W2K INSTALLATION ON A GENERIC PC SYSTEM

[Guest_imported]

I recently acquired a Dell reinstallation cd for Win2000 + SP1 with a system. To my demise, i learned that it only installs on a Dell system, so I cant install W2K on my older machine which is running 98. I got a new 15gb Maxtor harddrive (so i could dual-boot on my older machine), switched it into my dell, and ran the reinstallation without a hitch. When I returned my new W2K HD to my old machine, it blue screens to Inaccessible_Boot_Device when starting up.

From what I've gathered, its a HAL problem or something like that. I was wondering if there was a way to get my new HardDrive to redetect all the hardware, or if there was anything else I could do. Thanks.

 

[butchrecon]

If you know where the i386 folder is on the Dell CD you cn go to that folder the typr Winnt.exe to attempt to reinstall. James Collins
Systems Support Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[Guest_imported]

thanks, but i already tried that; setup detects my bios b4 anything and realizes its not Dell and wont continue.

 

[a073235]

Make sure you have both systems running an ACPI BIOS, or both using an APM BIOS, to get around the HAL issue. Also, if you use the SysPrep v1.1 utility with the "-pnp" parameter while the disk is in the Dell machine, let it shutoff, and then move it to your new (old) system, on the first boot all plug and play hardware will be re-detected. If you haven't used the new version of SysPrep before this would be a bit difficult to explain here (plenty of info in the MS KB), but hey you're getting a free OS right Heath
Principal Systems Engineer
Desktop and Mobile Platforms

 

[Guest_imported]

Thanks, i tried sysprep, still no luck. any other suggestions?

 

[a073235]

Can you get into safe mode when you move the new drive to the old machine before the blue screen? If so you can yank all of the hardware out of device manager and do a re-detect, and even upgrade the HAL. Also, if you could, you could yank out the IDE controller, which could be the cause of your problem instead of the HAL. Heath
Principal Systems Engineer
Desktop and Mobile Platforms

 

[rdish41]

I had the same problem myself. Here is the info I found. It works, (don't know if it works +SP1 though) you just need to burn a new cd with the modified bchk32.exe file put in place of the original file.

Subject: Dell Win2k Install Fix

From:LucidHaze

Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 21:34:03 -0500
From: zz@top.net
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.cracks

The file in question is "Bchk32.exe", you will find it in the "I386" directory of the win2k install CD. Simply deleting this file will not work you have to edit the file with a hex editor as described below or just replace it with the attached file that I have already edited.

Here's how bchk32.exe works:

When setup.exe is executed, it launches bchk32.exe or launches some other program which in turn launches bchk32.exe. Then, bchk32.exe checks the bios to determine if the computer is a Dell or not. When bchk32.exe is launched, it is passed a command line argument (i.e.,
when you type "unrar file.rar", the file.rar is a command line argument), this argument is a directory/file name that tells bchk32.exe where to save the results of the bios check. The file name is generated randomly but always ends in .tmp (a temporary file), the directory when the file is saved depends on your system (on win 95,
its "C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\&quot. If a Dell bios is detected, the file will contain "+++" (3 bytes), if it fails the test, the file will contain "---". I have tried replacing bchk32.exe with my own program that simply creates the file with the name and location supplied in the
command line arguments, writes "+++" to the file, and then closes the file and exits. This program however, did not work. So, obvioulsy bchk32.exe does something in addition to this. While viewing bchk32.exe with a hex editor, I found where it stored the "+++" and "---". With the hex editor, I changed the "---" to "+++" so that even if the test failed, "+++" would be the result and would get stored in the file. To my surprise, this worked.

If you have a hex editor follow these instructions:

1) start the hex editor and load "bchk32.exe"
2) goto offset/location 1F92 (hex) or 8082 (decimal)
3) you should see "---" displayed at this location, change it to "+++"
4) save the edited file using the original name

If you don't have a hex editor, you can download one form just about anywhere, I like UltraEdit-32. Its time limited for 45 days but is fully functional until then and with a little searching you should be able to find a serial number for it. I'm still looking for the seial number myself. You can D/L UltraEdit from http:\\

http://www.ultraedit.com.

If you don't want to go the hex editor route, just replace your bchk32.exe file with the attached one that has already been edited, this option may only work on Dell systems.

LucidHaze

 

[pbxman]

Rdish is right..he beat me to it, too!


Following his instructions will fix the problem. I had to use the Dell cd to install W2K on a gateway machine, and it wouldn't let me until I did this. Please let Tek-Tips members know their posts were helpful. Thanks!

Pbxman
Systems Administrator
A+, MCSE+I