Cannot install XP

Question

Hi,   My Dell had NT installed.   I have bought a valid XP Pro CD (not DELL OEM) and want to do a clean install. However whenever I try to boot from the CD it comes up with a 'Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility'. If I replace the XP CD with the original DELL reinstallation NT CD then it kicks off the NT install. I have tried on my other PC (HP) and the XP CD works fine   Please can anyone help advise how I can get XP Installed? I don't know if this is OK, but I posted this message to the Bios forum as well. Apologies if this was wrong   Thanks for your time.   Dom

VBdotNet · Answer

If 'F2 for setup utility' takes you to the BIOS setup then do that. Go to the Bios page that shows the boot sequence of the installed drives. Select the CD drive that you are using and move it to the top of the list. Exit the bios setup and save the changes.  The PC should boot off of the CD. Make sure the bottom of the XP CD is clean and free of scratches. If your father's machine is much older than your HP - it might be that his CD drive does not well handle problems with defects on the media.  Newer drives are more forgiving and make many more attempts to read a disc (than older drives) before giving up and issuing an error.  In the case of booting, if the CD drive gives up on reading the media the PC will select the next device in boot sequence and boot from that drive.

shesagordie · Answer

DomBull.

If you have a Dimension system, check this out, if not post back with the computer model.

You make the CD/ROM/DVD the first boot device. Procedures for configuring a Dimension series system to boot to the CD/DVD drive.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=TT1032262

Bev.

Message Edited by shesagordie on 06-09-2005 11:27 PM

bomanna · Answer

'You make the CD/ROM/DVD the first boot device. '      I'm sorry, I am just not clear on this. Does this mean that it will boot from the cd/dvd everytime I restart my computer?  I am trying to upgrade to XP pro from xp home and your reply is part of the directions for doing just that.  Do I need to go back in once the installation is completed (God willing) and change it back?

DomBull · Answer

THANKS EVERYONE.   Now I have the most hidious confession to make. At around 11pm last night, I gave up and before I powered down the PC thought i'd remove the XP CD. To my horror, I found it was the Office XP not XP Pro CD.   Really sorry everyone...................I have already flaggelated myself substantially.   Thanks   Dom

VBdotNet · Answer

@bomanna wrote: 'You make the CD/ROM/DVD the first boot device. ' I'm sorry, I am just not clear on this. Does this mean that it will boot from the cd/dvd everytime I restart my computer?  I am trying to upgrade to XP pro from xp home and your reply is part of the directions for doing just that.  Do I need to go back in once the installation is completed (God willing) and change it back?  In the BIOS setup there is a list of bootable devices (CD/DVD, HDD [ hard disk drive], FDD [ Floppy diskette drive], USB device, etc...). When the PC boots, it will go to the 'boot list' and ATTEMPT to boot from the first device listed. Failing that, it moves on to the next device in the list.   So if your CD or DVD drive is listed first, it will spin the CD drive looking for a bootable CD or bootable DVD. If a disc is present ( like a non-bootable photo album CD) or if no disc if present then the PC will attempt to boot from the next device in the list.   The general rule (especially for notebooks) is to make the CD drive first in the 'boot list' only when you need to boot the PC from it ( ie: installing XP or booting from an anti-virus CD to run a virus scan). When you don't need to boot off of the CD drive, move it down the list to below the hard drive. This makes boot-up just a little faster and on notebooks it saves precious battery-life by not unnecessarily spinning the CD.   Newer PC and notebooks now have a second option at the Bios' Splash screen at boot-up (On Dell PCs it is F12) to manually select the bootable device to boot from - without making the change in the BIOS setup. This on-demand feature is very nice.

shesagordie · Answer

DomBull.   Oh, what a mistake to make. Don't worry about it, this is the best way to learn.   Have a Good Weekend.   Bev.

barbstees · Answer

I have been trying to re-install XP. I put my Reinstallation CD into the CD drive & restarted my computer. When I press F2 when the windows logo comes up and nothing happens. If I press F12, I can get into system setup and go to boot sequence. I moved my cd rom to the top of the boot list as per the instructions. I saved the settings & exited the setup. I restarted the computer with the CD in the drive and it still boots from my hard drive. Anybody got any suggestions.

I have a Dimension 4550.

Barbara

simpswr · Answer

This is a good guide for reinstalling on a Dell:  http://www.djdenham.com/Install%20Procedures.htm

barbstees · Answer

My problem is that it won't boot from the CD even though I have set it in bios to boot from the CD first.

simpswr · Answer

That machine should have no problem booting from cd . .   Once you set your BIOS to boot first from cd . . when it restarts you will see a black screen with a prompt 'Press any key to boot from CD' . . do that and you will be able to delete partitions and recreate the ones you want and proceed to formating and installing XP That message can pass quickly, so have a finger on the keyboard when you boot.  This will delete all data on the drive so be sure you have your important data backed up.   wrs

barbstees · Answer

Well, something must be wrong because it doesn't boot from the cd when I set the bios to boot from the cd. I have the cd rom set as #1, the c drive as #2 and the floppy as #3. When I restart the computer with the recovery disk in it my floppy, cd rom & dvd rom all flash and the the computer boots from the c drive.

Barbara

barbstees · Answer

OK. I found out what was wrong.  I have a cd-rw and a dvd. (2 separate units).  I watched the boot sequence when I restarted the computer.  The dvd flashed first and the cd-rw flashed second, so just for curiosity I put my recovery disk in the dvd instead of the cd-rw and restarted the computer.  It worked.  I got the press any key to boot from the cd.  Thanks for your help.  Now I hope I don't have a problem installing since it is a dvd rom.  Will I? Barbara

simpswr · Answer

You should not . . Follow Dennys guide and you will do fine. wrs

barbstees · Answer

Thanks for all your help guys. Barbara

Windows General

Cannot install XP

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