Having trouble loading windows

[leigh6]

Hi all,

Just built a system. When I go to install Windows and format the hard drive using quick format it goes through the formatting procedure, completes it. Then it goes back to startup bios screen and starts it all again.

Press F1 to continue and then it starts the windows installation again.

Is the mobo dead?

3100 sempron
ecs nforce 3
40g wd hard drive
(3 different video card) interchangeable
(4 different ram combos)
Enermax 465 ps

 

[thebigdude]

Specs?

 

[allanon1965]

why are you pressing F1 ? you may be inadvertently "hitting any key to boot from cd rom" I have never had to hit F1 to continue unless the computer couldnt find the floppy drive or similar message...

 

[MichaelD]

Are you sure you have the HD jumpered and cabled correctly?

Unplug any CD Roms from the board and try again. Let it do the normal speed format this time.

 

[leigh6]

HD jumpered to cable select. Same as optical drive. Both are being read in bios.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: leigh6
HD jumpered to cable select. Same as optical drive. Both are being read in bios.

It's good that the bios sees both, but Windows can be picky. Jumper the HD as master and cable it so (end connector) then try it. Once Windows is up and running, you can go change it back, no problem.

 

[furballi]

Zero format the HDD. Connect the HDD as master on primary IDE. Connect optical drive as master on secondary IDE. Set CD ROM as 1st boot and HDD as 2nd boot in BIOS. Save and exit. Reload windows.

 

[allanon1965]

I have 3 of these 40gb wd hard drives, they dont like master or cable select, there is a setting on the lable to place the jumper at an odd position, in effect, no jumper on a single drive setup....but if its set up with another, then you use the tradition master/slave settings....

 

[MichaelD]

What I meant was to take the CD rom off the same channel as the HD...not disconnect it entirely. How you gonna install Windows w/no CD Rom? Duh.

I also have had the cable select problem with WD hard drives. They don't like it one bit. Sometimes they don't like being slaves, either.

 

[allanon1965]

this was the fryes combo? take it back, you got a bad board...

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, Don't know if this will help. You can not QUICK FORMAT a drive that has never been FORMATED. Quick format is really only a delete program that deletes everything on the drive. That is one one character of the file name in the Directory (Folder) is altered and the FAT tables are updated. Try a real format. Good Luck, Jim

 

[allanon1965]

I quick format with the windows XP disc all the time when I do a new install on a new hard drive.....never had a problem yet...I only do the full format choice when I feel there is a need to