w2k installation woes

[Ferris]

i posted a message before asking for some info on wanting to use w2k pro as a second OS, many thanks to those who replied.

i decided to get w2kpro today, and began installation on my second hard drive which needs to be FAT32 so i can access certain files from my Win98 drive.

so i ran the win2kpro setup, and it got as far as the file copying section. it wouldn't copy a certain file (i think shell32.dll, at approx 14%) no matter how many times i hit retry (enter), so i skipped the file, it installed more files, then wouldn't install a few other .dlls. i let the install run to the end, it installed w2kpro, but obviously with errors due to missing .dll's.

i booted back into win98se and deleted the winnt folder from my second hard drive and had another go reinstalling w2kpro. this time it installed the shell32.dll file and others it missed first time, but refused to install other .dll's that it DID install the first time! very frustrating.

i tried removing the CD from my CD Rom, reinserting and hit retry when the error occured. no luck, will not install the required file. weird that it will install a certain file on the first attempt, and not on the second. this should rule out a faulty CD.

oh woe is me. i have 2 CD Roms in my system, a DVD and a CDRW, and have tried installing it from both, and even copied all the installation files from the CD to HD and installed from there. and that didn't work!

any help is mucho appreciated.

[condor]

okay...
let me get this right.. .

this is your config :

HDD 1, FAT32 Runing Windows 98
HDD 2, on which you want to install Win2k.


okay here's what you should do.

1. Disconnect your Primary HDD

2. Boot from a Win98 Floppy and delete all the partitions from the second HDD.

3. run fdisk /mbr to get rid of any mbr issues.

4. create using FDisk a primary Active Partition (FAT32) on the Second HDD

5. Format This partition.

6. go to your BIOS and make sure "Anti Virus" protection is set to "off/disabled"

7. Reconnect your Primary HDD

8. boot to Win98 and copy the I386 folder from your CD-ROM to the Second HDD.

9. reboot your computer (press F8-> option 5) to get to DOS.

10. change to the second HDD letter and to the i386 directory and install from the HDD.

Hope it helps.

[Matt_29]

yes copy the I386 files to second hard drive (i have mine there so i never have to use the cd makes it soooooo much easier and it will do it alot faster to) and do a reinstall (ie .. what condor said)..


btw dont be upset at m$ for this .. your actually using the good windows (win2k), your just in a bind .. this does happen sometimes .. but believe me once done youll drop 98 and stay .. btw avoid XP when its out

[Ferris]

thanks condor for the words of wisdom. alas, still no luck. i did exactly as you said.
i made the second HD a primary active partition, this made my PC refuse to boot with a "missing OS" message (my first HD has a primary active partition also containing Win98). so i reformatted it back to a standard partition, and got installation files to about 50% in w2k. same prob as before.

i took a last resort and made 4 floppy boot disks, removed all HDs except for a new Seagate, formatted it to a primary active partition, and began a clean installation. yup, u guessed it, file installation bolloxed up again, at least i got to 60% this time :-/ i also tried the above on a western digital drive, it says its corrupted and can't continue, the drive is 100% error free according to Norton and fully defragged.

one final question before i bin w2k. even though its not installed (!!), i still get the boot loader up. also, on running w2k setup it tells me it "cannot upgrade as i have another OS installed", it thinks i still have w2k there even though the /winnt folder has been removed.

how do i remove any trace that w2k has been partially installed on my system?

finally, my specs:

Win98SE (on 20gig Western Digital, C: E :)
D: (Seagate 10gig) currently empty
Microstar Mobo with VIA KT133 chipset
AMD Duron 700mhz
320 MB Ram
Creative GeForce 2MX AGP 32MB
Creative CD-RW 8x4x32
Creative DVD Encore x6
Creative DXR3 Mpeg Card for the DVD
Creative Soundblaster 128
2 Port USB Hub (PCI)

[Ferris]

well, i just tried my win2k CD on my Compaq laptop, it failed first time round at around 80% file installation, second time it installed w2kpro fine.

so i can now rule out a dodgy CD.

must be my hardware :-/

[condor]

1. Try a BIOS update.

2. MAke sure you set "System BIOS cacheable" in the BIOS to "Disabled"

3. remove all the hardware except your CPU, RAM, HDD(the 10GB), CD-ROM and video card.

keep us posted..

[Ferris]

thanks condor. i updated my bios about 3 weeks ago. haven't tried the remove to the bare bones bit yet tho.

I have 2x 128MB PC133 simms and one 64mb PC100 sim, i tried removing the two 133s and just used the 100, also the other way around, still nothing. i get to about 70% file installation and it craps out when asking for "slbcsp.dll" and 5 other files so i skipped them and managed to copy the missing files by going into Win98 and copying them from the i386 folder on the CD to the relevant places in the /winnt folder. This got me past the file installation stage, the green screen comes up with the "setup popup", it installs some more, asks for a "spchtel.dl_" file which is clearly on the CD and even on a i386 folder on my HD, but it doesnt read it. i copied it after browsing for it, it then asks for "spechtel.dll" (?!!), i eventually copied the file over into winnt/speech where it belongs, run setup again, it passed the previous error stage, now i get a "setup.exe" fault and states its needs to reset.

woe woe woe.

the damn thing installed fine on my laptop today. woe woe woe and...umm .. woe

[condor]

are you by any chance trying to install an integrated Win2k with SP1 ?

I heard some rumors about people having problems with those... (the kind you described)

try to get your hands on a regular Win2k (no sp1) and install..

[Ferris]

the version i have seems to be a standard Win2000 Pro CD, the copy i managed to install in my laptop states it as "Microsoft Windows 2000 : 5.00.2195".

i removed just about everything from my box, soundcard, dxr3 DVD card, DVD Rom, usb hub, the works. installation still stalls at around 73% and refuses to install "slbcsp.dll" (from CD or HD) and five further files before hitting 100%.

there seemed to be a previous BIOS error with Win2000 installation and my mobo, but that was with a BIOS dated from last autumn. i have the latest BIOS, dated 8th March 2001 so that rules out any BIOS confliction.

[Ferris]

Problem solved! i took a note of all files which weren't installing. copied them from my good w2kpro on my laptop, stuck them on a floppy, and used them when needed in my big box install.

thanks for all your help!

[condor]

what goes to prove that sometimes the "low tech" solution is the best :)