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=

Maybe you could try Formating and setting up your partitions using Partition Majic boot discs first. i've fount this useful sometimes when ive had troubles setting up a HDD

morro u kno anything bout graphcs cards

Just the basics, Wot u wanna Know?

Originally Posted by rpmorrow

Maybe you could try Formating and setting up your partitions using Partition Majic boot discs first. i've fount this useful sometimes when ive had troubles setting up a HDD

thanks, but where can I get these. And also, I don't have a floppy drive, so can I get it on a CD?

agp
wat isit

Originally Posted by yuj

agp
wat isit

yuj your AGP questions are being answered in your own thread:

http://www.d-a-l.com/help/showthread.php?t=39554

Originally Posted by bespalex

thanks, but where can I get these. And also, I don't have a floppy drive, so can I get it on a CD?

You have a 300GB (7200RPM) Serial ATA Hard Drive.

Such a drive can be tricky to install on. I agree with rpmorrow that formatting is a good idea.

Also there might be the necessity to load SATA drivers at the F6 prompt.

If you do not want to buy Partition Magic you will probably find setup software from your hard drive manufacturer that will have a format tool.

You can ID you hard drive manufacturer in the Device Manager. Start/Run/ devmgmt.msc

Also: are you sure that that motherboard supports 64 bit XP?

Also: not sure if it matters and I didn't read the fine print but you might be voiding any warranty on this computer.

Originally Posted by jephree

You have a 300GB (7200RPM) Serial ATA Hard Drive.

Such a drive can be tricky to install on. I agree with rpmorrow that formatting is a good idea.

Also there might be the necessity to load SATA drivers at the F6 prompt.

If you do not want to buy Partition Magic you will probably find setup software from your hard drive manufacturer that will have a format tool.

You can ID you hard drive manufacturer in the Device Manager. Start/Run/ devmgmt.msc

Also: are you sure that that motherboard supports 64 bit XP?

Also: not sure if it matters and I didn't read the fine print but you might be voiding any warranty on this computer.

I would also prefer a full formating before I put a ceal copy of XP on it, but how do I do it. I cannot believe that something as easy as that it giving me such a hard time.

My hard drive manufacturer is WDC (Western Digital).

I'm no computer expert but I was told that Viiv technology supports 64 bit appz

I don't case much about the warranty, as long as I get to figure this thing out. I really want to be able to format and install a clean copy of xp whenever I please.

Question: if I manage to format my computer with partition magic or whatever, will I still be needing a driver for my HD to install windows xo on it?

Western Digital Tools here:

http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?swid=1

http://support.wdc.com/download/inde...id=999&swid=23

Unfortunately this is a floppy tool

They make an ISO version of the Diagnostic but apparently not the Installation Tool.

In general you only need Motherboard drivers for a RAID setup. I have worked with many people installing XP on SATA drives and sometimes it helps to load the motherboard RAID drivers but it should not be necessary. These drivers would have to be found from the motherboard manufacturer.