XP Pro-DELL XPS - setup blue screens at hard drive selection

[dd]

I got a new Dell (XPS 730X HC2) with Vista 64 installed and must downgrade to
XP because of legacy apps that won't work under Vista.

Setup blue screens after the screen for selecting drive - which shows 4
options but shows "no drive" for each before blue screening (0X00...8E,
0XC00...5, 0X8081A799, 0XF6FE2778, 0X00..0)

Under Dell's installation, there is a small FAT16 utility partition marked
primary, followed by a small NTFS partition for Recovery, also marked
primary. There there is C: with an extended partition and 3 logical drives
(C-E; I used the partitioning to create the logical drives from a single C).
(All NTFS). No problem under the installed Vista 64.

I'm not sure if the problem is that the XP setup simply doesn't recognize
the hard drive of the problem is with those two very small partitions located
prior to C:

The drive is a SATA, 10000RPM WD 300GB which, according to WD, is XP
compatible.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I got a new Dell (XPS 730X HC2) with Vista 64 installed and must
downgrade to XP because of legacy apps that won't work under Vista.

Setup blue screens after the screen for selecting drive - which
shows 4 options but shows "no drive" for each before blue
screening (0X00...8E, 0XC00...5, 0X8081A799, 0XF6FE2778, 0X00..0)

Under Dell's installation, there is a small FAT16 utility partition
marked primary, followed by a small NTFS partition for Recovery,
also marked primary. There there is C: with an extended partition
and 3 logical drives (C-E; I used the partitioning to create the
logical drives from a single C). (All NTFS). No problem under the
installed Vista 64.

I'm not sure if the problem is that the XP setup simply doesn't
recognize the hard drive of the problem is with those two very
small partitions located prior to C:

The drive is a SATA, 10000RPM WD 300GB which, according to WD, is XP
compatible.

You multi-posted I see...
Please look into cross-posting if you feel you need to post in multiple
groups.

See your other posting for more information.
(Although I had to see this posting for more information from you.)

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I got a new Dell (XPS 730X HC2) with Vista 64 installed and must downgrade to
XP because of legacy apps that won't work under Vista.

That's something one should check on _before_ purchasing a new
operating system.

There could be a couple possible adverse repercussions of which you
should be aware. First and foremost, if the specific computer model in
question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no
WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse
components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer about the
availability of device drivers. Secondly, removing an OEM-installed
operating system and replacing it with another will almost invariably
void any and all support agreements and, possibly, even the warranty.
You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista before getting
any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the computer's
manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there will be the additional cost
involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new computer.

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be
offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part
of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then, assuming you were successful in obtaining WinXP-specific
device drivers so that the computer can be made to work with WinXP, the
backed up data can be restored and applications (those that are
WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed.

Setup blue screens after the screen for selecting drive - which shows 4
options but shows "no drive" for each before blue screening (0X00...8E,
0XC00...5, 0X8081A799, 0XF6FE2778, 0X00..0)

Under Dell's installation, there is a small FAT16 utility partition marked
primary, followed by a small NTFS partition for Recovery, also marked
primary. There there is C: with an extended partition and 3 logical drives
(C-E; I used the partitioning to create the logical drives from a single C).
(All NTFS). No problem under the installed Vista 64.

I'm not sure if the problem is that the XP setup simply doesn't recognize
the hard drive of the problem is with those two very small partitions located
prior to C:

The drive is a SATA, 10000RPM WD 300GB which, according to WD, is XP
compatible.

Remember, SATA didn't really exist (or at least wasn't commercially
available) when WinXP was initially developed. Very early in the boot
process, just after having booted from the WinXP CD, the screen will
display the words to the effect: "Setup is examining your system." Press
<F6> when this happens, and have the *manufacturer's* WinXP-specific
drivers for your SATA controller available on a floppy disk.

If there are no WinXP SATA drivers available, or if you have no floppy
drive and refuse to acquire one, forget about up on putting WinXP on
that machine.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Paul]

I got a new Dell (XPS 730X HC2) with Vista 64 installed and must downgrade to
XP because of legacy apps that won't work under Vista.

Setup blue screens after the screen for selecting drive - which shows 4
options but shows "no drive" for each before blue screening (0X00...8E,
0XC00...5, 0X8081A799, 0XF6FE2778, 0X00..0)

Under Dell's installation, there is a small FAT16 utility partition marked
primary, followed by a small NTFS partition for Recovery, also marked
primary. There there is C: with an extended partition and 3 logical drives
(C-E; I used the partitioning to create the logical drives from a single C).
(All NTFS). No problem under the installed Vista 64.

I'm not sure if the problem is that the XP setup simply doesn't recognize
the hard drive of the problem is with those two very small partitions located
prior to C:

The drive is a SATA, 10000RPM WD 300GB which, according to WD, is XP
compatible.

Check your BIOS. The chipset is X58, so the Southbridge could
be ICH10R, with "IDE", "AHCI", and "RAID" options. Chances are,
for Vista, they left it in AHCI mode. You'd probably use an
AHCI driver, loaded via pressing F6, so that the disk
can be seen later in the install.

http://hothardware.com/Articles/Dell-XPS-730x-H2C-Intel-Core-i7-Gaming-System/?page=5

There is an example of an AHCI/RAID driver for a floppy here. Unzip,
then copy the seven files, including TXTSETUP.OEM, flat onto a floppy.

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/sata/ICH10R_AHCIRAID_Driver_XPVista.zip

Well, it would have been easy, but I bet your computer doesn't have a floppy drive.

These two links, cover preparing a new WinXP CD, and adding drivers
to it, so F6 isn't needed. (Alternately, you can change the BIOS
setting to "IDE" and get around the F6 issue entirely. But
many people like AHCI, so this is one way to get drivers
installed for it.)

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install-Windows-XP-On-SATA-Without-a-Floppy-F6-47807.shtml

http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html

More info regarding AHCI can be found here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahci

I tend to use IDE mode at times like this, because I'm
too lazy to do that much work

Paul