Trouble installing xp service pack 2a

[corper]

I'm currently using Windows XP Home. (I know this forum is for XP Pro, but I couldn't find an XP Home forum, so....) I want to install a new 250 gig hard drive I just bought. As I'm sure you know, if I simply install it as is(and i tried just for kicks) I will only be able to use 137 gb, rendering the remaining 123 gb useless. The Windows XP Sevice Pack 1a for Home edition resolves this problem by using the new 48-bit addressing standard.

I've tried twice now, unsuccessfully to install the new service pack. Both times the sp seemed to be installed fine. But then I was prompted to restart my system and that's when the trouble starts. You see, as my comp is restarting, the windows logo appears with a loading bar beneath just as it always does, then my screen goes black, i hear a click inside my comp like something switching off and my comp just sorta 'hangs' there. The power button is still lit up on the tower so somethings going on, but the screen remains black and I can tell by listening inside the case that the digital wheels of my comp have stopped turning.

Each time this has happened I've had to reinstall windows from the cd my comp came with.

I really want to finish installing my new hard drive but I'm apprehensive until I have xp sp1a installed so I can be sure to I can use it to its full potential.

I'm beginning to get a little frustrated with all this and I'd really appreciate any advice at that you can offer. Thanks and sorry for the long post, I had a lot to say. ;-P

-steve

 

[corper]

After posting this message, I realized that I accidentally named it 'Trouble installing xp service pack 2a'. If you've read my post you know I meant service pack 1a. I apoligize if this caused any confusion. My bad.

-steve

 

[danomac]

XP Service Pack 1 can support these large drives. However, you might need to enable EnableBigLBA in the registry for it to work.

See:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013

for more information. After you enable this and restart you will be able to partition the rest of it.

D

 

[danomac]

After reading this a little closer, I noticed you have problems installing.

I haven't tried this, but you can if you have the time (you might want to get PartitionMagic from your local store):

1. Install Windows XP SP1 (create only a 30 GB partition)
2. Enable EnableBigLBA, then shut the computer off
3. Remove the jumper that limits the size
4. Check in Disk Management to see if the new drive is recognized fully, if it is, install ParitionMagic and increase the partition to the maximum allowable size.

In *theory* this could work. I have a couple >137GB drive, but I haven't tried installing Windows on it (mine's a slave).

Has anyone else tried something like this?

D

 

[corper]

It looks like you still haven't read my post closely enough. I can't follow your directions for the simple reason that I CAN NOT install Windows XP sp1a. Everytime I try to, my comp refuses to boot up after the installation is done and I have to boot from my installation cd and reinstall Windows XP.

Please, can anyone help me?

-steve

 

[OzCDN]

Not meaning to suggest any wrong doing ... but the WinXP service packs are designed to disable any installs of XP that they deem as illegal.

If your copy is 100% legal then you might want to give Microsoft a call and see if they have incorrectly blacklisted your serial #.

 

[danomac]

corper: After XP restarts, did you try enabling boot logging? Press F8 and a startup screen will appear. Go to 'Windows Advanced Options' and choose 'Enable Boot Logging'. When you restart it should log what it's trying to do. When it hangs, you can boot from the XP CD and go to c:\ntbtlog.txt. If we can figure out where it's hanging, I'm sure people can help troubleshoot a bit better.

I am wondering if XP is hanging loading the IDE drivers. It may detect the full drive but the driver can't read them as that EnableBigLBA in my earlier post is not enabled, so it hangs. It's a possibility.