Hi,
I am having troubles booting up my pc. I have tried to run in safe mode and I wait a few minutes and then finally something happens, I see a blue screen quickly with writing, I couldn't tell you what it said, and then the computer restarts itself. I choose start in safe mode with networking and still the same result. I try to load windows xp from a last good known configuration, but still the same end result, my pc restarts itself. I try starting windows normally, and it actually makes it to the loading windows screen, but then reboots itself. I tried running a win xp bootdisk and it comes up with an error saying "file \biosinfo.inf could not be loaded".
The error code is 4096. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.
Can anyone please help me.
Thankyou
Recommended Answers
Jump to PostThats because you need to use the xp bootdisk or the xp cd to install it , winxp does not use Dos!
Absolutey incorrect. I have done it countless times with a 98 start-up disc.
Harddrive - I did give you the wrong directory though. Try the I386 folder (in …
Jump to PostSyntax is pretty important in Dos. Show me what you are typing at the A: prompt
Do you know any of the dos commands?
peace
Jump to PostHi,
No I'm not to familiar with the dos commands. I know alittle, but not alot. At the A: prompt, which looks like this to me, A:\> I type A:\>i386 then enter or A:\>setup.exe or A:\>winnt.exe, and get the result of bad command line. I have switched drives, so I …
Jump to PostHi..I hope this post is still active as I have exactly the same problem. I managed to run winnt.exe on the xp boot disk and a blue screen came up asking where my xin xp files were located. I tried giving the path c:\windows (my original install directory) but it …
Jump to PostHi fishauk,
First of all- welcome to TechTalk!
Secondly:We ask that members not tag their questions on to a thread previously started by another member (regardless of how similar your problem might seem). Not only does it divert the focus of the thread away from …
All 40 Replies
Are you by chance ugrading from xp home, on a newer computer by chance? I had a similiar issue, and found a way around this. post back if you are
peace
Hi Tatootie,
No I am not. Win xp pro is the only windows that has been on my computer. If you have any other thoughts please let me know.
Thankyou
Hi,
I am having troubles booting up my pc. I have tried to run in safe mode and I wait a few minutes and then finally something happens, I see a blue screen quickly with writing, I couldn't tell you what it said, and then the computer restarts itself. I choose start in safe mode with networking and still the same result. I try to load windows xp from a last good known configuration, but still the same end result, my pc restarts itself. I try starting windows normally, and it actually makes it to the loading windows screen, but then reboots itself. I tried running a win xp bootdisk and it comes up with an error saying "file \biosinfo.inf could not be loaded".
The error code is 4096. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.
Can anyone please help me.
Thankyou
Did you try the xp repair
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
Hi caperjack,
That's another problem I can't even get the xp cd to boot up from startup. I have a burnt copy of xp and I have to use a win xp pro bootdisk on a floppy to get it to run, but in this case it won't work and that's when the error comes up. It did work when I first installed xp.
Thankyou
What are computer specs,like cpu,ram hardrive ect ect
Can't you go into the bios and change the boot sequence so that it boots to cdrom first
Do you have the original cd driver, or has it been replaced? If its been replaced, you may have to load cd drivers from a floppy first. If its original, as caperjack suggested - just change the boot order from Bios setup screen. I had a virtual memorey problem recently on my Dad's computer while installing Pro (brand new Sony). I had to do a reformat.
peac
Hi,
There was recently a used/new hard drive put into this computer. Could there possibly be a problem with that maybe. I have changed the boot sequence, but it won't boot from cd rom. It tries to boot from floppy, but that error keeps coming up. I formatted the hard drive about a month in a half ago. It ran fine. There were no problems. The burnt xp cd originally would not boot from startup, so I had to use the xp boot floppy disk. Like I said it worked fine then, now it won't. Now I have another computer that I did the same thing to at around the same time and there is nothing wrong with that one. Could I possibly have a virus.
Thankyou
Man - this doesnt sound right. If you have a clean formatted hard drive, and a working floppy drive, you should be able to load in a startup disc, enable cd support, and then install windows via cd. Try a 98 startup floppy (weird as it sounds) - its a little easier to deal with. You can get them online at www.bootdisk.com
Could something be wrong with your burnt copy of xp? Are you sure its not just an upgrade version?
peace
Hi,
I tried the win 98 boot disk and the disk worked, but i'm not sure as to what I am supposed to do. Could you please help me.
