problems installing windows!

hi, i recently installed the beta of vista and uninstalled it because, well, i dont know. anyway, then i installed windows xp pro on my machine and then it became very screwy, it was slowing down, restarting weird, ... so then i had to go buy win xp home and install it and it wouldnt let me, showing errors whenever i booted from the cd. so i bought a new 160 gig hard drive, put it in, installed it, retryed the home install, and it showed the same thing. THEN i tried downloading the bootable floppy disks and put one in my comp. and it saind Disk I/O Error. I made sure i downloaded the disks right, same error. i dont know what to try, what should i do?

 

From the looks of it, you have a bad RAM chip. Try replacing your RAM.

 

Hi and welcome to the BBS,
"Disk I/O Error ", I/O stands for input/output. I find it usually means there is a problem with the cables. Pull out and reseat the cable connections at both ends. If they are two identical IDE cables (80 lead), try swapping one for the other.
Make certain the HDDs are being identified in the BIOS correctly.
You can run the drive manufacturer's testing utilities.
Try changing the configuration of the optical drives (master/slave) and running without the optical drives connected (or borrow another to run as a test).

Matt

 

ok, ive tried both those solutions and i still cant get it to work! ive also tried updating the bios, no luck anyone know a solution? or will i have to get a new computer?

 

I think you will need to "fix" the MBR of the harddrive.

Try booting to the Windows CD and going to the Recovery Console. Run Fixmbr.

If any further suggestions do not work I suggest doing a low-level (zero) format on the drive. You should find a program for it in the HDD manufacturer's utilities (go to their website). I don't think Western Digital have a L-L format (I have seen suggestions for the program Killdisk).

Matt

 

WD does have a L-L format and it works pretty good.

 

Thanks lj50. Good to know.

Matt

 

ok i tried those and they didnt work! any other solutions?

 

Matt,

Just so you know... 'killdisk' works very well.

B

http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm

 

I reread your first post. You did try another drive (and the L-L format) so I think we can rule out remnants of Vista still hanging around.

Does it all seem related to drives?

Try changing the configuration of your optical drives as master/slave and run them on the secondary IDE channel (and maybe even test Windows with them disconnected).

You did check the drive cable connectors? Try swapping or borrowing another data cable for the HDD. Even check the cable connectors for the floppy drive (pull and reseat).

Did you get the harddrive manufacturer's utilities? They can sometimes tell you about a problem with a cable or the way the drive is configured in the BIOS settings. Check your motherboard manual for the way the drives are configured in the BIOS, some are not recognized correctly until you set them using the drive configuration menu (if it has it).

If it is an older motherboard it may be getting leaky capacitors. Check the capacitors are not swollen or leaking. This problem is becoming more widespread as the motherboards that have the bad capacitors are getting older.

Vista may have overloaded something on the motherboard (?) Were your system specs within the recommended system requirements for Vista?

Try removing all added hardware and installing again.

Matt

 

i said what i have already tried in the quotes, with no luck. ^

any other ideas?

 

I think we are following the wrong fish here.

Maybe the Disk I/O error is referring to a read error on the CD-Rom device.

If you read the original post with that in mind as a possibility, it fits rather well.

.

 

The floppy drive gives I/O errors and the Windows CD gives errors (BTW, what type of errors?) You could try borrowing another CD drive.

I would go into the BIOS at startup and use the "Setup Defaults" (or similar wording). Have you made changes in the BIOS?

See what happens if you boot to a Win 98 startup floppy. Get a 98 bootdisk from www.bootdisk.com if you don't have one.

You may have to check basic hardware. For RAM and the video card, clean the connectors with a soft pencil eraser and for RAM you could run the diagnostics in my signature (rsinfo suggested trying other sticks). You may need to swap out the power supply. Check the temperature and voltage readings in the BIOS. Check for any dust build-up inside the case and in the heatsinks under the fans (and that the fans are spinning freely).

Even try swapping the keyboard and mouse.

We will try to give you as much support as we can without being there in front of the computer. You will need to give us as much information as you can about what you see (example, consistent error messages). You may even find you have a "feel" for where the problem is. Tell us if you have any "maybes ".

Matt

 

It's weird, the floppy doesn't even read any more. it is set at the top of the boot sequence and the cd isnt even on the boot and it still goes to the cd! the floppy connections are all correct, i used a different cable too, and it doesnt even boot to it. the floppy light turns on and spins, but it doesnt boot to it. The cd errors in the setup are usually error code 7. But sometimes when it boots to the cd it just goes to a Trap Exception page with a bunch of numbers and letters.

The only changes I made was the boot sequence, and I alredy tried the default settings.

Obviously I can't try the Win 95 Boot Floppy because the floppys not working.

I have already cleaned my case and used compressed air to get the dust out, and made sure the fans were spinning freely. I will try the diagnostics and get back to you.

I don't think it is the keyboard or mouse, but I could try that.


I alredy said the cd errors, and thats about all the errors i'm getting.

Any help?

 

An "Ntkrnlmp.exe...code 7" error is pinpointed as RAM or BIOS settings by MS:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318729/en-us

You would need a working floppy drive to run the memory diagnostics.

It will run DDR type memory which is very common (it should have a label, DDR starts from PC1600 and goes to PC3200), so you should be able to easily borrow some from another computer to try. Don't forget about cleaning the connectors on the modules, if there may be greasy dust around, the grease will be smeared onto the connectors. When you replace the module/s, press evenly on both ends of the stick/module until the clips are fully seated.

Double check that you have pulled out and reseated all the connectors. An install would not work for me during the last few days. It sat at one stage for a long time and I left it running overnight, still the same place. I shut down, pulled out and reseated all the connectors, then the install went fine.

Matt

 

well tonight i will clean up my computer and make sure the connectors are connected right, but if it STILL doesnt work then does anyone have any other solutions?

 

You can run a decent memory test from inside of XP:
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

Let it run for a while.

 

If Windows Install is having a problem, it will be with the basic hardware of the computer. The basic hardware is the motherboard, the CPU, the RAM and the drives (for OS installation). You will need a keyboard and mouse (mouse optional).

I'm not sure which answer you want?

Matt

 

tonight i will try unplugging everything and replugging it in. if that doesnt work, does anyone else have any ideas?

 

anyone have any solutions?