On installation: "Error Loading OS"

[Guest]

Hi, all:

I've purchased a Western Digital 74GB Raptor drive and am trying to install
XP Pro on it. I run into the same error when trying to install, however:
After the initial installation process (DOS screen with blue background)
appears to finish with no hitches, the system is unable to reboot
successfully to finish the installation. When it tries to boot from the hard
disk, I get the ol' "Error Loading OS" message.

To troubleshoot this, I've:

-- tested the hard disk with WD's diagnostic tools and it seems to operate
fine.
-- used it as a storage disk, and have no trouble transferring files
onto/off of it.
-- made sure that it's designated as Active via XP's Disk Management tool.
-- switched both the data and power supply cables.
-- made sure that the Raptor drive is the only drive connected during the
installation.
-- made sure that harddrive gets boot priority after the CD-ROM in my BIOS
-- made sure that my BIOS is the latest version
-- attempted to install third-party (nVidia) SATA controller driver, though
XP seems to not want the drivers and, instead, puts in its own.
-- attemnpted to install both XP Home and XP Pro versions with the same
result.

Any other thoughts about what might be causing the trouble?

I'm running an Intel Pentium D (2.8GHz) on an ASUS P5ND2-SLI motherboard
with 2GB of 533MHz RAM. During boot-up, the BIOS, drives and RAM are
correctly identified.

 

[John John]

You need the SATA/RAID drivers on a diskette and right when the Windows
Setup programs boots/starts from the cd you have to press F6 to load the
drivers. You will see the the "Press F6..." message at the bottom of
the screen when the setup routine starts, if you miss the cue and press
F6 too late you have reboot and start again.

John

 

[Guest]

Hi, John:

Thanks for the post! I do have the latest nVidia SATA/RAID drivers on a
floppy and am able to 'install' these after I press F6. *However*, later in
the installation, XP tells me it CANNOT install these drivers and gives me
the option to Abort, Retry, Ignore. Can't seem to get past that point as long
as I'm trying to use the nVidia drivers (for the nVidia chipset)

 

[John John]

Make sure you are using the right (XP) drivers. If it doesn't wan't to
take the XP drivers you can try other drivers, Windows NT, 2000 or 2003.
Unless you want to dual boot this installation remove the other
drive(s) from the machine while you install Windowx XP. Check the
support site for your motherboard to see if the problem is addressed.

John