Unable to re-install XP

[Guest]

Hi,

I working with a friends computer. There system crashed and after assesing
the file system I decided the best step would be to back it up and
re-install. I then backed it up to my hard drive.

At first I installed XP home on their hard drive on my computer. I
completely forgot about the different hardware profile. I then took it to
their computer with the knowledge that it probably will not work. I did read
that it was possible that it would restart multiple times and start to pick
up the new hardware. So I let it reboot about 10 times and finally it just
came to a black screen.

At this point I decied to reformat and re-install the OS. During the
installation, multiple times in text mode, while copying files I recieved the
message that the file couldn't copy because it was missing or corrupted.(I
dont know if that is the exact message but its the jist)

It happened quite a few times hanging on different files each time. I have
tried different cd's (oem). Im wondering if there is something wrong with the
hard drive like bad sectors. When I run chkdsk /r it cannot it aslo freezes.

Any ideas would really help!

Thanks, JON

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi,

I working with a friends computer. There system crashed and after assesing
the file system I decided the best step would be to back it up and
re-install. I then backed it up to my hard drive.

At first I installed XP home on their hard drive on my computer. I
completely forgot about the different hardware profile. I then took it to
their computer with the knowledge that it probably will not work. I did read
that it was possible that it would restart multiple times and start to pick
up the new hardware. So I let it reboot about 10 times and finally it just
came to a black screen.

At this point I decied to reformat and re-install the OS. During the
installation, multiple times in text mode, while copying files I recieved the
message that the file couldn't copy because it was missing or corrupted.(I
dont know if that is the exact message but its the jist)

It happened quite a few times hanging on different files each time. I have
tried different cd's (oem). Im wondering if there is something wrong with the
hard drive like bad sectors. When I run chkdsk /r it cannot it aslo freezes.

Any ideas would really help!

Thanks, JON

Installing WinXP on your own PC, using your friend's disk, was
not a good idea. I hope that you did not register the product.

Your friend's CD drive may be marginal. Use a different drive,
e.g. the one from your own PC, and start again from the beginning.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,

I working with a friends computer. There system crashed and after assesing
the file system I decided the best step would be to back it up and
re-install. I then backed it up to my hard drive.

At first I installed XP home on their hard drive on my computer. I
completely forgot about the different hardware profile. I then took it to
their computer with the knowledge that it probably will not work. I did read
that it was possible that it would restart multiple times and start to pick
up the new hardware.

However wrote that shouldn't be offering technical advice. It's only
under very rare, specialized circumstances that such a method can be
expected to work.

So I let it reboot about 10 times and finally it just
came to a black screen.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are
*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

At this point I decied to reformat and re-install the OS. During the
installation, multiple times in text mode, while copying files I recieved the
message that the file couldn't copy because it was missing or corrupted.(I
dont know if that is the exact message but its the jist)

It happened quite a few times hanging on different files each time. I have
tried different cd's (oem). Im wondering if there is something wrong with the
hard drive like bad sectors. When I run chkdsk /r it cannot it aslo freezes.

Problems copying files or corrupted files during installation are
most often caused by defective, incompatible, or sub-standard hardware;
in order of likelihood, either RAM, the hard drive, or the motherboard.
It'll most likely be the same component that caused your friend's
original problem. On very rare occasions the CD drive or installation
CD is the problem.

Start with testing the RAM. You might try MemTest86:
http://www.memtest86.com/ It's free. Then you can download and use the
hard drive maufacturer's diagnostic utility to test the hard drive. If
both RAM and hard drive test out clean, check with the motherboard
manufacturer for any diagnostic utilities.


--

Bruce Chambers

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