# Xp install fails half way through



## Pyeti (Oct 1, 2007)

I have a Dell Latitude D620 and im trying to install xp pro. Freshly formatted and it will only get half way through the install, screen goes blank and i have to reset. Does the same with xp home but when windows 98 se is installed it works flawlessly. It came with xp but was wiped clean for a fresh install. What could be causing this problem?


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## Tyrael (Oct 1, 2007)

Pyeti said:


> I have a Dell Latitude D620 and im trying to install xp pro. Freshly formatted and it will only get half way through the install, screen goes blank and i have to reset. Does the same with xp home but when windows 98 se is installed it works flawlessly. It came with xp but was wiped clean for a fresh install. What could be causing this problem?



Formating corruption???


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## Pyeti (Oct 1, 2007)

tried repartioning it as well. im really stumped


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## suraswami (Oct 1, 2007)

do a low level format.  Sometimes XP doesn't like some memory configuration.  Just try with one stick of RAM.  Install when the lappy is connected to power.


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## Pyeti (Oct 1, 2007)

k tried the low level and its installin now


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

...and it failed again. is there anything short of sending it into dell that can be done?


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## 3991vhtes (Oct 2, 2007)

Is your Disk scratched to hell? that will cause it to fail installing.z


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

nope brand new burn lol     for integrating the storage drivers


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## bassmasta (Oct 2, 2007)

take out everything but 1 stick of ram, one harddrive, disk drive, and, if you don't have onboard vga, gfx card.


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## 3991vhtes (Oct 2, 2007)

^^ I installed XP on a system w/

1 video card (had onboard video)
1 sound card (had onboard sound)
2 HDD's
1 DVD/CD
1 Zip
and 1GB SDRAM (4 slots)

so you're kinda wrong in a way, Bassmasta.

never mind.
A PC Desktop is different than a laptop, so my suggestion is kinda useless for a laptop. I was basing that from a Desktop point of view.


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## suraswami (Oct 2, 2007)

ha ha ur wrong 3991.  If there is any kind of memory mismatch Windows will not install.  I have seen this before.  The ram works perfectly fine in dual channel, but it will not allow to install windows.  I removed one and installed windows.  RE-inserted the other stick and XP works flawlessly in dual channel.  Yes sometimes it happens.


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## bassmasta (Oct 2, 2007)

i've had the same problems before and i couldn't install vista or xp untill i took everything out >.>


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## 3991vhtes (Oct 2, 2007)

suraswami said:


> ha ha ur wrong 3991.  If there is any kind of memory mismatch Windows will not install.  I have seen this before.  The ram works perfectly fine in dual channel, but it will not allow to install windows.  I removed one and installed windows.  RE-inserted the other stick and XP works flawlessly in dual channel.  Yes sometimes it happens.



Ever try PC133 Kingston ValueRAM 128MB, and PC100 Micron 64MB, and PC66 64MB unknown???

um, a HUGE mismatch, and windows installed, and is stable.


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## suraswami (Oct 2, 2007)

Its not a big thing to remove the RAM modules and try right.  I am saying I had this issue.  Possibility he has the same issue.  And above all its a DELL.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

removed the ram and its trying for an install now


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

seems like corruption somewhere, im assuming your not oced right?
probably your disc or memory. though theres a chance its the board, but probably disc or memory.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

ive tried a different hard drive and the same problem occoured. The disk is fresh from the burner and im now trying with only 1 stick of memory


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

thats a good idea. what ram do you have, be more specific then your systems specs please. its a not a hdd problem, with a fresh disk, i would pinpoint it to either bad memory, mobo or cpu. though cpu is highly unlikely, mobo as well, probably memory issues.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

there is one slot and 256mb of memory soldered onto the board. the stick that was in it was a 256mb stick of hynix at 533mhz


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

@ what speed does the onboard memory run at?


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

i think its 533 as well. It jus failed again.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

wierd thing is it still works fine with windows 98se, even with the sata hdd


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

hmmmm. could be the disc. you burned it right? got it with your linux distros? lol . it oculd've been a corrupt burn or something. or you download didn't finish and the files corrupt, etc.

download memtest and run it to c if your memory genreates errors, if it doesn't, its either bios,etc. or your disc. how old is this comp btw.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

i know burn is good coz i used it on another laptop with the same south bridge this morning. ive got an ubuntu disc around here somewhere im just looking for it lol


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

i used nLite to add the drivers to a legal xp disc


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

Pyeti said:


> i used nLite to add the drivers to a legal xp disc



seems like you might be experience problems cause of those drivers, why do you need to do the whole nlite thing?


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

because i have to get the sata drivers on there and i dont have a usb fdd or anything like that. Ive tried to do it through usb as well and it wouldnt


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

just try the regular cd. im guessing the drivers are generating errors. i never needed sata drivers for me. the only time you'd need drivers would be for a software raid, and for that you have to floppy it.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

when ever i dont have the drivers tho it claims it cant find the hdd to install the os on tho


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

Pyeti said:


> when ever i dont have the drivers tho it claims it cant find the hdd to install the os on tho



hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

did you try memtest?


