Installing XP to a newly formatted HD

[Gordon Stephens]

I have been running Win98Se and decided to install XP. Everything started
well and it got to the point where it decided to restart the PC. After that
it seemed to go into a DOS type screen during which time it offered an F6
option for SATA or Raid which I didn't need so I ignored that and it carried
on. One more option I didn't need was offered and it continued after a short
delay. A bar across the bottom of the screen said something like preparing
to run windows, then it hung and nothing further happened.

I eventually rebooted and a message came up saying that the machine was
currently in the process of being upgraded and so I proceeded with that
option, only to have it hang again.

I then put in another 20Gb drive, fdisked it and tried to boot from the XP
installation CD. It offered to install XP, only to hang once again at a
similar point (although via a different route). I have retried this a number
of times now, and am completely flummoxed as to how I manage to install XP
now

Any help would be appreciated.
TIA
Gordon.

 

[Kerry Brown]

I have been running Win98Se and decided to install XP. Everything
started well and it got to the point where it decided to restart the
PC. After that it seemed to go into a DOS type screen during which
time it offered an F6 option for SATA or Raid which I didn't need so
I ignored that and it carried on. One more option I didn't need was
offered and it continued after a short delay. A bar across the bottom
of the screen said something like preparing to run windows, then it
hung and nothing further happened.

I eventually rebooted and a message came up saying that the machine
was currently in the process of being upgraded and so I proceeded
with that option, only to have it hang again.

I then put in another 20Gb drive, fdisked it and tried to boot from
the XP installation CD. It offered to install XP, only to hang once
again at a similar point (although via a different route). I have
retried this a number of times now, and am completely flummoxed as to
how I manage to install XP now

Any help would be appreciated.
TIA
Gordon.

Have you ever had XP running on this machine? It sounds like you have some
hardware that may not be compatible. There is a program on the XP CD to test
your system but I believe you have to have some version of Windows running
to use it. Can you still boot to Win98? If you can insert the XP CD and run
the test.

 

[Gordon Stephens]

Have you ever had XP running on this machine? It sounds like you have some
hardware that may not be compatible. There is a program on the XP CD to test
your system but I believe you have to have some version of Windows running
to use it. Can you still boot to Win98? If you can insert the XP CD and run
the test.

Thanks for suggestion - I did go through the reporting stage and I got rid
of all the software it claimed would not work with XP. On the hardware side,
it only mentioned various printers and such that were no longer connected.
No other internal hardware was specified as being a problem.

I did just do a Google search on the NG archive and found a reference to an
article on the Microsoft Help and Support which when I followed it through
gave me a couple of other Function key numbers I could try at the F6
Sata/Raid select point which are not otherwise mentioned (F5 or F7). I am
currently a little further on with repartitioning and reformatting the drive
from scratch. So I am hoping that it then proceeds on to the next stage of
installation. Will report back as and when.

Gordon.

 

[Frank]

I have been running Win98Se and decided to install XP. Everything
started well and it got to the point where it decided to restart
the PC. After that it seemed to go into a DOS type screen during
which time it offered an F6 option for SATA or Raid which I didn't
need so I ignored that and it carried on. One more option I didn't
need was offered and it continued after a short delay. A bar across
the bottom of the screen said something like preparing to run
windows, then it hung and nothing further happened.

I eventually rebooted and a message came up saying that the
machine was currently in the process of being upgraded and so I
proceeded with that option, only to have it hang again.

I then put in another 20Gb drive, fdisked it and tried to boot from
the XP installation CD. It offered to install XP, only to hang once
again at a similar point (although via a different route). I have
retried this a number of times now, and am completely flummoxed as
to how I manage to install XP now

Any help would be appreciated.
TIA
Gordon.

Are you sure that the PC is hung? XP would load really, really slow
on
a win98 type boxen.

 

[Gordon Stephens]

<SNIP>

Got it all working now thanks - references to articles were as follows
(watch for wrap):-

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064#XSLTH3129120123120121120120

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299340/

Thanks,
Gordon.

 

[Kerry Brown]

<SNIP>

Got it all working now thanks - references to articles were as follows
(watch for wrap):-

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064#XSLTH3129120123120121120120

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299340/

Thanks,
Gordon.

Glad it worked out

 

[Gordon Stephens]

Are you sure that the PC is hung? XP would load really, really slow
on
a win98 type boxen.

Thanks Frank, you will see in a post above that I managed to track down
where the problem was occurring, and although it took about an hour and a
half to load, it was working away all the time once I'd used the F5/F7
option - prior to that, it was simply sitting there for up to 15/20 minutes
at a time doing apparently nothing - no HD access, no reading of the DVD -
hence I deduced that it had definitely hung (on each of several occasions).
Shame I had to reformat the disk rather than upgrade as I'd wanted, as I've
now got to reinstall every single prog and driver accumulated over the
years. Oh well . . .

Gordon.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have been running Win98Se and decided to install XP. Everything started
well and it got to the point where it decided to restart the PC. After that
it seemed to go into a DOS type screen during which time it offered an F6
option for SATA or Raid which I didn't need so I ignored that and it carried
on. One more option I didn't need was offered and it continued after a short
delay. A bar across the bottom of the screen said something like preparing
to run windows, then it hung and nothing further happened.

I eventually rebooted and a message came up saying that the machine was
currently in the process of being upgraded and so I proceeded with that
option, only to have it hang again.

I then put in another 20Gb drive, fdisked it and tried to boot from the XP
installation CD. It offered to install XP, only to hang once again at a
similar point (although via a different route). I have retried this a number
of times now, and am completely flummoxed as to how I manage to install XP
now

Any help would be appreciated.
TIA
Gordon.

Have you verified that all of 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)

You should also take a few minutes to ensure that there are
WinXP-specific 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

HOW TO Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation When You
Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q310064
(Not directly applicable, but may contain some useful information.)



--

Bruce Chambers

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[Gordon Stephens]

Have you verified that all of 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)

You should also take a few minutes to ensure that there are
WinXP-specific 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

HOW TO Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation When You
Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q310064
(Not directly applicable, but may contain some useful information.)

Thanks Bruce, very useful advice and links. Sadly, I am a tinkerer and have
put PC's together over the years from components sourced from all over, so
in reality there is no one manufacturer. I guess the ancient hybrid origins
are the cause of most of my problems. However, as mentioned on another
earlier post, I have managed to overcome the difficulties encountered on my
first few attempts and now have a PC that boots to XP (albeit ever so
slooow) and also recognises the new internal modem I installed. So all's
well that ends well - now where have I heard that before?