Member Avatar for scorry

Hi,

Is there anybody out there who can help me. Im not exactly what you could call a whizz kid when it comes to computers,(typical woman) but I do my best, anyway, here's my problem: Ive been trying to install xp on my PC. Ive formatted my HDD, so its a clean install and ive change the BIOS settings to show the CD Rom as the 1st Bootable Device, however when i try to boot from the installation Cd the system doesnt recognise the disk, the screen keeps saying 'please insert bootable system disk'. (I have checked the disk on another system and it reads fine so I know its not damaged in anyway) So there you have it, not sure what ive done wrong, but im hoping theres a simple answer to this most annoying problem out there somewhere. Many Thanks.

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Useful troubleshooting notes and targeted fixes that were not fully spelled out in the thread. The failure mode described (installation failing partway, messages about missing boot files, and later a successful install only after a new hard disk) is most consistent with either unreadable boot sectors/files on the original drive or an installer that could not see a usable system partition. Several focused checks and recover/repair steps follow.

Confirm basics first: make sure the BIOS actually lists the hard disk (correct model and capacity) and that the CD drive is listed as the first boot device. Swap the IDE/SATA cable or move the drive to a different port to rule out a flaky cable/controller. For older IDE systems, verify jumper/master-slave settings.

If the installer reports missing boot files or the system reports "NTLDR missing", use the Windows XP Recovery Console to repair the boot environment. From the Recovery Console, identify the CD-ROM drive with map, run a disk check, repair the MBR and boot sector, rebuild the boot config, then copy the loader files if needed:

map
chkdsk /r C:
fixmbr
fixboot C:
bootcfg /rebuild
copy D:\i386\ntldr C:\
copy D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\

(D: above is a typical CD-ROM letter; confirm with map before copying.)

If the installer complains about insufficient space despite a large disk, possible causes include: leftover partition table confusion, an OEM recovery CD that expects a hidden factory partition, or the installer not seeing the drive because of missing SATA/AHCI drivers. In XP text-mode setup, pressing F6 lets third-party storage drivers be supplied from a floppy. Alternatively switch the BIOS SATA mode to "IDE/compatibility" while installing, then enable AHCI later with the proper drivers.

A failing drive can produce intermittent readability that looks like a mystery. Since ultimately fixed the problem by fitting a new HDD, the most likely root cause was hardware failure or severe logical corruption. Always back up needed data before repartitioning or running destructive fixes.

Recommended Answers

All 11 Replies

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

If that is a recovery disk and not a full version you may need to create a small partition andmake it bootable for the CD to work...

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

Under Windows 2000, there is an option to make 4 floppy disks, and start the software installation from there. You might be able to do that with XP. I am not sure; I do not have an XP disk handy here to look for it.

Also check to see if that particular disk will boot the other computer you had handy.

You are doing the right thing with the BIOS.

Christian

Member Avatar for scorry

If that is a recovery disk and not a full version you may need to create a small partition andmake it bootable for the CD to work...

Hi, many thanks for replying. Yes it is a recovery disk, however last night it started to load, got so far and then said a file was missing, so i skipped it to see if it would go any further and the next few files were missing. so i decided to abort and reboot, when i did this, it would reboot from disk and i got a message saying' NTLDR missing, press CTRL, ALT and Delete' which a did quite a few times and the same mesage kept coming up and now i cant get passed that. I have absolutley no idea what this means, and how to solve it. Aaaaaagh!!

Member Avatar for scorry

Hi, many thanks for replying. Yes it is a recovery disk, however last night it started to load, got so far and then said a file was missing, so i skipped it to see if it would go any further and the next few files were missing. so i decided to abort and reboot, when i did this, it would reboot from disk and i got a message saying' NTLDR missing, press CTRL, ALT and Delete' which a did quite a few times and the same mesage kept coming up and now i cant get passed that. I have absolutley no idea what this means, and how to solve it. Aaaaaagh!!

Sorry, typo! it would NOT reboot from disk and i got a message saying' NTLDR missing, press CTRL, ALT and Delete' which a did quite a few times and the same mesage kept coming.

Member Avatar for Laser

It sounds like your CDRom drive is the problem since it's having trouble reading the cd and you've confirmed that another system reads the cd fine. I'd try another cdrom drive.

You can download boot floppies from
if you can't boot from CD.

Member Avatar for scorry

It sounds like your CDRom drive is the problem since it's having trouble reading the cd and you've confirmed that another system reads the cd fine. I'd try another cdrom drive.

You can download boot floppies from
if you can't boot from CD.

Many thanks, had already tried another cd rom drive. But now the mystery deepens, have actually manage to get xp to start installing (dont know how!!!) but now the installation is getting stuck, required room on drive appears to be less than required to complete installation. My disk is 80G, should be plenty big enough i would have thought - i think i might just give up on this one!!, and concentrate on the problem with my Laptop - thats another story!!! :cry:

Member Avatar for dlh6213

Here are complete instructions for installing XP; go through it and see if you made any mistakes. Even if you don't think you did, start over and try again. If you can't get the CD to work, get the floppies as suggested in post #6.

Was your CD-ROM working before you tried to install XP?

Member Avatar for scorry

It sounds like your CDRom drive is the problem since it's having trouble reading the cd and you've confirmed that another system reads the cd fine. I'd try another cdrom drive.

You can download boot floppies from
if you can't boot from CD.

My CD Rom works fine, ive even swapped it for another drive - didnt work. Thanks anyway ;)

Member Avatar for scorry

Here are complete instructions for installing XP; go through it and see if you made any mistakes. Even if you don't think you did, start over and try again. If you can't get the CD to work, get the floppies as suggested in post #6.

Was your CD-ROM working before you tried to install XP?

CD ROM was working fine - Ive managed to solve the problem, got a brand new hard drive - xp has now loaded fine. :D

Member Avatar for dlh6213

Wow, that didn't sound like a hard drive problem to me. Thanks for letting us know how you fixed it :)

Marking this as solved, even though you did it on your own :D

Member Avatar for scorry

Wow, that didn't sound like a hard drive problem to me. Thanks for letting us know how you fixed it :)

Marking this as solved, even though you did it on your own :D

I know, very odd. It was wierd, because eventually xp started loading, then it got stuck sayinging not enough space, then it said missing files, so i just thought, i'd start again with a brand new HDD - wanted a bigger one anyway! :lol:

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