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bespalex

Hi everybody,
I seem to be having some problems installing a clean copy of Windows XP on my new computer...
(The following is a long read but I just wanted to make sure I include as many details as possible to describe my problem)
Yesterday I purchased a new computer from Future Shop. It already has a pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition with SP2 on it. Everything works fine but they put 12 gigs of junk on it that I really don't need, like promotional offers from HP, some games and other useless stuff. I though it'd be a good idea to format the drive and start fresh with a new version of Windows XP. Since my computer is a Dual Core with Viiv Technology, I thought it'd be a good idea to have a 64 bit version of Windows XP, so I bought one the same day. I have no problem formating and proceed with a clean installation of Windows XP as I have done it so many times before that I could do it with my eyes closed.
So I insert the Windows XP installation CD in the drive. I restart my computer and then go to setup to check if my boot sequence is set to read the cd drive before any hard disk drives. Everything's alright and I load setup defauls just to make sure it's kept this away. I save and exit. Then the black screen comes up a message saying to press any key if I want to run the CD. I press Enter. Then the blue screen comes on loading drivers for the windows installation. After it had finished loading, it displayed the first screen of the installation where it says:
To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER
...so I press it. As soon as I do that, it goes to another screen where this message appears:
Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program.
Setup cannot continue. To quit Setup, press F3.
I pressed F3 and the computer restarts. As a last resort, I tried istalling the 64 bit version of Windows XP from the Media Center Edition of Windows XP pre-installed on my computer but when I insert the cd, this message comes up:
This version of Windows must be installed by booting off of the CD. Please reboot your computer with the CD in the drive
After all of this, I was really hoping that it might be just a little glitch with the CD itself, so I tried installing my 32 bit version of windows XP that I have since a long time ago (I know it works for sure). So I did the same thing as I before: I insert the cd, load it as soon as soon my computer restarts, and press enter to set up windows XP. When I press enter, the long message does not appear, but it brings me to the end-user license agreement page, as it should. So at this point I'm pretty confident that it'll work. I press F8 to accept the agreement and then it brings me to the partition page. The strange thing is that in that box in the lower part of the screen, I only see:
Unknown Disk
<There is no disk in this drive>
Unknown Disk
<There is no disk in this drive>
Unknown Disk
<There is no disk in this drive>
Unknown Disk
<There is no disk in this drive>
When I try pressing either the UP arrow or the DOWN arrow nothing happens, ie nothing gets selected. Then I tried pressing "d" to delete the partition, but this message appears:
Setup is unable to perform the requested operation on the selected partition. This partition contains temporaty Setup files that are required to complete the installation. To continue press Enter
I pressed Enter to return to the previous screen, and I tried to select a different partition but nothing happened. When I press "c" to create a new partition or Enter to setup Windows XP on the selected partition, this long message appears:
A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
The problem seems to be caused by the following file: setupdd.sys
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.
If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Started Optionsm and then select Safe Mode
Technical information:
*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0xE52FFB30, 0x00000000, 0xF741CB86, 0x00000002)
*** setupdd.sys - Address F741CB86 base at F73F3000, DateStamp 3b7d8507
Like with the 64 bit version, I tried installing from the pre-installed Windows Media Center Edition, but this message appeared:
Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD"
So at this point I really don't know what to do. I don't know much about computers but to me it doesn't make any sense. My hard disk seems to be working fine seeing how it loads the pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition without any problems. I'm able to go to the internet, copy files back and forth, etc. So why doesn't it recognise the hard disk during installation?!?!?! Like I said, I bought the computer yesterday. It's brand new. I didn't change anything, I didn't do anything.
So what could be the problem, and how do I fix it?! Any help is appreciated
Here are my computer specifications if it could be of any help to determine what the problem is:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0073407&catid=

Zimbo

Hello there bespalex and welcome to PCHF.

Thanks for the explanation, its always good to hear the full story on your problems and what you have tried to resolve it.

Right, lets try to get the XP 64bit version installed.

The reason your computer is not finding the hard drive during setup is because it is probably a SATA hard drive. In order for this to work you first need to load the drivers for it.
Have you ever noticed the section, during the blue install screen, that says - Press F6 to install additional drivers? Well this is what you will need to do.

Firstly we need to get the sata drivers for your motherboard, you may have a CD/Floppy drive with this on already so take a look through all the drivers/disks they gave you.

Alternatively post the make/model of your motherboard, if you are unsure about this then you could use one of the following programs to find it - http://www.pchelpforum.com/your-pc-detailed-info-here/

Once we have your sata driver we can press F6 during the installation, put the floppy disk in which will install your drivers so that the PC will recognise the drive, then you can proceed to format and install windows.

bespalex

Thanks a lot for your explaination ;-)

I tried what you told me by pressing F6 to load the drivers, but the only problem is that I don't have a floppy drive in my PC, and there were no cds/floppy discs with drivers in the box the PC came in. The message I got says that it didn't detect any floppy drives in my PC thus it cannot continue. It didn't even give me an option to load the drivers from the CD....

Is there another way around it....

I have a feeling that they made it on purpose so people would be stuck with this OS and won't be able to change it...

bespalex

I tried that systemspec program and it found out that my mother is: ASUSTek Computer INC. EMERY

Do you know if it'll be possible for me to install the necessary drivers, once I find them of course, using a CD and not a floppy, see how I don't have a floppy drive. The reason I ask is because, like I mentionned previously, when I press F6, it wont even give a choice to install from a CD...

joe5 · 01:12 AM

It should also be possible to use an cd for that , but it looks like you have an HP , Dell ect. or something like that? If yes , then please post the brand and model of youre pc. (the url you posted doesn't work)

bespalex

It's an HP (model number m7480n). The sad thing is that they probably expect me to use the same OS for the rest of this PC's life. I need to be able to format the hard drive and install a clean copy of XP whenever I please. There's gotta be a way

My Motherboard is: ASUSTek Computer INC. EMERY

I already tried pressing F6 to install it (not that I have the driver yet but just to see what happens) and it won't give me a choice to look for a driver in one of my cd/dvd drives ;-(

I'm thinking of buying an external USB floppy drive and try then but first I need to make sure it'll work before I buy it so I won't lose my time and money for nothing and second, I gotta find the right driver for my hard drive....

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