Problem trying to get X30 to boot for reinstall

[tonyg837]

Hi,

I have an X30 and I wiped the hard disk, I'm trying to reinstall XP now but I just can't get the computer to boot up.

I've tried booting from an XP disk (pressing F12 then selecting CD ROM drive) - the cd starts up fine, but nothing happens. I just get the blinking cursor on a black screen.

Does anyone have any ideas? I guess it's possible that I screwed up the Hard disk but I should still be able to boot anyway right?

I've even tried copying the whole Windows XP CD on to the hard disk but that doesn't work either.

Best

Tony

[Harryc]

Does any other CD boot?

[andyP]

Is your cd drive in an Ultrabase or is it a usb cd? I believe the X30 could only boot from Ultrabase drives or IBM usb cd drives.

[stevenvh]

My X22 boots from USB fine as well as from anything in the base.

It sounds like it's not finding anything bootable, try another CD, floppy, etc.

gl

[jtt3011]

Won't boot .... yeh, tell me about it!

I bought a used X31 which I found to be loaded with a pirate copy of XP (according to the MS online check). Since I had my own fully legal copy of XP Pro, I decided to reinstall XP on a spare hard drive. I dare not try to install over the existing drive's software, lest I wreck the whole shebang if it didn't work.

I have USB/PCMCIA CD drives and hard disk caddies coming out of my ears, but nothing but the internal HD was recognised at boot-up, regardless of the umpteen BIOS startup settings I tried.

In the end, I did it by attaching the new disk (in USB caddy) to another PC, copying the Win98 and XP install files to it, and then making the disk bootable by transferring the system files via a Win98 bootdisk. On installation in the X31, the laptop booted to the C: prompt, and I was able to install Win98, and then 'upgrade' to XP - XP refuses to load to a 'DOS' partition.

I've now acquired a used X3 Ultrabase with a CD/DVD fitted, and that's recognised at bootup, so I shouldn't have the same sort of problem again, but that first XP replacement took a whole week out of my life!

Now everything seems to be OK, except for the Compact Flash card reader. It's detected when a card is inserted, but a driver cannot be found. I've tried the MS and Intel websites, and done lots of Googling, but with no success. Any ideas, anybody?

JohnT

[ajkula66]

If you're booting from internal disk in the ultrabase (media slice), the fact that you've possibly messed up the HDD wouldn't have anything to do with the boot, it would start and then stop after you're already well into the XP setup.

On another note, if you're using an USB device, you may want to set the boot sequence to "external device" or whatever that's called in your BIOS setup...

The bottom line: if you're using ultrabase, either your media drive, or your CD (the disk itself) are likely defective. Try borrowing another install disk-be it a Linux "live" disk, or any Windows installation disk, and see whether it boots.

In the case of external (USB) drive, you may have have to download the drivers for that particular drive, and start from DOS setting, which will likely be a pain in the neck...

My X22 and X24 (both with USB 1.1, that's why I'm referring to them) boot from USB Floppy or CD-ROM with no questions asked...

Good luck.