XP reinstallation woes on Multiboot system

The latest episode in my dual boot (W98SE/XPH) fiddling/faffing saga

pmj...

concerns XP.
It first arose when trying to install software for a new scanner and
printer.I had installed the same software on the W98SE partition with
no problems.When I tried to do the same on the XP partition I got a
variety of stop error messages which involved restarting the pc so
that I could never get the software installed.These stop error
messages were frequent but random and while all were similar they were
not the same.And in hindsight they had been happening for some time
before I started installing printer/scanner software.But before I
changed some settings in Control Panel the errors caused the computer
to shutdown abruptly annd restart which at the time I thought nothing
about.
After struggling with these stop error messages via web-search and KB
which produced many questions but no answers,I decided to reformat the
partition that XP was on and reinstall it, having found the original
installation a breeze.Was I ever wrong!
After about six unsuccessful attempts to reinstall XP it's time to ask
for help from my friends in UPS.
I have tried two methods.First I booted directly to the XP CD where I

pmj...

Yep, the 2 methods you tried actually have some distinct (but subtle)
differences...

get a DOS type setup screen but blue.This proceeds ok fora while and

pmj...

Yep, that's called the "Text Mode" portion of Setup.

'copies files to the Windows installation folder'.The instant this
finishes however I get the same Stop Error screen again and you can
only restart the pc and start over.

pmj...

When you say "the instant it finishes", do you mean before the
Countdown to Reboot thingy? (the Red Progress Bar, saying:
"The PC will Reboot in 15 Seconds")

Or do you mean after it has (started to) Reboot (i.e. after the
15 Second Timer has finished) & before the next Stage is reached?

The second method of XP installation I have tried is to boot the pc
into W98SE (the only OS I now have and thank God for it as my lifeline
to UPS) and then let the XP CD autorun which produces a different
Windows type XP installation screen.This again proceeds again fora

pmj...

Yep, that is called the Win32 (32Bit) Setup, it allows you to choose
various Options (such as the Name of the windoze Folder etc,) which
aren't available when Running the Setup Routine when Booted from the CD.

You can also do that Setup, by Running the File Winnt32.exe (in the
i386 Folder on the CD) directly, you don't have to let the CD AutoRun
& then choose "Install WinXP".
If it does AutoRun, when you put the CD in (which you can stop it
from doing by holding the Shift Key down while the CD is Inserted
& keeping it held down until the CD Drive has finished being spun up
to speed & being Read), you can Exit out of the "Welcome" Screen
& then just Navigate around the CD, using windoze Explorer.

while setting up this and copying that but when it gets to where it
needs to restart the pc for the first time everything falls apart.

pmj...

So, what we need to do then, is to try & find out what's going wrong
at that point?

Because (I think) it restarts to a Multiboot Menu to which has been
added a third option Win XP Setup to which it quickly defaults which

pmj...

Yep, the WinXP Setup Routine ReWrites the Boot.ini File, to include
a line with a Reference to the new (incomplete) Installation & it Sets
the "Timeout=" Line to just *1* Second - the idea is so that the Machine
Boots straight into the rest of the Setup Routine, when it ReBoots.

You need to be *very* quick to catch it, if you want to Boot into any
other Operating System...
Press the Escape Key (or any of the Arrow Keys, but not the SpaceBar
or Enter Keys), when you see that Boot Menu, to Stop the Countdown,
so you can then choose one of the other Operating Systems.
You can then Open up the Boot.ini File & Edit it, to change the Timeout,
if you want, or to change the Text Description that is shown on the
Screen, or to change the order of the Menu Entries, or to change the
Default Operating System.
If you Set the Timeout to "-1" (that's Minus 1, which is equivalent to
an Infinite Timeout), then it doesn't Automatically Boot into any OS,
it just waits & you *have* to choose an OS to Boot into.

then restarts the XP CD with the DOS type setup screen from the very

pmj...

Nope - it shouldn't Boot up from the CD at that point.
So long as you don't "press any Key", then it Boots from the
(Temporary) Boot Files that are in a (Temporary) Directory on the
Hard Disk.

Which yes, does *look* similar to the Text Mode Setup Screen
that you get when Booted from the CD.

Jeff Gaines...

That's a bit odd because at that stage it should boot from the HD, not
the CD.

