XP Pro Install from boot disk

installing from 6 floppy boot disk set

[Moff]

For some reason I can't boot into my CD ROM even when the WINXP CD is in there. Im trying to boot using the 6 floppy boot disks, every time i get to disk 3 I get error 4104 - setupreg.hiv could not be loaded. How do I boot into the CD to reinstall XP? any help will be greatly appreciated as I can't even get into Dos at the moment. Thanks

[bcolflesh]

When did this start happening? Last time I encountered this, the user put new (crappy) memory in the machine and started having boot/io subsystem issues.

Remove anything new you've added and see what happens. Otherwise, Google for the various 3rd party WinXP startup discs that will give you more options.

[Moff]

Am not sure when it started, I only noticed it when trying to do a clean install. As far as i know nothing new has been added in the way of hardware. I have tried looking for third part boot/setup disks but was only able to find the official disk set. If you know of any could you sticky me any addresses?

thanks for your help.

[bcolflesh]

You're trying to do a clean install - did you FDISK every existing partition, then Format new ones with a DOS bootdisk first? If not, that's the problem -

[Moff]

Yup, used Fdisk to create the primary partition then set it as the Active partition and formatted.

The trouble is there's also an extended dos partition there, when I try to delete it using Fdisk it tells me i can't as logical drives exist... Try to delete the logical drives and it tells me there aren't any.

Was hoping that it being there wouldn't matter and I could remove it when i finally got into the setup. Do you think that may be the problem? If so are there any more powerfull partitioning tools available for free download? Used to use partition Magic but no longer have a copy.

[bcolflesh]

[23cc.com...]

[Moff]

ok, im at a loss!

One single primary partition, using all available space, Fat32, formatted and set to active yet still the boot disks give me the same error.

Still don't know why i can't boot directly from the CD drive either.

Does anyone have any other idea's to try before I throw my comp out the window?

[maccas]

Hi Moff, I have just completing reinstalling xp home using a windows 98 boot disk... do a google search for it. I also couldn't boot from the cd either ( make sure boot from cd and boot from floppy is before boot from harddrive in bios).

[Xoc]

Copy the CD onto the hard disk. Run the setup program from there.

[Maylin]

I have set up windows xp on three different computers and I think the official setup disks always gave me problems. Like maccas, I used the windows 98 boot disk before and that worked. I think this only works if your hard drive is still fat32, otherwise it'll give an error about not recognizing the hard drive.

Also, on my laptop, I can only use one drive at a time. So I couldn't use any floppy disks at all to boot the winxp disk. I used the Windows 2000 cd that I already had, let the setup start, then switched cds. The setup for WinXP went through.

(sorry, it's been a while and I can't remember exactly what steps I took)

[Moff]

What setup file do I run? I've tried using the 98 boot disk to boot the machine with cd rom support but D:\setup will not run from a dos enviroment.

[Maylin]

I think the command is D:\I386\WINNT

I wish I could help more... I've had the same problem so I know what you're talking about, it's just been a while and I can't remember all the steps I took. The good news is I kept trying stuff and it finally went through, so it isn't hopeless.

[edited by: Maylin at 4:10 pm (utc) on May 15, 2004]

[Maylin]

(deleted-dup/meant to edit)

[Macro]

You're trying to do a clean install - did you FDISK every existing partition, then Format new ones with a DOS bootdisk first? If not, that's the problem -

With respect, no it's not.

Windows XP boots from the CD if you have the BIOS set to boot from the CD. Check the boot sequence in the BIOS and set the optical drive as the first boot device. When it does boot from the CD you can fdisk and format the partitions, delete and create partitions in either FAT32 or NTFS. Using an old Win 98 boot floppy is rubbish and old hat. It will neither offer you the option of creating or formatting an NTFS partition nor will it allow you to do anything with any existing NTFS partitions.

I've used hundreds of official setup disks and they never give problems. The only ones that do give problems and do not boot are the pirated ones. D:/setup won't work. As with NT the installation files aren't in the root directory and the file to start the installation is not called "setup" or "install". The "winnt" file runs the installation of XP.

But your best bet is to throw away the 98 boot floppies and learn to get your PC booting from the CD. Less grief all around, I promise.

when I try to delete it using Fdisk it tells me i can't as logical drives exist... Try to delete the logical drives and it tells me there aren't any

Maybe you've got NTFS partitions. Read previous advice.