Deadpreacher Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Im hopen someone can help me with installing windows on a new harddrive and making it my new master drive. My Computer is getting alittle old (4years) and the harddrive is failing. I am getting a message every time i start up my PC to back up all my files because your Hardrive is about to fail. My PC has been acting very slow and funny at times right before the the messages started there for leading up to the HD failing messages. Anyways i have a second Harddrive thats 120gig i would like to reformat and make it my main. If anyone knows how to do this pls give me a step by step or even a good link site that tells you how. Not sure on how long i can keep this PC running before it fails. I have a back up laptop to keep a eye on the steps i need to take so if it don't work the first time i can still have the option to keep a eye on the internet. I heard its a pain to do this, but if its the only option i would like to give it a shot before i trash my PC. Its still a very strong decked out gaming PC just the harddrive is now failing. Hate to lose it when its still very strong! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteKnight77 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Did you look up into the pinned section above this? Remember, you do not have to subdivide a HD. You can make just one large partition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyHaired Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 easiest way is to open "My Computer", rightclick the drive (hdd) and click "format" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Here's how I would do it. Stick your preferred firewall and AV on a memory stick. Remove your current HD from the computer. Your data is now safe. Insert the new HD Insert your Windows disk into the drive. Switch your PC on. Format/Partition and Install Windows by following the prompts. Install AV and Firewall. Connect to internet and install SPs and Security Updates. Once it's installed, power down, insert the old HD, switch on, and pull any files you want off the old HD into the new one. Sit on it for a few weeks so you are sure there's nothing on the old HD you want. Format and make use of the old HD. That's what I do anwyay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Insert your Windows disk into the drive. Switch your PC on. Format/Partition and Install Windows by following the prompts. Install AV and Firewall. Connect to internet and install SPs and Security Updates. I have tried that i think. I have taken the old HD out and put the new one in. I have than put the windows install disc in the tray and turned on my PC. I don't seem to get the option to install windows or anything. Just says something like your operating system cant be found. It could say something different cant remember right now. Ether way i cant seem to get it to do anything. Is there a key command to get it to format and install windows??? Or is there a way to install windows and format the HD as my 2nd HD and than switch it to my main drive after. My main HD drive right now is just about dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannik Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 . Just says something like your operating system cant be found. It could say something different cant remember right now. Ether way i cant seem to get it to do anything. Is there a key command to get it to format and install windows??? Your system CMOS (BIOS) needs to be told to boot from the optical drive the Windows CD is in. To do this, it varies from motherboard to motherboard, but you should see a splash screen within a second of booting telling you to hit "some key" to enter setup. Once in setup, look for an entry marked boot devices, or boot order. Again, the wording varies. Set it to boot from the drive you have the CD in, and it should be reasonably simple to format your new disk and install Windows. Don't forget to go back and undo the change to boot devices if you want to boot normally. Assuming Windows wants you to reboot as a part of the installation process, you should change it back during the first moments of the new boot cycle, or you'll end up in a perpetual circle of install/reboot/install/reboot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteKnight77 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Now why didn't I think of pinning those instructions to begin with? Installing Windows and Assigning Drive Letters, Especially If You Have Multiple Drives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Assuming Windows wants you to reboot as a part of the installation process, you should change it back during the first moments of the new boot cycle, or you'll end up in a perpetual circle of install/reboot/install/reboot... That's what you'd think, but whenever I've done it the process goes right through to the dekstop including one (maybe two) reboots with the XP disk still in the drive. Maybe vecause when I did it in the bios I had it set to boot from HD first, then check the DVD drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpl Ledanek Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Now why didn't I think of pinning those instructions to begin with? Installing Windows and Assigning Drive Letters, Especially If You Have Multiple Drives Maybe time to redo the "How to build your own PC" thread...yknow...since you're rebuilding...LOTS OF PIC this time please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteKnight77 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I intend to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDelta Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Maybe