XP setup blacksout when choosing partition

Hey, guys I'm new to the forum and I just wanted to see if you could help me with a very annoying problem. I have a HP Compaq DC7100 SFF pc and I'm trying to install xp pro unto the thing, but right after setup gets through loading its files and asks me to choose the partition and format, it completely blacks out and just sits there. I'm forced to restart the system and try again, but same thing happens. I'm using a DVDWriter(IDE) and Sata HDD if that helps. I've tried researching sata hdd problems with xp which say some hdd require drivers, but the thing is my bios and windows setup recognizes the hdd and even lets me almost format it until it blacks out. I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? The first drive i tried this on was a brand new 160GB IDE Maxtor, but it too did the same thing, thats why I bought this Sata. Help!!!


P.S.: I have tried 3 other xp cds. They all blackout either while choosing a partition or when about to choose how to format the drive (ntfs, quick ntfs, etc.)


More info on my system:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...ypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=410112&lang=en&cc=us

 

I would start by trying the hard drive with the master jumper set to master, then try it as cable select, then try it with no jumper. Sometimes on older motherboards you have to set a jumper on the hard drive to limit the size of the drive to 128 GB.

I looked up your computer and one of the manuals:
http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00244461/c00244461.pdf
indicates that if an ATA drive is used then the capacity:
Logical cylinders may not exceed 1024. The number of heads may not exceed 256. The number of sectors per track may not exceed 63

The math on this would yield an allowable drive size of:
1,024 cylinders × 256 heads × 63 sectors = 8,455,716,864 bytes (7.88GB)

Do you know what the largest drive you can use is? If not maybe you could call HP support and ask.

 

Thanks for replying. I'll try it after I get off work.

Why would a motherboard this capable be limited by storage issues though? I've dealt with MB's much much much older than this one and they haven't had any trouble with a regular IDE drive. The reason I bought it was because the specs looked very expandible. SATA, 2.8GHZ P4, 4GB max ram, 8 USB 2.0 ports. Not that old. I mean its not the newest, but still not old enough to be held back by storage. It's primary storage is SATA. It was setup to have it from the get go, so this should be a fly-by process. I don't get it.

Thanks though, I'll try later on.

 

From your description of the specs I would agree with you that ti should not have a limitation on hard drive capacity...sorry I got off track there.

Perhaps your bios settings are creating some type of conflict. The setup guide for your computer indicates that the Sata Emulation should be set to "Seperate IDE controller ".

If your comfortable with the BIOS settings, you could try setting everything back to default values and start over. You could also try removing the DVD writer from the IDE cable during setup to see what happens.

Hope something here gets it jumpstarted for you.

Cheers...

 

back

Ok, I tried resetting the bios to the default settings but the settings were the same so it was already set to them. I also tried to detach the IDE cable of the writer right before it asks me to format, but all that did was kept asking me to insert the xp cd. Once I re-inserted the disc, it wouldn't let me go back to the format screen or would not continue. I am then forced to restart the computer

I may try to install 2000 on the machine and then try an upgrade therefore bypassing the initial xp setup. How well do Sata HDD's fair in win2000 setups? Do they require drivers first?

 

What version of XP are you trying to install, IIRC XP without at least SP1 has a 137Gb drive limit. Could this be the problem?

 

All of the installations I used had SP2. The SATA I'm using now is 40gigs, so that shouldn't be the case. Also, I tried installing 2000 the exact same thing happened! Bad Memory maybe(Although its new)?

 

More likely bad graphics or monitor, try it with another monitor (it is LCD isn't it)

 

No its an old CRT. I'll try what you suggested, though I just got through fixing and installing xp on 3 other older pc's with this one. Thanks, I'll give it a try.

 

back

nope didn't work. It did the exact same thing on my other(much, much, much, much, MUCH newer)monitor. Both xp and 2000!!!

 

It could be bad memory but I'd still say it's more likely your graphics adaptor.

How many GFX does the system have? Is there onboard graphics as well as an add-on card? If so try removing the card and using the onboard.

 

No there's only onboard. I ordered a gfx card online to test it out. Although the board only takes low-profile cards, which is a bomber.I'll post my results as soon as i get it.

Thanks

 

For a point of clarification, when you stated:

Are you refering to the step when the setup process asks you to pick a formatting method which usually looks something like:
FAT32
NTFS
NTFS quick format
Have you tried picking the NTFS quick format? If so, describe exactly what happens after that point. From what you are reporting, it sounds like the formatting progress bar approaches the the end of its process and then the screen blanks out. Is this right? Or does the formatting complete and then setup starts copying files?

 

That's what I was assuming (when setup changes mode) hence my belief it's the GFX Adapter. Further clarification would be helpful.

 

Yes right at the ntfs quick and etc options. RIGHT after hitting enter it blacks out.no bar, no files loading.Nada!The formatting doesn't even start, it justs blacksout. Usually when formatting, you can hear the HDD being read, but with this, you don't hear anything. The xp cd even stops reading(which I think is normal actually).

Also I have tried all the other options, as well as using a partition manager to manually format the drive (ntfs) and then selecting the option to leave the partition as is in setup. Still nothing.

 

Ok, scratch the GFX, Bad RAM or bad PSU (HD & Optical used simultaneously), test those (memtest86 and a Live Linux disc) and let us know what happens.

BTW, No expert I'm only suggesting what I'd try.