installation failure

[Michael]

I currently have a 6GB drive in my computer and want to increase the
capacity. I have purchased an 80GB drive and would like to install XP on
it as the primary drive. I also have a 60GB drive which is surrently used
as the secondary drive and will continue in this role.

I have removed the secondary 60GB drive and installed the new 80GB
drive in it's place.

In my first attempt, I formatted the 80GB drive and installed XP into a
10GB partition. When I remove the original system drive (the 6GB) and
start-up I get the NTLDR is missing message.

In my second, I booted from the 6GB drive and ran the install again,
letting the XP installer format the 10GB partition into which XP would
go. After removing the 6GB system drive, I still get the NTLDR is
missing message.

The only way I can boot the computer from the fresh install of XP is if
the original 6GB drive is present.

How do I get the new 80GB drive to boot up as the system disc without
the 6GB installed? I have tried booting from CD and floppy and my
computer just won't go without that 6GB drive.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

 

[M. J. Freeman]

How do I get the new 80GB drive to boot up as the system disc
without the 6GB installed? I have tried booting from CD and floppy
and my computer just won't go without that 6GB drive.

SWAG: Pull the 6GB drive. Make sure the 80GB drive is configured as
the master on the primary IDE channel. Boot from the XP install CD-ROM
and install normally to the 80GB drive.

If you need to copy files from the 6GB drive, re-install it later as a
slave drive.

 

[Guest]

How do I make the computer boot from the CD. I have tried starting up
as you indicated but I get the same message. I have even tried booting
from my old Windows 98 boot floppy and get the same message. Any
suggestions on forcing the boot from the XP CD?

I don't know if it makes any difference but the Windows XP is an
upgrade package.

 

[M. J. Freeman]

How do I make the computer boot from the CD. I have tried starting
up as you indicated but I get the same message. I have even tried
booting from my old Windows 98 boot floppy and get the same
message. Any suggestions on forcing the boot from the XP CD?

Boot-up order is typically set in the BIOS. Most systems will tell you
during the POST what key to press to get into the BIOS. On many PCs
it's the delete key, for some Dells it's F2.

Once in the BIOS, select booting from the CD-ROM first. Then save
setting and exit.

If you continue to have problems booting from the XP CD you might need
to disconnect all but the vital drives, and perhaps try different
cabling configurations.

 

[Michael Schiedel-Webb]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to leave it for a couple of days and come
back to it.

Interestingly, I checked the BIOS settings for the problem drive and when
set to the suggested settings, the drive was no longer recognized by the
BIOS. It did show up in Windows when booted from the original drive but
still wouldn't boot the system. I'll try the CD load next.

Thanks again,
Michael

 

[Michael Schiedel-Webb]

Well the saga continues...

I went into the BIOS and told my CD drive to be the first boot drive.
Restarted.

Computer does BIOS check. Recognizes my drives, etc. Indicates that it will
be booting from the CD with no emulation. Tries to boot and........

NTLDR is missing.

This box just won't boot unless my original hard drive is installed in the
master position.

Time to take it to a techie and pay to have something done which should not
be difficult.

BTW - This weekend I repartitioned the HD in my wifes' laptop and installed
OS X 10.3. Time consuming but no problems. Why can't PCs be that easy.

Thanks for the feedback but I'm done.

Michael