Booting/Starting Problem

[JJAlex10]

I just built a computer and went to start it and I cant get past a message that says "System boot fails insert disk." I checked the hard-drive by inserting it in my personal computer and it works fine and XP loads great. What else could be the problem?

[Rick]

Double check all the connections to your drives.
Including Power and Ribbon data cales.
Pin 1 to Pin 1 MUST match

Double check the Bios for the drive settings and that it can see/read the drive info

Make sure you have the drive included in the Boot order

[Whyzman]

Hello JJAlex10,

Welcome tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Forums!

Also, when I am building I prefer to initially crank things up using a boot disk. I am partial to Win98 boot disks to accomplish this. This allows me to see if the "grass roots" connections are tight.

I like to run a RAM tester and a Harddrive diagnostic at the outset.

Whatever way to go, as Rick suggested, you would need to set the boot order in your BIOS.

If you elect to us a boot disk you'd need to set the boot to the floppy, or A: drive first...

Also, if you've a fully loaded XP harddrive that you're transfering from one computer to another I suspect that you're going to run into difficulties. The operating system is configured to operate within a specific system (i.e. the Motherboard, peripherals, etc.).

[JJAlex10]

All the connections are correct and the order on the bios are right. Also i'm not transfering it from one computer to another i'm stated that I ran a test to make sure the hard-drive wasn't bad by insterting it and testing it in my own personal computer. Anymore suggestions anyone??

[Budfred]

First some questions: You said that "I checked the hard-drive by inserting it in my personal computer and it works fine and XP loads great.". Do you mean that you installed XP on the hard drive at that point, that XP was already on the hard drive or simply that XP was prepared to install on the hard drive? What OS are you giving the computer to boot to and where? Are you using a boot disk, the XP CD or something on the hard drive? Is the hard drive recognized by the BIOS?

Without knowing the details, any suggestions we make will just be shots in the dark. The more you tell us about your system and what troubleshooting you have done, the more likely we can help....

[JJAlex10]

We I loaded it first on the computer i built but tried to start it and it didn't work because after it was finish loading i got the message system boot failure insert system boot cd. So then my friend and i bought it to my personal computer and delated the partion and we did it and installed XP again. I'm using the Windows XP on the hard drive to boot from. It should be able to boot from the hard-drive. Yes in the bios the hard drive is recongized.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

If you installed XP with the new pc, ok. But you had probs, put it in your other pc, installed XP from there. Wrong! This is what the others are trying to tell you.

A clue to me is that you may have put this drive into your existing pc as a slave, so I will ask 'How are the jumpers set?'.

Deleting 'the partition' and installing again is like formatting your HDD over and starting fresh as you did with your friend. But from within the wrong pc.

Look to more basic or interior probs, starting with jumpers on harddrive AND motherboard.

http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif

Edit:
Oh, And reformat with the Startup disk, do partitions if preferred, reinstall OS onto primary active partition WITH (from, avec,) the new pc...

I have found some drives/ mobo's to install OS'es but not read from the drive afterwards if settings weren't entirely correct.

[JJAlex10]

No I didn't put it in as slave. The hard-drive is set to master that was checked more then once and when i tested it on my computer i took out my existing hard-drive. Nothing is wrong with the bios this problem was happening before i took out the hard-drive to test it. I tested to make sure XP was working fine and it works great on my computer.

[Whyzman]

What is your next move now that you have your new build harddrive loaded with XP and configured to your personal computer?

[JJAlex10]

My next move was to insert it into the computer i built. How do you figure it is configure for my personal computer? There is something wrong with one of the parts on the one i built. I'm guessing either RAM or motherboard is bad but i don't know how to figure that out without buyin new parts.

[Sylvander]

I’m no expert on all the details but:

Microsoft devised a new system designed to prevent the pirating of operating System software.

From the moment in time you install Win XP on a particular set of PC hardware you have 30 days to register the O/S with Microsoft or the O/S stops functioning.
A special code is generated using information on all the items of hardware that makes up the PC.
When you register, Microsoft presumably keeps a record of your issue of Win XP and the code number of your particular hardware set.
Something is done to then prevent Win XP from becoming disabled.
Now it will work past the 30-day limit and indefinitely, only on that particular PC.
On any other PC [or if you change the hardware on the registered PC without notifying Microsoft to have the hardware change registered] then Win XP will only work for 30 days and then disable itself.

Perhaps others will correct or improve that explanation.

[Whyzman]

How do you figure it is configure for my personal computer?
When a person loads an operating system into a computer it installs itself "configures" itself (i.e. adapts) to each computer's individual setup of hardware (i.e. Motherboard, Harddrive, CD-ROM/RW, etc.) and loads specific drivers based on each computer's needs.

Your personal computer will undoubtedly be different than the one you are building...So, the new Harddrive you loaded with XP, attached to your personal computer, will have loaded drivers etc. with the needs of your personal computer in mind.

This will create a problem if you attempt to swap that Harddrive into your new build. The operating system, in this case XP, has adjusted itself to meet the needs of your personal computer.

Let's try this....Windows operating systems as they come on the CD are pretty much "generic." Meaning, they can be used in any machine.

However, when you "install" the operating system into a computer it becomes "specific!" Meaning, it is now "configured" or adapted for use in that computer. This is recorded onto the Harddrive.

Can you see the problems with swapping an "installed" system onto an "alien" (new build) computer??

And, as Sylvander points out, you cannot even take the generic XP CD and load it into multiple computers...

In order for XP to work it needs to be "activated" by Microsoft. The Identification Code of each XP CD is recorded at Microsoft. If they see that the ID Code comes up more than once they know someone is pirating their software.

If you make major changes even to your own system you may need to "re-activate" with Microsoft to continue to keep it working...

I think we need to resolve this issue first...and then move on to troubleshooting your new build...;)