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

i dont think itll be memory because that has happened to me with all sata laptop ive worked with before


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

its probably a malfunctioning driver, if it was memory the installer would generate an error, rather cause a reboot. you're temps are fine right?


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

theres no error just blacked out screen and then i have to manually restart it i.e hold the power button. no way to check temps but holding my hand by the exhast n it seems resonable


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

lets do a finger test, i want you to touch all the heatsinks as close to the chip as you can and tell me how each one feels. like dont touch the cpu, but the heatsink thats right next to cpu.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

lol it wont be overheating because it was fine before the wiping of the hdd for a fresh install


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

if you touch the heatsink and you cant keep your finger there for more then a few seconds, then your thing is runing 40-50+C hot. but its probably the drivers malfunctioning. try messing with drivers.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

its a bit hard to try get at the heat sink with out dismantling the laptop. found the ubuntu disk and im now running memtest


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## panchoman (Oct 2, 2007)

you're on a laptop, forgot about that lol. its probably not the memory, i suspect a dodgy driver.


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## Fiream (Oct 2, 2007)

How the heck is he going to "touch all the heatsinks" in a laptop? 

Pyeti, you say a Win98 install goes fine. Is this with a factory pressed disk? Factory made disks are not the same as disks we burn. They are manufactured differently. You can have a tired out of spec cd/dvd-rom that will read factory disks fine but fail on some home burned disks. Same is true of a burned disk in different drives. It may read fine in 5 out of 6 but fail on number six. 
Since you need the SATA driver to complete the install, you either have to use a recovery disk or a disk you slipstreamed like you are doing. I would try to burn another disk first and maybe slow down the burn speed some. If that doesn't work I'd be looking for another cd-rom to try in it. 
Remember, due to tolerance stacking as well as other factors, doing something once with one machine is no guarantee it will work on any other even of the same make/model. 
Good Luck,
Fiream


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## Fiream (Oct 2, 2007)

Also, when you slipstreamed that disk did you add SP2? If not you might try adding it to your next disk as new SP's always have newer drivers included in them that will sometimes help.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

tried a new disk and still didnt work. i think im going to have 2 resort to getting it sent away


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## Fiream (Oct 2, 2007)

You could always try a different cd-rom. Probably cheaper than sending it off. You didn't answer my question about the Win98 disk. If it works and is a factory pressed disk then either your burn is failing or the cd-rom in the laptop can't read it.


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

ohh. yeah its a factory disk. ive tried with 3 different disks now with no result


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## Namslas90 (Oct 2, 2007)

Your Laptop is probably overheating and reaching thermal shutdown.  Clean out the Fans, Heatpipes etc.

Service manual here;
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd620A/ko/SM_EN/index.htm


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## Fiream (Oct 2, 2007)

Ok, does it freeze in the same place everytime with all three disks? If so, that again would make me think it's a cd-rom problem. How about making a copy of the Win98 disk and see if it reads all the way through on it? That would help determine if the drive is having a problem reading burned disks. I know that would require reformatting to FAT32 but it might help narrow it down. I've had this sort of failure on desktops before with the prime cause being a cd-rom failure followed by memory or a failing hard drive. 
Is there any chance this laptop has an Nvidia GPU? Have you slipstreamed SP2 into your install disk?


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## Namslas90 (Oct 2, 2007)

Try putting the HDD driver on a USB mem stick and enable legacy in BIOS and load it that way. (this will eliminate the possablity of a bad burn to cd/dvd, or cd/dvd not being recognized).


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## Pyeti (Oct 2, 2007)

@namslas90 im actually testing the overheating theory atm through linux.  
@fiream yes it stops at about the same place everytime i try to install


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## suraswami (Oct 2, 2007)

try ubuntu or win2000/2003


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## Pyeti (Oct 3, 2007)

tried ubuntu but dont have 2000 or 2003 handy. cant get my hands on it to have another look at it till friday


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## Pyeti (Oct 4, 2007)

right round 3 or maybe its 4? with this dell laptop. USB legacy support is enabled and still the xp setup(legal factory pressed disk) cant find the usb disk. any more suggestions?


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## LiveOrDie (Oct 4, 2007)

I would say one of the two, 1 video problem ,2 mother boards dieing have you watched the setup and seen where it Fails because about harf way though it installs your video card driver and it mite work on 98 because it uses stock driver, And lower settings like the colors are set to 16 not 32 and the res is low, If you have onboard video try installing it with a video card.


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## Pyeti (Oct 4, 2007)

yeah it could be video because the screen goes blank and it appears if it has died but the power button stays lit. its got intel 945 integrated.


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## Pyeti (Oct 5, 2007)

tried another install with video drivers this time and it got slightly further........ then died.


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## LiveOrDie (Oct 5, 2007)

Looks like the onboard video has died, The power button will stay on even if the videos died its like when you turn your computer on and it dosnt post,If you know any one with a video card use could use i would try that.


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