Reinstalling Windows XP Pro on a new hard drive

Question

I have attempted to use the Dell Reinstallation CD for XP Pro SP1 on a new WD250GB hard drive, setting aside my original HD for subsequent file access.  It seems to install correctly, but on the first reboot I get the message 'Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt : ntoskrnl.exe.'  That happens on every attempted re-install.  I tried copying that file from my still-working original HD OS (with SP2 upgrade) to the equivalent place in the new drive, and that doesn't work either (that leads to a different impasse).  I suspect my reinstallation CD has a corrupt file 'ntoskrnl.exe'; how do I get out of this?

osprey4 · Answer

Are you starting with a clean drive? No partitions, nothing? See if this article helps..

sydfleming · Answer

The disk was pristine, factory fresh when I started this series of tries.

I viewed the boot.ini on both the new (failed) installation, and on my original HD with the working, original installation of XP Pro. They appear to be identical, except that the attributes of the original show RASH, while the new one shows . . SH. I have no idea of what the "default" line should look like, except for viewing the line in the working version OS.

sydfleming

shesagordie · Answer

sydfleming   Check out the following,   http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000646.htm   Bev.

osprey4 · Answer

Do you know anyone with a Dell whose XP disc you could borrow?

sydfleming · Answer

The reason I think this will be fruitless is that I have re-installed XP from scratch several times, with always the same result.  It's using the same ntoskrnl.ex_ each time, and expanding that manually seems unlikely to be any different.  In an earlier message, I explained that I had manually substituted a version of ntoskrnl.exe from a working version of XP into the defective version, with different but still fatal symptoms on reboot.  Please tell me why the CD version of ntoskrnl.ex_  can be assumed to be not defective.

sydfleming · Answer

I own a year-old Dell 8600 Inspiron laptop factory-loaded with Windows XP Pro SP2, and I have the reinstallation disk that came with it.  Can that serve?  As I've said, I also have the older XP on my laptop, with a working copy of ntoskrnl.exe, but of course no ntoskrnl.ex_.  I've tried substituting its .exe version in place of the prtesumed defective one, and that changed things but didn't work.

rickmktg · Answer

@sydfleming wrote:

In my latest reply to your question, I misspoke when I referred to my laptop having the older system; I meant my desktop Dimension 4600. The newer laptop has a properly working version of XP Pro with SP2. I would be delighted to use its reinstallation disk to install a new OS on the new HD in my desktop if that is appropriate. Please advise.

Syd Fleming

If you're saying that both machines have Dell OEM copies of XP Pro, then yes, you can use the Pro SP2 CD on the other computer. No issues. Your license is to Pro, not a specific service pack.

sydfleming · Answer

In my latest reply to your question, I misspoke when I referred to my laptop having the older system; I meant my desktop Dimension 4600. The newer laptop has a properly working version of XP Pro with SP2. I would be delighted to use its reinstallation disk to install a new OS on the new HD in my desktop if that is appropriate. Please advise.

Syd Fleming

osprey4 · Answer

I'll just add, make sure you delete any existing partition before you start again.

Storage, Drives & Media

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