installation problems

[Tumbleweedracef]

Hellow Daniweb !!
I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 laptop that has given me fits when it comes to trying to install a Windows XP Home Edition on a new hard drive. I have the original installation disc that came with the computer. I have a new hard drive which is a Hitachi TravelStar , 60GB, 7,200 RPM. I tried AGAIN to install an installation on the hard drive and this time, during setup, it says :
The file diskcopy.dll was not copied correctly. Other times it would say that other " FILES WERN'T COPIED CORRECTLY". It is different everytime. One time , I got the hard drive to take an installation but it didn't last long and it just started BLUE SCREENING. I wiped the hard drive clean with a program called Dariks Boot and Nuke, just to make sure that the hard drive was clean and now it just says " The file diskcopy.dll was not copied correctly". I tried a different cd/dvd player and that hasn't made any difference either.
The reason I am using a new hard drive is to upgrade the laptop to a faster hard drive.
I'm lost. I've never in 5 years of working on computers had this many problems with an installation.

[xpartmgr]

It almost sounds like that new drive has problems.

[Tumbleweedracef]

I will try another drive. Could there be a problem with the disc, sitting soo long ?

[Tumbleweedracef]

Whats the proper/best way to wash a disc ?

[xpartmgr]

I don't think so since they are sealed. But if I had to guess I'd say the hard disk is to culprit. A blue screen generally means a bad device driver but if your hardware is malfunctioning it will cause the device driver to error thus the blue screen.

Please let the group know if you get this resolved.

[xpartmgr]

Whats the proper/best way to wash a disc ?

Windows XP has a feature that lets you format....that is all you need. I generally (right or wrong) remove the partition and set it back and then format. Just the way i do it...I'm sure there are other opinions.

[caperjack]

Whats the proper/best way to wash a disc ?

i'll assume you mean your windows cd and say i use warm[not hot ] soapy[dish soap] water

[gerbil]

And rubbing with your fingertip with toothpaste is a great way to remove those minor scratches on the cd surface. True.
So, pits washed with warm soapy water, and cleaned with toothpaste, it's all ready to go for a drive an get loaded.

[Tumbleweedracef]

I have put Windows XP on many other "non-Dell" hard drives before. This one is just REALLY giving me a hard time. I have tried 2 different cd/dvd drives and other XP installation disc's. I get the same basic results. But, sometimes it stops on other .dll files, such as dhcpmon.dll. I have cleaned the original installation disc, and used other installation disc's, only to end up with the same results. I'm really puzzled here. It formats the drive fine but it just won't complete "setup".
Any more help ?

[Tumbleweedracef]

Could it be a motherboard issue ?

[xpartmgr]

Sure it could since the hard disk controller is part of the motherboard(most of the time).

If you have another laptop you could switch the hard disks and install windows on that drive using the other laptop. Once windows has been installed you can switch the drives back and allow windows to find all the new devices. I know that kinda stinks but it would work.

I still think your hard drive could be going bad.

[gerbil]

I think you will find that the disk controller is in the hard disk package... Why? Because it alone knows where everything is on the disk surfaces. The OS just asks for things to be done[read/written].. the controller knows where it physically is or will go, not the OS.
If you did a full format during setup that would check the disk surfaces with chkdsk - and if that passes, the issue s most likely not with the hard drive. A quick format is no check at all.

[Tumbleweedracef]

I always do a full format. I have taken the old hard drive and reinserted it into the laptop to see what would happen. At first, it blue screened. Then I swapped out a RAM stick and it booted into the old hard drive fine. I then saw that the laptop was needing to install the drivers for the cd/dvd drive, so I let it do that. Then, I swaped out the hard drives to see if I could get a new install. on the new hard drive. It is still in progress, I will keep ya up to date! Thanks for working with me so far !!!!

[Tumbleweedracef]

I got the new installation on the new hard drive fine. I washed the installation disc and that seemed to really help. But, now that all the files are loaded on it and its fully updated thru Microsoft, every now and then I get the B S O D.
How do I look into the "records" and see what causes the B S O D ?

[xpartmgr]

You are most likely getting a driver error. Update all your drivers and I'm sure your BSOD will stop.

[caperjack]

I got the new installation on the new hard drive fine. I washed the installation disc and that seemed to really help. But, now that all the files are loaded on it and its fully updated thru Microsoft, every now and then I get the B S O D. How do I look into the "records" and see what causes the B S O D ?

check system in event viewer . http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic40108.html

[Tumbleweedracef]

It turns out that one of the sticks of RAM was bad, causing all the problems. Thanks to ALL who worked with me and helped me greatly on this issue !!!!!!!!!!!

[caperjack]

It turns out that one of the sticks of RAM was bad, causing all the problems. Thanks to ALL who worked with me and helped me greatly on this issue !!!!!!!!!!!

nice to see you got it sorted out ,Bad Ram ,happens a lot