Topic: Problem loading OS onto new HDD

[arthurb]

Originally my pc was a TINY package with a 30GB HDD running on Windows ME. I have since added an additional 80GB HDD (master) with the original 30GB HDD a SLAVE. However, I am unable to load up Windows ME using my TINY start up CD. The local pc shop tells me that it's because TINY place a "tattoo" on the HDD and I've somehow managed to wipe this from my HDD during format and partitioning, therefore the CD doesn't recognise my pc.
I loaded up Windows98 from a normal windows cd and everything seemed ok. I then tried to load up XP but this failed due to a cluster problem on my slave HDD. Now I can't even load up windows98! Can anybody help resolve this as I'm at my wits end and don't have much faith in my local pc shop.  

[Muggins]

have you tried it by taking the slave HDD (the tiny one) out of the pc and trying to install windows xp?

i can't see why you would have a problem as long as you avoid using the TINY cd at all costs, boot from either floppy or winxp cd, this should then get you up and running.

[Adept]

Hi arthurb

Muggins' suggestion sounds right to me If you avoid the problems with the slave drive, by disconnecting it temporarily, you should be able to load XP onto the 80GB drive.

Once everything is up and running, you can then re-connect the 30GB drive and let XP try and sort out the cluster problem.

Does anyone else know whether the HDD "tattoo" thing is correct? I always thought these things worked by reading the BIOS identification string   If I'm correct, the restore CD probably won't work on the 80GB drive because it is expecting to restore to a 30GB drive.

[Tony]

[quote author=Adept Does anyone else know whether the HDD "tattoo" thing is correct? I always thought these things worked by reading the BIOS identification string   If I'm correct, the restore CD probably won't work on the 80GB drive because it is expecting to restore to a 30GB drive.

I think you are on the right track Adept, I had a Compaq with a 8 GB HDD that failed. I replaced it with 20 GB HDD, and every time I tried to reinstall with the Compaq rescue disks it just aborted for the very reason you mentioned.

In the end Compaq tech services told me what do, which was a manual intervention on my part at some stage of the auto reinstall sequence. OK I cannot remember what it entailed right now, but I'll see if I wrote anything down somewere tomorrow. But I have a sneaky feeling I let the instructions go with the PC when I sold it.  

[Tony]

Ok I found the instructions for re-installing the Compaq rescue disks on a HDD bigger than that which came with the PC.

Now I don?t know what on screen instructions come on whilst reinstalling the Tiny disk or disks, but here is what I had to do with the Compaq disks [2]


As soon as you switch the PC on with Disk 1 in the CD-Rom, hold down Caps Lock and Num Lock both light 1 and A lights on top right of the keyboard should be light.

Then when the Blue screen comes on with ?Compaq Quickrestore? flashing, take Num Lock off , there should now be only one light left on.

Then choose ?English? [ out of the language install choices] and press Enter then select the model number of the PC.

When the next screen appears [the Caution one] and the top of the page is flashing press CTRL and Q keys together??..it will then install as per normal.

If the above does not relate to the Tiny install procedure, I?m sure if you ring Tiny tech support and you get somebody half decent on the line, they should know the oversize HDD install procedure as they will have come across it many times in the past.

It is always advisable when reinstalling an OS to reset BIOS to default settings  for the install procedure, you can revert back to settings other than default after install.

Best of luck

Tony.

PS: take a min to do the CPU Poll  

[lobo]

@arthurb

The Tattoo the shop told you about is actually a hidden partition at the front of the drive i.e. in front of the C:\ partition, This partition contains a ?Ghost image? that the CD accesses to reinstall the drive to as it was when it came from the shop, because you have altered the drive order e.g. moved the original drive to D:\ the CD cannot find the partition and so cannot reinstall the OS.

?Now I can't even load up windows98!?

Reinstall Windows 98se that will remove the dual boot option that XP will have installed to your 80 GB drive,

If you want to install XP on the 80 GB drive partition the drive into 2 or more partitions and install XP to another partition other than the C:\ drive/partition

When you have installed a working OS run scandisk on your 30 GB drive and see if the drive is failing or just needs cleaning up

Brian
 

[arthurb]

Thankyou all for the advice. Today I disconnected the 30GB hdd then proceeded to load up windows98. This worked although I don't have any sound now. Could this be because it's a Tiny sound system or do I need to load up some other software?

After loading OS I connected up 30gb as slave and was able to use this drive normally. Progress at last.

Does anybody have step by step idiots (me) guide on how to partition and load up XP?

Tony, I did phone Tiny helpline today but all they told me was that the tiny cd would only load up to the original hdd as it is an OEM version of windows. I did try your method without success. Worth a try though, thanks.

Anymore help would be greatly appreciated.

[Adept]

Thankyou all for the advice.

We love to be of help

I don't have any sound now. Could this be because it's a Tiny sound system or do I need to load up some other software?

You probably need to load the driver software for your sound card. If Windows has been provided by Tiny on a restore disk, they almost certainly will not have provided the sound drivers separately.

You will need to find out whether your sound card is a PCI card or integrated onto the motherboard (the latter is more likely with Tiny). Once you have this information you will need to find out exactly which model of sound chipset you have so that you can go to the manufacturer's website to download the correct driver program. You may have been provided with a motherboard manual which might shed some light on the chipset being used.

[lobo]

@arthurb
Just boot from the XP CD and when asked which drive to install to select the D:\ drive if thats what you want or tell XP to create a new partition on the first hard drive and install to there, just follow the instructions on the screen,

PS leave the file system in FAT32 rather than NTFS

Brian

[arthurb]

lobo
why keep FAT32 as opposed to NTFS?  

[Sandra]

If you have 98 or ME on the same PC then any files stored by XP as NTFS would be unaccessable to 98 and ME as they can only access FAT 16 and FAT 32 files,so on a dual booted PC it is advisable to use FAT 32 throughout  

[Sandra]

Arthur I have just reread your first post,I assumed that you were dual booting before but now after re reading your first post I think that you just wanted an OS on that would work.
Is this assumption correct?
If so the reason that you couldnt reinstall 98 on after you had tried to install XP and and it failed to complete,would be that it had converted your drive to NTFS and therefore even after a format it would still be an NTFS drive.
Microsoft says that once its in NTFS it cant be reconverted to FAT 32 so you would be limited to Win 2K,Win NT or XP.
This however is wrong as Partition Magic(amongst other programs),I have been told will convert it back To FAT 32  

[lobo]

@arthurb
If the drive is in NTFS you cannot access the data on the drive from DOS in FAT you can, so if your windows O/S fails to load you can boot from a floppy and access the files on the drive.

@Sandra
Hi Sandra, you can format a drive in FAT from NTFS by using a win98 boot floppy and fdisk or by booting from a XP or W2k CD and following the instructions

Brian  

[arthurb]

Sandra & Lobo
I made sure I chose FAT32 when attempting to boot XP, since winME uses this system. I understood that I could change to NTFS later if required.

[Sandra]

As long as you only have XP on then NTFS is ok Arthur.
Its only have you are dual booting (ie having 98 or ME on one drive or partition and XP on another),so that you can run in either OS that you would need to stick to FAT 32.
You can change from FAT 32 to NTFS at a later date in the same way that 98 and ME could go from FAT 16 to FAT 32 but not back again without reinstalling the OS