I Cant install winxp, Says cant install in dos

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Fujin

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I just built my new AMD AthlonXP 2800. Now i want to install windows XP...

I set my bios so that it boots from CD-ROM first. then i stick in the windows xp cd. but then my comp just loads a bit then states that "invalid disk, please insert boot disk and press any key to continue". after this, i would press a key, my comp just loads a little bit more and then just sits there. So i restart my comp to try again, with the same outcome

But when i do the exact same thing with my windows 98 cd, same thing happens: it loads a bit, but instead of saying "invalid disk....", it goes to give me the options: "start windows 98 setup, start computer with cd-rom support, or start comp without cdrom support.

how can i get my windows xp cd to do this???

Also, i tried to use my windows 98 cd to get to dos with cdrom support. That worked out fine, but when i stuck in windowsXP and typed setup.exe... it says "Cannot run setup in Dos", but if i stick in windows 98, and type setup.exe, it works fine.

Please help me install windows xp.
 
After you get to DOS, instead of typing in setup.exe, type "cd i386" and then type "winnt". When you get to the screen asking for the setup files, instead of the default "D:\i386" get rid of the i386 and just input "D:\" (or whatever your CD-ROm drive is).
Setup.exe is the executable that is uses in a GUI mode.

-Mike
 
Mike - lol...i never knew you could do that (well,never tried it) i always thought u just had to boot off the CD. Learn something new (something simple) everyday!
 
For some reason, i tried to install XP onto my old comp, and it works fine! but i installed it over windows 98. i will try your options first, if cant do, then i install over 98.
 
Yea, you can do this with OEM copies as well. I've done it successfully with HP, Dell and Gateway restore CDs on other computers.

-Mike
 
you didnt tell us what your comp's memory size. and check your memory card out before installing winXP. let me explain : let you know that when you boot winXP on ur CD your comp loads all files from the i386 folder that necessary for running Xp and that'll use all memory space. so if one of ur memory card is a defective one ur comp will face pb to continu the loading.
try this : if u have two card, just try one or change ur card.
hope that'll help you cleaning ur pb up. ;)
 
I had a problem booting to an XP CD that was solved by flashing my BIOS. Motherboard had a problem in the OEM BIOS that wouldn't allow it to boot to the CD ROM drive properly, or in my case, at all. I did what Mike said and got into the XP install, but right before it started copying files I got an error that there was no EULA found... but it never asked me for one. I actually had to reinstall 98, then install XP as a 2nd OS. Talk about a pain!
 
Try Formatting your Hard drive with NTFS.
XP and DOS together......I don't think so!
Sounds to me like your hard drive is toast.

MCSE, A+, Networking, 69ers, Muff Diving
 
Still Cant Install XP

two questions
1)
when i tried the d:\i386\winnt.exe ---> it worked BUT
when i got into the setup, it said i needed SMARTDRIVE to greatly improve the setup procedure.
so, i chose to ignore this recommendation, and continued with the setup. while the process of copying all system files to the hard drive was going on, it eventually just stopped on me. then my comp just sat there doing nothing.

i believe its because im not using smartdrive or it's disabled for some reason.

for whatever reason, my windowsXP setup just doesnt finish its job. Any suggestions?

I am working on my new AMD Athlon XP 2800+ that i just built.
Building it was painless and easy. but the process of installing windows xp is a pain. (I've never installed xp before, always worked with win98)

2)
Another thing is, i also tried to install windows 98, then install windows xp overtop of it. When i had win98 up, i put in the xp cd to install, but when the 1st step of the installation begins, it tells me that it has run into an error and that it's sorry for the inconvenience. it tells me to restart the program using another option and cancels the install procedure and brings me back to the main menu.
BUT THE CATCH IS, it doesnt give me any options to begin with...when i press Install Windows XP, it begins to check my hard drive or something...then the message pops up...

thanks for previous helpings, i am slowly getting my comp all setup with your helps
 
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