XP installation Loop, continually boots from CD despite my best efforts :(. Suggestions?

Question

Hi guys, I've got a problem here that i've asked here before, but I made some developments since last night.
I've recently bought a new system and assembled it myself. The windows XP installation loops and after the first run (where installation files are loaded into the hard disk), it boots from the CD again after restarting.
I've set the boot order in BIOS to pretty much every combination, disabled 'CPU caching' 'external caching', and enabled 'BIOS caching' as was recommended by some on my previous post. Still, booting from CD-ROM on the second run still happens. I've done this probably over 20 times now, which includes trying out different CD-ROM, IDE cable, and the winXP installation cd.
I'm not sure if hardware problems/defects are present, but I don't think that the problem is the hard drive, because when I completely remove the CD drive, the other setup part of windows boots normally. (I need files on the disk to finish the setup however!) Any help is much appreciated.

@robintel: I have tried removing the disk, and changing the BIOS boot sequence to nearly every conceivable combination. Unless I remove the drive completely, it will not boot from the HDD. Also, despite the fact that I disabled booting from the CD drive, and even removed the disk, the BIOS continues to attempt to boot from the CD, and gives me an error message asking me to 'insert the system disk and press enter'.

@bambamitsdead: I've tried removing the disk and such, but it does not give me the option of booting from the HDD, and will only try to boot from the CD unless I physically remove the drive. Addtionally, unless the CD is in the drive, I get the error that I mentioned above, so its not possible to remove the disk and put it in later after I boot from the HDD.

Yay! I found the solution. While I thought maybe I messed up the jumpers, and I was at the seagate site trying to determine how to set them up correctly, I stumbled upon a section on IDE cables. http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.js...00dd04090aRCRD

I had placed the 'slave end' of the cable on the master, and viceversa. Reset them, and BAM!. It works. And FYI, it was not the boot order that was the problem...

Answer 1

That's normal. Just don't press any key when the "Boot from CD" prompt appears. It will boot from hard drive but continue extracting files from the CD. So DO NOT remove the CD.

Answer 2

Hi!

Have you tried removing the disk from the drive (CD-ROM, etc...)? After Setup continues, insert the disk since some files are still needed!
Is the HDD connected to IDE0 and set to master so that in BIOS is seen as HDD0 so that you can boot from HDD0?
Are you absolutely sure your HDD is IDE not SATA or SCSI? They need drivers, you know.
Are the HDD ant the optical on the same controller? If so, move the optical to a different controller.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Forgive me appearing dumb, but you've got the BIOS set to boot from CD then hard disk, so it can get to the CD to install XP? And you are surprised that when it reboots it reboots from the CD?

That's what it's meant to do, no?

After you boot the CD and install a load of bits of Windows and the PC reboots, it *will* boot from the CD again. You can stop it booting from the CD by taking out the CD disk while it's doing it's bios checks... or you can just press whichever key it tells you to press when it starts the CD boot and asks you if you want to boot from the CD or boot from the hard disk.

If you do either of take out the CD or tell it that you *really* want it to boot from the hard disk after it boots from the CD it will go off and do it's second bit of the Windows install stuff. If you took teh CD out you may need to put it back for it to get more files from.

Then when it's finished installing, change your BIOS to boot off the hard disk first.

Answer 4

yet another element to analyze interior the BIOS, is disable HDD caching. Disable disk caching - it relatively is equipped into XP and could conflict. Your installation corrupted. Are you installation XP alongside with yet another OS? commence the installation over. do away with the formatted partician and positioned it back employing fdisk. in case you have yet another OS and/or records you do no longer want destroyed, be careful you choose for the the main suitable option partician. enable the "XP deploy" format the partician; back be careful you have the the main suitable option partician. good luck.

Answer 5

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

oooooo.

tell it to boot from hard disk ya goofball!

I laugh now, my first build I put the main case fan in backwards :P