XP installation won't start

[pentium]

Re: XP installation won't start

Please upgrade your Memtest

Your test version is 1.65 and v2.11 is current.
There are newer releases for a good reason.

What will that do?
We already know the sticks are bad.

[bgavin]

Re: XP installation won't start

The same thing that SP3 does for XP/SP0.

[Newbie2]

Re: XP installation won't start

The same thing that SP3 does for XP/SP0.

bgavin don't give pentium a hard time here, his RAM was already confirmed faulty since a known good 512MB stick he had allowed him to start the XP installation without any issues, and the older version of Memtest86 that he had indicated that there were errors during the RAM test.

I'd doubt that the latest version would indicate a better test result than an older version, since it's already been diagnosed that his RAM was faulty.

Yes there would be some changes here and there with every newer Memtest86
version, but the basic thing that it does is check for any errors in the RAM.

[pentium]

Re: XP installation won't start

After a lot of struggling and finding out that my net BIOS was preventing booting from the hard drive I have an install of XP on the drive but because it was from the pre-SP2 disc I'm currently living with a 130gb partition.
I need to resize it to the full terabyte. Googling will give you only a million or so apps that will do that an more.....at the cost of a rootkit or something else just as nasty.
Anyone care to recommend me a trustable application that I can download, resize the drive and then get rid of?

[ratdude747]

Re: XP installation won't start

find a xp pro torrent and an iso editor. download the the torrent and use the editor to remove any cracks put in. use your existing code to install.

[KeriJane]

Re: XP installation won't start

After a lot of struggling and finding out that my net BIOS was preventing booting from the hard drive I have an install of XP on the drive but because it was from the pre-SP2 disc I'm currently living with a 130gb partition.
I need to resize it to the full terabyte. Googling will give you only a million or so apps that will do that an more.....at the cost of a rootkit or something else just as nasty.
Anyone care to recommend me a trustable application that I can download, resize the drive and then get rid of?

Hi pentium

Maybe a Linux Live CD/DVD would do the resize OK?

I know that Linux generally allows you to resize the drive. (as does Mac OS)

Maybe it would do it OK from a bootable CD to a Windows Partition without installing Linux?

Any Linux people have any ideas on this?

Failing that, why not just "Slipstream" SP2 or SP3 onto your existing disk? It's all downloadable from Microsoft and instructions are easy enough.

Good Luck,
Keri

[bgavin]

Re: XP installation won't start

bgavin don't give pentium a hard time here

I'm not giving him a hard time.

However, it is pointless to use obsolete tools when the price of new ones is... FREE.

I see so much Easter Egg hunting going on... in lieu of diagnosing the problem. And this isn't picking on Pentium at all.

The experienced technician will pick the low hanging fruit and call it a win.
When that fails, the experienced tech has a well honed diagnostic sense that tells him when easter egg hunting is over, and diagnostic time begins. There quickly comes a time to stop guessing, and get down to the work of fixing the thing.

[pentium]

Re: XP installation won't start

Hi pentium

Maybe a Linux Live CD/DVD would do the resize OK?

I know that Linux generally allows you to resize the drive. (as does Mac OS)

Maybe it would do it OK from a bootable CD to a Windows Partition without installing Linux?

Any Linux people have any ideas on this?

Failing that, why not just "Slipstream" SP2 or SP3 onto your existing disk? It's all downloadable from Microsoft and instructions are easy enough.

Good Luck,
Keri

My first idea was a linux live boot but it seems it really hates my video card and fails to give me anything on my monitor short of a blinking amber/green indicator.

Also, I will not do any of this slipstream BS. The god damn OS is installed and it's staying there and I am NOT messing around with these discs and burning new ones.
[rant]God damnit. Why is everyone such an asshole when it comes to slipstreaming? Do I have to put into my signature that I DON'T LIKE SLIPSTREAMING DISCS![/rant]

[ratdude747]

Re: XP installation won't start

hmm... i have torrented xp, checked for any cracks and shit, and used an iso editor to remove it. result is a sp2 xp install disk ready for use. it is fine to use a pre-sp2 liscense code on a sp2 cd. i have done it before no problems. passed genuine advantage every time. if i had a way to get the file to you i would un-crack an iso for you myself.

[ratdude747]

Re: XP installation won't start

what vid card are you using? Ubuntu should boot live. re-download ubuntu and use the partition editor to resize it.

