trying to load xp, "invalid system disk" error

[Toadmanc]

Ok here is what happened...

For xmas Im building a computer for my Father. I reused one of my old harddrives which had windowsME on it. I formatted it with maxblast and then tried to load xp but ran into the ntfs vs fat file system problem so I reloaded ME instead. Then through ME, I loaded XP. The system actually worked ok except the computer though there was a copy of ME on it still. Thus every time you booted, it would ask you to choose which OS you wanted. This in addition to a couple of other very mild anomolies (wierd lack of icons on desktop after install) lead me to reformatting (my Dad isnt great with computers and I wanted this thing to work perfectly). I removed the drive and hooked it up as a slave on my existing computer (running XP) and formatted the drive. Then I reinstalled it into the computer and am trying to load XP.

So here is the problem: I set the cd as the first boot device and inserted my XP disc but I keep getting the "Invalid system disk" error followed by "replace the disk, and then press any key". Of course if you do remove it then you get the "boot from cd: disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter" message. On the Microsoft help page they said to reset my boot sequence to hd, floppy, cd but this didnt help. At this point I have a completely blank hd but cant get the stupid xp disc to load. I have checked the disc in a diff computer to make sure it still works and isnt damaged. Any assistance would be appreciated.

ToadmanC

When you boot up, does it offer you the option of booting from CD?

[Toadmanc]

No, there are no options offered. It goes straight from "verifying dmi pool data........." to the error. In total, from power to error only takes about 1 second.

[HeadBand]

1 second...are you exagerating....if you can get into your cmos settings and i dont think it will post that fast either

Ya,that'd be crazy fast.

Try setting your CD-ROM as your primary boot device.

[Toadmanc]

Timed it on my watch, 2.14 seconds. (Thats from when the initial screen with ram check and such blinks on to when the error shows.) Actually sometimes its faster than the monitor can even turn on (old crappy monitor and takes a second or two if its cold.)

The only way I can get into bios is to cnt-alt-dlt and have QUICK reflexes in hitting the delete key.

Ive changed the boot sequence several times but to no avail. I tried using a start disk and was able to get to a dos cursor but couldnt get anything to work at that point either.

[HeadBand]

try getting a 98 bootdisk and see if you can bood from that if you can try a complete format of your harddrive through that utility

[Toadmanc]

I got a 98 boot disk and used it to reformat the drive but the error still pops up. On a whim I tried using my win ME cd and did not get the error. I was able to get to the option menus but still cant get the win xp disk to work.

[Toadmanc]

Well I installed win 98 and then installed XP over it (kinda like I did with ME originally) but this time I dont get the question slowing me down at start up. Thus, I think this will do. I didnt solve the problem but it looks like I was able to circumvent it which is good enough for me. Thanks for the help guys.

[StealthyV]

I had the same problem.
I let my system sit for 24 hours, then I lightly "tapped" the hdd on its side upon bootup. then I opened the case up and blew out all the dust. quite a bit in there!
~Branson
(this was about 5 minutes ago that I got it working again)
I have 2x 120gig WD 8mb cache drives (special ed)