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Desperately need help installing XP

cheekybobcat

cheekybobcat

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 26, 2007
533
0
U-S of A
My grandma got a computer for Christmas and she hates Vista. She has been used to XP because she has been using a computer with XP for the past year. She bought an XP install disc and I booted the computer from the install disc and installed it. However, I think something went wrong because I just left it there to install and my grandma told me that a message came up that said a few files weren't copied and to either skip the files or retry. She said she skipped them and I was just like, alright whatever; maybe it won't matter.

Now, when the computer starts, it freezes on the Windows XP loading page every time. I've let it sit for about 15 minutes and nothing has happened. I don't know where to go from here. I've tried going to Microsoft's website but anything that has to do with XP redirects you to a list of reasons why you should switch to Vista. Can anyone help me fix this?
I was thinking a clean install of XP but I can't get past the XP loading page so I don't know what to do. Any help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Ok.
I tried reinstalling the OS. This time, no uncopied files and no problems. It went up to a "Restarting Computer" page and nothing happened for a good 20 minutes. I turned off the computer and turned it back on and it went to the loading page again. It all looked good but it froze again. I left it and eventually after about 5 minutes it went to a Windows XP setup page. It is currently installing and says it will take approximately 39 minutes. So, after the approximate 39 minutes, I'll see what's going on. Hopefully it'll work. Thanks for the responses.
 
Bad news...
I walked away since it said it will take about 40 min to install Windows. At 34 minutes, it froze. I turned off the computer and turned it back on and started it again and the same thing happened; froze at 34 min remaining. I tried this two more times and each time the installer freezes at 34 minutes remaining. On the screen it says "34 Minutes Remaining" and "Installing Devices".
It freezes every time like clockwork as soon as it gets to 34 minutes remaining.

No files were left out during the initial install when I booted the computer to the disc and no other problems occurred. Can anyone help with this?
If you need any specs on the computer, just tell me. The computer is about 2 years old and it Vista was brand new when the computer was purchased. (It was given to her by my uncle) It ran Vista about as good as Vista could get.
Please, help needed. Thanks for any help/suggestions.
 
Maybe there is something wrong with your bios? But if vista could run on them then xp should be able to.

try formatting the hard drive and starting over, if it doesn't work the you need to panic.
 
Super duper. I already tried reformatting the C drive when it didn't work.
Should I reformat the D as well?

The disc we are using is an XP Install Disc for Dell it says. My grandma bought it on Amazon so she figured it would work on hers as well. The page didn't say anything about it being a Dell only install disc. Hers is an HP by the way.
 
I have had issues like this with windows 2000, it would lock when trying to install the hardware.

When you reinstall it, initially when it asks to press any key to boot from cd and it prompts you to press F6 for raid drivers. When it is asking u to press F6 start pressing f5 - This disables ACPI power which i found can cause some older machines to hang when there trying to install hardware.
 
that may be set to work with dell bios (but im not 100% certain), or the dell restore system.

I would recommend downloading a generic install disk and using the key that came with the dell disk.
 
toolbox said:
I have had issues like this with windows 2000, it would lock when trying to install the hardware.

When you reinstall it, initially when it asks to press any key to boot from cd and it prompts you to press F6 for raid drivers. When it is asking u to press F6 start pressing f5 - This disables ACPI power which i found can cause some older machines to hang when there trying to install hardware.
Click to expand...

I am very PC illiterate and not too computer savvy in general...
But basically what you were saying is to repeatedly press F5 when the prompt to press F6 for raid drivers comes up?
 
EV0LUTION said:
that may be set to work with dell bios (but im not 100% certain), or the dell restore system.

I would recommend downloading a generic install disk and using the key that came with the dell disk.
Click to expand...

I cannot get into the computer I am trying to put XP on.
How would I get the downloaded install disc onto the computer I want?
Just put it on a regular CD-R?
 
cheekybobcat said:
Super duper. I already tried reformatting the C drive when it didn't work.
Should I reformat the D as well?

