Hello all. I installed a MicroStar MS-6337LE5 in a new system I am building. The Windows installation has been problematic, in part, apparently, to a bad memory module. I kept running into those bluescreen "can't copy file ipseconP.chm" "bad pool caller" errors that pointed towards a hardware problem. Replacing the memory module and a couple of other components seems to have taken care of that, but the problem I am having now is much stranger. The system demands that the Windows XP cd be in the cd-rom drive before it will boot to Windows. If the Windows XP cd is in the cd drive, I get the "press any key to boot from cd" message. I don't have to actually do that to boot to Windows, just wait a few seconds then it starts normally. If I press a key to boot from the cd, it of course goes into setup. If the Windows XP cd is not in the drive I get "DISK BOOT FAILURE...". I even get this when I set the hdd as first boot device, even if I don't designate the cd drive as a boot device at all. I've cleared the CMOS several times, done a clean install several times, been through the BIOS with a fine tooth comb, trying to find something to enable or disable. After clearing the CMOS, the only thing I change, on the first try, is boot to cd drive first, which is a normal setting these days in light of the vanishing floppy. I don't know what else to do. It's a "reconditioned" motherboard, if that makes any difference. I have yet to update the bios; that's next.

Have you tried using a zero-fill utility to wipe the hard drive and start over from scratch?

This may be a case of some of the previous installs that failed having left data that is now corrupted (yes sometimes data can survive an MS fdisk/format routine....)

Thanks, that's a good idea. I was kind of thinking about that, because using the Windows XP cd setup partition and format always leaves, in this case, not one but two unformatted small partitions, one about 8mb and one 24mb. Would I be able to do that with an old Win98 startup disk, or to I need to find another utility at CNET?

Get the drive makers utilities.