DESPERATE AGAIN: startup disk not recognized...?

[GratefullySaved]

Hey guys,

I'm going crazy again. (twice in one weekend, I'm gonna be a nut by Monday. )

I'm building my new machine of Epox 8RDA+ with 2100+ and 512MB DDR 2100 and Ti4200, and am trying to install my OS via starting with a floppy. I'm currently using a borrowed HD that I may buy to put the OS on, and if that works, I may or may not transfer the HD from my old rig to my new one (a 40 GB 7200). The problem though, is that when I start my newly assembled computer with a startup floppy, it just hands after the text about "searching for DMI" or whatever it says about "DMI"...

The floppy drive works (finally, that was a whole nuther issue - as in: I had the cable backwards ha ha) Well, back to the saga....the startup disk is a WIN 98 version that was created on my OLD rig (1.2 Athlon/Abit KT7a/GF2MX/512 PC133 if it matters at all) and it will not boot up my NEW rig? I thought they pretty much worked on any machine. I HAVE started up with a MAXblast floppy and MAXblast CD in the CD drive, but it only lets me run through the Maxtor software (MAXblast) used to format and partition the Maxtor drive that I'm borrowing (a 120 GB 7200/2MB cache - I can buy it for $90 if I decide to keep it). It loads a CD driver, and has installed something to my HD to make it bootable, but after formatting/partioning (2 partitions), it starts up WITHOUT being able to see my CD drive. No driver loaded obviously.

How do I fix this? I am THIS close to getting this thing up and running today.

All help, links, and slaps to the forehead are welcome.

Please let me know soon though? I'm sitting in front of my old rig now trying to research how to fix this. I'll keep checking in til it's fixed, and then my old rig is going to a new home. (sold to pay for new one)

Thanks so much..


GS

 

[John]

From your last post it looks like you are running XP. Since the XP cdrom is bootable, change the boot sequence in your bios to cdrom first.

 

[GratefullySaved]

My XP is an upgrade CD from Costco..... it won't work unless it finds a pre-existing version on the HD...

I thought of that also last night (was up til 2 am) and did try it anyway, but it just comes back to DOS prompt with no CD drive recognized...

Thanks for the thought...any other ideas? I'm still stuck...

GS

 

[moonshinemadness]

If you change a certain number of components in XP it demands a full install....no way round it, short of building ur pooter and only changing one component at a time and then rebooting. I changed my mobo and had to reinstall XP so that may be your problem.

 

[GratefullySaved]

Problem solved you guys...


Thanks for the help.

I had a host of problems that are unexplainable (long story), but NOW booting from CD works after I hit "any key to boot from CD". Last night I would hit any key (the spacebar) and it would just take me to the DOS prompt. Not even going to try to understand these PCs.....

Macs are great and so are PCs, but to see their greatness you gotta climb one frustrating hill sometimes....

Thanks again,

GS