Damaged activation file - caught in startup loop on sata drive

[elorahd]

I guess I changed enough hardware on my system that xp pro wanted me to
activate again. I tried using an old file I had and now I'm stuck in a
startup loop. I can't login via safemode or anything else. xp setup
cd doesn't see my sata drives (that's all i have, no ide). I tried
booting to dos and it doesn't see my drives either, so I can't even get
to the activation files even if I could change them (which I'm not sure
I could). I'm ok with reinstalling windows, i just don't want to lose
any of my info. reformatting is *not* an option. I've looked in my
BIOS and don't see any controls for sata or raid drives. I set this
computer up a while ago and can't remember how the drives were setup.
I don't remember having to install any drivers though. What do I do
from here?

 

[elorahd]

I found the raid setup but there's not a lot of options there. it
seems to see my two sata drives but....i just can't access them, i
guess.

 

[Galen]

In elorahd <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

I guess I changed enough hardware on my system that xp pro wanted me
to activate again. I tried using an old file I had and now I'm stuck
in a startup loop. I can't login via safemode or anything else. xp
setup cd doesn't see my sata drives (that's all i have, no ide). I
tried booting to dos and it doesn't see my drives either, so I can't
even get to the activation files even if I could change them (which
I'm not sure I could). I'm ok with reinstalling windows, i just
don't want to lose any of my info. reformatting is *not* an option.
I've looked in my BIOS and don't see any controls for sata or raid
drives. I set this computer up a while ago and can't remember how
the drives were setup. I don't remember having to install any drivers
though. What do I do from here?

How to perform an inplace upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341

Take care to ensure that you stop and use the floppy with your SATA drivers
on it when you're prompted to do so before you do the repair installation.
After the repair installation you'll have to do your updates all over again
but you should have all your old software and files intact still.

Galen
--

"But there are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world
without them."

Sherlock Holmes

 

[elorahd]

OK, a couple of problems. First of all, since I'm using a sata drive,
windows setup looks and doesn't see any harddrives to install windows
to, so it just stops right there. And I can, in theory, load the sata
drivers by pressing F6 when setup starts, and I've tried this with the
drivers on a floppy, but I have a new problem. Now, on bootup, I'm
getting a floppy disk fail (40). I have no idea why. I haven't
touched any of the hardware and I booted to it just fine a minute ago.

 

[Galen]

In elorahd <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

OK, a couple of problems. First of all, since I'm using a sata drive,
windows setup looks and doesn't see any harddrives to install windows
to, so it just stops right there. And I can, in theory, load the sata
drivers by pressing F6 when setup starts, and I've tried this with the
drivers on a floppy, but I have a new problem. Now, on bootup, I'm
getting a floppy disk fail (40). I have no idea why. I haven't
touched any of the hardware and I booted to it just fine a minute ago.

You should only put the floppy in when you're adding the SATA drivers and
you should remove the floppy right afterwards. If it's failing, well, here:

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000426.htm

Read it for yourself... I can't help with that I'm afraid.

Galen
--

"But there are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world
without them."

Sherlock Holmes

 

[Guest]

Hi Galen,

I had similar issues with a raid 1 mirror setup, booted from XP CD, pressed
F6, found the SATA driver, found the raid setup, went to reinstall XP,
however the message appeared cannot install XP as there is currently a
version already on the disk?

any idea?

 

[Galen]

In Darren <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi Galen,

I had similar issues with a raid 1 mirror setup, booted from XP CD,
pressed F6, found the SATA driver, found the raid setup, went to
reinstall XP, however the message appeared cannot install XP as there
is currently a version already on the disk?

any idea?

Do not use the recovery console. Instead continue just like you were
installing a brand new installation of XP. After you've accepted the license
agreement it will search for already installed versions of Windows. You'll
select the one that you want and you'll press the "R" key for repair. If it
doesn't offer a repair installation at that point you might need to try the
recovery console to repair boot options.

Galen
--

"But there are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world
without them."

Sherlock Holmes