Ok i tried fixing my friends computer... turned out pretty bad

The computer needed windows so I let him borrow my XP Media Center disc... it installs but he skips a file cause it cant find it or something.

The computer was a mess it would get the Blue Screen of death when you tried to use windows update.

So i formated and started to install windows but EVERY FRIGGEN TIME IT WOULD JUST ABOUT TO FINISH THE COMPUTER WOULD RESTART ITSELF

then setup would have to start over.... so now its stuck in this friggen loop

any way to fix this at all?

Oh man that so stressful.

Why don't you try installing windows from a different CD?

we dont have one thats the only XP SP 2 cd i have


unless i really want to install XP Home SP 0!!!! :downs: :downs: :downs:

Maybe you should try that.

Also try reformatting again, and reinstall. Also disable the "restart on error" thing.

where is the restart on error thing?

The restart on error option is only an option once XP is installed. During the installation process Reboot on error is not an option, unless the BIOS has a similar option.

At what point is the PC rebooting when reinstalling? Is it getting past the CD-ROM portion of the install, then rebooting and going to the Hard Drive installation?

Has this computer ever been used to reinstall XP before on any other PC? If not, you could use the same CD on another PC should you happen to have another PC that needs XP installed. If that's not an option then you have a couple options since you mentioned you have an original XP Home disc.

First you could slipstream SP2 into the install and burn a new CD so that SP2 will install from the get go, but you would need a CD Burner, and bruning software capable of making a bootable XP CD. If this is an option you'd consider, see the following link for the appropriate instructions:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

If this is not something you want to do then you could disconnect the PC from the network/internet, use the XP Home disc to install XP, then from another PC (with a CD burner) download a copy of SP2 and burn it to a disc along with any drivers you may need and otherwise not have on a CD. You could then use the CD to install the drivers and SP2 on top of the XP Home install; at which point you should be safe to reconnect the PC to the network/internet and download any remaining updates and/or drivers.

If you were trying to install by launching the installer from Windows, as opposed to booting off the CD and starting the installer from there, try booting off the CD. My XP CD came with drivers that installed if you launched the installer from Windows... but the installer would freeze when installing networking drivers and I'd have to reboot... and it would try to install them again.

But booting off the CD installed plain vanilla XP without any of the bundled @#$^ and it worked fine.

FCTuner: SP2 doesn't factor into his problems. However, I have found that slipstreaming SP2 makes Windows boot 10x faster than if you install SP2 after the fact.

It could be the CD but I want to say your HDD is hosed. What happens when you run chkdsk?

well we did we booted off the CD and it goes good till it gets to the blue screen with tips and now it just freezes after the part where you have to set the date....

the CD is fine cause its the one that i used to install on my computer and it was working before like i said except for the blue screen of death for windows update

im not sure what happens with chkdsk

so run it and tell us.

if you dont know how, boot from the windows cd, and at the first screen press "r", that'll bring up a dos looking screen asking what install you'd like to repair. press "1". it'll ask for an admin password, if you have one type it in, if not just hit enter.

then you'll have a command line like this

C:\WINDOWS>

just type in "chkdsk /r" (no quotes)and let it do its thing. its a waste of time running chkdsk as just a diagnostic without repairing, cause if it finds something you just have to run it again with /r.

Actually it would be better do it from the recovery console or some other boot disk on chkdsk /r /p. The other way may not let it scan all of the areas it needs to.

i Know SP2 doesn't factor into the problem, it was a suggestion to his response about having a Windows XP Home disk that doesn't include SP2, so he could use that disk (instead of the one he has been) to get it up and (if he didn't slipstream SP2 with the CD) he could then install SP2.



I am a little confused by this sentence. WHen you say "it" in "it was working before, like I said..." are you trying to refer to the CD? The implication I got eariler was this was the first time this CD was used for this PC? If not, when did you last use it for your PC?

As previously stated, the chkdsk option would be another great place to start. If you still run into problems after running chkdsk, try the other CD you have to at least see if it will get past the point you are at, unless you have another hard drive around to try instead.

Yea i used the CD not too long ago to install windows on my computer. I will try the chkdsk as soon as im back at his house.

i just told him to do it from the recovery console. i just didnt name it.

i dont remember what /p does.