[Newbie2]

Re: XP installation won't start

While it is pentium's opinion that he hates slipstreaming XP discs, my XP Pro SP3 disc was originally SP1, I slipstreamed SP2 in 2005, and then SP3 when I got tired of having to install SP3 right after an XP SP2 install.

Slipstreaming works without any problems for me, but it is pentium's computer and if he doesn't like slipstreaming discs then that's fine.

[ratdude747]

Re: XP installation won't start

i just find a torrent and de-crack them. .iso good, crack bad.

[pentium]

Re: XP installation won't start

I think the main reason why I refuse to slipstream is that not only are CD's getting hard to find and I only got 20 left on my spool of 100 and I don't want any b0rked burns and most importantly...everyone tells me I should do it bu nobody has instructions on how to do it step by step and I have not used a Windows computer on over ten months and a lot of slipstreaming methods I would assume would require you be running Windows, not Ubuntu.

[370forlife]

Re: XP installation won't start

Just install Irix on it...

That would be really cool if you could.

[Newbie2]

Re: XP installation won't start

I think the main reason why I refuse to slipstream is that not only are CD's getting hard to find and I only got 20 left on my spool of 100 and I don't want any b0rked burns and most importantly...everyone tells me I should do it bu nobody has instructions on how to do it step by step and I have not used a Windows computer on over ten months and a lot of slipstreaming methods I would assume would require you be running Windows, not Ubuntu.

I use a program called "nLite" for slipstreams, and I find it works well for me. The guide on how to use nLite is here: http://www.nliteos.com/guide/index.html

Yes, you will need a Windows PC to slipstream an XP disc.

[pentium]

Re: XP installation won't start

Okay, this is just getting absolutely frustrating.
I first had a problem with installing XP. I troubleshooted that before people tried to derail that too badly with complaints like "your version of memtest is too old"
now I'm trying to find a free and safe NTFS partition utility for windows and I'm being spun every direction (go linux, do this, do that etc.)
Please, can anyone help or will we be going in circles all week?

[370forlife]

Re: XP installation won't start

You can make a knoppix live cd and resize the partition with that:

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/how-do...-software.html

[bgavin]

Re: XP installation won't start

Please don't get pissy, because it solves nothing.

It seems you are making a mountain out of a mole hill over this project.
Your XP boot CD will letl you partition any way you like.
If you are using a stolen copy of the XP that will not boot, get a legit one.

Do you need to install special storage drivers at boot?
If so you require a genuine floppy drive, or a USB drive that has the correct VID info slipstreamed into the setup file.
I advise changing CMOS to IDE mode. There is no performance gain from AHCI.

If your machine will not boot your XP CD you have hardware problems.
Fix them.
It is pointless to try and hack your way around an install that fails due to hardware.

If you need a partition manager, use PMagic 8.05 from Symantec. Run it from a boot diskette. It works well on NTFS, and you can do anything you want with it. This is academic, because the XP CD will let you configure multiple partitions at setup time.

I'm not derailing you at all. You are doing that yourself, quite nicely.
My point is, fix the damn machine. This means using up to date tools.

We are willing to help fix your problem, but unwilling to listen to you whine and cry over refusing to fix that problem.

Using downlevel tools, broken scope probes, expired batteries, bulging power supplies, bad-cap boards, disk errors or broken memory is not the way to service your machine.

Start with the basics:
24 hours clean with Memtest
Full diagnostic + low level scan of your disk with the vendor utility.
No utility? Replace the disk.

[pentium]

Re: XP installation won't start

WHY
IS
NOBODY
LISTENING
TO
ME?!

I DON'T WANT NO FUCKING LINUX. I DON'T WANT TO BURN ANY MORE GOD DAMN CDS, AND FOR FUCKS SAKE, I AM NOT REINSTALLING WINDOWS.

I JUST WANT MY 130 FUCKING GIGABYTE PARTITION RESIZED BACK TO THE FULL TERABYTE THAT IS AVAILABLE ON THE GOD DAMN DRIVE. WHY IS THIS SO GOD DAMN HARD TO UNDERSTAND??!

[370forlife]

Re: XP installation won't start

unless you want to pay for a partitioning utility, the only way is to burn a disk...

That was the whole point of the link to the knoppix live cd, it is free....

Or you can just complain that we are not giving you exactly what you want. You are the smartest person in the world and we are all stupid and can't understand anything.