Power off, and unplug. Press/hold power button for ~15 sec. Open the case and reseat the RAM modules in their slots. Then remove the motherboard battery and press/hold power button for ~30 sec. Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!) and see what happens now.
Ron
EDIT: Did 1-3-2 start after you changed BIOS to OS Install Mode, or before you changed it?
Pulling the RAM modules from slots 2,3,4 is probably equivalent to setting BIOS to OS Install Mode. :emotion-5:
Are you sure it's second module that's bum? Have you tried other modules in that slot? It's possible the slot (motherboard) failed.
BTW: slot 1 is the closest to the CPU. The next slot is not slot 2, it's slot 3. Slot pairs have the same color retention clips. So with one pair of modules installed, you should see, in slot order, starting from the CPU:
slot 1: Yes
slot 3: No
Slot 2; Yes
Slot 4: No
So if you really mean the module that's in slot 3 is causing problems, you can still put a second, matched module in slot 2.
HERE is the Dell install instructions. Check it to see if you are missing anything. Depending on your PC model, many Dell's come with a Restore Partition on the hard drive that will completely reinstall back to the factory condition and no discs are required. For systems that were delivered with XP it's CTRL/F11 at POST (initial bootup). If yours has this use the "PC Restore" method in the linked Install instructions. If not, use the Manual Install instructions.
HERE is the Dell install instructions. Check it to see if you are missing anything. Depending on your PC model, many Dell's come with a Restore Partition on the hard drive that will completely reinstall back to the factory condition and no discs are required. For systems that were delivered with XP it's CTRL/F11 at POST (initial bootup). If yours has this use the "PC Restore" method in the linked Install instructions. If not, use the Manual Install instructions.
Thank you for the link. Unfortunately, I do not get past step 5 of the manual install instructions (the system restore and pc restore do not apply). About 10% into the file copying, it stops and tells me that a .dll file (this time it was diskcopy.dll) could not be copied. If I press enter to retry, nothing happens. If I press esc to skip, another .dll file just pops up.
The model is a Dell Dimension 4700 and the reinstallation CD for the Windows XP Professional operating system that I have doesn't do any good. I am still prompted to put in the XP disk.
Have you tried reformatting the drive again (and I assume you are formatting with NTFS and not FAT32).
If you are formatting the drive using the Windows XP install disc function, try formatting again but do not select the "Quick" option, select the NTFS full format option. The quick option doesn't fully reformat, basically it assumes the format on the drive is OK and just sets the "flags" so the entire disc can be used.
You probaby have that annoying XP RAM problem which was common on older systems. OK, that sounds really weird, but if you run BIOS setup, you'll see that the D4700 has an option for OS Install Mode.
You need to turn that on, save the change, and boot from the XP Reinstallation CD to install the OS. When the install is done, run BIOS setup again and turn OS install mode off. While in OS install mode, the system will only recognize/use 256 MB of RAM, so the install will be s-l-o-w. But once the install is complete and you turn OS install mode off, the system will use all installed RAM again.
Don't ask me to explain it, ask Mr. Gates! :emotion-4:
To add to the above suggestions: If it is copying files from the CD, failure to copy a file could indicate dirty or scratched CD. Examine the CD and clean it carefully. If you have another PC with a CD drive try copying the contents of the CD to the hard drive as a check that the CD can be copied cleanly.
Thanks for the suggestion, but, not only is the cd I'm using good (I tried it in another computer), but two other cds that I tried don't do the job either.
I have reformatted several times. The first time was a full reformat (in fact, there may have been another one after that). Subsequent reformats were quick. But, now I have encountered another problem so all of this may be mute at this point. When I turn the computer on, all I get are beeps 1-3-2. I assume that either the motherboard or cpu are toasted.
I never got that far. I was able to solve the 1-3-2 problem by removing all but the first memory modules. Once I was able to power up without the beeping, I started over with the clean install process. Finally I was able to successfully install XP. The computer is now up and running - THANKS TO ALL YOUR HELP. THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU! Now I just need to figure out what to do with the other three memory modules I removed! Since it's the second module that is bad, I assume I can't reseat 3 and 4 until I get a new module to replace the one taken out of DIMM 2. Am I correct?
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
1
April 21st, 2010 11:00
1-3-1 through 2-4-4
Memory not being properly identified or used
So 1-3-2 is memory.
Power off, and unplug. Press/hold power button for ~15 sec. Open the case and reseat the RAM modules in their slots. Then remove the motherboard battery and press/hold power button for ~30 sec. Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!) and see what happens now.
Ron
EDIT: Did 1-3-2 start after you changed BIOS to OS Install Mode, or before you changed it?
