Windows XP Installation hangs at the "Setup is starting windows" message

I am trying to install Windows XP on a Dell Dimension E521. The
computer boots from the CD fine and copies installation files from the
CD to the hard drive. But the installation hangs, freezes, stops
responding at the "Setup is starting windows" message. The hard drive
is completely blank.
AMD Athlon x64 X2 2.0 GHz (model 3800+)
1 GB of ram (512x2)
160 GB SATA hard drive
Sony CDRW-DVD Combo optical drive
CD-ROM is Dell version of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2
I found this article regarding this problem,
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310760
but I've yet to get things to work on my computer. Does anyone know
how I can get Windows XP to continue installing on my E521?

Daniel

i assume you're using the original media that came with the computer.
otherwise you need to hit f6 to put in a driver disk.

are you reinstalling for a specific reason, like something was wrong?

it sounds to me like the hard drive has bad sectors.
make sure you do a full format when you install windows, not a quick!



Daniel wrote:
I am trying to install Windows XP on a Dell Dimension E521. The
computer boots from the CD fine and copies installation files from the
CD to the hard drive. But the installation hangs, freezes, stops
responding at the "Setup is starting windows" message. The hard drive
is completely blank.
AMD Athlon x64 X2 2.0 GHz (model 3800+)
1 GB of ram (512x2)
160 GB SATA hard drive
Sony CDRW-DVD Combo optical drive
CD-ROM is Dell version of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2
I found this article regarding this problem,
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310760
but I've yet to get things to work on my computer. Does anyone know
how I can get Windows XP to continue installing on my E521?

Daniel

Hi!

I am trying to install Windows XP on a Dell Dimension
E521.

Did the system come with this OS, or are you down/crossgrading from
Vista or something else?

The hard drive is completely blank.

Has it been wiped or just had the partition table and its contents
removed? If you haven't, I'd try a hard disk erasure utility from the
drive manufacturer or DBAN.

AMD Athlon x64 X2 2.0 GHz (model 3800+)

Look in system setup and see if there is an option to slow down the
computer for the purpose of installing software. Some Dell systems do
have this option--my Dimension 8300 is one of them.

160 GB SATA hard drive

You may require a driver for the storage controller. This is
especially true if it is running in any sort of a RAID mode. Usually
when this is the case, however, you'll be told you have no hard disks
in your computer when Setup starts.

Note that you don't necessarily have to be using RAID to have the
storage controller running in that mode. Many of the built in
controllers will run in RAID mode and require a special driver even if
you have only a single hard disk.

William

Daniel wrote:
I am trying to install Windows XP on a Dell Dimension E521. The
computer boots from the CD fine and copies installation files from the
CD to the hard drive. But the installation hangs, freezes, stops
responding at the "Setup is starting windows" message. The hard drive
is completely blank.
AMD Athlon x64 X2 2.0 GHz (model 3800+)
1 GB of ram (512x2)
160 GB SATA hard drive
Sony CDRW-DVD Combo optical drive
CD-ROM is Dell version of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2
I found this article regarding this problem,
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310760
but I've yet to get things to work on my computer. Does anyone know
how I can get Windows XP to continue installing on my E521?

Daniel


I remember having this happen a while back when I had the USB keyboard
and/or mouse plugged into the front ports. When I moved them to the back
everything was fine.

Bob

"Daniel" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am trying to install Windows XP on a Dell Dimension E521. The
computer boots from the CD fine and copies installation files from the
CD to the hard drive. But the installation hangs, freezes, stops
responding at the "Setup is starting windows" message. The hard drive
is completely blank.
AMD Athlon x64 X2 2.0 GHz (model 3800+)
1 GB of ram (512x2)
160 GB SATA hard drive
Sony CDRW-DVD Combo optical drive
CD-ROM is Dell version of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2
I found this article regarding this problem,
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310760
but I've yet to get things to work on my computer. Does anyone know
how I can get Windows XP to continue installing on my E521?

Daniel

Use a wired keyboard and mouse (PS2 type) for the format and installation.
Make sure only the keyboard, mouse and monitor are attached to the system.
My 4700 has a SATA hard drive and it never has an issue with drivers for it
when I do a reinstallation of Windows.

I think the computer does see the hard drive because, the hard drive
activity light does blink as files are presumably copies from the CD
to the hard drive. It's only when "Setup is starting windows" is
reached that the computer will not progress in the installation
process. I am not getting error messages. The computer just won't
progress further in the installation. I did find driver file R133282
which contains the txtsetup.oem file. I pressed F6 and loaded the 2
drivers in this file, but the installation still froze at "setup is
starting windows". This problem seems to have me stumped.

On Sep 7, 7:05 pm, "WSZsr" wrote:
Not so. If XP did not recognize the Sata controller, it wouldn't even see
the hard drive.

"Barry Watzman" wrote in message

...

My guess is that XP's setup program doesn't recognize the SATA hard drive.
If that's the case you need an "F6 Driver Disk". This would normally come
from the maker of the SATA controller, which is probably the main chipset.
So you might find it at, for example, the Via or AMD(ATI) web site (not
sure what chipset that computer uses).

