3 days on..I need help

[Cindy_59]

I very much need some help with a software re-install.

My laptop is a 2009 Dell Studio 1555 with 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570, and 500G 7200RPM Sata HD FreeFall Sensor. When bought, it came with Vista, I downgraded to Windows XP Pro. I have both Reinstallation CDs, as well as the Drivers and Utilities CD, and all the other software CDs that came with the lappy.

Here is the problem. I wanted to remove Linux from my hard drive since I seldom use it. Then do a complete wipe and re-install of Windows XP Pro. When I did this the partition we had made for the Linux kept it from booting my XP software. After trying a couple other things, I did a complete format and reinstall. Not liking Vista much, I just went with the xp cd.

Format seemed to go fine. I set a partition to install the Windows XP as the total of the C drive with exception of a small FAT32 partition which I left alone.

Installation of the XP seemed to go fine, but in the end when it rebooted it couldn't find the OS. Went through this a couple times in entirety with the same result. No OS at all, even though it seemed to install from the reinstallation cd.

This version as purchased was a Vista computer, set up by Dell at factory with XP as a paid "downgrade". It then occured to me that possibly the Vista had needed to be installed first, then install the XP over that for some reason. Tried to install Vista today and got to a point where it can't find system or drivers either one.

Please advise what to do from here.


Now all I have is a black screen with this message:

Your CD/DVD drive during this boot cycle is f:

A RAMDISK drive is available for this boot cycle as C:

It contains several Hard Drive setup tools. Please use these tools only under the direction of Dell Support Staff.

F:\>_ (blinking curser)



I went to this link:http://dell.to/XXg6am but my laptop gets to point 7 of Step 4, that's when it gives me the screen that says I have no operating system. So far as I remember, the FAT32 partition is still there.


It just seems to be missing a *bootstrap* or something.


I really want to complete this myself.

Can anyone talk me through this?

 

[Harvey]

1. Why did you leave the FAT32 partition? It was probably part of Dell's recovery system. Since you don't plan to recover Vista, you don't need it so you you may as well free up the entire disk for your XP installation.

2. From your description, it sounds like your XP recovery disk set is also from Dell. If not, you should download the XP drivers for your machine from Dell's site before you attempt a new installation. When you install XP, you can use a flash drive to copy all of them to your laptop. I like to keep them in one subfolder in my Downloads folder (typically found under My Documents).

I suggest completely wiping all exisiting partitions and reformatting the drive from the ground up. The easiest way to do this would be to remove the drive from your laptop, connect it as a slave to another computer, and use it to delete all existing partitions and format the drive as a single NTFS partition. The SATA connectors for laptop drives are the same as for desktop drives so all you'll need is a SATA data cable and either an available SATA power connector from the PSU or a four pin Molex to SATA power adapter like this.

Then, reinstall the drive in your laptop. Unless the drive is corrupted, the system and the XP installation disk should see it as a new drive with no possible conflicting partition data.

Hope that helps.

 

[Cindy_59]

Thanks for getting back to me about this. Now it is giving me an Hdd password error code [10327] System Service Tag code [597S8K1]
but I'm absolutely positive I entered the pw correctly...because it's password for every pw on my computer!
I'd really like to work further on this tonight..even though it's already 8.30pm. I thought the cable off my external hard drive might do to connect with, but now this other error has me wondering if it will even allow me access?

Sorry if this seems silly...I just want my lappy back

ok...rebooted...with f12 and it accepted my pw yeah! now to try your suggestion if at all possible. If my cable doesnt work, then I'll hit the shop tomorrow and get what I need to carry on.

Thanks again, and I'll either be back with more questions, or be back to say it was genius

 

[Bubbaleone]

As an alternative to the method Harvey outlined for you; your Vista installation disk gives you GUI access (unlike XP's recovery console) to Microsoft's diskpart tool which you can use to wipe your HDD prior to installing XP: Boot your Vista installation DVD from the BIOS boot menu. Instead of selecting to install Windows, select the repair option (lower left corner of screen). When the Windows Recovery Options screen opens; select the command prompt and type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line:

diskpart
(starts the diskpart tool)

list disk
(This will give you a list of disk numbers to select from)

select disk #
(replace # with the actual number of your HDD)

clean
(this leaves the disk in an unallocated or raw state and completes quickly)

Exit diskpart, close the command prompt, then select to shut down the computer. Remove the Vista disk, then boot your XP disk and begin the installation.


.

 

[Cindy_59]

Thanks for the reply Bubbaleone,

But now I have this:

Hdd password. Error code [103271]

System Service Tag code [597S8K1]

It's locked down for sure now...is there any point in my trying to get in touch with Dell and getting the Hdd Password? All my passwords were set to the same pw for this laptop. How could it have changed itself anyway?

Any insight? I so much wanted to try your suggestion. Sheesh

 

[Harvey]

Thanks for the reply Bubbaleone,

But now I have this:

Hdd password. Error code [103271]

System Service Tag code [597S8K1]

It's locked down for sure now...is there any point in my trying to get in touch with Dell and getting the Hdd Password? All my passwords were set to the same pw for this laptop. How could it have changed itself anyway?

Any insight? I so much wanted to try your suggestion. Sheesh

Dell's tech support would probably have the most info. The only down side to contacting them is that they may charge you for the help if your machine is out of warranty.

