Windows XP installation process fails

[zspzs]

Hi,
I just bought an old Thinkpad X40 and want to install Windows XP Home Edition on it.
The problem is that after the installer loaded the necessary files the screen goes black, the cursor blinks at the upper left corner and the installation process hangs up.
I tried to install Windows 7 and Ubuntu just to test if there is any hardware problem but both setups were successful so I assume the machine itself works fine. (Unfortunately I need to use Windows XP because of a specific application so changing the operating system is not a solution for me.)
Does anyone have similar experience or any idea how to solve this problem?
Thank you in advance.

[Hans Gruber]

find another Win XP disk to use. I suspect the install disk is the problem. You should be able to find WinXP .iso images (with SP1/SP2/SP3) online from the good cherub's on various forums.

[MikalE]

Check MS too. They had many .iso's last time I checked.

[rkawakami]

Could also be a hardware problem. I've seen Windows XP installations fail on a Thinkpad because of a defective MiniPCI card. Generally, it hangs about 1/2 way through the procedure but I suppose a blank screen may occur as well. Remove the card and try running the XP install again. If it completes, replace the card.

[zspzs]

Thank you for the answers.
- Another Windows XP CD tried: no success.
- Mini PCI card removed: still the same result.
Another idea?
Thanks in advance.

[rkawakami]

Hardware check would be my next step. Run memtest86+ to verify system memory and then a disk diagnostic to see if the drive is okay. I'll PM you information about other diagnostics you can run.

[zspzs]

Will run Memtest today.
Which HDD test do you recommend?
Thank you.

[rkawakami]

If there is a diagnostic offered by the manufacturer of the drive, I'd start there. For example, Seagate released a program called SeaTools. Drive Fitness Test (DFT) is designed to test IBM and Hitachi drives. You should have a Private Message (PM) from me in your Inbox. Click the "Private Message" link at the top of the page (under the Thinkpads.com Support Community banner). The program I mention there has a general-purpose disk diagnostic that works on any hard drive. There are also other diagnostic programs you can download from the internet but I trust the ones that I've mentioned.

[zspzs]

Thank you for the suggestions here in the forum and in the PM.
I ran all the tests. No hardware problems found.
In the mean time I had a possibility to try installing Windows XP on an another HDD. Same result. The process hangs again at that point where the file loadings finished by the installer.
What else could be the problem which is not a problem for Windows 7 and Ubuntu (since they can be installed successfully) only for Windows XP?
I am really clueless...
Any idea would be much appreciated.

[RealBlackStuff]

You may have a bad set of XP disks...

[zspzs]

I tried two different CDs and also tried to install from USB stick.
The result is always the same.
The setup process stops just before the point where I could choose the HDD partition to use for Windows XP.

[RealBlackStuff]

Are you trying to install XP on a PATA/IDE-drive or on an adapter/SATA contraption?
I just remembered that XP does not have SATA-drivers.
Also, immediately after XP you need to install the (Intel) chipset-drivers.

Check e.g. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/ ... p-install/

[jdrou]

Are you trying to install XP on a PATA/IDE-drive or on an adapter/SATA contraption?
I just remembered that XP does not have SATA-drivers.
Also, immediately after XP you need to install the (Intel) chipset-drivers.

Check e.g. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/ ... p-install/

Win 7 install working fine and the time when the XP install stops would point in that direction because 7 does have SATA drivers built-in.
With XP you either need to inject SATA drivers during install ("F6") or use an install media that has been specially built to include the drivers (either built yourself or a recovery disk from the manufacturer). I've built many such install disks with nLite.
If you're installing to a PATA disk connected directly to the internal controller this shouldn't be an issue though.

[zspzs]

@ jdrou & RealBlackStuff
Thank you for the comments.
Unfortunately this is not the case. I am trying to install Windows XP on an IDE HDD: Hitachi 1.8" 60 GB HTC426060G9AT00. (Also tried on a 20 GB HTC426020G7AT00 with same result.)

Since I have really no idea, I am thinking on a workaround. I will try to run Windows XP in a Linux Virtualbox. If the X40 have enough resources and the Windows XP handles everything correctly through the Virtualbox (especially the PCMCIA card slot) then I am OK with this solution, but I know this is not elegant...

[thinkpadcollection]

Have tried taking out both wireless/ethernet module and memory module and try to install XP on motherboard's soldered down memory only? If still not successful, consider motherboard be faulty.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

[zspzs]

@thinkpadcollection
Thank you for the reply.
Yes I have tried this without any success.
If the motherboard or any of the hardware components faulty how can Windows 7 and Ubuntu run stable?
Interesting but you maybe right. The results of the hardware errors are sometimes unpredictable.

[thinkpadcollection]

Waving hand, no no, your system board should be fine, by any chance in bios setup for drives, is set to ACPI or compatibility? XP can not handle install with this ACPI enabled. Change to compatibility and install XP then INF drivers and drive drivers then reboot to bios and reset to ACPI?

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

[jdrou]

Waving hand, no no, your system board should be fine, by any chance in bios setup for drives, is set to ACPI or compatibility? XP can not handle install with this ACPI enabled. Change to compatibility and install XP then INF drivers and drive drivers then reboot to bios and reset to ACPI?

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

Sounds like you mean AHCI a.k.a. SATA which shouldn't be an issue since this is a PATA system.

If virtualized XP is good enough for your app you might also be able to use Windows 7's virtual XP mode. Its virtual hardware is not as good as VirtualBox or other solutions though, mainly graphics.

[zspzs]

Thank you all for the replies.
I tried everything you suggested and everything what came to my mind with no success unfortunately.
- Linux Virtualbox can not handle the PCMCIA card slot which is a must for my application.(Windows 7 virtual XP mode have not tried yet but I assume the result will be the same.)
- There is no possibility to change any HDD related parameters in the BIOS setup utility. It recognizes the HDD automatically (and correctly) but no options to change anything.
- I tried to switch off and on various BIOS settings which could be related to the problem but none of them helped. Anyway the BIOS the Embedded Controller Program, and the HDD firmware are on the most recent version level. Do you think downgrading any or all of them could help?

An interesting thing which worries me:
The machine was restarted about hundred times in the last couple of days. In very very few cases (three or four times) the XP installer program could go one step forward and I could create and format a disk partition for the Windows XP. First I was happy but not for a long time because at the next reboot the usual thing happened: black screen, blinking cursor, etc. Does this mean that my X40 has some hw problem?

[jdrou]

Are you installing from CD drive in the mini-dock or a USB drive? Do you XP CDs have service pack(s) integrated?
I believe the original release of XP had no USB 2.0 drivers which would probably be an issue.

[zspzs]

I am trying to install XP with SP2 package.
I have two different copies on CD and a third one on USB stick. I assume the install kits are OK.
The problem most probably caused by some configuration or hardware error.

Ububtu, Linux Mint and Windows 7 can be installed without any problems and run stable.
Windows XP setup stops just before the HDD partitioning step in the 95% of the cases. Sometimes it goes forward but at the first reboot always hangs up.
It seems the problem occurs when the setup process tries to access to the HDD. (I tried with an another HDD but the result was the same.)

[jdrou]

Since it doesn't fail consistently at the same point it almost certainly isn't a compatibility or configuration issue. Seems like it must be hardware; hardware can be "marginal" where some things may work while others that stress the system in a different way don't. Afraid I don't have any other guidance on what the problem component might be though. Have you tried using a different HDD?