Dell OEM XP CD boots some Dells, not others?

[blw]

My apologies if this has been covered elsewhere in this forum. I've
searched the forum and the web in general via Google and I don't see
anyone else reporting this symptom:

I have a Dell OEM Windows XP Home SP1 CD. This CD will boot and start
installations on a ~1-year old Dimension (1.8GHz Celeron?) and a very
old Dell GX1 (PIII 450MHz). (I haven't actually installed on these,
just booted and made sure the install would start.) The Pid value in
SETUPP.INI ends in "OEM", so it does seem to be an OEM CD.

I have two Dell Dimension PCs, one an L550r (PIII 550MHz, 512MB of RAM)
and an L600cx (600MHz Celeron, 256MB of RAM). Neither of these
Dimensions will boot from the same OEM CD that works on the older and
younger Dells mentioned above - I just get an "Invalid Boot Diskette"
error. I've:

- Made sure boot order in BIOS set to boot from optical drive first.
- Tried a variety of optical drives (CD-RW and DVD-ROM).
- Upgraded BIOS from A09 or A10 to A14.
- Restored factory BIOS defaults.
- Tested Win98 and XP Pro CDs on same PCs, same optical drives, these
boot fine.

Any ideas at all why this OEM CD won't boot these two L-Series
Dimensions but work fine on newer and older Dells, including an old
GX1?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The problem is related to the type of Dell BIOS
installed in the two Dell computers in question.
A Dell Windows XP Reinstallation CD checks
for a specific Dell BIOS version. If it does not
exist, the installation will not proceed. This
is a Dell anti-piracy feature incorporated in the
Dell Reinstallation CD.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

:

| My apologies if this has been covered elsewhere in this forum. I've
| searched the forum and the web in general via Google and I don't see
| anyone else reporting this symptom:
|
| I have a Dell OEM Windows XP Home SP1 CD. This CD will boot and start
| installations on a ~1-year old Dimension (1.8GHz Celeron?) and a very
| old Dell GX1 (PIII 450MHz). (I haven't actually installed on these,
| just booted and made sure the install would start.) The Pid value in
| SETUPP.INI ends in "OEM", so it does seem to be an OEM CD.
|
| I have two Dell Dimension PCs, one an L550r (PIII 550MHz, 512MB of RAM)
| and an L600cx (600MHz Celeron, 256MB of RAM). Neither of these
| Dimensions will boot from the same OEM CD that works on the older and
| younger Dells mentioned above - I just get an "Invalid Boot Diskette"
| error. I've:
|
| - Made sure boot order in BIOS set to boot from optical drive first.
| - Tried a variety of optical drives (CD-RW and DVD-ROM).
| - Upgraded BIOS from A09 or A10 to A14.
| - Restored factory BIOS defaults.
| - Tested Win98 and XP Pro CDs on same PCs, same optical drives, these
| boot fine.
|
| Any ideas at all why this OEM CD won't boot these two L-Series
| Dimensions but work fine on newer and older Dells, including an old
| GX1?
|
| Thanks in advance.

 

[blw]

Carey: Thanks for the info. Will this BIOS check prevent a Dell from
even booting from the CD, or should it still boot and the installation
just not proceed? Why would this CD boot a many-years-old GX1?

blw

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You need to use a conventional Windows XP CD
and license and not a Dell Reinstallation CD unless the
Dell computer actually shipped with a Dell Reinstallation
CD and a Dell Windows XP Cetifificate of Authenticity.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

:

| Carey: Thanks for the info. Will this BIOS check prevent a Dell from
| even booting from the CD, or should it still boot and the installation
| just not proceed? Why would this CD boot a many-years-old GX1?
|
| blw

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

You should ask Dell how they have designed their CDs and BIOS.
Particularly how the different versions of CDs react to the different BIOS.
Or at least ask in a Dell newsgroup.

 

[GHalleck]

You should ask Dell how they have designed their CDs and BIOS.
Particularly how the different versions of CDs react to the different BIOS.
Or at least ask in a Dell newsgroup.

Well...good luck. It is similar to asking how does a Napa
Valley winery blends its Merlot and why is it different from
a winery on the other side of the ridge in Sonoma Valley. IOW,
do you really expect that a script monkey in India will be able
to answer this question about what is in the cdrom or how the
bios was programmed? Perhaps an engineer in Dell Labs in Dallas,
if one knows how to contact one.

 

[Guest]

Dude you bought a dell!!! Enough said.