Before you do, try removing the drive from the machine and starting it. If you don't get those codes, it won't boot, but whatever is blocking you is probably on the drive, not in non-volitile ROM.

Also, in line with Bubbaleone's idea, when you start a new installation with XP installation media, among the first options is usually one to delete all existing partitions before it starts. If you can get that far, give it a try.

Good luck.

 

[Cindy_59]

Ok, Harvey?
I've taken the hd out, and it's loaded to Vista on the cd drive...but when I selected the Repair Computer option, the next screen goes to System Recovery Options, and it can not see any operating systems (of course it can't as it was deleted when the formatting took place)
Now it wants to load drivers, which it's done earlier today, but I've no idea what they are called on the Drivers cd I put in...

 

[Harvey]

I wasn't expecting you to be able to do anything with the drive out. I just wanted to know if you got the error codes that way. The fact that it boots to the Vista CD suggests the problem is written on the hard drive, not a password in EPROM that you couldn't access with any drive.

In my last post, I suggested that you power up with the XP installation disk in the optical drive and, when it starts, boot to it and try a full installation of XP. One of the first options will be to choose whether you want to delete all previous exisiting partitions on the drive. You may have to watch for an option to hit a key to boot from the CD when it first starts to boot.

If you get that far, try it, and let us know what happens. If you already did that, then I misunderstood what you've done so far.

But now that you have it out, if you have another machine with available SATA connectors, you may as well try the first method I suggested.

 

[Cindy_59]

I am reluctant to say that we might be winning this battle, but...somehow, someway it accepted my password as gospel. I've deleted the FAT, taken out all the partitions, and it's doing a long format.
I'm allowing myself one small *woop* here as I'm not through the fire yet. I've been this far before, but still, it's better than it's been for 2 days now. Somehow, 1am doesn't seem quite so late when things are finally moving forward.
Other than having the hdd out and in a dozen times (or more?) and just kept resetting it to boot to cd I've no idea why it finally decided to cooperate. But after looking at the Dell website and seeing that the Seagate 500Gb hd would only cost me $70 (if I were in the U.S.) it did make me a bit less inclined to call the Service techs and get the pw.
In any event, I can do that tomorrow if I must, but for tonight, it's formatting maybe, just maybe with ya'lls help I'll get lucky. Maybe removing the FAT & partitions will allow it to continue the load...fingers crossed.
I'll let you know if I have had success or not. What in the world am I ever going to do if it comes back with the hdd password error again???? Any idea what they'll charge me for the code? Couldn't be more than $70 surely? I keep everything on my external hard drive anyway (my son nagged me until I've gotten in the habit luckily) but I guess it could be a case of *highway robbery* if your files weren't backed up somewhere.

 

[Harvey]

Other than having the hdd out and in a dozen times (or more?) and just kept resetting it to boot to cd I've no idea why it finally decided to cooperate. But after looking at the Dell website and seeing that the Seagate 500Gb hd would only cost me $70 (if I were in the U.S.) it did make me a bit less inclined to call the Service techs and get the pw.

Or $50 if you could get to Fry's, today or tomorrow for this two day special. Or $60 for a Seagate, Western Digtial or Toshiba with 8 MB cache from Newegg, or just a dollar more for a Seagate with 16 MB cache. Wish you were here.

If you have the option, and you can afford it, get a drive with a larger cache. A 7200 RPM drive will also perform better.

I'll let you know if I have had success or not. What in the world am I ever going to do if it comes back with the hdd password error again???? Any idea what they'll charge me for the code? Couldn't be more than $70 surely? I keep everything on my external hard drive anyway (my son nagged me until I've gotten in the habit luckily) but I guess it could be a case of *highway robbery* if your files weren't backed up somewhere.

If you can borrow of another blank drive, you could try starting an installation, just to see if it works. If it does, you'll know the problem is probably with your current hard drive.

In any case, it sounds like your on the path to defining the problem, which is always the first step in problem solving.

 

[Cindy_59]

It's at the 90% point in the format, and the blue screen reads:

C: Partition1 [New < Raw> ] 476930MB (almost all of it free)

on 476938 MB Disk 0 (zero) at Id 0 (zero) on bus 0 (zero) on iastor [ MBR ]

it looks lovely to me...oh, and my hd is 7200rpm fast when she's clean.

almost there.

If I'd had another hd available, I'd have changed it out as a matter of course in the troubleshooting tree

 

[Harvey]

It's at the 90% point in the format, and the blue screen reads:

C: Partition1 [New < Raw> ] 476930MB (almost all of it free)

on 476938 MB Disk 0 (zero) at Id 0 (zero) on bus 0 (zero) on iastor [ MBR ]

it looks lovely to me...oh, and my hd is 7200rpm fast when she's clean.

almost there.

Hoping for you. If I cross anymore fingers, toes and other inconvenient appendages, I could qualify for a job as a contortionist.

If I'd had another hd available, I'd have changed it out as a matter of course in the troubleshooting tree

And I would have known that about you if I subscribed to PT&T (Pacific Telephone & Telepath). :biggrin:

 

[Cindy_59]

coming up on 3am..and she has less than 10 mins to go .. I'm about to get really excited and scare everyone lol....

 

[Harvey]

 

[Cindy_59]

we WON ...so far installed drivers restarted and it seems to be going somewhere...

no way to say Thanks loud enough or long enough...so, I'll just say...it is good

and g'night! yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Harvey]

:biggrin: