Re: Install Problem at GUI Startup

Hi Anna,

Sorry for the long interval - I still have not resolved my problem but I had
to take care of other matters before getting back to this issue. Anyway, I
did some work in response to your last post.

After completing the install and getting to the "NTLDR Missing" error, I
rebooted from the CDROM and selected the R option. This brought me to the
DOS like screen and I did a MAP command.

What I got was.....

C: NTFS 6001 MB \device\harddisk0\partition1
A: \device\floppy0
D: \device\cdrom0

I also a DIR command of the C:\ root directory and found NTLDR and
NTDETECT.COM files but no BOOT.INI file. I did a DIR command of the
C:\Windows directory and found none of these three files. I seems that for
some reason the text install in putting the needed files in the wrong
directory or trying to boot from a directory other than the root.

Any ideas on what to try next. Thanks again.


Dennis


"Anna Clark" wrote:

Hi Dennis:

I think we have exhausted the tests of the controller. And I think you
confirmed earlier in this thread that you had the latest bios and drivers.

I did not check if this mobo was listed for any server os, but even so, it
should not fall over at this stage.

I think you need to check to see if there is even a C:\ drive that windows
reconizes, and to that extent, have a look at this article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816793/en-us#6

How to troubleshoot the "NTLDR is missing" error message in Windows Server
2003
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 816793


since you said you did not have access to a way to make a boot floppy, this
article will explain how to use the cd to verify that the files you need are
or are not on the hard drive. You can check in the recovery console to see
if there even is a c drive.

In essence, DO boot on the cd, and wait for the Setup is Starting Windows,
select R, select the copy of windows you wish to repair, put in the admin
password. If you get this far, there should be a Windows Partition. When
you issue the MAP command it will tell you which is what, and you can then
follow the KB article to manuall copy over the files you need to boot.
Also, at this point you "probably" can make a boot floppy.

Anna


"denko" <denko@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:60F9BCE1-FDE0-44F2-BDA0-2D2EB721EAFA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anna:

My steps are exactly as you've outlined except that after the "pass on
boot
from cd" I get the Ntldr missing error message. I've done this install
from
both my CD and the DVD with the same result.

Yes, I am using the non promise controller exactly as you suggest.

Any other ideas?

Dennis

"Anna Clark" wrote:

Hi Dennis:

I just tested this, Intel mobo, P5 3 GHz, 1 GB RAM. Installing R2 from
DVD,
but after seeing it again, I remember that it "always" does this, so CD
should be the same:

Boot from CD
Press F6 (or not)
Setup is loading files
Setup is starting Windows (still in text mode)
Enter to install
F8 to Agree to License
Delete old partitions, if any
create new partitions
fomat NTFS (very important)
setup is coping files (still in text mode, yellow progress bar)
please wait while Windows initializes your Windows configuration
REBOOT with a 15 second countdown and a red progress bar.
pass on boot from cd
grey gui with bullets on left, info on right.

If any of this is not what your seeing, then you may be rebooting before
all
is copied over.

Have you tried the plain jane non promise ide controller? Put the HDD
master on the first ide1 controller, put the cd as master on ide2
controller.

Regards

Anna


"denko" <denko@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:7FD7B21B-A14C-45A3-AA51-0E07217CDFAB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Anna:

Thanks for your reply.

The motherboard has two IDE controllers (one using the VIA chipset and
one
using the Promise chip) - a total of eight IDE devices can be
connected.
In
the BIOS I have the "Onboard Promise Device" disabled. I am
definitely
using
the the VIA controller. BIOS allows me to select the boot HDD as
either
0,
1, 2, or 3. I have been booting from HDD-0 but I tried the other
three
and
got boot disk failure messages for each since none of the other three
are
present. Booting from HDD-0 gives me the "NTLDR is missing" message
so I
am
sure the BIOS is attempting to boot from the installed HDD.

I have been looking at mostly hardware issues. A question that comes
to
mind is when install switches from text to GUI setup, should the
system
reboot or should the display just change from text to GUI? Is it
possible
that something is causing the reboot before all the necessary files
are
loaded to the HDD?

Dennis


"Anna Clark" wrote:

Hi Dennis:

If you are not using the Promise in RAID mode, the raid drivers will
go
unused.

Looking at the MSI web site, it shows three versions of a board
called
6321,
none of which are Pro-AIR. But all three have standard, non
promise,
non
raid controllers in addition to the promise raid controller.

Is there any chance you are set in the bios to boot from the wrong
controller? And have you tried the non raid controller, instead?

In both cases you would want to be sure that the bios was set to
boot
from
the controller to which the hdd was actually attached.

Regards:

Anna


"denko" <denko@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1CB99927-0DC0-4F84-B70A-0B3E72DA41F2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Well this has certainly been a monumental effort today. FYI my
motherboard
is a MSI 694 Pro-AIR (#MS-6321). This board includes dual PIII
processors,
is populated with 1 GB of RAM, and has an onboard Promise RAID
controller
(RAID 0 or RAID 1).

Since my last post I have done the following.....

1) I went to the MSI site and downloaded the latest BIOS (dated
11/22/01)
and latest Promise Driver (dated 9/29/00). I checked and the
motherboard
already has the latest BIOS installed. The Promise RAID
controller is
and
has been disabled in BIOS setup.

2) I did a new clean install and selected F6 at the prompt for
RAID
drivers. When is was time to install these drivers, I used the
ones
from
the
MSI web site. Setup gave me the the option of installing either
a
WinNT
version or a WIN 2000 version. Windows also said that the drivers
I
was
installing were older than ones that can with Windows but I chose
to
install
the manufacturer's anyway. I went thru this install twice
selecting
one
option each time. In each case I had the same result as before.

3) I installed a new (sealed in the box) 60 GB HDD and had the
same
result.

4) I tried to install WIN XP on this machine (it has a similiar
text
based
install procedure) and got the same problem as when trying to
install
SBS
2003.

Also it would be helpful to know that prior to all this, that this
machine
ran WIN NT 4.0 Server fine and that we were trying to updgrade
this
server.
You mentioned possible RAM problems but this machine goes thru
several
cycles
of RAM test on boot up with no problem.

Anna, you asked about formatting of the HDD. In all cases it has
been
NTFS
and has been a complete format (not quick). You suggested that I
load
files
from another server, but I do not have acces to any others.

As always, any and all help is appreciated.


Dennis


"Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

Does your IDE controller also function as an IDE RAID
controller? If
so,
that could easily be the source of the issue. If that is the
case,
I'd
download the drivers from your motherboard manufacturer, or from
the
IDE
controller mfg's site, and copy them to a floppy. Press F6 when
the
prompt
appears during initial boot, and load the drivers.

Some specifics on the hardware involved might also help. What
brand/model of
computer/motherboard are we dealing with here? How much RAM?

The next step, if the above fails, is to run a thorough RAM
test.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64


"denko" <denko@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:48E67CB1-3CD3-4917-BBC3-88D3B2A2582A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have removed the Adaptec board, depowered the SCSI drives and
have
disconnected an IDE tape drive. Right now besides the
motherboard
I
have
one
HDD. the CDROM/DVD drive and a floppy. There is also one PCI
Ethernet
card
and a modem connected to the serial port. I checked the BIOS
and
the
PnP
Operating system option was previously disabled and I left it
that
way.

I have redone the install from square one including
repartioning
the
HDD.

The result is the same.

Any other ideas?

Dennis


"Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

Try removing the Adaptec from machine until setup completes.
My
guess
is
that it is switching the Adaptec to be in front of the IDE
.

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