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fdisk? Format?

I

IFICUDIWUD

Senior member
Im having trouble loading xp pro on my new build. Wouls it bea good idea to fdisk my hdd and reformat prior to loading os? I keep gettin i386 krnl error code 7.. When set up gets to where it says if u want to load scsi or sata drivers press f6 i pressed f7 to bypass but it goes into kernel debugging dlls and then gives error message..Called microsoft and the guy in India said that I may have a bad xp pro disk and i should get a new disk. It's brand new from newegg as is everything but my cdrom. Im pretty sure the cdrom is ok cuz it worked fine in my other computer. Any ideas or suggestions?


msi k8n nforce 4 plat sli
msi gt6600
antek 550 watt pcix psu
hitachi 80 gig 7200 sata hdd
2 ea ocz 1 gig sticks ddr400 pc3200 ram
 
Why are you pressing F7 where it asks you to press F6 to install 3rd party drivers. When that comes up, don't press anything, and it will continue on normaly..
 
it doesnt matter if i press it or not.. for error code 7 per ms and a google search f7 bypasses that step in setup
 
you do not need to fdisk or format the hard drive before running the XP installation CD, you can set up and format the partitions during installation.

I would suspect that you have hardware problems, you could try testing the memory with memtest86 and the hard drive with the manufacturers test disc to eliminate these items.

As the Microsoft Man in India said it could be a damaged CD, but I would think it unlikely.
 
I see you have a SATA hard drive. This is what the MSI FAQ says to do:

Installing Windows 200/XP on a single SATA Hard Drive
? Right after booting off of the Windows cd, you need to push the F6 key when prompted
? Next when prompted install the correct driver from the floppy disk provided with the motherboard, press the S key to specify the driver, and select the correct driver depending on which controller you are using, then press enter key to continue.
? After this Windows 2000/XP will continue the installation, and will detect the S-ATA hard drive to be installed onto.

 
Your MSI mobo should come with sata drivers on a disk. When XP asks you to press F6 to install sata drivers...install them. You have a sata drive. You have to install the drivers for teh drive before XP can use that drive.
 
Originally posted by: stevty2889
Why are you pressing F7 where it asks you to press F6 to install 3rd party drivers. When that comes up, don't press anything, and it will continue on normaly..
Click to expand...

Specs say he's got a SATA hard drive - he might need drivers on a floppy disk for WinXP to find the hard drive.
 
If you install a new drive you have to FDISK and Format when you do the install.

Many things can cause the install to go bad including bad Memory and a bad power supply.

XP is a lot tougher on hardware.

Are you sure that the CDROM is good?
 
Windows XP installation will not be good unless you have SP2 slipstreamed in. You cannot detect more than 137 GB apparently in Windows, so I was not allowed to partition my 250 gb hard drive correctly.

Use the CD those manufacturers gave you or go download the utilities online. Reformat and partition using that utility. When you install windows, ignore the fact if some partition is not displayed. Once you install SP1/2 you can see it again.

My case: I had a 250 gb partitioend 16/16/100/100 using Seagate tools. Upon installation of windows, I saw only 16/16/100. Once I installed SP2 the last partition showed up =).
 
Originally posted by: DLeRium
Windows XP installation will not be good unless you have SP2 slipstreamed in. You cannot detect more than 137 GB apparently in Windows, so I was not allowed to partition my 250 gb hard drive correctly.

Use the CD those manufacturers gave you or go download the utilities online. Reformat and partition using that utility. When you install windows, ignore the fact if some partition is not displayed. Once you install SP1/2 you can see it again.

My case: I had a 250 gb partitioend 16/16/100/100 using Seagate tools. Upon installation of windows, I saw only 16/16/100. Once I installed SP2 the last partition showed up =).
Click to expand...


Yup...just did this over the weekend, so I went through the same thing.

I bought a new Dell 9100 (with a 160GB SATA HDD) and wanted to format and clean install Win XP Pro.


Problem #1:
When I inserted and booted from my Win XP Pro CD (no SP included) it would begin to load the files it needed and try to get to the setup screen, but right before it got there I got a BSOD STOP ERROR: 0x00000007 regarding pci.sys. I then realized there are quite a few new components in my computer that the original Win XP Pro CD may not be adequate for. So I decided to slipstream SP2 onto my Windows XP Pro CD.

Much better...got to the install setup screen when booting off the new CD. BUT...

Problem #2:
My new SATA HDD wasn't recognized by Windows. When I chose any option (ie install Windows) it would complain that it couldn't find a HDD). So I ended up having to get my mobo SATA controller driver on floppy (I think it must be floppy because the stupid Windows CD only accepts drivers from letter A for some reason, unless your BIOS could change this) and install them via F6 when the Windows boot CD loads.

Everything works now.




So long story short:
Create a slipstreamed Win XP disc with SP2.
Get your mobo's SATA controller's drivers on floppy.



If that doesn't work, start checking your hardware.
 
Windows XP has had support for drives larger than 137GB for a long time. The Windows XP version I bought back in December 2002 had SP1 which had no problems with the 160GB and 250GB drives I have.

In Microsoft's infinite wisdom they hardcoded installing drivers during Windows installation by hitting the F6 key and inserting a floppy disk with these drivers. Since Windows XP does NOT have support for SATA controller drivers included with it you have no choice but to put the drivers on a floppy and insert that during installation. Everyone with the regular version of Windows XP is required to do this. The only exceptions are OEM restore CDs that have Windows XP and SATA drivers placed on them by the computer manufacturer.
 
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