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Hi. Here's the problem: I'm trying to install Windows 2000 professional, because I'm sick and tired of winME constantly crashing! So I removed all the partitions and created two new ones and formatted them. Afterwards, I inserted the boot disk into my computer and reset it. When booting was complete I ran smartdrv.exe and then winnt.exe in the/i386 folder. here's when the problems start. The screeen displays the following message: "Setup was unable to install Windows boot loader. Ensure that your C: drive is formatted and that the drive is not damaged. Setup cannot continue. Press ENTER to exit." I ran scandisk, but it didn't detect any type of damage on the drive, so what's wrong? I don't wanna go back to those stupid WinMEs! Please help!
Can your computer boot from CD?
Then you could do that and the setup should start at boot (in the setup, you can create and format partitions with NTFS instead of the old FAT32 used by Win98 to ME).
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"Searching for Boot Record from CDROM...Not Found" That doesn't work either... Thanks anyway, Carl. Any other ideas?
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have you tried making install disks from your windows cd. i have and thats how i install 2000 on any new system i am creating. it will create 4 install disks that you use to format and setup windows!!
also, a note on the previous reply you got from carl. have you gone into the bios and chaanged the settings of the systems boot order? you can manually set it to boot from a cd. good luck
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For Carl's approach to work - bios should be set to allow CD boot - if available on this system. If no CD boot allowed then follow Doc's advice and make/use the 4 setup floppies - this time with bios set to boot a: (first) then c: .
W2K boot-disks can also be downloaded via:
http://www.bootdisk.com.
Either way, W2K setup allows you to remove all partitions (setup\create/delete partitions) and then reconfigure (recreate/format partition/s) for W2K and continue with installation.
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Using a '98 boot-disk (Fdisk/format utils and with CDROM drivers) you could reconfigure the drive (in advance of running W2K setup) as fat32 and then, as above, boot either with CD or floppies and install that way.Likewise once you have configured drive via a '98 bootdisk, you could copy the i386 to the drive and run the install from there?
Suggest you configure drive (regardless of how you do it) to have both Primary and Extended partitions; Primary for OS/apps//utils, Extended for data etc. Then you can safely re-install OS etc. to Primary (even reformat it) without affecting data.
If you use '98 to configure drive as fat32 then you can reformat the partition(s) as ntfs during W2K setup. Also (Viper's advice) ensure that the Primary is set to 'active' - if you preconfigure the drive via '98 boot-disk utils. If you configure the drive via W2K setup then it will automatically set the Primary as 'active'.
'98 bootdisk also at above link.
Fdisk 'how to' at:
http://www.compguystechweb.com/index.html
ntfs is more secure than fat32/more efficient on drive usage. Drawback of ntfs is that if the system goes down you can't easily access/recover data - without some useful utils, or some form of recovery... fat32 would at least allow you to gain access to it via '98 bootdisk?
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Could it be possbile, that my Win2k CD is busted? I already tried booting Win2k from the CD via BIOS, but no dice.
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OK, I've tried a different approach: I've installed WinME again and inserted the Win2k CD in the drive. oddly enough, the installation ran. But then there was ANOTHER problem. Grrrr. it's driver.cab. It just won't copy it! Where can I find a copy?
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Does this problem occur during setup, or afterwards; or is it when you try to copy the folder later?
Problems copying files during W2K setup (and also NT4 setup) have frequently been traced to dodgy RAM.
Both OS are picky about RAM specs/quality - especially W2K; yet the same RAM is seemingly OK for '9x(ME)...
Perhaps investigate alternate RAM; if two or more sticks perhaps try each in turn (as long as you have enough installed at all time for W2K to run...). Check specs of all installed sticks are same - no mixed speeds etc.
Also did you ever manage to copy over the i386 (via ME, or a '9x boot-disk) and then run setup that way - from the HD?
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The answer is both. The file won't copy during setup OR when I boot the computer with a WinME boot-disk and then try to copy the entire /i386 folder. The thing is, that I checked the CD and I didn't detect any scratches or dirt, so this problem really annoys me. Btw, since I'm only able to run the setup via another version of Windows and then install Win2k (whenever that will happen) on the same hard disk, then how do I get rid of the "lesser" version of Windows (ME, 98, 95)? Come to think of it, don't answer that. Let's face the problem at hand first.
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Presuming this a genuine M$ W2K CD, the evidence does seem to suggest a little that you have a 'duff' (faulty) CD? A rare event in all fairness to M$ and other software manufacturers. Perhaps contact M$ and ask for a replacement? Or maybe borrow a known good CW2K CD and see it that one works OK. Similarly will the CD you have perform OK on another PC?
The second part of your problem (how to install via a lesser OS and then lose that lesser OS, may well go away when you have a known good CD and can actually get it loaded. There is no big issue in losing a previous OS that is used to enable another to 'clean-install'. More on that anon?
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i have the very same problems with copying files during the setup. after 15% or so (at driver.cab, dvdplayer.exe or something else with d*) the setup stops and complains that the copied file is not the same as the one provided on the disk.
after circumventing all the acpi and "irql lesser or equal" problems by simply deactivating any unnecessary device for the installation in the bios (i even did a bios update *g*), i still can't install win2kpro on my machine because the files won't copy.
my machine has been offline now for 4 days and i have tried to trick the installation in all the ways i could imagine.
does anyone know if it is possible to install win2k on a different machine and than just simply put the harddisk back in the old one? (win98 didn't complain that much *g*)
or could really the ram be the culprit?
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whooha! after copying i386 to the disk, booting from a win98 floppy, using smartdrive and starting the installation with i386/winnt.exe the copying process finally finished (i also removed one of my older rams, just in case *g*).
so, my machine reboots, and after that, it starts with the setup again as if i never did a installation! (it boots from hd, not cd). now i have the following on my hd:
$WIN_NT$.~BT
BOOT.INI
TXTSETUP.SIF
$LDR$
NTDETECT.COM
NTLDR
$WIN_NT$.~LS
i386 (<--- my winnt copy from cd)the funny $ dirs are both the same, containing a folder "i386" with thousands of files ala "xyzdrv.ex_" (the winnt system files ready to be installed?)
so, does anybody know this behavoir and/or can help me to get my system running at last?
i already wanted to celebrate the completed copy-process with breakfast, but now.... :)
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http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q279700
Cannot Install Windows 2000 After You Use a Windows Me Startup Disk to Format Your Hard Disk (Q279700)
SYMPTOMS
When you try to install Windows 2000, you may receive the following error message:Setup was unable to install Windows Boot Loader. Ensure that your C: drive is formatted and that the drive is not damaged. Setup cannot continue. Press ENTER to exit.
CAUSE
This issue can occur if you originally formatted your hard disk with a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk.RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, boot your computer with a Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk (so that you can access your CD-ROM drive), and then run Windows 2000 Setup. If you continue to receive the error, format your hard disk with a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows 95 Startup disk, and then run Windows 2000 Setup.
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