vecause when I did it in the bios I had it set to boot from HD first, then check the DVD drive. Yep, that's the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well im out of town until Sunday and will try again. But as of right now i tried before i left. I set it to boot from CD drive and still nothing with the windows disc in the tray. I have a HP compact forget the year and model if that helps any on info. All i get is missing nlip file or something to that affect. wish i was home i had it writen down. Anyways all it gives me the option for is to hit ctrl,alt,delet and it resets the computer. Once i get home i will play with it some more. Oh and Whiteknight sorry i did miss you post above sorry. I have looked throught it and tried what it says. As for right now you can carry this forum over or give it afew days and i will delete it when im done asking for the help i need. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have a HP compact forget the year and model if that helps any on info. All i get is missing nlip file or something to that affect. wish i was home i had it writen down. Anyways all it gives me the option for is to hit ctrl,alt,delet and it resets the computer. We need that exact error message. Check the XP disk for marks or scratches though, I had a failed install once because of a dirty mark on the cd that gave a missing file error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat50 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have a HP compact forget the year and model if that helps any on info. Is the "Windows CD" you are using the recovery disc that shipped with the computer? I don't know for a fact but maybe a retail version of Windows lacks some files that might be contained in the recovery disc that shipped with the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Once i get home i will get the real info. As for the Windows disc it is a real Windows XP install disc that you get from the store. Give me until late Sunday and we will pick this back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 Ok, i have tried everything so far as said above and even in Whiteknight thread. Still nothing. Only thing i can think of is would it help if i reformatted the new harddrive clean before i try to make it my main HD? All i have is music and afew useless files on there. From what i read i thought if this was to work at all it would reformat the HD for me. Kind of been holding off on doing that until im sure this will work. Hate to lose it all and it still dont work. Have over 10,000 songs on there. Also ever time i try this i have a pin in the back of the HD i take out. The pin tells the HD if its a master or slave. From what i can tell to make it a master the pin comes out and not into another slot. Does this sound right? All my other HD still have the pin in them to say they are the master drive. Yet when i look at the chart for this one it looks like it has to be out. Just wondering if this sounds right is all. Also final note when i try the new HD i can't get into bois. I have to have my old HD in there to switch it to boot from CD or HD. From there i save it to boot from CD and shut it down to put in my new HD which doesn't work. If this is something i have to do when the new HD is installed it aint letting me. Anyways still not sure on the year of the PC but its a Compaq - Presario AMD athlonXP 2400+, with Windows XP Home maybe around 5 or 6 years old. Not sure if that little bit helps, but if there is anything else that would be helpfull i will look it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDelta Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Hate to lose it all and it still dont work. Have over 10,000 songs on there.Man, don't format-away all of those songs. Get those copied to another disk before you do anything. From what i can tell to make it a master the pin comes out and not into another slot. Does this sound right? All my other HD still have the pin in them to say they are the master drive. Yet when i look at the chart for this one it looks like it has to be out. Just wondering if this sounds right is all. Not all hard drives use the same jumper settings for master/slave/cable select determination so go by the diagram on the hard drive in question. Also final note when i try the new HD i can't get into bois. I have to have my old HD in there to switch it to boot from CD or HD. That's very weird. You should be able to access BIOS on boot up with out a hard drive installed at all. It sounds like you have, but I just want to make sure... Have you tried it with all of your other hard drives removed from the system except for the one on which you want to install Windows? Honestly, I just think you've somehow missed the right combination of hard drive jumper settings and boot order in BIOS. Also, given the age of your computer, your BIOS might not recognize the new hard drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted August 6, 2008 Author Share Posted August 6, 2008 I don't know how to find the age just it has to be 5+ years but no more than 7. 