DescentBB

I'm trying to install XP on a Win Me machine.

I tried to do it from the XP CD but it wouldn't let me delete the FAT32 partition to install the NTFS partition. So I \"slaved\" the drive and formatted it with NTSF.

Now when I start the orig computer I get the above message.

How do I get past it to install XP?

You have to boot from the CD. When you formatted it as NTFS, it overwrote the MBR and told it to look for NTLDR to start the operating system. Since the drive is empty, the file obviously can't be found, and when the PC tries to boot the disk it dies.

Go into the BIOS and tell it to boot from CD first, and install Windows raw from there.

CD is first boot already. Still same message.

Then it's not actually booting from CD. Are you using an original XP CD or a duplicate? If you are using a duplicate, then it wasn't burned correctly. You have to do an exact 1:1 copy, not merely burn a CD with all the same files, in order for the CD to be bootable. At this stage, that's the only way you can install Windows.

I'm using an orig CD and it did boot of the CD originally but not after I formatted and re-installed HD.

Also I can see the CD from a dos bootup disk but it won't let me run \"Setup.exe\".

I ass-u-me if I bought another HD, all would be well?

Go into the BIOS and set the CD drive to be the ONLY bootable device, and make sure you SAVE it. (F10 is usually the default shortcut key to save and exit.)

I have a \"Shift +1 that says it enables or disables, but can't see any difference when I do that.

There's also a \"Remove\".

What say you.

Also is there anything I can do with the HD as a slave on another computer to get it setup?

First off.... Installing XP on a ME system is just so wrong on sooo many levels. You'd be retaining a lot of ME \"crap\" in the XP system. Ugh!

Better to remove the existing partition and install a new partition and install XP totally clean.

If the XP CD won't remove the fat32 partition... boot the system using a Win9x boot diskette and use FDISK to remove the partitions. THEN use the CD to install XP.

I haven't tried it, but I understand you can get good boot disks at http://www.bootdisk.com/

I took the Win Me HD out of the system and \"slaved\" and formatted it in another machine.

Wouldn't that delete everything.

Also, why wouldn't the CD-ROM drive work when it worked earlier.

Does the HD have anything to do with a CD loading?

thewolfe, now that you mention it... make sure you've properly reset the jumpers on the hard drive so that the BIOS doesn't get confused. Could contribute to the problem, especially if the CD and the HDD are on the same IDE channel.

DCrazy wrote:thewolfe, now that you mention it... make sure you've properly reset the jumpers on the hard drive so that the BIOS doesn't get confused. Could contribute to the problem, especially if the CD and the HDD are on the same IDE channel.

Yes, that would easily make it not work.

when you first boot, the XP install disk will give you about 4 seconds to hit a key to boot off it, saying something along the lines of \"Press any key to boot the cd\", or else it'll load whatever is in the MBR.

unless you've cleared the MBR, you can't pop the CD in, boot, walk away, and expect the XP installer to be there when you get back.

Well.....I changed the data cables from the original position and I changed the jumper setting from the orig. and it gave me the same NT...missing but I also got \"Press any key ...from CD\".

So I restarted twice and got into the XP installation.

I did not change the cables or the jumpers yesterday so i don't undersatnd it but thanks for the posts.

I'll report back when all is well.

The \"Press any key...\" thing means you already are booting from the CD correctly. That's just something the XP CD says for all of those people who are too stupid to eject the CD at the end of the setup when it says to eject the CD. When you get that \"Press any key...\" message, all you have to do is press any key to load the setup, or if you don't, it'll try to boot from the hard drive.