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Windows XP: Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional
Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional
by jayhawkfan90 - 12/1/05 7:35 PMThis may be a long message. I was trying to upgrade from Windows ME (the worst operating system ever!)on a Dell Dimension 4100 with an Intel Pentium III and 384 MB RAM to Windows XP Pro. Before I started, I downloaded drivers and saved them to a CD along with all data files I will need. I then formatted the hardrive (C: format) and tried to install XP (full install, not upgrade of course). It started to install, but stopped with just the message that Installation was stopping before it caused damage to the computer. I called someone to sort of help with tech support. He had me copy the I386 files from the disk to the C: drive and try and load it from there. The files copied to the C: drive when I checked the I386 directory. I then typed winnt.exe to start install. It copied some files (as I could see by the status bar on the bottom), then just froze on the blue screen indicating that it was copying files to the hard drive. I tried several times using both install methods with the same results. Any ideas as I am just lost on this now. Oh...he also had me delete and create a new partition (something to do with FAT32)
I had to sadly reinstall Windows ME.
Any help would be very much appreciated and I thank you very much.
Upgrade
by Kono Kusotare - 12/1/05 8:40 PM In reply to: Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional by jayhawkfan90Windows ME can be directly upgraded to Windows XP. Your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.
Just do a few things first; Scan for viruses, make sure your BIOS is the latest version available, verify that any BIOS based virus protection is disabled, uncompress any files you compressed, and back up your most important files. Then the upgrade should be hassle free. Just insert the disk while the computer is running and follow the prompts.
Not recommended
by comicfan - 12/1/05 9:02 PM In reply to: Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional by jayhawkfan90What you need to do, is NOT keep ME on your machine. There is no need now. You already reinstalled and lost info. What you need to do is install WinXP from disk. You must boot from disk and if you can't you need to enable this in the CMOS. WinXP in NTFS format while ME is Fat32, XP can run on Fat 32 but is not recommended. You need to delete the partition created with ME and steamroll it with XP. Create a new partion and format in NTFS. Then proceed to install XP. If you need more help, just ask. Good luck,
Paul
Personally I would agree
by MarkFlax
- 12/2/05 11:46 AM
In reply to: Not recommended by comicfan
that it is best to remove ME and install XP.
However I am no expert, and there are pitfalls either way.
Did you visit the Microsoft compatability check site i suggested in your previous thread?
Have a look at this site;
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_9xupgrade.asp
It gives detailed advice and instructions how to upgrade from ME to XP.
Or, may be even better, the PCWorld.com article;
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,78043,00.asp
One thing is sure. You need to do a lot of preperation beforehand, and make sure those important docs and personal files are backed up.
And....... keep another tumbler of whiskey handy.
Good luck,
Mark
(NT) Have two tumblers... and no worries! ;)
by glenn30 - 12/2/05 1:13 PM In reply to: Personally I would agree by MarkFlax
Comicfan has you..
by jackintucson - 12/2/05 11:54 AM
In reply to: Not recommended by comicfan
on the right path. He's got everything I sent you in your email.
and life goes on...
Jack
ME bites back
by Spockva - 12/17/05 5:43 AM In reply to: Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional by jayhawkfan90I have a really simple solution to your problem. Backup everything you want to keep(not programs you have install disks for, just pertinent data), then fdisk the hard drive and do a fresh install of Win XP Pro. This should remove all files from the hard drive that might be causing the install failure. As for drivers, XP pro has a whole slew of drivers of its own. Only if some piece of hardware is not recognized or does not function properly should you need a seperate driver. The only other problem I can forsee is that your processor speed might be causing a problem. You did not say what the speed is, but I had a similar problem installing XP pro on a 450mhz processor in an older HP computer. Did the above though and it did work eventually, and continues to run fine now. Best of luck and keep smiling!
same problem, solved in my case
by hlee - 12/17/05 12:20 PM In reply to: Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional by jayhawkfan90i probably put in 100 hours trying to load XP .. i got the same message you have and sometimes other messages like CRC error ... strangely i could load ME and it would work ok .. but XP crashed while installing at different points in the install ... i tried different CD drives, different Hard Drive, different XP ...finally i replaced the system RAM ... what a difference .. everything now worked great ... i tracked the problem down to one of the 3 memory modules .. for some reason it worked ok for ME but failed for XP .. that module is now nailed to a 2x4 and i step (stomp) on it once in a while ... ahhh little pleasures .. H
Install Guide
by RJ59 - 12/17/05 12:26 PM In reply to: Major Problem Trying to upgrade to Windows XP Professional by jayhawkfan90Sounds like you need an installation guide. Try this one: http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/setup.html
My personal advice is to simply boot from the XP cd and proceed with the installation. When you get to the screen asking where you want to install XP, DELETE any existing partitions. Then create a new one and format it in NTFS (Full, not quick), and proceed.
Hope this helps.
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