7 years is really pushing it so i would say 5 to 6. As for only haven one HDD in the PC at that time yes only one. I will give it one more try tomorrow and right down everything it says when i turn the PC on. As for usen another one of my HDD well i might try that just need to pull them out. Only for test reasons only though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Also, given the age of your computer, your BIOS might not recognize the new hard drive. Funny thing - I tried installing a new 80 GB HD on one of my old PCs that is now my sister-in-laws this week, and it wold not recognise it. Back when I bought that PS the biggest HD that came in consumer PCs was a 6.4 Gb, so maybe older bios's don't recognise todays bigger drives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDelta Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 I don't know how to find the age... The very first information that pops up on your screen when you power on should be the BIOS info. It should tell you the brand, e.g., Award, AMI, etc. It should also report the version number and its date. A BIOS upgrade may be in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted August 6, 2008 Author Share Posted August 6, 2008 I don't know how to find the age... A BIOS upgrade may be in order. Oh yea how do you do a BIOS upgrade? Plus just to say the HDD i am putting in i had maybe a year after i got the PC so if you think its because its newer its only by one year tops if not by the same year as the PC. Its always been my second HDD on this PC since i had it. Anyways i will look in BIOS for the age for the next time i post and also try to get the info on what it says when i try the new HDD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR6 Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Funny thing - I tried installing a new 80 GB HD on one of my old PCs that is now my sister-in-laws this week, and it wold not recognise it. Back when I bought that PS the biggest HD that came in consumer PCs was a 6.4 Gb, so maybe older bios's don't recognise todays bigger drives? Yep, some older BIOS/mobos can't recognize a HD larger than 32GB. Try googling around to look for a solution, but if the mobo is really old (Pentium 1 system) you may be out of luck. However, anything Pentium 2/3 and above should really be fine The easiest way to see how old your HD is is to look on the HD itself - it should have the manufacturing date. A hard drive older than 5-7 years old is a bit risky to use - i.e. risk of failing. Saying that, I am still supporting some systems with HD's that are likely 10 years old DP, if you are really having that much trouble, try to find a friend locally that knows about computers and can guide you. Help over forums like this can never beat someone physically present who knows what he's doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDelta Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Its always been my second HDD on this PC since i had it. Ahhh, well that answers the question. If you've been using this HDD in your system, and it was showing up then your BIOS recognizes it. I'm back to thinking you've yet to hit the right combination of hard drive jumper settings and boot order in BIOS. However, the inability to access your BIOS with the "new" HDD is perplexing. Like I said you should be able to get in the BIOS with no HDD installed. In all your trials, have you ever successfully booted from your XP install disk and made it to the point where you could install Windows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpreacher Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Well i did try a new pin combo with the new HDD as master with a slave. I did get into BIOS that time, but when i let it just do its thing i get this error msg. NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+ALT+DEL to restart Maybe now its just finding out the boot option. Do you think if i set all the boot options to boot from CD that would do anything? Right now boot from CD is number 3 and floppy is number 1. What i have done is made number 1 the boot from CD and number 3 floppy. Just alittle switch of the two. If i made them all boot from CD would it just keep tring or don't it matter? Also yes i have redone my PC with a fresh install of windows XP before. A matter of fact it was less than a month ago when all this started. Thought that would help, but it turns out its just a bad HDD. I even today put in a new wire cord for the HDD because i heard Rocky say something went bad in hes. Didn't help any, but it still works with a new wire set in there so im just going to leave it and try to get the new HDD working up to speed. Also like i asked before do you think reformatting the new HDD before i try installing Windows will help it or should it just do it itself if its going to work at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDelta Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Sounds like you made progress with the jumpers in the HDD. Well done. Ahhh, missing NTLDR, I've had that one myself. It's an error that has several possible causes. There's a nice compilation of information about it on this page at tech-recipes.com. (Link fixed.) Sorry your question about reformatting the HDD wasn't addressed. It shouldn't make a difference if you reformat the HDD. It surely won't cure the NTLDR error (it will definitely be missing if you format the HDD. ) I do suggest that you put the CD first in the boot order. If that doesn't work, then making it 1st, 2nd, and 3rd won't make any difference. I understand that you have done a fresh install of XP before, but did you do it by booting from the XP CD or did you put in the XP CD or otherwise start running the XP CD after Windows was already running? During the course of this thread have you ever actually booted from the CD? What I'm getting at is this, perhaps your CD drive and/or the XP CD are not being recognized as "bootable" by the BIOS. Check out this Google Answers thread for great tips on troubleshooting problems with booting from a CD. Hang in there, we'll get it worked out! (I think .) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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