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 09:41:42 -0700, Daniel
wrote:

I think the computer does see the hard drive because, the hard drive
activity light does blink as files are presumably copies from the CD
to the hard drive. It's only when "Setup is starting windows" is
reached that the computer will not progress in the installation
process. I am not getting error messages. The computer just won't
progress further in the installation. I did find driver file R133282
which contains the txtsetup.oem file. I pressed F6 and loaded the 2
drivers in this file, but the installation still froze at "setup is
starting windows". This problem seems to have me stumped.

On Sep 7, 7:05 pm, "WSZsr" wrote:
Not so. If XP did not recognize the Sata controller, it wouldn't even see
the hard drive.

"Barry Watzman" wrote in message

...

My guess is that XP's setup program doesn't recognize the SATA hard drive.
If that's the case you need an "F6 Driver Disk". This would normally come
from the maker of the SATA controller, which is probably the main chipset.
So you might find it at, for example, the Via or AMD(ATI) web site (not
sure what chipset that computer uses).


I'd check the drive to make sure it's on cable select and then I'd
start looking at the bios to see if everything looks okay. I might
try to unplug some peripherals to boot up the least items as possible
as it could be faulty hardware. You might even consider removing or
reseating your ram. You could also try to d/l some hard drive
diagnostics from you hard drive mfgr to check the drive. After this,
my mind is blank for the moment .

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 09:41:42 -0700, Daniel
wrote:

I think the computer does see the hard drive because, the hard drive
activity light does blink as files are presumably copies from the CD
to the hard drive. It's only when "Setup is starting windows" is
reached that the computer will not progress in the installation
process. I am not getting error messages. The computer just won't
progress further in the installation. I did find driver file R133282
which contains the txtsetup.oem file. I pressed F6 and loaded the 2
drivers in this file, but the installation still froze at "setup is
starting windows". This problem seems to have me stumped.

On Sep 7, 7:05 pm, "WSZsr" wrote:
Not so. If XP did not recognize the Sata controller, it wouldn't even see
the hard drive.

"Barry Watzman" wrote in message

...

My guess is that XP's setup program doesn't recognize the SATA hard drive.
If that's the case you need an "F6 Driver Disk". This would normally come
from the maker of the SATA controller, which is probably the main chipset.
So you might find it at, for example, the Via or AMD(ATI) web site (not
sure what chipset that computer uses).



Ok, just thought of one more thing if you have it. Swap out the hard
drive if you have a spare to see if the drive is the problem.

did you do a full format of the harddrive when you installed?
and make sure that usb devices are not ahead of the hard drive in the
boot order. this is in the bios setup F2.

what happens if you hit f12 to get the bootup menu, and then boot the
harddrive directly? this could test for that condition.

also did you run dell diags from the f12 menu as well? you should run a
complete suite of tests.


Daniel wrote:
I think the computer does see the hard drive because, the hard drive
activity light does blink as files are presumably copies from the CD
to the hard drive. It's only when "Setup is starting windows" is
reached that the computer will not progress in the installation
process. I am not getting error messages. The computer just won't
progress further in the installation. I did find driver file R133282
which contains the txtsetup.oem file. I pressed F6 and loaded the 2
drivers in this file, but the installation still froze at "setup is
starting windows". This problem seems to have me stumped.

On Sep 7, 7:05 pm, "WSZsr" wrote:
Not so. If XP did not recognize the Sata controller, it wouldn't even see
the hard drive.

"Barry Watzman" wrote in message

...

My guess is that XP's setup program doesn't recognize the SATA hard drive.
If that's the case you need an "F6 Driver Disk". This would normally come
from the maker of the SATA controller, which is probably the main chipset.
So you might find it at, for example, the Via or AMD(ATI) web site (not
sure what chipset that computer uses).

On Sep 10, 12:56 pm, Jay B wrote:
did you do a full format of the harddrive when you installed?
and make sure that usb devices are not ahead of the hard drive in the
boot order. this is in the bios setup F2.

what happens if you hit f12 to get the bootup menu, and then boot the
harddrive directly? this could test for that condition.

also did you run dell diags from the f12 menu as well? you should run a
complete suite of tests.

Daniel wrote:
I think the computer does see the hard drive because, the hard drive
activity light does blink as files are presumably copies from the CD
to the hard drive. It's only when "Setup is starting windows" is
reached that the computer will not progress in the installation
process. I am not getting error messages. The computer just won't
progress further in the installation. I did find driver file R133282
which contains the txtsetup.oem file. I pressed F6 and loaded the 2
drivers in this file, but the installation still froze at "setup is
starting windows". This problem seems to have me stumped.

On Sep 7, 7:05 pm, "WSZsr" wrote:
Not so. If XP did not recognize the Sata controller, it wouldn't even see
the hard drive.

"Barry Watzman" wrote in message

. ..

My guess is that XP's setup program doesn't recognize the SATA hard drive.
If that's the case you need an "F6 Driver Disk". This would normally come
from the maker of the SATA controller, which is probably the main chipset.
So you might find it at, for example, the Via or AMD(ATI) web site (not
sure what chipset that computer uses).

Well, the answer turned about to be computer voodoo. I unplugged the
P9 power connector on the optical drive and connected the P8
connector. The installation of windows completed after that. However,
I see no cause and effect there, it just seems like voodoo to me.