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
1
April 21st, 2010 16:00
Glad you're running again!
Pulling the RAM modules from slots 2,3,4 is probably equivalent to setting BIOS to OS Install Mode. :emotion-5:
Are you sure it's second module that's bum? Have you tried other modules in that slot? It's possible the slot (motherboard) failed.
BTW: slot 1 is the closest to the CPU. The next slot is not slot 2, it's slot 3. Slot pairs have the same color retention clips. So with one pair of modules installed, you should see, in slot order, starting from the CPU:
slot 1: Yes
slot 3: No
Slot 2; Yes
Slot 4: No
So if you really mean the module that's in slot 3 is causing problems, you can still put a second, matched module in slot 2.
Clear?
Ron
fireberd
9 Legend
•
33.4K Posts
0
April 17th, 2010 15:00
HERE is the Dell install instructions. Check it to see if you are missing anything. Depending on your PC model, many Dell's come with a Restore Partition on the hard drive that will completely reinstall back to the factory condition and no discs are required. For systems that were delivered with XP it's CTRL/F11 at POST (initial bootup). If yours has this use the "PC Restore" method in the linked Install instructions. If not, use the Manual Install instructions.
mpropst7
6 Posts
0
April 18th, 2010 00:00
Thank you for the link. Unfortunately, I do not get past step 5 of the manual install instructions (the system restore and pc restore do not apply). About 10% into the file copying, it stops and tells me that a .dll file (this time it was diskcopy.dll) could not be copied. If I press enter to retry, nothing happens. If I press esc to skip, another .dll file just pops up.
fireberd
9 Legend
•
33.4K Posts
0
April 18th, 2010 04:00
What is the PC Model Number and are you using a Dell OEM Windows XP install disc?
mpropst7
6 Posts
0
April 18th, 2010 13:00
The model is a Dell Dimension 4700 and the reinstallation CD for the Windows XP Professional operating system that I have doesn't do any good. I am still prompted to put in the XP disk.
fireberd
9 Legend
•
33.4K Posts
0
April 19th, 2010 04:00
Have you tried reformatting the drive again (and I assume you are formatting with NTFS and not FAT32).
If you are formatting the drive using the Windows XP install disc function, try formatting again but do not select the "Quick" option, select the NTFS full format option. The quick option doesn't fully reformat, basically it assumes the format on the drive is OK and just sets the "flags" so the entire disc can be used.
See Step 2 in THIS microsoft tech article.
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
April 19th, 2010 15:00
You probaby have that annoying XP RAM problem which was common on older systems. OK, that sounds really weird, but if you run BIOS setup, you'll see that the D4700 has an option for OS Install Mode.
You need to turn that on, save the change, and boot from the XP Reinstallation CD to install the OS. When the install is done, run BIOS setup again and turn OS install mode off. While in OS install mode, the system will only recognize/use 256 MB of RAM, so the install will be s-l-o-w. But once the install is complete and you turn OS install mode off, the system will use all installed RAM again.
Don't ask me to explain it, ask Mr. Gates! :emotion-4:
Ron
JRosenfeld
2 Intern
•
4.4K Posts
0
April 19th, 2010 15:00
To add to the above suggestions: If it is copying files from the CD, failure to copy a file could indicate dirty or scratched CD. Examine the CD and clean it carefully. If you have another PC with a CD drive try copying the contents of the CD to the hard drive as a check that the CD can be copied cleanly.
mpropst7
6 Posts
0
April 20th, 2010 21:00
Thanks for the suggestion, but, not only is the cd I'm using good (I tried it in another computer), but two other cds that I tried don't do the job either.
mpropst7
6 Posts
0
April 20th, 2010 21:00
I have reformatted several times. The first time was a full reformat (in fact, there may have been another one after that). Subsequent reformats were quick. But, now I have encountered another problem so all of this may be mute at this point. When I turn the computer on, all I get are beeps 1-3-2. I assume that either the motherboard or cpu are toasted.
fireberd
9 Legend
•
33.4K Posts
0
April 21st, 2010 05:00
That beep code is not listed in the manual. HERE is the manual and the codes and the diagnostic lights (check those to help).
mpropst7
6 Posts
0
April 21st, 2010 15:00
I never got that far. I was able to solve the 1-3-2 problem by removing all but the first memory modules. Once I was able to power up without the beeping, I started over with the clean install process. Finally I was able to successfully install XP. The computer is now up and running - THANKS TO ALL YOUR HELP. THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU! Now I just need to figure out what to do with the other three memory modules I removed! Since it's the second module that is bad, I assume I can't reseat 3 and 4 until I get a new module to replace the one taken out of DIMM 2. Am I correct?