Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Paging Win2K and pc experts everywhere...

This is topic Paging Win2K and pc experts everywhere... in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 12-26-2001, 09:40 PM:

I have just attempted to install Win2K on a hard drive four times, with no success.

My pc has two hard drives connected - one on each IDE channel, with the CD-ROM as the primary slave. Previously, both drives have worked fine, but the newer, larger one has decided to take a holiday for some reason...or has it?

After removing the partition, formatting and installing Win2K, these were the results:

1) Install crashed and had to start over
2) Install 'worked' but trying to press the 'start' button did nothing, and it just remained 'pushed in' with no result. Trying to open 'My Computer' revealed nothing except an error message.
3) Same as 2.
4) This time the start button and 'My Computer' worked, but the 'launcher' controls were empty and Internet Explorer wasn't present! (This should be a default, of course).

Could this be a faulty hard drive, copy of Win2K, IDE controller fault or motherboard failure of some kind? Yes, I will test this hard drive on another system but in the meantime, opinions please!

Thanks, folks!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-26-2001, 11:23 PM:

At this point, I would either take the large HD in question and do an fdisk, then put it into an existing happy Windows computer and see if you can read and write to it properly, or try installing Windows on the known good HD.

For what it's worth, here is the procedure I have always used:
PARTITION DRIVES
Insert Windows 98 startup disc into floppy.
Turn computer on.
Select boot device…floppy.
Start computer without Cdrom support.
A:/>fdisk
Enable large disc support? YES
Fdisk options, select 1
Type of partition, select 1 primary
Max size? YES
Press escape when finished checking drive integrity.
Reboot computer or if adding another drive select option 5 and repeat steps above, selecting drive #2.

FORMAT DRIVES
Leave Windows 98 startup disc in floppy drive.
Turn computer on.
Start computer without Cdrom support.
A:/>format c:
Proceed? YES
A:/>format d: (if two drives)
Volume label? ENTER for none
Reboot computer.

INSTALL OPERATING SYSTEM
Boot from cdrom.
Welcome to setup hit ENTER.
License agreement, hit F8.
Press ENTER to install on selected partition (drive C)
Select…format the partition using the NTFS file system.
To format the drive…press F.
***long waiting period with an auto-reboot***
Allow Windows to run the server setup.
At Regional settings…NEXT
Enter name/organization
Enter 25 character weird Windows code.
Licensing mode…per server 5 concurrent connections
Computer name…whatever desired and password…whatever desired.
Windows 2000 components…double click Internet Information Services and select FTP
Windows 2000 components…check terminal services
Click NEXT
Check date and time and click NEXT
Terminal services setup…remote administration mode and click NEXT
***very long wait***
When finished, remove cdrom and click FINISH.
After reboot, press CTL/ALT/DEL to begin.

Some of those steps may not be needed. I documented these steps on a Windows 2000 Server installation for reference.

Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 12-27-2001, 12:29 AM:

What chipset do you have on your motherboard? What kind of processor and speed?

ALi, VIA, AMD, and Intel are the major players in motherboard chipset manufacturers. Depending on who the chipset maker is, you will need additional drivers, for example, motherboard with VIA chipset on them require the 4in1 drivers to be installed for windows to work properly and also realize full potential in system performance.
Also is the OS the only change to this computer, no processor or motherboard upgrades?

Providing that your CD-ROM is bootable you can FDisk your hard drives and reboot using the CD-ROM, if not you need to go into the Bootdisk directory located on the CD-ROM and run makeboot.exe (this will require 4 diskettes) once booted into the Windows Installer select the disk that you want the OS to go on (it can actually be either one) format the partition (reccommend NTFS) and let windows complete the installation customizing as needed. If there is a windows component that you will not need (such as IIS) do not install it for 2 primary reasons,1 will elimate any potential security problems in those components, and 2 save you disk space. If you are going to be using this as a simple desktop workstation, youw will not need many of the options available.

Once you have the OS loaded, first order of business is to install any motherboard drivers such as the 4in1 drivers. From there install other drivers as needed.

Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 12-27-2001, 12:41 AM:

My first guess would be drivers, and/or a bios update. Second guess would be memory, even if a previous OS (W9x)worked fine this is still possible. W2K works the system more, and will reveal any marginal parts. Third would be the power supply.

First, try safe mode, when it says "Starting Windows 2000", press F8. Then select "Safe Mode". It will then continue to start-up. If all works fine it is definitely a driver or bios issue. Check with you computer manufacturer, or if you built it yourself, motherboard manufacturer, for a bios update. Check with the manufacturer for video, sound card, and modem driver updates.

Don't forget to install the latest service pack (SP2).

For a good book on PC hardware grab a copy of PC Hardware in a Nutshell by Robert and Barbara Thompson.

Steven Gorsky

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 12-27-2001, 03:46 AM:

Hi Michael

I really have no idea how to help you with your question...but can I just say here that this is the first time I've been on televsion?

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-27-2001, 07:09 PM:

Michael--I'm betting that you have a memory issue or some other hardware-related problem. An improperly terminated SCSI chain or a loose cable or something similar would tend to cause the results that you list. Does it work with other OSes? Which ones?

For the love of God, please don't install IIS. I would say more about how IIS is a terrible security hole waiting to happen, but this is a "family-friendly" forum...

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 12-28-2001, 12:04 PM:

Thanks so far, everyone! I've also noticed that my system clock loses time everytime I shut down and start up the system. This has been getting worse.

Scott: I just tried Win98, and so far that seems to work. Also, I previously had Win2K installed on it but decided the drive was getting full so I backed it up and decided to start over. A while back it also had Win95 installed. What is IIS? Sounds great!

John: Television?!? Now I know you're trying to be deliberately cryptic.

Steven: I haven't tried the service packs yet, nor safe mode. Those are good suggestions.

Jason: The chipset is an Intel HX (430, from memory). The processor is a Pentium 133.

Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 12-28-2001, 05:02 PM:

The system clock may be loosing is oomph, which would explain the loss of system time. IDE drivers shouldn't be much of an issue since that chipset supported Ultra DMA (not DMA33/66/100). You may need to replace the battery on the motherboard. Make sure that the hard drive is set to be automatically detected, make sure the detected settings match the properties of the hard drive, such as Cylinders, Heads, LBA, etc. check with the motherboard manufacturer to make sure you have the latest BIOS.

Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 12-28-2001, 06:54 PM:

Your system is a bit outdated. Win2k can work on it but it does want more oomph. You might want to bring it up to one of the newer AMD or Intel chips equivalent to PIII or higher. This will mean you will have to update your motherboard as well. I bit the bullet and upgraded my machine and went with a P4 and went to XP professional. Not one blue screen of death since then. I money is an issue, you will want to upgrade your BIOS. Microshaft usually has a list on their site letting you know what chipsets are compatible and what BIOS versions you will at least need.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-28-2001, 07:10 PM:

IIS is MS's attempt at a combination web server/application server. For the most part, people use it as a simple web server, even though there are better choices for ths purpose. I like Apache (http://www.apache.org/), which is free with source code and runs on many platforms (mostly Win32 and Unix), but there are other good options as well. The Film-Tech site uses Apache running on Linux.

IIS has had a number of widely publicized security issues of late.

Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 12-29-2001, 01:09 AM:

Well, as Christopher said you going to want something with more oomph. If money is an issue, go with 98 second edition, unless you really need W2k. Replacing the computer for something more modern is the best approach. While you can get W2k to work on a P133, it will take forever for applications to load. I have a machine with a similar set-up, but it only does internet connection sharing (ICS) and firewall duties - nothing else.

Steven Gorsky