Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

I'm trying to reinstall Windows from my Windows XP installation DVD.

It's not working. Windows boots from the DVD, then tells me that I

need to put the DVD in the drive -- even though it is already there.

Removing and replacing the DVD, jiggling it, cleaning it, etc., have

had no effect.

 

I've tried this with two different DVD drives (a brand-new internal

drive and an older external drive which I have no reason to be

suspicious of), so I'm pretty confident the drive is not the problem.

 

That seems to be the only the disk, but all the system's other

hardware is the same, and I'm concerned that something less obvious

might be wrong.

 

Three questions.

 

First, is there any other component of my system that might plausibly

be responsible for the failure to read the DVD?

 

Second, if the DVD is at fault, is there anything else I can try to

make the computer read it?

 

Third, if not, is there any way I can get it replaced -- preferably

quickly?

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

I should add a couple of more notes to this post.

 

First, the installation disk that I may need to replace is a Microsoft

disk, not one obtained with the computer from a system vendor.

 

Second, I am able to boot other disks successfully from both DVD

drives. All of them are CDs, though -- I don't think I have any other

bootable DVDs that I could try.

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

Jonathan Sachs wrote:

> I'm trying to reinstall Windows from my Windows XP installation DVD.

 

 

I think you mean CD, but no matter.

 

> It's not working. Windows boots from the DVD, then tells me that I

> need to put the DVD in the drive -- even though it is already there.

> Removing and replacing the DVD, jiggling it, cleaning it, etc., have

> had no effect.

>

> I've tried this with two different DVD drives (a brand-new internal

> drive and an older external drive which I have no reason to be

> suspicious of), so I'm pretty confident the drive is not the problem.

>

> That seems to be the only the disk, but all the system's other

> hardware is the same, and I'm concerned that something less obvious

> might be wrong.

>

> Three questions.

>

> First, is there any other component of my system that might plausibly

> be responsible for the failure to read the DVD?

>

> Second, if the DVD is at fault, is there anything else I can try to

> make the computer read it?

>

> Third, if not, is there any way I can get it replaced -- preferably

> quickly?

 

 

If it was a retail license and you have proof of purchase:

 

How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

 

If it was an OEM license, you should contact the computer's

manufacturer.

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest JCO]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

Have you tried to copy the content of the DVD to your harddrive? If

everything copies to a folder then you may be able to burn that to another

CD. You obviously need to do that on another computer but it will tell you

if you have a bad spot on the DVD.

 

 

"Jonathan Sachs" <js070717@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message

news:5mdk7411t3c7mohtdq8qculeuqv1tkqnq4@4ax.com...

> I'm trying to reinstall Windows from my Windows XP installation DVD.

> It's not working. Windows boots from the DVD, then tells me that I

> need to put the DVD in the drive -- even though it is already there.

> Removing and replacing the DVD, jiggling it, cleaning it, etc., have

> had no effect.

>

> I've tried this with two different DVD drives (a brand-new internal

> drive and an older external drive which I have no reason to be

> suspicious of), so I'm pretty confident the drive is not the problem.

>

> That seems to be the only the disk, but all the system's other

> hardware is the same, and I'm concerned that something less obvious

> might be wrong.

>

> Three questions.

>

> First, is there any other component of my system that might plausibly

> be responsible for the failure to read the DVD?

>

> Second, if the DVD is at fault, is there anything else I can try to

> make the computer read it?

>

> Third, if not, is there any way I can get it replaced -- preferably

> quickly?

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:59:00 -0600, Bruce Chambers

<bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote:

> I think you mean CD, but no matter.

 

That's correct. I assumed it was a DVD because I didn't realize that

CDs could have the holographic imprinting that Microsoft uses.

 

JCO wrote:

>Have you tried to copy the content of the DVD to your harddrive? If

>everything copies to a folder then you may be able to burn that to another

>CD. You obviously need to do that on another computer but it will tell you

>if you have a bad spot on the DVD.

 

That occurred to me after I posted the original message. Rather than

copy the CD to the hard disk (which would not copy the boot track...

would it?) I copied directly to another CD using Nero's disk copy

function. According to Nero, I got a perfect copy; no errors.

 

And when I tried to install from the copy, I got exactly the same

thing as i did with the original disk.

 

This makes me suspect that the CD is NOT bad. Something else is

wrong. But what could it be?

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

Jonathan Sachs wrote:

>

> That occurred to me after I posted the original message. Rather than

> copy the CD to the hard disk (which would not copy the boot track...

> would it?) I copied directly to another CD using Nero's disk copy

> function. According to Nero, I got a perfect copy; no errors.

>

> And when I tried to install from the copy, I got exactly the same

> thing as i did with the original disk.

>

> This makes me suspect that the CD is NOT bad. Something else is

> wrong.

 

 

How did you come to that conclusion? A perfect copy of a defective CD

would also be defective, in exactly the same way.

 

> But what could it be?

 

Based on everything you've told us, it really can't be anything but a

defective CD.

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:12:57 -0600, Bruce Chambers

<bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote:

>> ...when I tried to install from the copy, I got exactly the same

>> thing as i did with the original disk.

>>

>> This makes me suspect that the CD is NOT bad. Something else is

>> wrong.

>

> How did you come to that conclusion? A perfect copy of a defective CD

>would also be defective, in exactly the same way.

 

Have you experienced this? Disk recording technology is designed to

detect errors (and correct them where possible), and because CDs are

physically vulnerable, their error checking features are very

extensive.

 

I'd be surprised to learn that CDs are more prone to undetected read

errors than hard disks, floppies, or tape, and in over twenty-five

years of using personal computers, I've never encountered one on any

of those media.

 

I'm not ruling anything out, but at this point I'd need some more

information to accept "bad disk" as the most probable cause.

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:18:46 -0500, I wrote:

>I'm not ruling anything out, but at this point I'd need some more

>information to accept "bad disk" as the most probable cause.

 

Here's a way I could get more information. If someone has the same

edition of WinXP as I do, we could run CRCs on our disks to see if

they are the same.

 

I found a utility at http://www.brandonstaggs.com/filecheckmd5/ that

looks suitable, but I'd be happy to use anything that comes

recommended.

 

My version of WinXP is "Windows XP Professional Version 2002."

[Guest MAP]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

Jonathan Sachs wrote:

> Third, if not, is there any way I can get it replaced -- preferably

> quickly?

 

Use a friends cd with your lic. key.

 

--

Mike Pawlak

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:32:05 -0500, "MAP"

<mikepawlak2REM@OVEhotmail.com> wrote:

>Use a friends cd with your lic. key.

 

If only! All of my friends who might have one live a couple of

thousand miles away, and borrowing a Windows CD by mail seems like a

little too much to ask. I'll have to buy one if I need one, so I'd

like to be sure I need one first.

 

Another possible cause of the problem occurred to me: the alternate

directory I'm trying to install to is far enough from the start of the

drive that PartitionMagic says it won't be bootable. I discounted

that warning because I know it's not always true, and this partition

_used_ to be bootable. But I've eliminated all of the causes that

seemed probable, and I think that this one seems as likely as a bad

CD.

 

Unfortunately, to test this theory I will have to install over my one

usable system partition (not likely) or buy a new hard disk. I'm

inclined to buy a new disk tomorrow and give it a try. Unlike a new

Windows installation disk, a bigger, faster hard drive will be useful

even if it doesn't solve the immediate problem.

[Guest Andy]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:18:21 -0500, Jonathan Sachs

<js070717@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>I'm trying to reinstall Windows from my Windows XP installation DVD.

>It's not working. Windows boots from the DVD, then tells me that I

>need to put the DVD in the drive -- even though it is already there.

 

At what specific point during Setup do you get this message? What kind

of interface does the DVD drive have and to what interface on the

motherboard is it connected? Depending on what the specific error

message is, the solution may be that a device driver for the DVD drive

interface on the motherboard may have to be loaded.

>Removing and replacing the DVD, jiggling it, cleaning it, etc., have

>had no effect.

>

>I've tried this with two different DVD drives (a brand-new internal

>drive and an older external drive which I have no reason to be

>suspicious of), so I'm pretty confident the drive is not the problem.

>

>That seems to be the only the disk, but all the system's other

>hardware is the same, and I'm concerned that something less obvious

>might be wrong.

>

>Three questions.

>

>First, is there any other component of my system that might plausibly

>be responsible for the failure to read the DVD?

>

>Second, if the DVD is at fault, is there anything else I can try to

>make the computer read it?

>

>Third, if not, is there any way I can get it replaced -- preferably

>quickly?

[Guest PaulM]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

You mean CD not DVD. Windows XP is not on a DVD.

 

How to replace Microsoft software or hardware, order service packs and

product upgrades, and replace product manuals

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

 

--

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

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

 

"Andy" <1@2.3> wrote in message

news:pvol74dn48dkkqo47e85bb635kujq8s9f6@4ax.com...

> On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:18:21 -0500, Jonathan Sachs

> <js070717@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>

>>I'm trying to reinstall Windows from my Windows XP installation DVD.

>>It's not working. Windows boots from the DVD, then tells me that I

>>need to put the DVD in the drive -- even though it is already there.

>

> At what specific point during Setup do you get this message? What kind

> of interface does the DVD drive have and to what interface on the

> motherboard is it connected? Depending on what the specific error

> message is, the solution may be that a device driver for the DVD drive

> interface on the motherboard may have to be loaded.

>

>>Removing and replacing the DVD, jiggling it, cleaning it, etc., have

>>had no effect.

>>

>>I've tried this with two different DVD drives (a brand-new internal

>>drive and an older external drive which I have no reason to be

>>suspicious of), so I'm pretty confident the drive is not the problem.

>>

>>That seems to be the only the disk, but all the system's other

>>hardware is the same, and I'm concerned that something less obvious

>>might be wrong.

>>

>>Three questions.

>>

>>First, is there any other component of my system that might plausibly

>>be responsible for the failure to read the DVD?

>>

>>Second, if the DVD is at fault, is there anything else I can try to

>>make the computer read it?

>>

>>Third, if not, is there any way I can get it replaced -- preferably

>>quickly?

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:47:39 -0700, Andy <1@2.3> wrote:

>At what specific point during Setup do you get this message? What kind

>of interface does the DVD drive have and to what interface on the

>motherboard is it connected? Depending on what the specific error

>message is, the solution may be that a device driver for the DVD drive

>interface on the motherboard may have to be loaded.

 

The message occurs shortly after I accept the license terms. I can

check the exact spot if you think it's important, but I should

emphasize that I have installed Windows on this computer from this CD

several times before, so it seems unlikely to me that the CD is

missing a driver now.

 

The drive has an EIDE interface, and it's attached as a master to one

of the motherboard's EIDE connectors. (Am I missing something in the

last part of your question? It seems redundant to say that a

[whatever] device is attached to the motherboard's [whatever]

interface.)

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:57:47 -0400, "PaulM" <paul@paulsxp.com> wrote:

>How to replace Microsoft software or hardware, order service packs and

>product upgrades, and replace product manuals

>

>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

 

Thank you... that will be useful if the CD turns out to be the

problem.

[Guest Jonathan Sachs]

Re: Windows XP installation disk gone bad?

 

The reason why the Windows CD said it couldn't read a file turned out

to be that Windows isn't relocatable. I hoped that I could move a

copy of Windows from the disk's first partition to the second

partition and boot it if I hid the first partition, so that the second

partition was the first un-hidden one. Not so, and I got a misleading

message for my trouble.

 

Once I copied the Windows partition to the first partition on my new

disk, the Windows CD liked it just fine.

 

But more weirdness happened later in the installation process. After

the CD loaded all of the files, asked me a couple of questions about

configuration, and prompted me for the serial number, it hung

somewhere in the middle of the "installing network" stage. "Hung"

means that it periodically changed the information screens that it

displays for the user's entertainment, and flashed the disk select

light occasionally, but the completion indicator ceased to advance,

and the "nn minutes left" message ceased to count down. (I let it run

for hours to be absolutely sure.)

 

I tried rebooting and found myself at an earlier point in the install,

shortly before the prompt for the serial number. The installer

progressed to the same point as before and hung again.

 

Next I'm going to try installing a fresh copy of Windows and running

the Files and Settings Transfer wizard to move my applications and so

forth from the old system to the new one. (I think the wizard is

supposed to move applications -- the documentation is typically

vague.) But I'm also interested in any ideas people may have about

what happened to the repair.