total annoyance

[dustinbumpy]

I bought a new Western Digital 120 GB Hard drive and I can't install windows on it. I have the boot priority set to CD-RW and then HDD second. I have a Windows XP pro CD in the CD-RW and it will not work. I aslo tried a windows 98 CD and it wouldn't work. I just get a Boot Failure System halted error. The BIOS reconizes the CD, but won't boot anything from it. I heard there is an option in the BIOS which allows you to boot from a CD.

 

[Dishdog]

Yes theres usally an option like that. Did the HDD come already formatted, if not you have to before you can install windows.

 

[lurkswithin]

Use the utillity disk that came with your hdd and format it first and set up any other partitions then set your bios boot sequence to "boot from CDrom first" then hdd second. insert the xp installation disc in the drive and save and exit the bios and upon reboot follow the prompts.

 

[Tommy Boy]

you can format and partition the drive from the xp cd, it should boot up from the cd anyway, check the boot order in your bios.

 

[dustinbumpy]

It didn't come formatted and I bought the drive on ebay. It didn't come with any utility disc. The windows XP CD won't boot though, all I ever get is a boot failure system halted error.

 

[Tommy Boy]

if the xp cd doesn't boot, then it doesn't have anything to do with the hard drive...provided your boot order is correct and it's trying to boot from the cd. the cd may be faulty or it could be a problem with your cd drive

 

[dustinbumpy]

It's a burnt CD. Also I put in another CD drive and it wouldn't boot on that either. The Windows XP CD did boot on a computer with windows installed after I reached the desktop and clicked on my computer and told it to boot, but it won't boot from BIOS.

 

[Tommy Boy]

ohhhh, it's a burnt cd eh? did you make it?.....get out your origional cd and use that

 

[dustinbumpy]

I don't have the original CD. The burnt copy was made for me. Can't I just use a windows 98 CD and install windows like that?

 

[per]

You can install 98 then try to do an upgrade from the xp cd. I don't recommend it but it will work.