a loop and
never finishes the install.
Has anyone been down this road and if so, what is the
work around?
Click to expand...


Have you made sure that your PC's hardware components are capable
of supporting WinXP? This information will be found at the PC's
manufacturer's web site, and on Microsoft's Windows Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx) Additionally, run
Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any incompatible
hardware components or applications.

You should, before proceeding, take a few minutes to ensure that
there are WinXP device drivers available for all of the machine's
components. There may not be, if the PC was specifically designed for
Win98/Me. Also bear in mind that PCs designed for, sold and run fine
with Win9x/Me very often do not meet WinXP's much more stringent
hardware quality requirements. This is particularly true of many
models in Compaq's consumer-class Presario product line or HP's
consumer-class Pavilion product line. WinXP, like WinNT and Win2K
before it, is quite sensitive to borderline defective or substandard
hardware (particularly motherboards, RAM and hard drives) that will
still support Win9x.

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639

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

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having
both at once. - RAH
 
Hi, DROLIJ.

To paraphrase what Carey and Bruce and I have all told you, and what is
included in the instructions for installing WinXP:

Step 1: Boot from the WinXP CD-ROM and follow the prompts, including the
very early one that offers to delete existing partitions and create a new
one.

Step 2: There is no Step 2.

Note that I said nothing about MS-DOS or Win98 or FDISK or Format.exe. None
of those should be involved at all. Also note that you must start by
deleting the existing partitions. If you simply reformat the existing 8 MB
partition, it may interfere with the rest of the installation.

But at least two things worry me about all this.

First, you haven't mentioned the make and model of your computer, and that
may be highly significant. Some manufacturers create that small 8 MB
partition and put files there that are vital to the operation of that model
computer. If we know what kind of computer you have and what the OEM put on
it, our advice might change significantly. Since we don't know that (we
can't see your computer!), we can give you only "generic" WinXP advice.

Second, you said you "want to end up with one solid [partition]. Will
possibly divide in two at a later date." WinXP's Disk Management can create
and delete partitions, but it cannot divide or resize them. Also, it can't
do much with the "system partition" and "boot volume". So if you decide to
divide your single partition later, you will need to either
backup/repartition/reformat/restore or use a third-party partitioning
program such as Partition Magic. You might want to think through your
partition scheme now, rather than go through that trauma later.
That's when all the problems started. Now it gets part
way through the setup and hangs up.
Click to expand...

How far is "part way"? Step by step, what happens from the time you boot
from the WinXP CD? What do you do, and what error messages or other
messages do you see? When it "hangs up", is there a message onscreen? What
does it say?

RC
 
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