Did you format the XP HD? It may be worth down-loading memtest86 from
more sensitive than W98 to memory/hardware problems. If you've had the
issues for a while I would suspect hardware, or perhaps a driver issue
(XP isn't perfect, when I install it to a PC with a Matrox P650
graphics card it defaults to a monitor resolution that my monitors
can't handle which takes a lot of faffing to fix).

As andon has pointed out vanilla XP doesn't include SATA drivers - but
if it's slip-streamed with SP1 (or preferably SP2) then there are
drivers included, I can't remember if the new HD was PATA or SATA.

You need to protect that W98 installation! Do you have a way to take an
image of the drive (Ghost, Drive Image or similar)?

beginning and the whole sequence begins again which end up with the
Stop Error Screen again.Again the Stop Error messages are similar but

pmj...

Well, if it definitely *is* actually Booting from the CD, then there's
something wrong somewhere & that's the first place to look!

try taking the CD out, when it gets to that ReBoot, so it *can't* Boot
from the CD & see if it Boots up OK from the (Temporary) Boot Files on
the hard Disk.

It will then ask you to "Insert the WinXP Install CD", when it notices
that the CD isn't in the Drive.

not the same except that the only way out is to restart the pc with
nothing accomplished.

pmj...

Doh!
:-(

Can you Post up some examples of what the STOP Error Message(s) say?
In particular any References to any "Modules" or Files that it says.

I am hoping that the knowledgeable ones in here will be able to help
me out of this vicious circle.

pmj...

I haven't come across that particular problem during any of the WinXP
Installations I* have done.
But I did have a *major* problem, when it wouldn't even Boot Up from
the Install CD!
It wouldn't even get as far as the "Copying Files" bit, or even to
the Screen where you choose to Start the setup Routine.
:-(

It came up with a BSoD STOP Error, while it was Booting Up!

But that turned out to be cos it was WinXP Original (not SP1 or SP2)
& that crashes when used with a Machine with a SATA Hard Disk, cos
before SP1, WinXP didn't come with any SATA Drivers.

The only clue I have is that the problems seem to arise when the
installation process (in both methods) gets to the stage when it needs
to reboot the pc.And then the reboot process is complicated by the

pmj...

OK, so that's the clue we need to work on...

What Partitions do you have on the PC at the mo?
& what Partition are you choosing to do the Install onto?
Is it a Primary Partition?
Or a Logical Drive in an Extended Partition?
& is it Formatted with FAT32 or NTFS?

fact that there is a multiboot menu left there by the original
installation of XP which was not removed by the reformat of the
separate partition where XP originally resided.

pmj...

That's easily sorted. (see above).
Just Edit the Boot.ini File (which is on the "System" (Boot) Partition,
(normally the C:" Drive) regardless of what Partition you are Installing
WinXP into.

Look carefully at the lines in the Boot.ini File (making sure that
you can see where the actual Lines end, cos they are quite long
& may well WordWrap in the Window, when you look at them in something
like Notepad.) & when you have sussed out which line refers to which
Operating System Installation, then you can Delete the line that refers
to the one you no longer need.

But since I am the one in the bxxxxrs muddle obviously I know very
little.

pmj...

We all started off by knowing very little about the WinXP Installation
Routine!
:-)

But having done it a fair number (i.e. lots!) of times & Read various
Reference Articles about it, we know pretty much what to expect & what
to try when things don't go as the should during it.

All comments and advice in what seems to be coming a regular
occurrence I will be most grateful for.

andon...

is this using a Sata HDD?
If so then the prob is that XP don't do Sata and needs
a floppy driver to tell XP CD where to install to.

pmj...

But WinXP *does* (now) support SATA Hard Disk Drives, only the original
Version of WinXP didn't - WinXP SP1 & SP2 both work fine with SATA
Drives & I think Hawkeye is using a Recent (Retail?) Version of WinXP,
that he bought, so that would have SP2 on it.

Also, the SATA prob with the original WinXP usually only happened
when first Booting up off the WinXP CD, if it manages to get as
far as Copying the Files from the CD to the Hard Disk (which Hawkeye
said it does?), then the SATA thing isn't likely to be the prob.

andon

pmj...

See above!
:-)

HTH, but I'm sorry I haven't got any Quick & simple, definitive thing
for you to do to make it Fixted.
:-(