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xp set up hangs at "starting windows" 1

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JohnDennis

JohnDennis

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Nov 28, 2002
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I am trying to get a dual boot W2K/xp system going but am getting the following problems:
Doing a clean instal from the XP cd the setup process hangs at the "Starting windows" action for about 3 mins then carries on and appears to instal Ok.
When then booting XP, it hangs with a blank screen for 3 mins just after the windows logo screen, then again for 30 secs at loading personal settings then again for 2 mins at the operational screen (with the pretty picture) before the start button appears and all seems ok.
XP is on a primary partition on a separate physical disc from W2K. The W2K partition is set active. W2k works fine.

I have disabled the ini files etc at boot from msconfig - no difference.

Oh I have also lost the CD reader on XP after I installed the nvidia sound driver and usb update for XP from the motherboard driver CD. The bios finds the drive OK and it works fine in W2K.

I have set up a number of W98/W2k dual boot systems without any probs but this has got me really frustrated. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

John
 
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This is almost always a case of a need to update your video driver.
 
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Thanks for your help but I'm afraid updating the video driver has not sorted it. I have tried using Bootviz but I get an error report "Number of physical drives in the trace file is 0. Trace file has invalid system configuration information". Also can you give me a clue where the boot log file is under XP please. I have set the option to log under msconfig but can't for the life of me find the log file.

rgds

John
 
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The boot.ini is in system. From control panel/system/advanced/startup & recovery-settings/edit

pech
 
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Enable Boot Logging via Safe Mode.

Starts while logging all the drivers and services that were loaded (or not loaded) by the system to a file. This file is called ntbtlog.txt and it is located in the %windir% directory. Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, and Safe Mode with Command Prompt add to the boot log a list of all the drivers and services that are loaded. The boot log is useful in determining the exact cause of system startup problems.


315222 - A Description of the Safe Mode Boot Options in Windows XP

/SOS (Using BOOT.INI Startup Switches ).
The /sos switch causes the loader to print the name of loaded modules. When Windows NT comes up instead of displaying dots while the devices load, Windows NT will show the actual names of the drivers as they load.

The /SOS switch can be added to display driver names while they are being loaded during the Windows boot. By default, the OS Loader screen only echos progress dots.


HOW TO: Create a Multiple-Boot System in Windows XP (Q306559)

Multibooting with Windows 2000 and Windows XP


It might pay you to also look at the various Setup logs in your Windows folder for any problems encountered during Setup.
 
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Thanks for all your suggestions I will follow them up. I have now updated all the chipset, lan, audio drivers for the m.board which is GA-7N400 pro. with no effect. When I load the audio drivers I loose the cd drive from the system any ideas why or how I get it back without reloading the system.I can't seem to have sound and a CD!!I have no applications installed yet.

Thanks
 
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You can use system restore or the driver rollback feature to revert to your previous drivers (see help and support).

I wonder if you are "flogging a dead horse" in persisting with this XP Setup and wouldn't be better off starting from scratch with a format and clean install.

These articles have preparation check lists in them which are worth reading even if they apply to other operating systems. Especially pertaining to Bios Updates and Compatibility checking.

310064 - HOW TO: Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation When You Upgrade

316639 - HOW TO: Prepare to Upgrade Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition to Windows XP

HOW TO: Partition and Format a Hard Disk in Windows XP (Q313348)

Read the paragraph,
"How to Partition and Format Your Hard Disk by Using Windows XP Setup."


For more help (shows enlargeable screenshots) go here.

 
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Thanks linney, I have a working W2K system which is basically a digital imaging system with multiple scanners and printers networked to another W2K machine for office applications and digital video editting. The plan was to set up a dual boot machine on the first W2K machine with Xp and migrate the imaging work across in a controlled way. If I rebuild the first machine on Xp from scratch everything stops and I have a major rebuild and higher risk.
 
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Sorry linney,I think I missed your point in previous message. I have already twice done a complete reformat of the partition and set up from scratch for XP. The symptoms are solid each time.
 
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Yes I was only referring to the XP partition as far as a clean install side of things went.

There still is the problem of whether your hardware is compatible with XP. Whether your Bios is suitable or needs any update. How old is the machine? Are your Scanners or other USB hardware attached to this machine? If so they may have to be removed from XP while you update to XP drivers.

Did you get your Nvidia drivers from Windows Update (that is a "no no"). Get any drivers from the manufacturer, lots of problems are caused using drivers from Windows Update.

I wonder about the significance of your comment "Number of physical drives in the trace file is 0. Trace file has invalid system configuration information"
 
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OK start up problem solved - the usb drivers for motherboard GA-7N400 pro were causing the problem if anything on the usb was switched on. Need update drivers but Gigabyte site pushes me off to Microsoft and I havent found the driver yet there. Still got the problem that I loose the CD drive from the system when I load the sound drivers. All the driver updates came from the Gigabyte site. Nvidia seem to package everything up into large downloads (18Mb)which it is not reasonable to download (no broadband)Thanks again for your help.
 
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Some things for you to look at.


320553 - CD-ROM Drive or DVD-ROM Drive Missing After You Install Windows XP

316529 - CD-R Drive or CD-RW Drive Is Not Recognized As a Recordable Device.

311455 - You Cannot View the Files on a Disc After You Replace a CD-R or CD-RW Drive with a DVD or CD-ROM Drive

How to Troubleshoot CD-ROM Drive Problems in Windows XP (Q314096)

CD drives disappear
thread779-682406
 
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