Guest Tom Kane Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 I have recently built my own PC and installed Windows XP Pro. I'm using it now to write this. Everything is fine, except the computer refuses to boot from the hard disk ... I have to have the installation CD in the CD drive to boot. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly slow boot. I've come to believe that I missed a step in the install and did not indicate that the hard drive (C:) should have the MBR (master boot record) installed. (Note that the BIOS is set to use the hard disk prior to the CD.) But I would have thought that the install would have been bullet proof and would have forced me to put a MBR somewhere, so that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, I loaded the Recovery Console so I could straighten out the MBR problem. When I entered RC during the boot process, i got this error message after I typed in the Administrator Password: The password is not valid. Please retype the password. Type the Administrator password: At first I didn't have a password and simply pressed enter. Being clueless, I added an adminstrator password and got the same message the next time I tried RC. I've found out that there is a hotfix for the RC, namely, Q308402. Supposedly, Microsoft will waive the fee for contacting them in this case. On the other hand, they indicate that this could be the OEM's problem for using Sysprep. Well, considering I must be the OEM as I built the computer from scratch, so that doesn't help -- especially considering that the XP install was on a virgin hard disk. So I guess I have 2 questions: 1. Does anyone have any suggestions about my basic boot problem (i.e., CD only)? 2. Will Microsoft give me a freebie on hotfix Q308402 -- which I probably need regardless of how I resolve my boot issue. Thanks for any help. Tom Kane
Guest Ron Badour Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Re: XP missing MBR? Check the BIOS boot sequence and if the hard drive is not the first boot device, change it and see if that is your problem. Microsoft does not charge for hotfixes. When you call, discuss nothing else but the hotfix: I am calling about the hotfix in KB article xxxxxx. The symptoms in my PC are exactly as described in the KB article and I would like the hotfix to try and solve my problem. -- Regards Ron Badour MS MVP 1997 - 2007 "Tom Kane" <Tom Kane@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:2C5CD1E4-4694-46C8-AC1F-E6ADD409820E@microsoft.com... >I have recently built my own PC and installed Windows XP Pro. I'm using it > now to write this. Everything is fine, except the computer refuses to boot > from the hard disk ... I have to have the installation CD in the CD drive > to > boot. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly slow boot. > > I've come to believe that I missed a step in the install and did not > indicate that the hard drive (C:) should have the MBR (master boot record) > installed. (Note that the BIOS is set to use the hard disk prior to the > CD.) > But I would have thought that the install would have been bullet proof and > would have forced me to put a MBR somewhere, so that doesn't make any > sense. > > Anyway, I loaded the Recovery Console so I could straighten out the MBR > problem. When I entered RC during the boot process, i got this error > message > after I typed in the Administrator Password: > > The password is not valid. Please retype the password. > Type the Administrator password: > > At first I didn't have a password and simply pressed enter. Being > clueless, > I added an adminstrator password and got the same message the next time I > tried RC. I've found out that there is a hotfix for the RC, namely, > Q308402. > Supposedly, Microsoft will waive the fee for contacting them in this case. > On > the other hand, they indicate that this could be the OEM's problem for > using > Sysprep. Well, considering I must be the OEM as I built the computer from > scratch, so that doesn't help -- especially considering that the XP > install > was on a virgin hard disk. > > So I guess I have 2 questions: > > 1. Does anyone have any suggestions about my basic boot problem (i.e., CD > only)? > > 2. Will Microsoft give me a freebie on hotfix Q308402 -- which I probably > need regardless of how I resolve my boot issue. > > Thanks for any help. > > Tom Kane
Guest Anna Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Re: XP missing MBR? > "Tom Kane" <Tom Kane@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:2C5CD1E4-4694-46C8-AC1F-E6ADD409820E@microsoft.com... >>I have recently built my own PC and installed Windows XP Pro. I'm using it >> now to write this. Everything is fine, except the computer refuses to >> boot >> from the hard disk ... I have to have the installation CD in the CD drive >> to >> boot. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly slow boot. >> >> I've come to believe that I missed a step in the install and did not >> indicate that the hard drive (C:) should have the MBR (master boot >> record) >> installed. (Note that the BIOS is set to use the hard disk prior to the >> CD.) >> But I would have thought that the install would have been bullet proof >> and >> would have forced me to put a MBR somewhere, so that doesn't make any >> sense. >> >> Anyway, I loaded the Recovery Console so I could straighten out the MBR >> problem. When I entered RC during the boot process, i got this error >> message >> after I typed in the Administrator Password: >> >> The password is not valid. Please retype the password. >> Type the Administrator password: >> >> At first I didn't have a password and simply pressed enter. Being >> clueless, >> I added an adminstrator password and got the same message the next time I >> tried RC. I've found out that there is a hotfix for the RC, namely, >> Q308402. >> Supposedly, Microsoft will waive the fee for contacting them in this >> case. On >> the other hand, they indicate that this could be the OEM's problem for >> using >> Sysprep. Well, considering I must be the OEM as I built the computer from >> scratch, so that doesn't help -- especially considering that the XP >> install >> was on a virgin hard disk. >> >> So I guess I have 2 questions: >> >> 1. Does anyone have any suggestions about my basic boot problem (i.e., CD >> only)? >> >> 2. Will Microsoft give me a freebie on hotfix Q308402 -- which I probably >> need regardless of how I resolve my boot issue. >> >> Thanks for any help. >> >> Tom Kane "Ron Badour" <Sorry@NoAddress.com> wrote in message news:uJpb8VUzHHA.5484@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > Check the BIOS boot sequence and if the hard drive is not the first boot > device, change it and see if that is your problem. > > Microsoft does not charge for hotfixes. When you call, discuss nothing > else but the hotfix: I am calling about the hotfix in KB article xxxxxx. > The symptoms in my PC are exactly as described in the KB article and I > would like the hotfix to try and solve my problem. > -- > Regards > > Ron Badour > MS MVP 1997 - 2007 Tom: I'm really not sure that at this point you should be spending time trying to access the Recovery Console, etc. to resolve your problem. Seems to me there may be more fundamental issues involved here than MBR manipulation and password problems. With that in mind, the obvious question is - have you undertaken at least one other fresh install of the XP OS? The same problem? Has this problem existed from the very first, right after you finished building the computer and installing XP? Or was it functioning without problems for some time before the problem you describe arose? If the latter, any clue there? And when you do fresh install the OS, can we assume it proceeds without incident - no error messages or untoward incidents along the way? An apparently normal install of the OS? And you've checked & rechecked your motherboard's User Guide/Manual to determine the BIOS settings are appropriate for your system? You're working with a single HDD? Do you have another HDD which you can use to fresh install XP to see what happens re this problem? What *precisely* happens when you try to undertake a "normal" boot without the XP installation CD present? A black screen? What kind of error message, if any? And what happens when you do insert the XP installation CD upon bootup? I assume you get the usual "Press any key..." message but you simply bypass it and then the system boots to a normal Desktop. Is that it? And when you say "this is an incredibly slow boot" are you indicating that the XP installation CD that you've inserted is going through its normal functions of loading files, etc., and at some point you arrive at your Desktop as if the system went through a "normal" boot? You don't get the usual opening screen of the XP installation CD that ordinarily one would get? Or if you do, how do you get to your Desktop from there? Well, since you say you're able to access the Recovery Console it seems obvious that you *do* get the regular opening screen of the XP installation CD. So how *do* you get to your Desktop from there? Just to see what happens...have you changed the BIOS boot priority order so that HDD will be the boot device following the CD-ROM - (which would ordinarily be the usual setting for most users)? Anna
Recommended Posts