Can`t install XP using Disk Director 10

Hello everyone.

I haven`t been on the forum in a long time. But I have recently acquired Disk Director 10 and I was trying to set up my computer using it. My computer has 3 partitions on it. I was using the first one for Windows XP Pro, the second one allocated to Windows 7 which I have not yet installed. The third one is unallocated. I did make a partition out of the third one of about 100 mgs to install the DD in there and perhaps make a boot disk out of it.

I tried making the second drive the active drive to install Windows 7 but I got an error message in the the beginning of the installation and couldn`t proceed. But when I finally was able to get back in my system, the 4th partition with DD was completely gone. I had committed and accepted the changes and it was there before I started to install Windows 7.

I was told by a dear friend that in order for a system to work properly, the DD boot disk should be in a FAT32 format and be the first partition, followed by NTFS partitions for XP and then Windows 7.

How do I go about all this? I was using XP Pro for about 1 1/2 years and it started crashing about 3 months ago. I tried reinstalling it and it still keeps crashing after 3 months. I went to Staples here in Quebec and bought Windows Vista Ultimate because I can`t upgrade with XP Pro...so by purchasing Ultimate, I thought I would be able to upgrade my system without losing anything. But to my surprise, since my Vista is French and my XP Pro is in English, I could only do a clean install....Well I figured that was ok...I put the DVD in the drive and I was never able to install it. I kept getting error message after error message until I got discouraged and just figured I would install XP Pro again until I could understand my system better.

I must impress that I started having problems way before I purchased Vista which is now in my desk drawer and myself being $375.00 poorer and not being able to use it...No matter because I just want to get XP Pro running smoothly. Before I figure if my hard drive is the culprit, I want to try every possible thing I can. Perhaps somewhere, the master records got destroyed or something. I formatted every drive so I don`t have a recovery or boot FAT32 that I can lean on during an emergency.

Now with DD, I`m not sure how to go about it. When I install it on my XP drive, let`s say, I go there and change the partitions and size them accordingly. But when I make an OSS boot FAT32 file to copy it to a CD, I just lose it and it disappears afterward.

My XP Pro barely has anything on it but it still crashes at least once a day for no reason...The big blue screen of death which I never had before in the past year and a half since I purchased the computer.

Also I would like to say that when I do a format, if I choose the long format, it hangs at 35% and won`t go any further. A half hour later, it`s still on 35% so I don`t have a choice but to use the quick format. If you require any more information, please let me know.

Thank you for your help.

 

msmelle:

It really sounds to me like all of your problems are being caused by a bad hard disk. The fact that the Windows installer cannot format the disk is a giant clue. If possible, download a diagnostic program from the manufacturer of your hard disk. For example, if you have a Seagate disk then go to their web site and download their diagnostic program SeaTools for DOS. This particular diagnostic program runs from a floppy or CD and tests the disk for defects. In some cases it can repair certain types of defects. For other brands of disks, check with their manufacturer for any diagnostic software.

Before continuing to try to install XP or Vista you need to first verify that you have a good disk to install on.

 

Hi Mark and thank you for your comments.

Where would I find out what kind of hard disk I have.. Also, I went to the Seagate site you recommended and they have Seagate for DOS or Windows...Can I use either one? I notice you said to use the one for DOS. I will try that first and report my findings to you.

Thank you again.

 

You would probably have to remove it from your PC and get the manufacturer's name from the product sticker or labels on the disk.

You can use Seagate for Windows if you have a working installation of Windows on your machine, or if you can remove your disk and attach it to another PC that is running Windows. Otherwise, SeaTools for DOS is a bootable program that does not require that you have a working operating system on the PC. But remember, the Seagate programs will only work with Seagate disks.

 

Thank you everyone...I think I have the box somewhere where I can check the specks. I`ll download the Belarc Advisor as well...Also, I am wondering if Seagate doesn`t work because it`s not the right hard disk, will it let me know somehow?

I`m about to try it out. I have a working windows on my desktop...It crashes about once a day but it`s working...I`m typing here from my desktop computer.

