swapping OLD hard drive into NEW computer... can't get it to load windows

[camosilver311]

my old computer was giving me problems, not booting up everytime. this started after a few power surges in the middle of the night. basically, it wouldn't load past the "windows is loading" screen... it would just go blank after that. called a computer repair guy and he came out and said the capacitors on the MB were bulging and causing the intermittent no starts. so, i decided to just buy a new comp.

i had one built on ebay and shipped to me, everything but HDs... i have 4 and wanted to swap those into the new comp. i just got the computer in the mail today, and trying to swap over just the main HD with my OS on it first to get the comp up and running, and worry about the others later.

when i turn the computer on with the HD installed, it goes to the screen where you can select safe mode, start windows normally, etc. doesn't matter what i choose, the comp just restarts itself and starts this process over and over. my old HD is a wester digital 120GB IDE drive. the comp recognizes the HD and shows my 3 OSs i have installed on that drive.

i got my original windows cd, and did a install/repair (not recovery console). clicked install xp, then repair previous install, it checked and copied the files, then rebooted. after the reboot, it's giving me a blue screen with an error code. it says "a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. the problem seems to be caused by the following file: vidstub.sys"

did a quick google search and it seems to be related to bootskins, which i do have. i rebooted and started in safe mode, a black screen that says safe mode at the bottom pops up, but then an error message box pops up saying windows setup cannot run in safe mode.

i downloaded and ran ubuntu, knoppix, and simplymepis... all did not work.

tried knoppix, got an error saying "can't find knoppix filesystem". so that didn't work.

tried ubuntu, and got a pop-up box with a message saying "I/O error. error reading boot cd. reboot computer"

tried simplymepis 8, same thing... "can't find mepis filesystem, sorry. dropping you to a (very limited) shell."


so to recap, this is a NEW (first time running it) comp that i am trying to swap my old hard drive with windows xp on it into. can't log onto windows. can't get it safe mode. can't boot from live cds.


any help would be greatly appreciated.

and here's the specs on the new computer if it matters:

System Configuration :
Intel CPU : Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz, 1333FSB (Quad Core) 12000K
Intel CPU Fans : Scythe Katana 2 Intel EXTRA QUIET Vertical HeatPipe Copper fan
Intel Motherboards : ASUS P5QL PRO P43, 1600FSB PCI Express, Sound, 1Gb LAN
DDR2 memory : 4GB (2x2GB) PC8500 DDR2 1066 Dual Channel (Check board compatibility)
PCI-Express Video cards : GeForce 9400GT 1GB PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out
CD-RW Drives : Samsung 16x52x24x52 DVD/CDRW Combo Drive (black or white)
DVD Recorders : Samsung LightScribe 22x SATA DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW
Floppy Drives -Card Readers : 3.5" floppy disk - 12 in 1 media card reader combo Black (dual bay)
Sound Cards : Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Network Cards : Ethernet network adapter (onboard)
Cases : Nikao Black Neon ATX Case w/ Temperature control, front USB & iEEE
Case Fans : Dual Case Fans 120 mm Extra Quiet DC fan (two fans)
Power Supply : Okia Extra Quiet 650W ATX Power Supply, SLI Ready
Keyboards : Black Windows Keyboard, 104 key, PS/2
Mice : 2-Button Wheel Mouse, PS/2 Black
Speakers : Black Multimedia amplified stereo speakers
System Condition: All system components are brand new. System is assembled and tested. All drivers and manuals are included.
If you ordered operating system (Windows) it will be installed and configured with all drivers

 

[Atomic Rooster]

From a Google search, that Bootskins program seem to be causing some havoc.

Did you follow this routine when repairing XP: XP Repair install

You could also try a BartPE bootable disk. You could then access the Windows files and delete the offending file.

 

[wol-va-rine]

my old computer was giving me problems, not booting up everytime. this started after a few power surges in the middle of the night. basically, it wouldn't load past the "windows is loading" screen... it would just go blank after that. called a computer repair guy and he came out and said the capacitors on the MB were bulging and causing the intermittent no starts. so, i decided to just buy a new comp.

i had one built on ebay and shipped to me, everything but HDs... i have 4 and wanted to swap those into the new comp. i just got the computer in the mail today, and trying to swap over just the main HD with my OS on it first to get the comp up and running, and worry about the others later.

when i turn the computer on with the HD installed, it goes to the screen where you can select safe mode, start windows normally, etc. doesn't matter what i choose, the comp just restarts itself and starts this process over and over. my old HD is a wester digital 120GB IDE drive. the comp recognizes the HD and shows my 3 OSs i have installed on that drive.

