Installing Windows XP

eddie57

eddie57

Member
Hi,

I am trying fix my grandson desktop. It had a bad hard drive so I bought a used sata drive on ebay. I just installed it and now I now need to reinstall windows xp on the system. Can someone provide some pointers on what exactly to do? Thanks in advance.

Eddie
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Do you have the windows XP disk? IF so, you need that and the key, which is 25 alphanumeric digits. Just put the disk in, set the computer to boot from the disk and it will run.
 
strollin

strollin

Well-Known Member
You will need SATA drivers for that hdd unless you can set the controller to IDE mode in the BIOS. XP does not have drivers for SATA drives.
 
eddie57

eddie57

Member
SATA Drivers

strollin said:
You will need SATA drivers for that hdd unless you can set the controller to IDE mode in the BIOS. XP does not have drivers for SATA drives.
Click to expand...

Where do I get the SATA drivers and how are they installed? Also, how is the controller set to IDE mode in the BIOS? Thanks

Eddie
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Providing you are using an XP install disk with at least SP2 applied to it, you won't need the sata drivers. I've installed XP sp3 many times on sata systems and never needed the sata drivers. Only when running raid or ahci mode do you need them.
 
eddie57

eddie57

Member
Drivers

johnb35 said:
Providing you are using an XP install disk with at least SP2 applied to it, you won't need the sata drivers. I've installed XP sp3 many times on sata systems and never needed the sata drivers. Only when running raid or ahci mode do you need them.
Click to expand...

I checked the disk and it only has SP1 on it. Not sure what raid or ahci mode is or how to set it.

The PC does has an "A" drive on it so that might help with needed drivers. Maybe i can save the needed drivers on a diskette?

I did try to run windows xp earlier and it gave me the following message: "Setup cannot copy the file: ega40850.fon" I cancelled the install attempt after that message.

Note: The drive is good. I ran the seatools long test on it and it passed. I then did a full erase on the drive.

Any further help is appreciated. thanks

Eddie
 
Last edited:
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
If it can't copy certain files over then either its a bad cd(scratches) or you have a memory issue. Is the cd scratched?
 
eddie57

eddie57

Member
Cd

johnb35 said:
If it can't copy certain files over then either its a bad cd(scratches) or you have a memory issue. Is the cd scratched?
Click to expand...

It doesn't appears to be scratched. It might have a smudge or two and that's about it. Please advise.

Thanks
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
When there are smudges/fingerprints on a cd I basically run water over it and then take a paper towel and wipe it dry.
 
T

tcb-com-frm-12

Member
eddie57

eddie57

Member
Xp sp3

johnb35 said:
When there are smudges/fingerprints on a cd I basically run water over it and then take a paper towel and wipe it dry.
Click to expand...

I have XP SP3 on a CD. Can I install SP3 after I install XP or do I have to install SP2 first? If I can install SP3, will it have the needed drivers I need for the sata drive and other hardware? Thanks

E
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You might not have an issue with the SP1 disk. All you can do is try it and see. If the install doesn't detect a hard drive to install to then you most likely will need the sata controller driver.
 
eddie57

eddie57

Member
Follow up

johnb35 said:
You might not have an issue with the SP1 disk. All you can do is try it and see. If the install doesn't detect a hard drive to install to then you most likely will need the sata controller driver.
Click to expand...

I tried to install windows xp again. I just got several messages that set could not copy the file, eutrig.exe, filefldw.chm, filemgmt.dll, g711odc.ax, wowfax.dll, wowfaxui.ll, and 386i or something like that. I cancelled the install at that point. Should I tried again and them go back and tried to find those files from another XP system?

Also, I have another PC that is also a Dell and I have the windows reinstallation cd for that PC but I have never used it. Could I used it on this system?

Thanks again.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Download and create a memtest cd and boot to it and test your ram. As said earlier, this usually means one or more of your sticks of memory has errors on it.

http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-4.0a.iso.zip

unzip it, use burning software to write the image file to a cd and then boot to it. The test will automatically start running. Don't just copy the file to a cd as it won't work. You must write the image file to a cd. IMGburn or ISO burner is free software that will do the job if you don't have any.
 
eddie57

eddie57

Member
Nero

johnb35 said:
Download and create a memtest cd and boot to it and test your ram. As said earlier, this usually means one or more of your sticks of memory has errors on it.

http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-4.0a.iso.zip

unzip it, use burning software to write the image file to a cd and then boot to it. The test will automatically start running. Don't just copy the file to a cd as it won't work. You must write the image file to a cd. IMGburn or ISO burner is free software that will do the job if you don't have any.
Click to expand...

I can use Nero also, right? I had purchased some new memory for the PC, but haven't installed it. Should I just remove the old memory module and add the new memory? The pc currently has a total of 512MB of Ram. The two modules I just bought are 1GB each.
 
eddie57

eddie57

Member
Windows Installed

johnb35 said:
Yes Nero will work. And yes, try the new memory first.
Click to expand...

I have installed windows xp, and it works fine, but I am missing a few drivers. would downloading service pack 2 help with those missing drivers? The drivers that are missing are the Ethernet controller, PCI input device, USB Controller, Video Controller, and Multimedia Audio Controller. I don't have internet access yet probably since the ethernet has no driver. What would be the best way to get those missing drivers?

I have updated the following drivers: BIOS, Chipset, Network, and Serial ATA. I got those from the Dell website. Thanks
 
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