ME came with the computer and the system works fine generally. I want to use 2000 but I do not want to upgrade, so I tried to setup a dual boot so if 2000 do not work on my system ME is there. But i'm having a problem doing a new install.

I set to new install.
Enter serial key.
Start to copy files.
Right after it finishes, my screen goes into some kind of hibernation and I'll have to press a key to restore the screen.
When screen restores I get this error
"Setup was unable to read from or write to drive C."

I'm wondering if ME has some kind of blocking system to diable writing to system files.

Any input on this matter will be much appreciated.

Did you set up a new partition to install 2k on?

Have you checked your computer manufacturer for any bios updates supporting 2k?

Post back some more info on you computer (manufacturer, model n°, etc) for more detailed help.

i was hoping to put 2000 on the e drive but i don't even reach the point where setup will ask me where to install.

i recently tried to do an upgrade and failed. i get the same error of not being able to read and write to c drive. so i'm thinking the problem is not the install process.

i read somewhere that the bios sometimes have some kind of protection that does not allow you to change the mbr. i'm looking into this.
This is the website if anyone's interested. I do not know how to make this a live link

http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/virwarn.htm

i already went into my cmos settings to see if there's anyway to disable this kind of protection and found none. . also the error message do not match the error that i should expect when this protection is on(but, the documentation is written for win95 and i have ME. i appreciate any input.

Did you set up a new partition to install 2k on? NO. ALL THE DRIVES I MADE ALREADY HAD FILES PUT THERE USING WINME.

Have you checked your computer manufacturer for any bios updates supporting 2k?
NOT YET BUT I'LL LOOK INTO IT
Post back some more info on you computer (manufacturer, model n°, etc) for more detailed help.
GATEWAY PERFORMANCE 933
P3 CPU
512 RAM
PRIMARY MASTER CONTAINS 20G ALL FOR C DRIVE
PRIMARY SLAVE CONTAINS 80G FOR DRIVES D,E,F,AND G
SECONDARY MASTER AND SLAVE CONTAINS OPTICAL DRIVES.

BIOS IS INTEL EA81510A I THINK

I CAN PROVIDE MORE INFO BUT I THINK THAT'S THE BASICS.

THANKS FOR YOU REPLY

Try this link to see if there is a bios update or for more info regarding supported OS's for your system.

http://support.gateway.com/support/default.asp

You have to enter your serial number to get your information.

I'm sure someone who is more familiar with Gateways will post something good.

Cheers

I'm not sure if this is clear in the previous responses, but you cannot install Win2000 on the same partition as an older system - it has to reside on a different one and the only changes it makes to your Windows ME boot.ini file is to make offer you the choice of booting to one system or the other by use of multipartition statements.

Going back to the original post - there are obviously problems with drive C - can you check with Scandisk and also check that you have sufficient room on the destination partition you will have set up (which should be bootable) to install 2000 on - it can take 850Mb for an install of system files alone. Do a quick Google search for "multiple boot Windows 2000" and you'll get loads of pages with the procedure laid out.

thanks all. that's all i've been doing is to search google. I don't think it's a bios problem and i did update the bios thru gateway's website. I'm not sure what the difference is but i did it. I do a thorough scandisk and defrag every week so i don't think my hd is bad.

you cannot install Win2000 on the same partition as an older system - it has to reside on a different one

do you mean I'll have to erase everything on my d drive to do a dual boot or do you mean that the only the system files of both os cannot be on the same partition?

i don't think my issue is a dual boot issue anymore since setup won't even let me upgrade from ME to 2000.

One issue I did not mention is that I installed a winfast a250 graphic card a while back and i don't think it is compat. with 2000. Right before the error code comes up, the monitor goes into some kind of hibernation where i'll have to press a key to restore the display. so maybe the graphic card is to blame.

this is driving me crazy. i better find a new hobby.

Your graphics card supports win2k so that should not be the problem. You will have to install the proper drivers after Windows is installed. I don't think you are even getting to the part of the installation where you chose the partition, but when/if you do it should be on a clean partition.

