need info laptop compaq vista non sp1

[~bogus name]

Hi,
A friend gave me his hosed laptop to fix. Found a restore patition on it.
found a restore program. ran it. says only one set of restore cd's can be
burned, and that has already happened.
so:
tried to install xp via optical: nada
ok, pulled drive, installed in my pc via usb 2 adapter.
deleted partions, created new, formated ntfs, made active. tried in laptop,
xp copies files, and when it starts to install xp, it says drive not found.
ntloader not found.
gave up on xp.

Installed linux, no problemw with install. Linus sees the hard drive.

any ideas how to load xp on the laptop?

thanks,

al

 

[~bogus name]

I forgot to mention that before I took drastic steps, I tried unsuccessfully
to install SP1 about 6 times both from a copy i had and the one that
downloaded from Microsoft's web site. tried from nomal load and safe mode.
the sp runs until the ends and then stops, with an error msg. error msg
search on google lead to numerous similar complaints and pleas for help.
The link provided by microsoft goes to a page on their server that isn't
there. Eventually found that there is no fix for this on early versions of
Vista.

 

[Paul]

Hi,
A friend gave me his hosed laptop to fix. Found a restore patition on it.
found a restore program. ran it. says only one set of restore cd's can be
burned, and that has already happened.
so:
tried to install xp via optical: nada
ok, pulled drive, installed in my pc via usb 2 adapter.
deleted partions, created new, formated ntfs, made active. tried in laptop,
xp copies files, and when it starts to install xp, it says drive not found.
ntloader not found.
gave up on xp.

Installed linux, no problemw with install. Linus sees the hard drive.

any ideas how to load xp on the laptop?

thanks,

al

It probably needed a driver file on a floppy, and pressing F6
during the install, so that there would be a driver so that
the hard drive could be seen by the install.

There was probably an F key, like F11 that you press during laptop
startup, that would have offered to copy the recovery partition
to C:\, completely erasing C and any data files. That is independent
of how many recovery CDs have been burned. The recovery CD is
for cases where the hard drive is dead, and the recovery partition
is lost. But if the recovery partition was present, you would
likely have been able to wipe C using the software that was already
there. The recovery operation is triggered by pressing a key
during startup, and this would be addressed in the user manual.

With respect to the mode the Southbridge was in, and what driver
to install, you'd enter the BIOS and check the settings. For
example, on Intel, you might have options like

Compatible
Enhanced
IDE
AHCI
RAID

The last two modes need F6 drivers. The others don't.

So there were a lot of questions to ask, before starting
any of this. Like, what chipset is involved, what modes
are available, how is the BIOS set, is the recovery
partition intact, what key do I press to start
recovery...

I consider the whole scheme evil, and your experience
is why I consider it evil. The owner of that laptop paid
for an OS, not half an OS, not a disaster waiting to happen.
And disasters happen like this all the time - some people
use partition software, to "free up" space on their hard
drive, not knowing that the recovery partition is very
important, and part of the value of the laptop.

In some cases, you can contact the laptop manufacturer, and
order a recovery CD. Some companies limit the number of years
they're willing to offer a CD. But at this point, if you want
to give your friend back roughly what he gave you to begin with,
a recovery CD ordered from the manufacturer, may come
closest to doing that.

HTH,
Paul

 

[~bogus name]

Paul, thanks for taking the time to reply with all of this.
There's no floppy drive, so couldn't put a driver in that way anyway.
I thought F6 was just for raid controllers.
To bad I was unaware that pressing an F key was the key to
making the restore partition work. I tried to run it from the software
on the system. Live and learn, thanks for that tip!
So, there is no way, at this point, to load a microsoft operating system.
is that correct? And what is needed is a windows driver for the
hard drive. Is that it?
And yet Linux installed with no problem at all.
Al

 

[Paul]

Paul, thanks for taking the time to reply with all of this.
There's no floppy drive, so couldn't put a driver in that way anyway.
I thought F6 was just for raid controllers.
To bad I was unaware that pressing an F key was the key to
making the restore partition work. I tried to run it from the software
on the system. Live and learn, thanks for that tip!
So, there is no way, at this point, to load a microsoft operating system.
is that correct? And what is needed is a windows driver for the
hard drive. Is that it?
And yet Linux installed with no problem at all.
Al

You still have options.

