trouble with XP Pro install

[booman]

I'm giving this old re-build to a friend and it used to have Fedora 8 installed. So I popped a Windows XP pro disc in and after the bios it boots to CD, Setup is configuring hardware, and then just a plain old black screen. It never reaches the setup screen so I can partition.
I've done a bunch of research and found a bunch of people have had the same problem. I tried:
1. formatting NTFS with a USB adapter 2 times
2. removing everything except RAM, Video, DVD Rom
3. Disabling CPU cache & shadowing
4. 2 diferent windows xp pro discs
5. removing 1 of the sticks of RAM to 512 MB
6. waited 30 minutes for setup to begin

Oddly enough if I let it boot from Hard-Drive Fedora will try to start.
So Linux isn't completely removed with 2 formats.
I've installed SuSE once and Fedora 8 twice and never had problems.
Any ideas?

specs:
CPU: Athlon 2100 socket A
RAM: 768 MB PC 2700
Motherboard: PC-Chips M811LU
video: Radeon 8500 LE
250 Watt power supply

[PorPorMe]

Do you have a boot partioning disk? Partion magic or any other?
Try complety removeing all partitions.Linux leaves a small one up front and it can be a hidden. look at the size of the disk and once you have the total size then format.Sorry but I'm drawing a blank for the term about the state of a disk that is without format.

[booman]

so a right-click-hard-drive-format won't completely remove the linux partition? Thats strange... I could try a boot partitioning disk, don't I need a floppy for that?

[PorPorMe]

Yes. you need to run the partioning program from boot. When all is said and done you need to have your disk to have it's complete size in unalocated [I rememberd] free space. Then you can partition the drive.

[Rondog]

As PorPorMe said, you probably need the drive completely blank. I imagine windows is still seeing the Linux partition (a format only wipes a partition, it doesnt delete) and is locking up with the blank screen.

If you plug the HDD into another Windows XP machine you can delete the partition, if you right click My Computer and select Manage, then go to Disk Management on the left, by right clicking on the partition, it will allow you to delete the partition, put it back in the computer you are trying to install Windows onto and you should be right to go.

See image for details on deleting the partition.

[PorPorMe]

Rondog,
I could be wrong but I don't think the windows disk maneger will recognize that linux partition at the front of the drive. It will probly show the whole drive but the size of that drive will be less than what it accualy is. Then you know you have that pesky Linux partion [ext3] right in the front of the drive. Oddly enough, it's where linux puts it's boot information. Most windows partitioning tools won't see it.

[Rondog]

Windows will not know what it is. But from memory, it should still delete it without knowing what it is. Been coding for 10 hours straight and am having trouble thinking clearly, so I may be wrong.

If it doesnt work, send me a PM and i'll loan you my copy of Partition Magic, which will work regardless.

[PorPorMe]

Go to sleep! After 10hrs of that you deserve it! I got him covered.
Booman PM me or rondog.

[booman]

thanks for the tips. I only formatted from "My Computer" in Windows and never tried the manager, so it might work. If PorPorMe is right, even the manager won't see the partition.

So you both are saying that Linux litterally creates its own partition on the hard-drive without asking? Or maybe it did ask and I didn't understand thats what it was asking.... I do remember a partition option during Fedora 8 installation but it was asking for more partitions and I always skip it because I just want everything on one partition.

[booman]

Even after 10 hours of coding RonDog still has it all together.
You were completely correct! I used my USB adapter and went to disk manager and it showed a 129 MB partition. So I deleted it and the original partition and started formatting the whole thing as NTFS.
I learn something every day. Why do we need A+ Certification when we can just play with computers all day (and ask for help in the AOA forums)?

[PorPorMe]

Originally Posted by booman

thanks for the tips. I only formatted from "My Computer" in Windows and never tried the manager, so it might work. If PorPorMe is right, even the manager won't see the partition.

So you both are saying that Linux litterally creates its own partition on the hard-drive without asking? Or maybe it did ask and I didn't understand thats what it was asking.... I do remember a partition option during Fedora 8 installation but it was asking for more partitions and I always skip it because I just want everything on one partition.

It creates 3 partions. If I remember right a root patition,a swap partition and boot partition. When you install, it has to format in order to install. It does ask but usualy a person takes the automatic choice and realy doesn't know what linux is doing to the disk.

[Daniel ~]

If you have a windows start up disk with F disk on it you can use Fdisk to delete "non dos partitions", this WILL do it for you. ":O}

[PorPorMe]

Originally Posted by Daniel ~

If you have a windows start up disk with F disk on it you can use Fdisk to delete "non dos partitions", this WILL do it for you. ":O}

I always forget that one, and it has done the job when nothing else would and it is the best when you are haveing difficulties like this. It's quick, clean and done!
DOS sure had some advantages over windows.

[Daniel ~]

Save my butt more times than I can count, great for settling what is and isn't on a drive...":O}

[Rondog]

Originally Posted by Daniel ~

If you have a windows start up disk with F disk on it you can use Fdisk to delete "non dos partitions", this WILL do it for you. ":O}

I was going to suggest that, but not many people still use floppy discs.

[Daniel ~]

It's not nice to remind me of that Ron...LOL

[ccperf721p]

LOL.. I actually had to pull a floppy drive off the shelf last week. My cutting edge, high priced DFI LP P35 does not offer any other way of flashing the bios. (except for winflash, but who uses that) I'll be dumping that board soon enough though..

[booman]

Windows installed fine after deleting the Linux partition and formatting again.
Thanks everyone for helping. Once again after searching many forums AOA rises above the rest.
Its funny because I usually wait to post here after doing research. I know people usually don't want silly computer questions without researching them first, but I would have solved this problem a week ago if I had posted here first.
I guess if its within reason then you guys won't mind....
I'm not going to post questions like "how do I burn a CD?"

[PorPorMe]

I found that little camp fires work best-as long as you don't want to roast marshmellows!