i got my original windows cd, and did a install/repair (not recovery console). clicked install xp, then repair previous install, it checked and copied the files, then rebooted. after the reboot, it's giving me a blue screen with an error code. it says "a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. the problem seems to be caused by the following file: vidstub.sys"

did a quick google search and it seems to be related to bootskins, which i do have. i rebooted and started in safe mode, a black screen that says safe mode at the bottom pops up, but then an error message box pops up saying windows setup cannot run in safe mode.

i downloaded and ran ubuntu, knoppix, and simplymepis... all did not work.

tried knoppix, got an error saying "can't find knoppix filesystem". so that didn't work.

tried ubuntu, and got a pop-up box with a message saying "I/O error. error reading boot cd. reboot computer"

tried simplymepis 8, same thing... "can't find mepis filesystem, sorry. dropping you to a (very limited) shell."


so to recap, this is a NEW (first time running it) comp that i am trying to swap my old hard drive with windows xp on it into. can't log onto windows. can't get it safe mode. can't boot from live cds.


any help would be greatly appreciated.

and here's the specs on the new computer if it matters:

System Configuration :
Intel CPU : Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz, 1333FSB (Quad Core) 12000K
Intel CPU Fans : Scythe Katana 2 Intel EXTRA QUIET Vertical HeatPipe Copper fan
Intel Motherboards : ASUS P5QL PRO P43, 1600FSB PCI Express, Sound, 1Gb LAN
DDR2 memory : 4GB (2x2GB) PC8500 DDR2 1066 Dual Channel (Check board compatibility)
PCI-Express Video cards : GeForce 9400GT 1GB PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out
CD-RW Drives : Samsung 16x52x24x52 DVD/CDRW Combo Drive (black or white)
DVD Recorders : Samsung LightScribe 22x SATA DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW
Floppy Drives -Card Readers : 3.5" floppy disk - 12 in 1 media card reader combo Black (dual bay)
Sound Cards : Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Network Cards : Ethernet network adapter (onboard)
Cases : Nikao Black Neon ATX Case w/ Temperature control, front USB & iEEE
Case Fans : Dual Case Fans 120 mm Extra Quiet DC fan (two fans)
Power Supply : Okia Extra Quiet 650W ATX Power Supply, SLI Ready
Keyboards : Black Windows Keyboard, 104 key, PS/2
Mice : 2-Button Wheel Mouse, PS/2 Black
Speakers : Black Multimedia amplified stereo speakers
System Condition: All system components are brand new. System is assembled and tested. All drivers and manuals are included.
If you ordered operating system (Windows) it will be installed and configured with all drivers

unless your old computer and new computer have very similar or the exact same chipsets on the motherboards it won't boot, the easiest thing to do is just reinstall windows...

 

[camosilver311]

From a Google search, that Bootskins program seem to be causing some havoc.

Did you follow this routine when repairing XP: XP Repair install

You could also try a BartPE bootable disk. You could then access the Windows files and delete the offending file.

yes thats actually the exact guide i used.

and if the 3 linux live cds didn't work i doubt the bartpe one will.

unless your old computer and new computer have very similar or the exact same chipsets on the motherboards it won't boot, the easiest thing to do is just reinstall windows...

yeah that's what i tried doing, the repair install. i don't want to lose my info on that drive, otherwise i would just install a fresh copy of xp and be done with it.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

You could install XP to one of your other HDDs if one is available. Then once it's up and running, transfer your files off the borked drive onto the new install.

 

[wol-va-rine]

You could install XP to one of your other HDDs if one is available. Then once it's up and running, transfer your files off the borked drive onto the new install.

even reinstalling xp on the same drive is an option, just install xp without reformatting and all the files will stay on the hard drive and the old xp OS files will be in the windows.old folder...

 

[Atomic Rooster]

It doesn't work that way wol-va-rine. If he were to reinstall XP, it will completely overwrite everything on his drive. Only a repair install will leave the files and programs intact.

 

[camosilver311]

You could install XP to one of your other HDDs if one is available. Then once it's up and running, transfer your files off the borked drive onto the new install.

that's true, i should have access to all the files on that drive (just not boot windows from it) right?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Yup. The drive with the old install should be fully visable by the new drive and you should be able to just cut and paste from the old to the new.

 

[camosilver311]

cool. i am installing it now on another drive, should i partition the drive to put all the windows files in or does it matter? i'd like to delete windows from this drive if i can get the other one working right. and if it matters, i already have about 2/3rds of the 750GB used on this hard drive already