Installation Errors for Windows XP

I can't even get to an area to run the chdsk commands. and the ultimate boot disc does not want to download.
If anybody body has any ideas I can try on that machine, please share, I need to have it up and running today.

"I can't even get to an area to run the chdsk commands."

I don't understand. You said it stopped at the Windows boot screen after first reboot, which means you must have come a lot farther on your first installation attempt than you need to come in order to reach the Recovery Console.

Insert the CD, boot from it and follow the steps listed in the link I gave.


As to ubcd:
More than a dozen mirrors are up an running. Try this link:
http://www.nbicomputers.com/ehelp07.htm

But when trying to do a repair console, now it keeps asking for an administrator password, but there isn't one.
I am gonna go and replace the HD and see if that will work, if not I will try more solutions that people may post here.

I told you above to try with a blank password. This will work most of the time.

>>  the ultimate boot disc does not want to download.  <<  try on another PC - yours is corrupted!
 

nobus,
I meant the download from my working computer is not working. Is there another location to DL it?

Dougstech, it has been reformatted. Went to buy another HD, but at the store (Best Buy) there were "oh it's probably not the drive, try new memory." So went that way, did not work, so going back to return the mem and get a HD.

What XP install is this? Is it a genuine install from microsoft, or a burned one?

it's an HP disc for XP, not burned either.

I posted an alternative download link for the Ultimate Boot Disk above.

Replacing the hard drive will most likely help you get past this problem, but the money may be wasted.
Issueing the FIXBOOT / FIXMBR commands and repartitioning the HD (try a third party partition tool like GParted, Bootit-NG or one of the many to be found on the UBCD) would be a way to possibly save money and time.

well the hard drive does not have the right connectors. But I was able to finally DL from that alternate link. I will let you all know how it goes.

ran the fixboot/fixmbr  commands, boot from disc and after choosing the location of windows and all those opens it reboots and now instead of the rest of the install (or even windows boot screen) I am getting a "disk read error occured  press ctrl+alt+del to restart". ANd of course restarting just brings that message up again.   AAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!

did you run the disk diag? what result?

There are many partitioning tools on the UBCD (check the list on www.ultimatebootcd.com). Select one, recreate a partition, format it and set it as active. This should hopefully resolve the disk read error.

Then proceed with hard disk diagnostics.

If the partitioning shoudn't work, there are also many MBR tools on the UBCD which may be used to create a standard MBR/boot sector, and which may do a better job than the MS tools.


I am very sorry indeed for the hardship you experienced following my suggestion. FIXBOOT / FIXMBR are delicate tools and I never recommend them for use on a system with valuable data or a well working OS. But in your present case they were valid and advisable options. After all, as the name puts it already, they are meant to fix things, not break them.
If in your case things broke, this may be a reflection of the fact that something was wrong to start with.

I wish you best of luck and will continue to try and help you through this, but if you prefer not to read any of my suggestions any more, I shall retreat from this thread.

I was able to find the correct HD for it, and that worked.
The old hard drive would not even finish going through a disc check, only format that could be done was a Quick format and not a full blown out format.
Thanks all for your help.