Hi there, this is my first post here.

Well I have a problem with my PC. Last summer I bought a new computer and I, with the help from someone, moved the hard disk from my old PC to my new one to transfer my stuff to the new one... Well we put the Hard disk back but now these months later the computer wont go into the Windows. It askes for a boot disk but doesn´t go any furhter than that. I was planning to format the hard disk so I don't have to keep the data... It´s a Tatung computer, and it´s got a windows Xp.

I am computer illiterate so please excuse that, but so this is just a ramble, but I want to format the hard disk and install a new operating system.

:D Funny name! I like it!
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Did you use the old drive as a slave? Maybe you left the drive jumper set to slave and that is why it will not boot to Windows. It will need to be set properly to master to boot and also to be able to format and reinstall XP.

If this doesn't help, please post back and give us more of your system information.

A good thread for newbies to read through is here (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25502).

well, i will certainly try this out thanks!

Well I think it is safe to say that we must have changed the jumper setttning of the drive when we moved it. I checked this out and changed the position of the piece of plastic that determines wether the drive is a slave or a master. But nothing changed. But there is nothing plugged in this jumper, should there be? if there shouldn´t be anything plugged does it still matter if it is set to slave or master?

Thanks!

IF THERE IS NOTHING it is slave then

[/QUOTE]which hard drive you have and company name and whts the capacity
tell me whts the configration of your computer also

[/QUOTE]which hard drive you have and company name and whts the capacity
tell me whts the configration of your computer also

intellectuless I may have got it wrong but is the new PC the Tatung with WinXP installed on it and it has just stopped functioning. If that is the case then what is the role of the HDD from the old PC? I had thought it was just used once to transfer your data when you got the new PC.

Can you also post the exact message you are getting about a boot disk.

If you simply want to format and do a clean install of WinXP onto your "new" computer then just make sure the boot order is to the CD before the HD and boot to the CD. Choose new installation and agree to the MS confirmation using F8. Setup should reach a point where it gives you options about the existing OS. Delete the current partition and then clean install the new installation into the space so vacated. Have your CD key at the ready and you can avoid having to reactivate if you copy the files \WINDOWS\system32\wpa.dbl and \WINDOWS\system32\wpa.bak to a floppy diskette and then copy them back (UNDER SAFE MODE) after the reinstallation has completed.

ammu4u
IF THERE IS NOTHING it is slave then It depends on the make/model - there is no generalisation here. In front of me I have a Seagate that no jumpers means slave and a WD that no jumpers means master w/o slave.

Well, thank you all for posting... I just removed the cap that determined wether it is a slave or a master and restarted the computer and woila, the computer just started up the windows so it's solved.

Now I am going to try and format the computer. I have the XP operation system on a disk that came with my Dell machine, a friend of mine told I problably could only use that disk to install it on my Dell, well can that be the case or should I be able to install the XP on the Tatung machine?

Thanks again for all the response!

I would not recommend installing Windows XP on one machine and then moving the drive to a different computer, if that's what you're asking.

It's better to have the drive set as a master (which it appears as it is now) and in place in the computer it will be used in when you install the Operating System. The reason is that during setup, the OS will configure itself based on the PCs hardware. This is one of the reasons it's not usually possible to simply take a hard drive out of one machine and install it as a master in another.

Paul or FTT, am I missing anything?

I think Fruss TT had spotted what was going on originally and that the Tatung is the old drive and not the new one, which is a Dell, and which is the one I thought there was a problem with now. And ... that when the original drive was put back in the original PC it gave an "Invalid Disk" or similar warning.

So if I have finally grasped the problem that you want to use a Dell version of WinXP to install the OS onto an old Tatung. In that case there are potential problems - both legal and practical. Unless you have a very strange EULA you wont be alowed to run the OEM version of WinXP on the Tatung - and certainly not have the same version running simultaneously on two PCs. As to whether it will work or not only trial and error will tell you but the installation is customised to work with the Dell it came with including an embedded product key and activation. Since the hardware has effectively changed I would guess that even if it installs OK you will be locked out until it is activated - if at all.

The other consideration is that the older PC may not pass the hardware configuration tests or have the minimum specs to support WinXP.

I don't think, FastLearner, that the installation is intended to be on one PC and then the HDD moved to another PC - but then I have already misinterpreted what was going on once already. If such a switch was done however then product activation would still be problematic after the new hardware had been detected - assuming it succeeded.

I don't think, FastLearner, that the installation is intended to be on one PC and then the HDD moved to another PC - but then I have already misinterpreted what was going on once already. If such a switch was done however then product activation would still be problematic after the new hardware had been detected - assuming it succeeded.

Yeb, thats it.

What I was wondering about is the Installation CD, and if I could use the CD that came with the Dell to Install XP on the Tatung, so you have pretty much answered that.

Thank you guys for the assistance ! :)