i built a new computer for my brother using his existing hd with the windows installation and everything else new (including the motherboard).

i plug it in and cut the power on and the first alert is that it says

"Scanning for drives"

"No disks found" or something to that effect

then i get "Boot Error" where it wants me to boot from the A:

i checked in the Bios and it's picking up all of the drives and cd drives, but i'm guessing i'm going to need the xp pro cd to repair the installation since it's a new mobo...BUT my brother can't find it.

what do i need to do to get things running?

thanks in advance for the help.

note: the hd is the original from his dell system and the sticker is on the side of the old case...his cd however is MIA

[Edited on October 30, 2006 at 12:52 AM. Reason : .]

10/30/2006 12:51:01 AM

First, plug each hard drive/cdrom in individually to verify they are working. Plugging them all in at once may work, but usually is asking for trouble. After that, see if Windows boots ... if it doesn't, then yes, you'll probably need to find that CD.

Another thought: Most unformatted primary dell hard drives leave 32MB or so IIRC, for system diagnostics/restore. Might have some luck if you can get to that.

10/30/2006 7:54:58 AM

have you checked the jumpers on the drives?

so you did reinstall windows? or rather are trying to from a 'blank' drive right?

10/30/2006 8:17:33 AM

i found an xp pro disc in my closet. i repaired the installation of xp (it detects the hard drive) and left the extra hdd unplugged. windows successfully repairs and after rebooting it still says "Scanning Drives, Please wait..." and then "No Disk Attached"

I'm not sure what is causing that problem. I'll pay somebody a small fee to help me out (on Avent Ferry Road). I have another computer with an Internet connection, floppy, CD/DVD burner so if there is any BIOS file or boot disc that needs to be made it can be done here and now I have the XP cd. I just can't figure out why it says "No Disk Attached" but is picked up in the BIOS and the previous XP installation is detected.

Any help in the thread would be great and pm me if you're willing to help out. Thanks again guys...I'm trying to get this up and running for my brother.

10/30/2006 3:54:30 PM

wont work

you have to run sysprep on the system BEFORE you change out the motherboard/cpu.

Windows XP actually tailors the system DLL's to the motherboard during setup, so moving a HDD to new hardware will result in a botched install.

Solution A: Put the HDD back in the dell, sysprep it, move it again and all will be well.
Solution B: Do a recovery repair on the system as it is now. Going to have to order up the Dell discs if you can't find them. Usually they will send them for free, or at worst it will run you ten bucks.

A retail XP Pro cd isn't going to work, you will end up with a new install and a key that won't match (Dell uses OEM/Corp CD Keys, won't activate on a Retail install CD), not to mention any number of other possible differences.

Solution C: Do a fresh installation (no format) over the existing install. This will work with your Pro CD, but the keys aren't going to validate.

10/30/2006 4:39:25 PM

i installed it on his new hard drive successfully...i made the old hd a slave and it didn't work or boot...so i think it might be screwed...i'll just format it some other time, but everything is up and running...thanks for the help guys

10/31/2006 1:20:00 AM

Quote :

"Windows XP actually tailors the system DLL's to the motherboard during setup, so moving a HDD to new hardware will result in a botched install. "

I don't think this is plausible.

10/31/2006 1:26:08 AM

im not going to even attempt to recall the technical explanation of this, but during the initial install, certain system files are installed based on your chipset, and such files are why you cant swap hd's into different hardware setups and just boot into windows.

10/31/2006 1:42:31 AM

^^
Sysprep is actually kinda cool, IF you can get it to work. Usually its the HAL which can cause BSODs. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysprep and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_abstraction_layer.

Moody, is the old hd not booting, or not working at all?

10/31/2006 6:21:55 AM

it's not booting...i'm just going to format it when i get a chance...i did a fresh install on my bro's new 160gb seagate ($59 @ officemax)

10/31/2006 10:43:30 AM