When you don't have a floppy, you can "slipstream" both drivers
and Service Packs, with NLite from nliteos.com .

http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

What NLite does, is add files to the install image. The
output from NLite is an ISO9660 file (.iso). You can use a CD burner,
to burn a new, improved WinXP CD, using the output ISO9660
file from NLite.

To add a driver to NLite, it must be in an INF format.
(So if the driver is an Installshield .exe, that won't work.)
For example, if the manufacturer had a floppy "Makedisk", you
could take the TXTSETUP and INF and other files off
that floppy, and offer them to NLite for integration.
(You'd be doing this with your desktop machine...)

Once the driver is integrated, then the F6 isn't needed, since
Windows consults the new driver added to the CD.

The computer should boot with the newly burned installer CD.

(Personally, I've only done this for my older Win2K CD. I used
a previous program called "Autostreamer", to add SP4 to Win2K,
and with that, I made myself a Win2K SP4 installer. That allows
me to use disks over 137GB when I install. I used Nero to burn
a new CD, and I keep that new CD in the retail Win2K box for
safe keeping.)

But at this point, you really need to get to grips with what
the laptop is presenting for storage. To know whether any of
this is really necessary - or there is some other problem.
If the laptop has a I/O space mapped IDE interface, or a
PCI space mapped IDE interface, then something like
WinXP SP1 should install without complaints. An original
WinXP disc might be missing the PCI space driver, in which
case you'd need the so-called "Compatible" BIOS setting if
your WinXP disc is that old. SP1 Service Pack level, is
really the minimum version you should work with regularly.

For more help, please state the laptop make and model number.
(I really appreciate it, when a URL is offered, which
points to the model. Some brands have a maze of web sites,
and it is almost impossible to find stuff. Acer is an
example of a website zoo.) Since Google is becoming more
and more broken, I have fewer options for finding stuff.

And in the interim, have a look in the BIOS, at the
disk interface settings. If you select a mode which
is supported by WinXP SP1 or later, then it might install
with no further fuss.

Paul

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

You still have options.

When you don't have a floppy, you can "slipstream" both drivers
and Service Packs, with NLite from nliteos.com .

http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

What NLite does, is add files to the install image. The
output from NLite is an ISO9660 file (.iso). You can use a CD burner,
to burn a new, improved WinXP CD, using the output ISO9660
file from NLite.

To add a driver to NLite, it must be in an INF format.
(So if the driver is an Installshield .exe, that won't work.)
For example, if the manufacturer had a floppy "Makedisk", you
could take the TXTSETUP and INF and other files off
that floppy, and offer them to NLite for integration.
(You'd be doing this with your desktop machine...)

Once the driver is integrated, then the F6 isn't needed, since
Windows consults the new driver added to the CD.

The computer should boot with the newly burned installer CD.

(Personally, I've only done this for my older Win2K CD. I used
a previous program called "Autostreamer", to add SP4 to Win2K,
and with that, I made myself a Win2K SP4 installer. That allows
me to use disks over 137GB when I install. I used Nero to burn
a new CD, and I keep that new CD in the retail Win2K box for
safe keeping.)

But at this point, you really need to get to grips with what
the laptop is presenting for storage. To know whether any of
this is really necessary - or there is some other problem.
If the laptop has a I/O space mapped IDE interface, or a
PCI space mapped IDE interface, then something like
WinXP SP1 should install without complaints. An original
WinXP disc might be missing the PCI space driver, in which
case you'd need the so-called "Compatible" BIOS setting if
your WinXP disc is that old. SP1 Service Pack level, is
really the minimum version you should work with regularly.

For more help, please state the laptop make and model number.
(I really appreciate it, when a URL is offered, which
points to the model. Some brands have a maze of web sites,
and it is almost impossible to find stuff. Acer is an
example of a website zoo.) Since Google is becoming more
and more broken, I have fewer options for finding stuff.