Have you unplugged all of your printers, scanners, cameras etc... It might be detecting hardware that it cannot install.

this is my thought process why i'm thinking it's the display (probably wrong). setup copies the files and then it does not see the graphics card and setup sees that there's no display and immediately stops everything

If you still have your old graphics card, reinstall it and try again. Couldn't hurt. If that is the problem, reinstall the new one after windows has been installed.

Can't hurt to try it.

my problem is before i got this graphics card, i was using a port that is integrated into my mobo and when i plug my cable back to that port i get no display. in other words, i don't know how to change back to how it used to be.
I'll try to unplug the printer and all which should be easy b/c it is usb connection.

i unplugged the printer, my gamepad and my usb mouse and it still will not let me install (same error code). o well i guess it was never meant to be.

i unplugged the printer, my gamepad and my usb mouse and it still will not let me install (same error code). o well i guess it was never meant to be.

Try emailing Gateway support and detail the problems. They might be able to help. I would normally suggest formatting the hard drive to do a clean install but since you are keeping the original sytem, that might cause further problems and I'm sure that you don't need that.
Too bad cause I run a multiple boot system (HP Pavilion P3/512) and 2k gets a lot more out of your system than you will ever see with ME. I gain 100 pts when testing at pc pitstop and I never get the blue screen of death.
I'm not sure how Gateway service is but HP gave me fast straight answers when I needed help so it's worth trying.

OVV

this is what i get when i called up gateway. they had me look into my bios program to see if system sees my hard drive. then they ask if i got my 2000 copy from gateway. when i tell them i did not, that's where service ends. just because i did not buy from them, they cannot give me any advice. Actually, i can't complain b/c they normally give good service (except this one time and i do know it is their policy but they charge so much for everything).
My friends keep telling me to junk ME and install 2000 for awhile. I'm just so afraid to lose functionality due to some compatibility issue with my hardware. As for the blue screen, I never get a blue screen but I do freeze alot.

If you have the ability to restore full functionality of winME as I have with my HP recovery CD, it could be worth your while doing as your friends say. That depends if your version of windows is on the CD or store on a partition.
Getting drivers for the intel chipset will be easy. I find modem drivers the hardest to find but if you are running high speed then that won't matter.
I would check the Gateway site for the WIN2k drivers first.

Run the Belarc adviser from WinME to get a full detail of your components so that you can find any drivers not supplied from Gateway.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Video you already have, modem and sound are the other drivers you might need. Everything else should be installed from the wIN2k cd.

Cheers

already got the belarc report. the first thing i did when i decided to install 2000. Isn't it like the greatest f'in program? There's got to be a way to dual boot the 2 os. I just got to figure it out. thanks for the posts. NE1 else's input would be appreciated.

finally figured it out and now i have both ME and 2000. There were three things that prevented me from dual booting or upgrading.

I had to remove my video card from agp port and replug monitor into integrated port. I didn't know the integrated port is disabled when there is something in the agp port.

I get a warning from norton about changing the MBR which I confirm to continue

I had to disable goback utility which is gateway's version of system restore. Stumbled on this when I tried to change my main hard drive to a western digital and got a weird error message when using its utility to copy all files to the new hard drive. Thanks to their tech support I found that goback has to be disabled when using this utility and for OS changes. I wish tech support at gateway could've told me this.

Now i'm in the process of getting internet connection in 2000. Thanks for everyone's help.

A friend of mine recently bought Windows 2000 Pro and installed it on her system, which had Windows Me installed. Unfortunately, she installed both operating systems in the same partition! Her system worked fine, until she decided she wanted only Windows 2000 Pro on her computer. Someone told her to get rid of the line in Boot.ini that referred to Me. She now wants to have dual-boot ability again because she was more comfortable with Me. I am still running Windows 95, so I don't know what the Boot.ini file should look like on her system. Could anyone help me out please?

Thanks!