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Windows will not install

Discussion in 'Windows OS' started by Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008.

Page 1 of 3

  1. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    Recently a HD of my mothers died, it contained vital info to her. So naturally, I booted into a Live CD and rescued the ****. So we got the data on my HD, we ran a ChkDsk and found several bad sectors. We cleared the harddrive; meaning we formatted it with a NTFS filesystem. Alright, so we stick in our Windows XP Professional SP2 disc. We load up, and it begins formatting. Then it starts copying setup files.

    So all goes well, however as soon as it hits installing Windows XP.. uh-oh. It hangs at:
    "Setup will complete in approximately 39 minutes...". So we waited like 10-15 minutes to see if it'd change, nope. So well on hope was lost, it did.

    "Setup will complete in approximately 37 minutes..."; "Installing Devices"... the gauge moving very slow like its crawling. The gauge looks like its going to take an hour or so to fill. Whats going on, and is the HD dead? We can't just go out and buy a replacement HD as they don't make this kind anymore, and buying an entire new tower is pricey.. ideas?
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #1

  2. SNGX1275 TS Special Forces Posts: 11,893   +117

    A HD with bad sectors isn't a good sign. I'd just replace the drive. There is nothing special about that drive that makes it irreplacable. EIDE hds have been in use since the early 90s, any one you buy will work unless the comp is so old the BIOS can't handle a large drive.
    SNGX1275, Sep 7, 2008
    #2

  3. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    I've also seen faulty Ram, cause this "39 minutes" issue (always seems to be that one)
    Remove your Ram, remove any/all dust, re-insert your Ram

    Another option is the little jumper on the end of the HardDrive (where the Data and power plug in to it) Confirm that the jumper is on CS (being Cable Select)
    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #3

  4. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    It's an ATA drive, so it's not the easiest to replace. We're pulling the ram how kimsland, is there a way specifically to do this?
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #4

  5. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    Without your System Specs it is very difficult to let you know.

    But on a PC, you just push down on the locking clips on the side of the Ram, which will allow the Ram to be removed

    For more help please put your System Specs information in your Profile
    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #5

  6. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    Aha! We reseated the ram and all. No luck. So we called up Dell; they weren't much use. They told us to try Control + F11 to System Dell Restore it. No luck, it no longer did that. Surfing the net showed me that I had to restore the first part of the MBR back to boot the Dell Restore partition. I burned the DOS app onto a CD at once and launched it. Redid the MBR, rebooted. Then quickly did this combination, and bam. System restore.

    We're currently performince it, will update status.

    STATUS: Working
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #6
     

  7. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #7

  8. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    We used an unoffical MBR disc. It worked fine. The restore just finished, Windows.. Please wait... I'm waiting.

    EDIT: Black screen, flashing _
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #8

  9. CCT Newcomer, in training Posts: 3,556

    Christmas is coming - buy Mom some RWRW cd's NOW as an early gift and show her how to drag and drop.

    :)
    CCT, Sep 7, 2008
    #9

  10. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #10

  11. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    Memtest, OK.
    Drive Diagnostics done with Dell, turns out OK.
    I'm certain it's the HD though.. dell restore worked OK. But everything is loading really slow...
    and the Windows XP loading screen fades in slowly, and the loading bar moves slow.
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #11

  12. CCT Newcomer, in training Posts: 3,556

    Or, if she has more thsan one stick of ram, pull all but one and alternate them to find if one stick is bad.

    :)
    CCT, Sep 7, 2008
    #12

  13. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    The RAM is fine, we tested both. The screen loads really slow and the progress bar moves slow. The windows XP loading starts to load... the screen goes black for a second, and then it reboots back to the BIOS.
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #13

  14. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    Is the same happening in Safe Mode? (repeatedly press F8 key on Windows startup to get to Safe Mode)

    In Safe Mode you can also check event viewer (Control Panel->Administrative Tools)
    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #14

  15. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    Safe mode refuses to boot, we isas.exe:
    Something about a password not being the value set...
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #15

  16. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #16

  17. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    Repair a fresh install...?
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #17

  18. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    Yes

    Actually I think it's the Gina value not set correctly in the registry key explorer.exe

    Is this with the original Windows Setup CD?
    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #18

  19. Vaughands Newcomer, in training Posts: 40

    No, it was a Dell System Restore...
    Also my mother isn't sure we've set the HD up right, could we have it ill setup?
    Vaughands, Sep 7, 2008
    #19

  20. kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353

    One HardDrive
    One CD/DVD Drive
    Both seperate (ie not the same ATA Data cable)

    Both set to CS (you haven't actually said you confirmed this yet)

    Any issues, start checking Faulty Hardware (like the actual drives, and data cables)
    kimsland, Sep 7, 2008
    #20
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