The disc we are using is an XP Install Disc for Dell it says. My grandma bought it on Amazon so she figured it would work on hers as well. The page didn't say anything about it being a Dell only install disc. Hers is an HP by the way.
Click to expand...

That is your problem right there. You have a XP install disc for Dell that you are trying to install on a HP. You need an original install disc, not one that came for a specific computer.
 
Hmm, might not be relevant, but I know i had to make a slipstreamed SP3 XP disc when i had to reinstall, as the drivers of the BIOS etc had been updated, so the PC wouldn't take anything other than an updated XP disc. Had to monkey around with the HD settings in the BIOS too so the PC would see the new drives. With a specific time it's going tits up, i'd imagine googling that specific bit might help a bit.
 
cheekybobcat said:
My grandma got a computer for Christmas and she hates Vista. She has been used to XP because she has been using a computer with XP for the past year.[...]Any help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Suggestion: never let grandmothers/clueless users make important decisions that are even remotely related to computers :)

Now for the Help bit:
Use the recovery routine on that computer to get vista back in there. Then change the visual theme to windows classic if your grandma likes XP so much.

create a non-admin user for your grandma and one admin user for maintenance tasks. Both users must have passwords and your grandma must use the normal user all the time. The admin credentials are to be used only on the 3rd saturday of each month to use windows update. Education is key here and this is not different from what you would do on a Mac computer.

Using that admin user, download AVAST! antivirus and Uninstall all antivirus software and all "helper" applications that the computer manufacturer may have added. reboot with the computer disconnected from the network and install AVAST! antivirus. Apply the HOSTS file as per the instructions on this website:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm (you can use his to speed up and protect any computer you use to access the internet)

Install this:
http://www.winvistaclub.com/Ultimate_Windows_Tweaker.html
to disable disk indexing, smart caching of applications and enable fast shutdown.

Install Firefox and set it as the default browser. Get your grandma a google account and have her use gmail instead of a local email client.
Install this here as well:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

And that's it. I dare your grandmother to mess up or find fault in her Windows installation if she follows these instructions.

This was written in the Mac Mini I got for my mom ;)
 
I hope you know that Vista is a pain in the butt to remove. The only way I know how to successfully remove vista and install Xp is to a FULL hard drive format and do a clean install.
 
Most new computers don't support an XP downgrade. I've tried on dozens of machines I've worked on, but most new ones just won't do it.

Sorry :eek:
 
iObama said:
Most new computers don't support an XP downgrade. I've tried on dozens of machines I've worked on, but most new ones just won't do it.

Sorry :eek:
Click to expand...

Part of the reason that XP may not support the newer machines is because of the EFI. I have noticed this on a lot of new machines have EFI boot. For whatever reason XP is being its usual self and has issues with this.

What gets me is, it runs beautifully on Macs ... this could be simply how Apple programmed their EFI.

Why don't you just build an EXTREMELY cheap XP machine? You would be spending at most $250 the parts are very cheap to get. You go the monitor, the keyboard and the mouse. (http://www.newegg.com) is a good place for that.
 
nplima said:
because spending extra just to be able to use an 8 year old operating system is an expensive mistake to make?
Click to expand...

Understandable, my mother prefers using Windows XP only because she "hates" the idea of Vista restricting her from downloading. I had to prevent downloads because she would just download anything and everything then install it without reading what it is going to do. Then she asks me why her computer is so slow. Well, it would have been fine if you paid attention to what it is installing (lots and lots of spyware and adware crap).
 
As of now, no luck. I did reformat the hard drive and clean installed XP but as soon as I booted the computer and it just kept freezing. Thanks for everyon'e help. I think what my grandma decided to do is buy a brand new version of XP in the box and all; one not meant for a Dell PC. Unfortunately, the Amazon didn't specify that the install disc was specifically for Dell...
 
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