WIN XP PRO INSTALL Not a valid windows xp image

[av4ry]

Hi im having lots of problems with my SEAGATE 80 GIGZ HDD.
My dad turned off my PC while windows was updating itself and i got a blue screen after that..decided to start all over and format the hard drive. I formatted it using WIN XP PRO DISC REPAIR TOOLETC...changed THE HDD back to a FAT32/MS-DOS PRIMARY....also used SEAGATE DISCWIZARDS *Took 4 hrs to completely do a full format...ya i know i did a lot of formatting..just to be sure everything is gone

i decided to just to install WINDOWS ME and i couldnt..it said it couldnt install a file onto a the HDD??? *THE SAME FILE OVER AND OVER* But i installed it alright before the format. then i just went ahead and tried to install WINDOWS XP PRO and then during the blue screen where its coping files to the hardrive it would say XXXXX.dll not a valid windows xp image place on your hardrive *SOmething like that* Whats going on? Can anyone help?

XXXX.dll would also be a different file not always thje same file..

Yes the CD is not scratched, iv tried 2 other copies and had the same problem..and iv tried using different cd-roms.

what to do?????

 

[1zman]

Boot with a 98 or ME bootdisk and do a chkdsk. See if it comes back Ok. Also did you re-format the drive to NTFS for XP or did you leave it as Fat??

 

[wolluf]

You may have a hardware (any hardware) problem - this sort of problem can be caused by that. Were you having problems previously with machine (before your dad turned it off)? If so, I'd try the elimination approach (try installing with as little hardware present as possible - eg, if more than one memory stick, just use one (try each on its own), remove any sound, newtwork, modem cards, remove any CD writer, zip or external drives). Is your power unit sufficent for your hardware?

Also - always use Windows partitioning and formatting tools to create partitions to install Windows on (yes other may work, but there's a long history of problems). So fdisk/format from boot floppy for ME and XP's tools available from the install.

So, if all was ok previously, I'd just reinstall using Window's own partitioning tools (whichever version you choose). Otherwise, look at troubleshooting (eiminate the bad hardware).