Resolved New install won't boot properly

I just finished building my new computer and installed Windows XP on it. I am having difficulty with the boot, though. It only boots when I have the WinXP CD in my CD ROM. When Windows starts up, it says:

Loading Operating System...
Disk error
Press any key to restart.
Boot from CD/DVD
Press any key to boot from CD.....

I need to press a key after Disk error, but not to boot from CD. Windows starts up normally at that point.


I don't have a cable long enough to use my floppy, yet, so have to do repairs with the CD or flash drive. I used Bootcfg through the recovery console, but the problem remains.

Through Disk Management, my partitions show up like this:
C: Healthy (System) FAT32 (Primary Partition)
D: Healthy (Boot) NTFS (WinXP) (Extended/Logical Partition)
E: Healthy NTFS (programs/documents/audio-video) (Extended/Logical Partition)

I'd appreciate any suggestions to getting this computer to boot normally, without using the OS CD.

Addition:
Here is what my boot.ini says:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS= "Samsung 750" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

 

Barry, have you attached the HDD from the old computer after you have installed Windows on the new HDD?

It might be a matter of going into the BIOS (startup configuration settings) and choosing which HDD you want set as the (first) boot drive.

Matt

 

I haven't attached my old HDD to this computer yet, as I'm still waiting on an adapter for it, but that sounds like the easiest fix. I don't want to have to redo everything I've already done on this HDD, unless I have to do it. I'll wait and see if that works. I was having some problems installing WinXP, and I guess I got things out of order. I'll report back when I see if the old drive will work, though I'll have to reinstall XP on that drive also, due to different mobo.

I was wondering. Would it be possible to write a boot.ini on the C drive and have it point to the D drive? Since the C drive is a primary partition, it seems that this would work.

 

To be self bootable, XP must find the three boot assist files on the root of the SYSTEM drive. The system drive is always the C: drive. That doesn't mean the operating system is necessarily installed on that drive, it's just called the SYSTEM drive by the BIOS and Windows Disk Manager. The three files are ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini. When self booting, it looks for them there and no where else.

If the previous conditions are met, XP can be installed on a primary drive or on a logical drive of an extended partition. XP will run fine from either type of drive.

 

Here is what is already on the C drive:

boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS= "Samsung 750" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

NTLDR -- created Thursday, August 23, 2001, 12:00:00 PM -- 245kb

NTDETECT -- created Thursday, August 23, 2001, 12:00:00 PM -- 47kb

What do you recommend I do now?

 

That sound good as far as it goes. Next question, did you set the C: drive partition "Active" ? You can check that in Disk management when booted via the setup CD.

 

If the drive is already set active and still won't self boot, you probably need to reset your BIOS so that the hard drive is earlier in the boot sequence. Set it to be first in line to test. Some of the newer BIOS chips can be set to look for an array setup and fail to boot when it isn't found. Disable all that if it applies.

 

I have to leave for work now, but I'll check this further later. My flash drive is listed as active, while my C drive is listed as System. The Mark Partition as Active option isn't in bold, so I can't click on it. Any suggestions how I make that change?

 

OK, I've discovered the problem, but that doesn't mean that I understand the problem. As an experiment, I removed my flash drive from my computer, and it started normally. Somehow, the computer attempts to boot from the flash drive, as it is designated as Active, even though it wasn't listed in the boot list. Problem solved, though I don't understand the reason that I could leave my flash drive in my other computer without a problem, but not this one. My C drive is still just listed as System, not Active. Any explanation would be appreciated.

 

If it's listed as system, it's active. If you right-click it in Disk Management, you'll notice that the "Make Active" choice is faded out.

Your BIOS is new enough that it will allow booting the USB drive so it was probably set earlier in sequence than the hard drive. Even though it's booting now, I still recommend checking your BIOS/CMOS settings and getting the USB out of the loop or else set it lower in position than the HD.

If it's not listed in the BIOS sequence, you'll have to render it inactive so it will be ignored at boot if you intend to keep it plugged in at all times.

 

It wasn't in the BIOS sequence. That is the reason it threw me as it did. All I have listed are the floppy, CD-ROM and HDD. I'll just make sure that I don't have it in when I boot up the computer. Thanks for putting me on the right track. I'm glad it was such an easy fix.

 

I'm glad you got it sorted out. If you want to unmark the usb from being active, that has been covered Here.

All the best, Dude