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Win XP install problem

specks

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I want to reformat my computer but when i install winxp i get stuck at the "setup is starting windows" screen. I cant restart my pc by ctrl-alt-del though i can do it by pushing the restart button.

What do i do?
 

Mussels

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I want to reformat my computer but when i install winxp i get stuck at the "setup is starting windows" screen. I cant restart my pc by ctrl-alt-del though i can do it by pushing the restart button.

What do i do?

are you booting from the CD, or trying to install it from within windows?
 

specks

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Yes i am booting from a cd. My pc already has winxp installed. Will installing from windows reformat my pc?
 

Mussels

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Yes i am booting from a cd. My pc already has winxp installed. Will installing from windows reformat my pc?

no it likely wont help, i was going to suggest you boot from the CD if you werent already.


have you tried using the "F6" floppy driver (as they call it) for your SATA drivers?
 

specks

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My hdd is still ide..what could be the problem?
 

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I know what Mussels is getting at with the SATA driver. Does you BIOS have a "compatibility" option in it? This will allow XP to work with the disc controller and you will be able to complete the installation.

And on formatting: only if you tell it to. It has an option to leave formatting as it is. Generally when installing from new, it's best to do a quick format.

I hope you don't have any data that's not backed up on that hard drive...
 
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It does that when it can't recognise the HDD. Make sure the problems you had with your HDD are fixed by using one of the HDD diagnostic tools from Hiren's BootCD.

Oh, and it's normal for it to hang on the "setup is starting windows" screen for anything up to minute or two depending on your system.
 

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If your drive is working and you need to get to the data that is already on the drive, you dan do a "parallel installation." This is where you leave the current installation inplace and install the OS to a different directory that the default (default is C:\Windows, so you would install it to another director like C:\WinXP). However, if you don't need the data that's on the drive (or have it backed up), a fresh format and reinstall would probably be better.

I agree with the others in that you may need a special driver to load at Windows install startup.
 
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What flavor of install disc are you using? Is it retail or OEM (like Dell, etc.)?

Depending on what hardware you have in your PC, it could hang if there's something it can't recognise, and that can be dependant on the XP install disc you are using and/or hardware.

When you do an install of XP, it should ask if you want to repair or install, then you have the option of reformatting the HDD or not.
 
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