And in the interim, have a look in the BIOS, at the
disk interface settings. If you select a mode which
is supported by WinXP SP1 or later, then it might install
with no further fuss.

Paul

You may be able to get another restore disk from
http://www.digitalmedia-labs.com/ not that I've bought anything from them
but with PayPal you don't have much to loose.

 

[dougie]

i had the same problem a few years ago on a compaq pressario laptop.
it came with winme in dutch on it and at that time i didnt read dutch.
anyway i tried everything to to change the os on this thing, it was driving
me crazy, install after install just crashing.
then i found out there was a bios lock on them so they would only load
winme.
i would look into the possibility that your one is locked too.

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

i had the same problem a few years ago on a compaq pressario laptop.
it came with winme in dutch on it and at that time i didnt read dutch.
anyway i tried everything to to change the os on this thing, it was
driving me crazy, install after install just crashing.
then i found out there was a bios lock on them so they would only load
winme.
i would look into the possibility that your one is locked too.

Ah yes, I forgot that some of them lock the BIOS so that the hardware
becomes obsolete when Microsoft changes the OS.

Wonder if Microsoft pays the hardware venders to lock the BIOS to a specific
version of the operating software...

 

[Peter]

You still have options.

When you don't have a floppy, you can "slipstream" both drivers
and Service Packs, with NLite from nliteos.com .

http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

What NLite does, is add files to the install image. The
output from NLite is an ISO9660 file (.iso). You can use a CD burner,
to burn a new, improved WinXP CD, using the output ISO9660
file from NLite.

To add a driver to NLite, it must be in an INF format.
(So if the driver is an Installshield .exe, that won't work.)
For example, if the manufacturer had a floppy "Makedisk", you
could take the TXTSETUP and INF and other files off
that floppy, and offer them to NLite for integration.
(You'd be doing this with your desktop machine...)

Once the driver is integrated, then the F6 isn't needed, since
Windows consults the new driver added to the CD.

Not sure this is really necessary. The original poster did say that
he/she was able to pull the drive and connect it to another computer via
USB and get xp installed. This suggests it's a PATA drive. Was that
just an external IDE interface of some kind, Al?

 

[Conor]

Not sure this is really necessary. The original poster did say that
he/she was able to pull the drive and connect it to another computer via
USB and get xp installed. This suggests it's a PATA drive.

No it doesn't do anything of the sort.

 

[~bogus name]

<snip>
The drive is SATA.
Yes, I think Linux has a generic driver for the hard drive.
I have a usb floppy drive, but don't know how to make the
laptop boot from it, unless in the bios there is a setting for
boot order that includes boot from usb device. Even then,
I don't know how to make the usb key "bootable."

The owner did make recovery disks. a 7 disk set. He
brought them over around 11. It borked in the middle of
disk 3. I am trying again, and right now it is in the middle
of disk 2. It says it is formatting the hard drive so at least
the recovery disks have found the hard drive. When I look
in the bios, i don't see the hard drive or the optical drive
listed anywhere.

Thanks Jan, yeah, after another day or two of this, I gues
it will be time to call compaq.

al

 

[~bogus name]

Thanks again for another option.
I tried a couple of times to make a slipstreamed xp disk
using Bart, but never managed to get one to work.
Hopefully I'll better luck this time with nliteos.
of course, i'll have to find a driver. I'm still not
clear on that. The drive is a fujitsu, so do I go to
their site and look up drivers to downlaod?

the laptops make and model number are:
compaq presario c500 with vista home basic

thanks,
al

 

[~bogus name]

snip<
Hi Paul,
The laptop's part number is RZ342UA/ABA
I could not find any "disk interface settings" in the bios.
I did find under boot options: cdrom and floppy enabled,
and under boot order, I found:
1 usb floppy
2 cdrom
3 hard drive
4 usb disketter on key
5 usb hard drive
what's my next move?
also, it hung again during the 2nd recovery disk with an
error code 1005 and said to call HP support so I've given up
on the recovery disks.

thanks,
al

 

[~bogus name]

Not sure this is really necessary. The original poster did say that
he/she was able to pull the drive and connect it to another computer via
USB and get xp installed.

