Blank computer, installing XP pro problems...
Discussion
Hi all,
As you all know I recently bought a new computer and got a PH'er to send me though XP Pro... which due to our crappy post system here has only arrived today. Unfortunately, when I put the CD in my computer it comes up with a black screen with the following message:
Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key.
I have tried repeatedly to turn on and off/ insert the CD and press buttons but it keeps coming back with the same message. I know the disk works as I tried it on my friends laptop (that im using now) and it loaded up the usual windows type screen.
Any ideas what im missing, it'll undoubtedly be something blindingly obvious, I am, however, slightly concerned it may be something wrong with the computer itself... which will
me off beyond words!!!
As you all know I recently bought a new computer and got a PH'er to send me though XP Pro... which due to our crappy post system here has only arrived today. Unfortunately, when I put the CD in my computer it comes up with a black screen with the following message:
Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key.
I have tried repeatedly to turn on and off/ insert the CD and press buttons but it keeps coming back with the same message. I know the disk works as I tried it on my friends laptop (that im using now) and it loaded up the usual windows type screen.
Any ideas what im missing, it'll undoubtedly be something blindingly obvious, I am, however, slightly concerned it may be something wrong with the computer itself... which will
me off beyond words!!!pdV6 said:
You may need to tell your PC's bios that it wants to boot from the CD drive in preference to the hard disk.
Also, if its a dodgy rip-off copy, it may not be a bootable CD in which case you're stuffed.
Stuffed, or you need to download a DOS floppy image (and then a floppy disk!) with CD ROM drivers. You'll find one by googling.
Yeah sounds like this cd is not bootable. I gather its a moody copy ? - hence setup not starting up.
Best bet is to browse this CD and make sure it has an i386 folder. Check inside it and make sure you have files. Check for setup.exe.
Next you'll need a floppy disk which has CD-ROM drivers on. Its not as bad as it sounds. Best bet is to use Barts Boot Disk website www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/cdrom/ and download the BFD full package and install it exactly like he says. You might need to deposit the actual CDRom driver (from the same webpage) into the folder somewhere.
Then you just need to go to a dos box and run a command similar to this : bfd cdrom
(Thats what i run in my setup). It creates a cdrom boot disk in abouta minute.
If you still get stuck i can probably email the disk files over but i'm not entirely sure if copying them straight to a floppy will work... Worth a try though ?
Once you have a boot disk you can run setup.exe straight from the CD. If you get that far well done, but you arent out of the woods yet - this copy of XP might be tied to a manufacturer, which means if you computer isnt a dell etc.. it may only install the 30 day evaluation version - in which case you are up the khyber and will need to shell out.
Steve
>> Edited by lockstock2sb on Tuesday 6th December 13:27
Best bet is to browse this CD and make sure it has an i386 folder. Check inside it and make sure you have files. Check for setup.exe.
Next you'll need a floppy disk which has CD-ROM drivers on. Its not as bad as it sounds. Best bet is to use Barts Boot Disk website www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/cdrom/ and download the BFD full package and install it exactly like he says. You might need to deposit the actual CDRom driver (from the same webpage) into the folder somewhere.
Then you just need to go to a dos box and run a command similar to this : bfd cdrom
(Thats what i run in my setup). It creates a cdrom boot disk in abouta minute.
If you still get stuck i can probably email the disk files over but i'm not entirely sure if copying them straight to a floppy will work... Worth a try though ?
Once you have a boot disk you can run setup.exe straight from the CD. If you get that far well done, but you arent out of the woods yet - this copy of XP might be tied to a manufacturer, which means if you computer isnt a dell etc.. it may only install the 30 day evaluation version - in which case you are up the khyber and will need to shell out.
Steve
>> Edited by lockstock2sb on Tuesday 6th December 13:27
Hi all, have checked the CD and it appears to be a non-bootable disk...
My techy friend here got a set of boot disks set up and we used this to boot from. Then he went to format the hard drive and it aborted. It aborted because it couldnt find a file (which he cant remember, bah, helpful) - he reckons the CD itself may be corrupt.
not my luckiest month it must be said.
My techy friend here got a set of boot disks set up and we used this to boot from. Then he went to format the hard drive and it aborted. It aborted because it couldnt find a file (which he cant remember, bah, helpful) - he reckons the CD itself may be corrupt.
not my luckiest month it must be said.
he says hugging a wooden desk. 
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