WinMe to XP Pro SP1 rebooting

[trvolz]

Okay, I'm at my limits. I thought I could manage this but
I need help....its a bit wordy because I tried to work it
through researching these forums first...

SYStem:
PIII 866 MHz
512MB ram
CD Rom
Plenty of Hard disk space >20GB
Network adapter

Problem: I installed XP Pro SP1 from WinME and
everything was fine. I first removed all of the
software/drivers that it thought would be a problem.
Downloaded new drivers for install afterwards. On first
login, the system rebooted immeidately. Tried several reboots woth the same
effect. 5-20 seconds into boot process and it reboots itself.

I went into SafeMode and started some debug via
msconfig. I turned things on and off in a logical manner
to find at least a clue. I got to the point where the
only thing that was not selected in msconfig was
SERVICES: PLUG AND PLAY, then it would not forever reboot.
Note : not Universal PnP

Wonderful, because without PnP I can't seem to do any
networking.

I was able to get to the internet in Safe Mode with Networking.

Through this forum I thought "Blaster" and proceeded to
go to the MS Updates page and get the most recent
updates for XP. I can't get any of them to load either in
SafeMode or with the PnP disabled via msconfig.

I get the following error when I try to load any Windows
Critical Updates:
SETUP ERROR: "Setup cannot update a checked(debug)
system with a free(retail) version of KB828028 or vice
versa" or very similar.

I downloaded the Symantec Blaster.exe search tool and it found no
indications of Blaster.

I tried to turn on the Windows Firewall (while in
SafeMode), but I also get an error.

Other Information:
In Safe Mode: I looked at the Device manager and it
says all of my drivers are fine, no equipment issues.

In regular mode with PnP Service disables, I can't
seem to get to device manager.

I downloaded Win XP Pro via my MSDN license.

Any help would be appreciated.

Terry Volz

 

[D.P. Roberts [MCSE,MCSD,MCDBA]]

It's always preferrable to do a "clean install" rather than an upgrade
install of an operating system. If your files are backed up and you have the
media to install your programs, I would recommend starting from scratch by
booting to your XP cd, formatting your drive to NTFS, and then follow the
steps for setting up winxp.

Also, are you sure your motherboard supports XP? Some of the older boards
are incompatible.

 

[Alex Nichol]

It's always preferrable to do a "clean install" rather than an upgrade
install of an operating system.

It is not, in that usually it will work fine and save a great deal of
work. But when it does *not* as here, the best thing is to cut losses
and go back and clean install.

By now the system is likely to be in a confused state, beyond being
rescued. I might first try turning PnP back on - disabling services is
not usually a good idea, and PnP has repercussions that might not be
expected. But an unpatched system connected to the net without a
firewall is probably beyond hope with infection by now.

Do a clean install after booting the XP CD direct. Enter Setup, and
after the license agreement take New Install. When it asks you to
confirm where, hit ESC; select and delete the current partition and make
a new RAW one to be formatted at the next stage

The important point is the delete. Without that it will just go ahead
and make a new install over the top of the old one