Thankyou
The disk should have loaded a driver for your cd drive. Stick the windows cd in, change your dos prompt over to whatever drive your cd is usually on (it'll be moved one letter down). Then just type setup.exe and you should be golden
peace
Hi,
I did what you asked me to do and this is what came up: This program cannot be run in dos mode.
Thats because you need to use the xp bootdisk or the xp cd to install it , winxp does not use Dos!
Thats because you need to use the xp bootdisk or the xp cd to install it , winxp does not use Dos!
Absolutey incorrect. I have done it countless times with a 98 start-up disc.
Harddrive - I did give you the wrong directory though. Try the I386 folder (in the cd), and then WINNT.EXE
peace
Thank you I didn't know that ,I did search and found these instructions ,Thanks for the heads up!:)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307848
Hi,
I tried everything that you guys told me to do and I must be doing something wrong because all the commands I give seem to have massages that say bad command line or invalid command.
Thankyou
Syntax is pretty important in Dos. Show me what you are typing at the A: prompt
Do you know any of the dos commands?
peace
Hi,
No I'm not to familiar with the dos commands. I know alittle, but not alot. At the A: prompt, which looks like this to me, A:\> I type A:\>i386 then enter or A:\>setup.exe or A:\>winnt.exe, and get the result of bad command line. I have switched drives, so I have typed A:\>c:, which changes my prompt to C:\>, now I type the same info above on drive c:\> with the same result. Now I have also tried this on drive D:\> with the same result as above. If I am doing anything wrong please let me know.
Thankyou
How long since a reinstall?
How long since a repair?
Is this a legit copy of XP Pro?
Do you run on a Root/Admin account while online?
Have you downloaded all of the lates patches from windows?
Do you do regular physical maintenance on the inside your comp dusting ect....?
Do you use AV?
Do you use Anti-Trojan software?
ect.........
I do a reinstall or repair every 3 months or so. Keeps it clean
Hi,
No I'm not to familiar with the dos commands. I know alittle, but not alot. At the A: prompt, which looks like this to me, A:\> I type A:\>i386 then enter or A:\>setup.exe or A:\>winnt.exe, and get the result of bad command line. I have switched drives, so I have typed A:\>c:, which changes my prompt to C:\>, now I type the same info above on drive c:\> with the same result. Now I have also tried this on drive D:\> with the same result as above. If I am doing anything wrong please let me know.
Thankyou
Did you follow these instructions from the micrsoft site i posted !!:)
Starting Windows XP Setup from MS-DOS
Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
Start the computer to an MS-DOS prompt with CD-ROM support. If your computer does not have MS-DOS already installed, or does not allow you to choose to start to an MS-DOS prompt in the Boot menu, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
187632 How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk that Supports FAT32
Start SMARTDrive if it is not already started. To do this, change to the folder that contains the Smartdrv.exe file, type smartdrv, and then press ENTER. If you do not use SMARTDrive, you may notice that the portion of Windows XP Setup that copies files to the hard disk performs slowly.
At the command prompt, type drive:, and then press ENTER (where drive is the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM).
Type cd\i386, and then press ENTER.
Type winnt, and then press ENTER. Windows XP Setup starts.
Type the path to the Windows XP installation files, and then press ENTER. For example, type d:\i386.
Windows Setup copies files to the hard disk. When the files are copied, the following message appears:
The MS-DOS based portion of Setup is complete.
Setup will now restart your computer. After your computer restarts,
Windows XP Setup will continue.
If there is a floppy disk in drive A:, remove it now.
Press ENTER to restart your computer and continue Windows XP Setup.
Remove any floppy disks from the computer, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts and Windows XP Setup resumes. Press ENTER to continue.
Follow the steps to select and format a partition in which to install Windows XP.
If your hard disk contains only one partition, do not delete it from the list of existing partitions. Windows XP Setup has copied the installation files to this partition.
You can later convert a FAT32-formatted partition to the NTFS file system.
Setup copies the files needed for Windows XP Setup, and then the computer restarts.
If you chose to format the drive by using the NTFS file system, Windows checks the drive for errors, and then restarts.
Windows XP Setup resumes in Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode.
Follow the steps in the Windows Setup Wizard to complete the installation of Windows XP.
Hi,
Yes I followed those instructions, but I seem to have problems.
