Can't reinstall Windows XP

Question

i recently tried to reinstall windows xp on my inspiron 1100 because i am giving the computer to my brother and don't want any info that may be on the hard drive to be on there anymore. i inserted the reinstall disc and followed the on-screen instructions and everything went fine until i got to restarting the computer for it to finalize installation. when the computer booted back up, a screen came up saying that windows was finalizing installation and that setup would take approximately 39 minutes. it got down to 33 minutes and the progress bar says 'installing devices' and it won't move. what do i do about this, and did i even go about this correctly? any help would be greatly appreciated.

jmwills · Answer

Try again, reformat the drive again. http://www.djdenham.com/Install%20Procedures.htm#Install

Yves Jean · Answer

Go to system set-up by pressing F2 on the Dell Logo, and disable all integrated devices. This worked on my computer

jmwills · Answer

Be default, none of those devices will be installed at that point so there will be nothing to disable, besides how are you going to disable anything until the OS is installed?

sravan_man · Answer

When ur on the screen which says 33 minutes remaining and the installation is not completing then the issue is with any of the hardware devices on the computer.   When u start the installation when the installation is at 37-35 mins press the key combination shift+f10 then a black command windows will be popped up. at the command prompt type devmgmt.msc and a window which says device manager will open and you will see all the devices connected to ur computer in that window.   Try to disable all the hardware devices except ur processor, keyboard, CD Rom/ DVD rom, harddisk,   so disable ur Printer, Scanner, NIC card, Sound cards, usb devices(if it is not a usb keyboard), every thing else which is not required. Think logically and continue the setup

sravan_man · Answer

Dont worry all the hardware devices will be listed in the device manager even if the os is not installed because most of the cases this issue is related to drivers of any hardware device

neo_ds2000 · Answer

okay, i did the shift+f10 command prompt and entered the command you told me. there are no devices displayed in the window. what do i do about that?

maxd · Answer

Disconnect all peripherals (other than mouse and keyboard) before you begin the install and see if you still get the freeze. Follow the directions in the link provided in this thread. Small chance you  may have to do a format prior to the install.   After a format there are no drivers left on your machine.

ronbo007 · Answer

I have not been able to reinstall XP either on my 1100.  I had multiple problems with the system going to the blue screen of death at random times.  Every time I got an error message I tried to do the appropriate fix and then another error would occur.  I tried to do an XP Repair.  That didn't work.  It kept saying there were errors. I then tried to reinstall iXP ncluding a reformat and I got a error message saying there were multiple errors on the drive and it was not able to complete the reinstall.  I am assuming that the 30GB HD is toast and needs to be replaced.  My system is not even two years old.  I had to have the mother board replaced about a year ago.  I am starting to lose my confidence in Dell products.  I did not intend to replace my laptop for another two to three years.  Anyone have any ideas on how I can save this drive or do I have to buy another one and install it?

maxd · Answer

ronbo007,

Run the chkdsk /r (note space) as suggested in this link. When finished, exit and restart. Then run it again. Exit and restart. Then attempt the install. If no go run the diagnostics on your hard drive.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811150/en-us

ronbo007 · Answer

I tried the chkdsk /r and it would get to the 75% check, stop go back to 50% and start from there.  After running for about two hours and getting to about 63% it would stop and tell me there were multiple errors and could not complete the check.  I then tried to get the diagnostics program to run and it would not even acknowledge that it was there.  I still think my 30GB HD is toast.

maxd · Answer

Would tend to agree with you. I would have a local shop run some tests on the system before you throw money at this BY buying a new hard drive.

Windows General

Can't reinstall Windows XP

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