New comp build...having problems plz help

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jb444

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Hi, as im new please dont shoot me if this is the wrong section...
I have just put together the following:
X2 4200, Gigabyte GA-M55Plus-S3G, 1gb ddr2-800 etc...Im 99% sure hardware is all compatible.
When I boot the system With just the windows disk I get message "Disk boot failure insert system disk and reboot", So i put in a boot disk and loaded it, getting message "Disk I/O error. Please replace disk" Boot disk is brand new and ive tried 2 windows disks.
So I booted with just the floppy in and it said:
"The following file is missing or corrupt: Display.SYS"
"There is an error in your config.Sys Line 1"
(I'm fairly new to computers so I have no idea what that means)
I then took out my old HDD with windows installed on and booted the system. After the Verifying DMI pool etc. screen the computer just restarts, try in safe mode and it just restarts.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice on the problem.
 
Ok...apologies it was the startup disk...i made another one and It came up with Widows copyright etc... Then
A:\>
Last time I made a computer I just shoved windows in and let it do the rest...and my knowledge of DOS is pretty much 0.
Could anyone tell me the commands i need to type to start the windows installation? (I assume its easier to format and partition the hard drive from the windows installer)
Thanks
Chris
 
ok.. are we talking about windows xp here or previous?

if so (xp) is this a previous windows installation that you've transfered from a old pc to a new one? you may need to perform a windows repair (since motherboard drivers maybe different)
 
Windows xp...but i dont really want my old hdd in there i just wondered if it would work... what I really need to know is how to install windows xp from cd using the a:\> prompt in dos.
None of the commands like fdisk or run work, just says bad command
 
Find an old windows 9x disk. You will need to load smartdrv.exe from that. You actually don't have to but the initial part of the install is going to take a long time if you don't.

I forget where it is on the disk, I think its in the windows directory. So it would be <CD Drive>:\Windows\smartdrv.exe But it may be just in root, so you can remove that Windows part. Try to look at the disk in another comp to see where it is.

Once that is done put the XP disk in the cd drive. Then its <CD Drive>:\I386\winnt.exe and that will begin the install.
 
From the A:\> prompt it does not recognise any of the cd drives (which are all working fine). so i cant untill i work out whats causing the problem
 
If u can have access to another PC with a 3.5" floppy drive and a USB floppy drive, get hold of a floppy disk(yeah, really!) and download the Windows 98 boot disk from here and then run it after placing the floppy disk into the floppy drive. It will write an image of the Windows 98 startup disk onto the floppy, making it a Windows 98 boot disk. Then change the boot parameters in the CMOS and let the PC boot from the floppy. It will load the drivers for the CDROMs and then u can probably try running setup from them.
 
I dont have a usb floppy as well...but why do i need it? from what you said i only need 1 drive.
I put the floppy in and it wrote the disk. I put it in the computer and after "verifying DMI pool data...." I just get a blinking cursor no prompt.
Tried it in my working machine and i just get a black screen with blinking cursor, cant type anything.
What exactly do i need to do to make the disk work?
Sorry if i'm being dumb i've only made a computer once before and I didnt have any of these problems.
 
yeah anyway on both my working and broken (not that it ever worked) pc just get a blinking cursor...floppy seems to write ok...this is the last time i try and put a computer together lol
 
I've just tried that boot disk from Rage_3K_Moiz's post and it booted up without a problem. Are you sure the floppy's writing ok?
 
no, im gonna try it from a friends computer this evening as my drive is making some pretty strange noises (although all the files seem to be there)
Exactly what should happen if the disk is working?
Just an A:\> prompt?
 
You'll get an options screen, number 1 being boot with CD-ROM support. The strange noises are most likely the noise you get when the drive has a problem reading the floppy.
 
Try another floppy drive if u can get hold of one from somewhere. I've used the bootdisk myself and it's always worked without a hitch so I suspect it's ur floppy drive.
 
Yeah after trying 3 other floppy drives managed to find a working one (why do those things always break down so quick?). Couldnt find the option to intall drivers so I chose boot up with CD-ROM support (is that it?). Didnt really get far but using the command prompt from the 98 disk I got it to partition and format the hdd (thought i might as well make sure that was ok). Now when I boot it from CD drive it says "Missing operating system".
It says invalid drive specification if i type d:\setup.exe or e:\setup.exe.
Can anyone help now? Im sick of looking at black screens.
(is there any chance that both windows disks im trying are dodgy? Since it gives invalid drive specification i've been assuming thats not the problem)
 
jb444 said:
Couldnt find the option to intall drivers so I chose boot up with CD-ROM support (is that it?).
Click to expand...
Yes, once everything is loaded put the Windows CD in the drive, switch to that drive and then run setup. The boot disk is only being used so you can access the CD drive to install Windows.
 
but to switch to cd dirve (i assume is automatically d, e or f)
you type d: etc...
which gets "invalid drive specification"
 
After you've selected boot with CD-ROM support, you should see the following.

A heading which contains Atapi CD-ROM Device Driver.
Device Name: MSCD001.
Transfer Mode: doesn't matter.
Number of Drives: 2 (I've got two drives). Are you getting a number here?
 
yes it comes up with 2 drives, then a load of stuff...pci bus scans and eventually a:\> prompt
from there is can switch to the e drive by e:
but typing setup.exe get "cannot run this program in dos mode"
 
Yep, just tried it. Which means you have to boot with the Windows install CD. The CD drives should have shown up as D and E, so they might not be set up right. You can try setting the first boot device to CD-ROM in the BIOS, and put the CD in the drive that showed up as E. Or if both drives are on the one cable, remove one, put the remaining drive on the end of the cable and set the jumper to master.

There is a Windows XP boot disk, but you need 6 floppys. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310994.
 
I think u will need a bootable version of XP.
Or if u wanna do something else, get hold of a Windows 98/ME/2000 CD if u can find one and install that on one partition(Make sure it is FAT32 first. Windows 98 doesn't recognize NTFS. It'll take like less than half an hour). Then install XP on another partition. I still have this dual boot configuration (with Windows 98 SE, fully updated) and I like it. At least there's something to fall back on when XP gets corrupted (Which it has multiple times for me).
 
tried all that m8, used to get disk boot error now i get missing operating system...its like it always tries to boot from the hdd. It wont even recognise the other drives unless i put in the 98 boot disk and start it with cdrom support. So im stuck really as the only place i can get it to read the cd drive it cant load setup.exe from
Only thing i can think of doing is installing windows on another pc and then putting it in...but its S300 so I dont know anyone else that can use the hdd.
Putting in the windows from my working machine just makes it restart after verifying dmi pool data... screen
 
sorry rage i didnt see that post. Arent all versions bootable? is a legit copy of xp bootable?
 
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