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Help. Windows XP won't install on my Dimension 9100
My hard drive crashed recently so had to replace with a new one. After installing the hard drive (SATA), when I put in the XP reinstallation CD (from Dell) ... nothing happens. When I put a Ubuntu installation disk into the computer (just to check to make sure the computer works), Ubuntu comes up without problems. So, after reading ALOT about the 9100 it appears I may have to install the drivers from a diskette. That would be fine if I can get beyond the blank screen after the Dell bios screen goes away. Can someone help? I have tried )multiple times) using nLite to no avail. Thanks for anyone who can help.
fireberd
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June 12th, 2010 04:00
See if the THIS Dell install instructions help.
Is the problem the Windows XP disc will not boot? or is it that it can't find the new hard drive?
frannyjunk
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June 12th, 2010 05:00
The Windows XP CD will not boot. Normally you'd get a "Press any key to boot from CD", but all I get is a flashing prompt. My bios is set correctly to boot from CD followed by USB them the HDD. Any thoughts?
fireberd
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June 12th, 2010 07:00
Reset the BIOS (CMOS) and see if that helps. With the PC powered off, open the case and remove the CR2032 CMOS backup battery for at least 5 minutes. Reinstall the battery observing polarity. This will probably reset the boot order but F12 should get you a boot menu to select the CD drive.
frannyjunk
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June 12th, 2010 09:00
Thanks for the suggestion. Just tried it. No go. I think the Dell OS disk does not have SATA RAID support. Here's the catch ... how to load driver BEFORE installing XP? I tried nLite, but that did not work either.
frannyjunk
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June 12th, 2010 14:00
Went as far as unplugging the 2nd CDROM. Funny thing is the Ubuntu disk install with no problems. Looks like it is an XP thing. Been trying for the past 2 weeks to get it to work. Got nothing to show for the work so far.
jackshack
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June 12th, 2010 14:00
Most of the time I have seen this behavior on a machine that works otherwise, it has been due to the presence of a USB device that has memory in it. If you have anything plugged into a USB port that you don't need for your present task I would suggest removing it. Whenever you are attempting to install or modify the operating system it is usually best to have only the keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected to the computer.
EDIT: Incidentally, this supports your theory that the computer is not booting from the CD since the computer tries that device before getting to the USB port. Have you tried the F12 one time boot menu?
2nd EDIT: It just occurred to me that the Dimension 9100 uses an IDE interface for the optical drives. The Dell BIOS will only look for the master drive. If you have two DVD/CD drives, try the second one. If you must use the drive you are trying to boot from now, try going to system setup and turning off IDE drive 0. Doing that will allow the computer to see what is normally the slave drive as the master.
Francis Nathan
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June 12th, 2010 20:00
Check BIOS or system set up first,under drives go and check what is written under SATA operation, if its set to RAID Autodetect/ AHCI change it to RAID Autodetect/ ATA. do vise versa.
check link below for addional information to see the set up options:
Dimension 9100.more_files_at_paid4download.com.doc - 54 Kb
*also try to use th XP CD in different system. if still didnt work, get a new set of CD from Tech support if the system still under warranty,if not better get a new set of disc.
frannyjunk
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June 13th, 2010 15:00
Thanks for all the help. I finally got it to work. My 9100 came with a DVDROM and a CDROM. Basically, I had to unplug the DVDROM and connect the end of the IDE cable to the CDROM. Set the bios to RAID/ATA and away she went. Why is it that I had to remove connections is beyond me. Very much appreciate the support you guys offered. Thanks!!
rfwojcik
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February 23rd, 2020 18:00
Are you kidding me?? It only looks for the master? That was it. I have been trying for days to get my 9100 to boot from the Dell CD and it kept saying it could not find it. My DVD rom and CD were set for cable select. Once I put the CD as master and DVD as slave everything worked perfectly. That should have been put in the manual about installing a new hard drive. Thanks for the help.