Yes, what I did was connecte the laptop's drive to my
desktop pc by way of a usb2 interface kit I got on Newegg.
That is how I was able to delete the partitons on the drive,
create a new primarty partition using all of the space,
and format it ntfs, and set it active. I then put it back in the
laptop and learned my XP install disk doesn't see
the hard drive. Al

 

[~bogus name]

no, i didn't install the os when the drive was
out of the laptop. i only partitoned and formatted
it, and then put it back in the drive.
its a serial ata drive.
al

 

[~bogus name]

Thanks dougie,
it may be that that is the case. I hope not.
I remember reading about laptops that had
vista on them, that you couldn't put xp on.
Al

 

[~bogus name]

<snip>

Even microsoft isn't that evil.

Al

 

[Paul]

Hi Paul,
The laptop's part number is RZ342UA/ABA
I could not find any "disk interface settings" in the bios.
I did find under boot options: cdrom and floppy enabled,
and under boot order, I found:
1 usb floppy
2 cdrom
3 hard drive
4 usb disketter on key
5 usb hard drive
what's my next move?
also, it hung again during the 2nd recovery disk with an
error code 1005 and said to call HP support so I've given up
on the recovery disks.

thanks,
al

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/489942-REG/salescomment

"HP / Hewlett-Packard Compaq Presario C552US Notebook Computer
with 1.6GHz Intel Celeron M Processor 520 CPU, 512MB (1x512MB) RAM,
80GB Hard Drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, Intel GMA 950 Graphics,
15.4" Widescreen LCD, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Windows Vista Home Basic"

More or less agrees with your "compaq presario c500 with vista home basic"
description.

I found this, using "RZ342UA/ABA". The C522US thing didn't work.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3370405&lang=en#

The specs mention "GMA 950" which implies an Intel chipset. But
that doesn't tell us what mode the Southbridge disk interface is
in. It could be AHCI for example, which Vista would be overjoyed
to see, but WinXP wouldn't natively support.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...41&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3370405

There is a reference here, to a "C500 laptop" and 82801G. That is
Intel ICH7 Southbridge.

http://islandlinux.org/howto/ubuntu-7-10-sound-issue-compaq-presario-c500-laptop-resolved

Maybe you could run a utility from Vista, that would tell you what
the chipset was ? For example, something like CPUZ can list
chipset.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

If you had Linux running, perhaps lspci could display the devices.

If I look at the ICH7 spec update, it has a table of VEN/DEV info
for various disk modes. Using Linux, perhaps you can extract that
data from dmesg or the various options of lspci.

(See page 22. AHCI is a DEV value of 0x27C1 for example. So
seeing VEN of 8086 and DEV of 27C1, would hint that I need an
AHCI driver for my Windows install.)

http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/specupdate/307014.pdf

If I go to downloadfinder.intel.com and try "ICH7 AHCI", I end
up with this.

http://downloadmirror.intel.com/10609/eng/iata57_enu.exe

Using a copy of 7ZIP...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7zip

I can extract the contents. A particular folder is of interest.
It contains.

iaahci.cat
iaachi.inf
iastor.cat
isstor.inf
iaStor.sys
TXTSETUP.OEM

and that is the kind of thing you'd feed to NLite. Those
files would normally go on a floppy, for an F6 driver
install.

Before wasting a CD in NLite, I'd at least want to
double check somehow, and see, as in page 22 of 307014.pdf,
as to what is being reported. If it isn't AHCI or
RAID mode, then perhaps it should have worked in
the first place.

Paul

 

[Peter]

No it doesn't do anything of the sort.

My mistake. Thought, considering that the OP didn't have much knowledge
of SATA, ie how to install XP to it, that he/she wouldn't have an
external USB SATA setup kicking around. I was obviously wrong .

 

[~bogus name]

Sunday: update,
I've been in contact with hp support via email.
they think restore disks will work.
Am waiting for info on buying them from hp.
thanks for all of the support.
Al