OK, I'm an idiot!

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lorenzo

Member
Brand new boffo HP with dual HDDs, preinstalled Vista 64. Having all sort of problems installing XP (32) on the other drive. BCD can't find the NTLDR and NDETECT.com files (I'm not sure where to copy them on the C drive), tried Windows-->System32, but that doesn't seemd to work. When I try to install XP onto the D drive it finally produces a blue screen stating that the HHD is corrupted or some such (I ran the Vista diagnostic and all seems fine, it is brand new after all).

I need help. I just know this is easy, but I can't get there by myself. Thanks!
 
Hello lorenzo. Welcome to NST.
Let's start off with making sure you have done the basic things first. :wink:

Get EasyBCD 2.0 Beta and install it.
When you're trying to install XP, verify that you are *booting* from the CD, i.e. make sure the CD/DVD drive is first in the boot sequence in the BIOS (which you can access by pushing F2 or similar at startup...it should show what key you need to push on the first splash screen you get to after turning on your computer). Once you have changed the boot order so the CD boots first, insert the XP installation CD, save the changes you made to the BIOS, and exit.
You should now see a message called "Press any key to boot from the CD". Once you see that, press a key to boot from the CD, and begin the installation process of XP. (I'm not going to guide you through the whole thing...I will assume you will have the basic intelligence necessary to accomplish that part of the process. Just make sure it installs to the partition you want it to install to)
Once XP is installed, boot from the Vista DVD (if you have one...if not you can use our recovery disk for the same purpose), and run Startup Repair 2-3 times to restore Vista's bootloader.
Boot into Vista, open up EasyBCD, navigate to the Add/Remove Entries section. Go to the Windows tab, select "NT/XP..." in the Type drop-down menu, give the new entry an appropriate name, click on Add Entry to create the new entry, hit Yes at the prompt asking you if you want EasyBCD to auto-configure boot.ini for you. Download "ntldr" and "ntdetect.com" from the link provided in the same dialog box, and then open up Disk Management (Start>right click on Computer>Manage>Disk Management), and check the "flags" there on your partitions. Note the one that is marked with "system", and then place the two files you downloaded into the root of that partition.

Now reboot, and you should have a working Vista-XP dualboot. :smile:

Cheers, and if you have any more questions, check out the links in my sig below (at the very bottom). Should help you figure out what you need to know. :wink:

Jake
 
The "root" Jake refers to means not inside any folder. i.e. You should end up with x:\NTLDR x:\ntdetect.com and x:\boot.ini (where x is the disk letter of the partition flagged "system")
Take a look at point 3 of the sticky and follow the link to the illustration.
 
still need help

OK, downloaded version 2, did all that Jake said (even though it did tax my limited intelligence), BUT, same old problem persists. During the process of loading XP, it stops with: stop: (0x0000007B ...etc.) I know this is a Windows thing, but I'm at a loss how to resolve it. Microsoft sites aren't much help.

I'm really hoping someone here can. Or point me to someone who can. Muchas gracias!, amigos y amigas!

Lorenzo
 
Check your BIOS, and see if you can change the operating mode of your sata controller. I had a similar problem when I tried to install XP (and the same problem after I installed it, I might add). The XP setup got up to where it was loading drivers, and then all of a sudden gave me a BSOD. How I resolved it was I went into my BIOS, and changed the operating mode of my sata controller from AHCI to ATA. That allowed me to successfully install XP. Only problem was after that when I wanted to boot into Vista (if I was in XP last), I had to go back into the BIOS, and change it back to AHCI! :brows: Otherwise, I would get a similar BSOD when I tried to boot into Vista. So, naturally, that meant every time I wanted to boot into the other OS, I had to go into the BIOS, and switch the operating mode again. :frowning: Very annoying.
I solved that last problem by installing the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (you can Google it) in XP, which allowed me to keep the operating mode set to AHCI and boot into either Vista or XP, no more BSOD.

Also, see this Microsoft article: Advanced troubleshooting for errors in Windows XP
You may find some more help there.

Jake
 
Now we're getting somewhere!

Thanks, Jake. That last helps, now if you can help me with changing the SATA controller BIOS (I checked and it is now AHCI), please? Thanks.
 
Ok, so if your controller has AHCI mode, then there should be an option to change it, i.e. to either ATA or IDE mode, or perhaps "compatibility" mode. :wink: In my BIOS, though, I had to first go to "Onboard Devices", and select "Flash Cache Module". The default setting was "Enable", and I changed it to "Off" to disable it. That had to be done before I could change the operating mode of my sata controller from AHCI to ATA.
Next, I went to SATA Operation (also in "Onboard Devices"), and enabled ATA mode instead of AHCI. Then I simply saved the changes, and exited the BIOS, and I was able to install XP no more BSOD.
 
still need help, pt 2

I have exhausted my abilities to modify my BIOS ,all to no success and am my wit's end with this. I know this can be done!, just not by me. When I go to Device Manager, etc., I see no opportunity to modify anything but drivers. I see no "Onboard Devices" category.
Why is this so painful?

I've followed the Matrix Storage Manager directions very carefully, even checking to ensure that the software was indeed successfully installed. Still can't get past the stop error (same one). My old XP machine sees my external FDD (USB), but this new Vista 64 machine needs a driver I can't find. Making the necessary files available via CD doesn't work: the XP installation insists on a floppy. Suggestions?

Can you give me very specific hand-holding on this? I'd sure appreciate the help.
 
lorenzo said:
I have exhausted my abilities to modify my BIOS ,all to no success and am my wit's end with this. I know this can be done!, just not by me. When I go to Device Manager, etc., I see no opportunity to modify anything but drivers. I see no "Onboard Devices" category.
Why is this so painful?
Click to expand...
Your BIOS, not your Device Manager...:wink: You can enter your BIOS after you first turn on your computer, and at the first splash screen you get to. It should show you if you look carefully what key you need to enter to enter your BIOS. Mine is F2.
Then, once you get into your BIOS, you change the operating mode of your sata controller, as I suggested before.
 
still need help, pt 3

When I access the BIOS I see no tabs, no opportunities, to modify the SATA controller setting. I have checked every line in the various tabs: nothing. Where else could I make this change?

I purchased a new external floppy to make Matrix Storage Manager accessible during XP installion, and it gets read an all, but I still get that now familiar stop error.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated: I am at a total loss with this. Thanks!
 
If thats not an option the only ways you can get it working is to either load the correct drivers with f6 from floppy when you first boot from XP's disc or slipstream them into a new XP disc using tools such as nlite.
 
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