Thank you everyone for your help so far...A dear member also on your forum suggested that I continue my questions here as you were very familar and professionals in the field of computers as well as Acronis. I`m glad he did......Thank you dear friend......you know who you are. I wasn`t sure if he wanted to remain anonymous or not

 

Hello everyone

Here are my specs using Belarc Advisor. I removed my ip address stuff and my ISP name and personals but here is most of it. Thank you for checking it and if you have suggestions to offer, I`ll be glad to read and check out your comments.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Operating System System Model
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
Install Language: English (United States)
System Locale: English (United States) No details available
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (4 total)
Not hyper-threaded Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5B Rev 1.xx
Bus Clock: 266 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 1604 07/13/2007
Drives Memory Modules c,d
319.97 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
313.13 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H62N [CD-ROM drive]

WDC WD3200AAKS-00VYA0 [Hard drive] (320.07 GB) -- drive 0, SMART Status: Healthy 3008 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM0' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM1' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM2' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM3' has 1024 MB
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 116.79 GB 110.09 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 0) 107.94 GB 107.87 GB free
e: (NTFS on drive 0) 95.24 GB 95.17 GB free

Controllers Display
Intel(R) ICH8 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 2825
Intel(R) ICH8 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 2820
Primary IDE Channel [Controller] (2x)
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller] (2x) NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT [Display adapter]
LG L226W [Monitor] (23.0"vis, February 2007)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
JMicron JMB36X Controller
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2830
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2831
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2832
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2834
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2835
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 2836
Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 283A SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio
USB Audio Device
Virus Protection [Back to Top] new Group Policies
avast! antivirus 4.8.1335 [VPS 090801-0] Version 4.8.1335
Virus Definitions Version Up To Date
Realtime File Scanning On
None discovered

System Security Status CIS Benchmark Score
3.13 of 10 (details...)
Virus Protection
Up-to-date
Microsoft Security Updates
Up-to-date

 

Your hard disk is made by Western Digital Corporation (WDC). It is encouraging that the drive reports its Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) status as "Healthy". But I would still recommend downloading Western Digital's diagnostics, Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows. Run the Extended Test to look for defects on the disk's surface.

 

Hello Mark. Will download the Western Digital immediately and do the tests and report the results to you. thank you again.

 

I was about 15 minutes into the test and it stopped..Here are the readings. I tried to do a quick test and the test stopped almost immediately with the bottom readings included.

Melle

Test Option: EXTENDED TEST
Model Number: WDC WD3200AAKS-00VYA0
Unit Serial Number: WD-WCARW0032521
Firmware Number: 12.01B01
Capacity: 320.07 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: FAIL
Test Error Code: 08-Too many bad sectors detected.
Test Time: 21:30:44, August 01, 2009

Test Option: QUICK TEST
Model Number: WDC WD3200AAKS-00VYA0
Unit Serial Number: WD-WCARW0032521
Firmware Number: 12.01B01
Capacity: 320.07 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: FAIL
Test Error Code: 06-Quick Test on drive 1 did not complete! Status code = 07 (Failed read test element), Failure Checkpoint = 65 (Error Log Test) SMART self-test did not complete on drive 1!
Test Time: 21:31:39, August 01, 2009

 

Melle:

That confirms my original suspicions in post #2 - that you had bad sectors on the disk. If it is still under warranty, then return it to Western Digital for replacement along with the report from their own diagnostic software. If it is no longer covered by the warranty then take comfort in the fact that large hard disks are currently a bargain, and you can probably get a 1 TB disk for under $80.

Once you have a good disk in the systems, the problems that you described in post #1 should go away.

Best of luck!

 

Hello Mark

I was wondering why it found so many bad sectors in only a short time at the beginning of the extended tests. Is there a way I can erase or wipe clean or Write Zeros as they call it in the tests to wipe the drive clean and reinstall Windows?

How could that possibly happen? I haven`t done anything other than a clean install each 6 months or so to clean the drive and start a fresh install. Is there any way of repairing this from here? If it were still under warranty, I would have to pay to send it to the States from Canada and it would cost me a heck of allot plus shipping and handling and take forever to get it back.

I`m not sure I can get one here for $80.00 as everything in Quebec seems to be twice or three times the price as in the US. Thanks again for your help.

 

Melle:

Writing zeros to the disk will not be a solution. Bad sectors are caused by surface defects on the disk's magnetic material. Once defective you can't read or write to the sectors reliably, if at all. There is no way for a user to fix this; you have to replace the disk. Nor would you want to fix it. Once a disk starts developing bad sectors then more will often follow.

Unfortunately, hard disks can and do fail and not because of anything that you have done wrong. The last statistic that I read was that the overall failure rate for the entire industry was about 2%.

Where did you purchase the disk? If you bought it locally from a store or computer shop then perhaps they will offer to exchange your disk for another. Once you get a new disk you can do a clean install of either of your operating systems, XP or Vista, and they should install and work reliably.

 

Well at least now I know Mark. I will continue using it the way it is because I am very short on money right now and have too many things to pay. At the very least, I have a laptop to tide me over if it crashes altogether.

I will however have it replaced and stop trying to do a thousand things to it to try to fix it.

Thank you again kind sir for all your valuable help.

Melle