Vap0r

Ok So I formatted my hard drive the other day only to find that my XP CD was damaged causing mayor problems installing XP.

As an alternative I sourced a copy of the 64 bit windows to try running with that, only to find that my network card drivers were incompatible and I could then not use the net.

Also borrowed a freinds copy of XP but for some reason that would not boot from CD, and having no floppy drive I was stuck there.

What are my options now apart from buying a new copy of XP ?

asch

It shouldn't matter on the exact copy of the CD. I actually have three WinXP Pro CDs and can use any one on my three machines. What has to be unique per machine is the CD key.

I would check with other friends for a CD that will boot. Make sure you have your BIOS set to boot to the CD.

You might be able to contact MS about a new copy of the CD w/o a CD-key. That shouldn't cost too much. Best option is to check friends, work, etc. just for the CD and use your existing CD-key.

MONKERZ

You shouldnt have to set your bios to Boot from CD...XP is compatible to run from CD automatically....just like Windows 98se....all you gotta do is hit a anykey when the option comes up...

But i know where your coming from...I had this prob as well...it wouldnt boot from CD...so what i did was alittle long but it worked.

First i used my Windows 98SE and installed it, After installing it i upgraded to XP Pro... and it worked just great...after doing that i Sourced the drivers from the CD and i Got Online....

Now i dont know if you have a copy of Windows98SE but i just wanted to throw this option out there...

-OR-

Well if your o/s can't support 64 bit or its highly new then you're s.o.l. until you get some internet somewhere else

you can download a driver that may have a 32 bit emulation mode where your lose alot of potential performance but it'll work

its pure 32 bit at its greatest, the long horn edition is the first o/s besides the new mac o/s commin out to have support for it, some linux has it but its special programmin

I maybe just babbling but tried to help


-Monkz

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=DdogG=

monkz - the bios tells the computer where to look first. if there is an boot sector on the hard drive, it will go there first. if the drive is wiped clean, then it move down to the cdrom... unless the cdrom is set to boot first... all this is pre os....

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MONKERZ

I undestand Dog....I am A+ Certified and i know what i am talking about...LIke i said Before.. you shouldnt have to mess with the boot sequence at all...

-Monkz

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Allen: Yeah, you're right.
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CingularDuality

Well, that all depends on the way his BIOS is set, now, doesn't it? Some BIOS are set to not even try to boot from CD, so you'd have to change it if your BIOS is set like that...

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K2_the_Turtle

Agreed. You should be able to set boot priority in the bios. If the CD drive is set to a lower priority then the HD, then you will need to enter the bios and edit the priority.

Set priority to:

1. floppy
2. CD-Drive
3. HD

Then watch for the prompt that says, "Press any key to boot from CD..." Make sure you press a key

If this still doesn't work, visit http://bootdisk.com/ to download Windows XP boot disk.

Thanks!

keith

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kormendi

I have had many friends that were A+ certified and they knew just about nothing about computers, troubleshooting, etc.

You may be a computer guru, but I have no way of knowing. A+ certification isn't a definite qualifier for expertise. Experience is far more valuable.


It may be true that XP has a way to override the bios as far as CD booting is concerned, but it never hurts to double check, just incase something isnt working right.

Pokerface

Heh. I just found this, as I was having issues getting Fedora Core 3 to boot from CD, despite BIOS settings. Installed it to a floopy, and worked like a charm.

Note, I have no clue if this will help your situation or not; it's just germane to the boot/BIOS part of the discussion, and fresh on my mind.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/btmgr/

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TheFeniX

I'm A+ certified and just broke down an entire Dell Poweredge 2600, replaced the backplane, motherboard, RAID key, rebuilt a failed RAID 1 array, and setup another HDD to act as a hot-spare.

My co-worker Charles is A+ certified and he has to call me with questions when installing NIC drivers.

Um.... Good times......?

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=DdogG=

congratulations. (you might want to call cracker jacks and ask for your quarter back though .... A+ is almost worthless now.)

I am not A+ certified. and obviously, I know what I am taking about too.

as everyone here has said....you do need to check the bios..... the cd may be the cause, but basic troubleshooting is to verify the cd is the first boot device.

it's amazing.. even microsoft agrees.....

"The simplest way to perform a clean install of Windows XP is to start the computer using your Windows XP CD. Don't blink during startup though, because you'll briefly see a message that says, "Press any key to boot from CD." Miss this opportunity, and the computer will continue to start from the hard disk.

If you don't see this message, your CD-ROM isn't bootable or you must configure your computer's basic input/output settings (BIOS) to boot from a CD. BIOS settings are specific to your computer, so I can't give you step-by-step instructions for configuring yours to boot from the CD. Consult your computer's manual or the motherboard or computer manufacturer for help in enabling your BIOS so you can boot from a CD."

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...october07.mspx

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

K2_the_Turtle

I am not A+ certified and could probably have done this, though not as quickly. How long did it take you? I'd probably set aside 2-4 hours of man time, more of machine time depending on how large your raid is.

We had a HD failure on a 2 TB Promise Raid Drive, and it took the machine all night to rebuild the partition. I was amazed it took so long.

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TheFeniX

30 minutes. 5 minutes of that was staring the the case wondering why I wasn't beating my coworker to death for dumping it on me. Granted, it did take almost an hour for the HDDs re-mirror. I could have set it to passive rebuild, but I wasn't about to have it mess up in the middle, then have to go back out there.

The point wasn't that A+ = God. The point was A+ means you know what a PC and can probably name off a few parts. The only thing I really garnered from A+ was probably my ability to name off RAID specs and a few other things like IEEE 1333 and 1394.

If you can memorize stuff like that and install a NIC in Windows XP: you can probably pass the A+.

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MONKERZ

Being That He is running XP...Then he doesnt have an ancient Station and will be set to run from CD, If One Is Inserted.

K tired of Debating...

-Monkz

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Allen: Yeah, you're right.
Monkerz: I think "that" in its self proves my intelligence greater than yours, thus joo have just been pwnt by Monkerz!

Vap0r

The CD is bootable and was setup to boot but for some reason it kept producing a disk error, a scratch on the CD perhaps.

Anyway I have since found somebody to lend me a copy of the CD and now I am up and running fine.