Hi,
No I'm not to familiar with the dos commands. I know alittle, but not alot. At the A: prompt, which looks like this to me, A:\> I type A:\>i386 then enter or A:\>setup.exe or A:\>winnt.exe, and get the result of bad command line. I have switched drives, so I have typed A:\>c:, which changes my prompt to C:\>, now I type the same info above on drive c:\> with the same result. Now I have also tried this on drive D:\> with the same result as above. If I am doing anything wrong please let me know.
Thankyou
Make sure you are enabling CD support from the dos menu at the beginning of the boot.
From the A prompt - you need to switch over to your cd drive. Could be D, or E. Keep trying letters till you get to your cd drive prompt. Seems you know how to switch drives already since you were able to get to your c prompt. Try D and E - Windows 98 startup boot disks often will move everything down 1 letter, so your cd will probably be on E. Type dir after each switch read whats in the drive. Typing dir (directory) will list the contents - like exploring in Windows...
Once you get to your cd drive's prompt, type
cd I386
Your prompt should now look like this:
E:\I386>
You can now type WINNT.exe
peace
hi,
I tried what you said above and it still won't do anything. I did the dir part and it showed me the info, but I still couldn't go any further.I tried cd i386, but nothing happened it just said it was invalid.
Thankyou
Have you tried CD\i386
don't forget the \
Hi..I hope this post is still active as I have exactly the same problem. I managed to run winnt.exe on the xp boot disk and a blue screen came up asking where my xin xp files were located. I tried giving the path c:\windows (my original install directory) but it couldnt locate anything. I tried again, this time using the default path that the xp cd used. It moved to the next screen saying that XP setup needed a disk of at least 300mb to continue installation...it couldnt locate a suitable disk and couldnt continue. My disk has (had) aout 40gb free.
ALso, when the 98 bootdisk started it up it warned me that the hardisk didnt contained any fat32 and that I may need to partition it...???
If anyone could help I am at my wits end!!!
Many thanks
Hi..I hope this post is still active as I have exactly the same problem. I managed to run winnt.exe on the xp boot disk and a blue screen came up asking where my xin xp files were located. I tried giving the path c:\windows (my original install directory) but it couldnt locate anything. I tried again, this time using the default path that the xp cd used. It moved to the next screen saying that XP setup needed a disk of at least 300mb to continue installation...it couldnt locate a suitable disk and couldnt continue. My disk has (had) aout 40gb free.
ALso, when the 98 bootdisk started it up it warned me that the hardisk didnt contained any fat32 and that I may need to partition it...???If anyone could help I am at my wits end!!!
Many thanks
Try running fdisk after the bootdisk install, and see what it lists for partitions, if any
peace
ALso, when the 98 bootdisk started it up it warned me that the hardisk didnt contained any fat32 and that I may need to partition it...???
win98 is fat32 file system, you winxp is ntfs file system.win98 doesen't see ntfs ,but xp sees fat32 and can also be run in h fat32/file syatem ,98 will not work with ntfs .
Set you computer to boot to the cd in the BIOS/SETUP when you boot computer .
but the winxp cd boot computer and follow instructions .
this will explain it better .
http://michaelstevenstech.com/index.html
*sigh of relief that the same guys are still reading the post*
Thanks guys. If I set the cd to the primary boot device I get a message saying that Atapi emulation couldnt be found, press any key to boot from CD. Once I press any key it takes me back to the 'sorry for any inconvenience screen.'
I ran fdisk and it recognises that I have one partition of NTFS type, with 51gigs free which is what I had before all this trouble.
Another point of note is that I ran Powermax to check the integrity of the maxtor HD and it came back as being certifiably error free after extensive tests.
Does this sound like an XP issue to you guys, or is there some type of hardware malfuntion going on which is causing these problems. Im pulling my hair out over this!!
*later edit*
I ran hardware monitor from the BIOS screen and found my cpu fan running at around 2,000rpm withg the cpu temp at about 40-45. HOwever, under power supply temp and fan speed it said N/A. I have a quiet PC power unit....could it be that the cooling fan in the power unit has died and this is the root of the problem?
*later edit*
Tested the fan and it is okay...still blasting out warm air. I took out all expansion cards, floppy drives cd drives etc and tried a boot but it still rebooted as soon as it should try to load windows.
hi iv been reading this post, whats the workaround for loading xp if you have upgraded your machine, someone mentiond it in this forum earlier on ? i think it was tatooie
can anyone help me with the above problem?
We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.