BleepingComputer.com: BSOD error on startup. PC was working before but not after fresh install

Ok i know i fudged this up but hopefully someone can help me correct the mistake i made...

i had a Dell Optiplex SX280 that worked fine with windows xp home on it. i wanted xp pro on it so i wanted to install it but there is no CD drive. I have another pc that looks and works exactly the same except it is a Optiplex GX620. So i decided to remove the hard drive from the SX and put it in the GX which has a cd drive. i installed XP pro on it and it works like a charm in that PC. But when i put the hard drive back in the SX280 where it originally was i get the blue screen of death right at startup. Safe mode won't work either.

This is the error I get: ***STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF996B524, 0xc0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

Well now I have two working hard drives with XP pro on them but they only work in the GX620. So, how can i get a working copy of windows installed on the SX280 with no working CD drive? Thanks for any help.

anyone?

Why did`t you swap out the CD drive at least long enough to do the install.

You can use a USB drive to reinstall windows.

If you have an operating PC make an image of your Windows CD. You can use an application like Alcohol 120% or something of that sort. Once you have an ISO of the CD you need to "burn" it to the USB drive.

Then use an application called UNetBootin which is free. http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ Copy the ISO over to the USB stick and shove it in your USB port on your PC then BAM you got yourself a boot from USB.

DVaD, on Oct 15 2009, 12:44 PM, said:

Interesting little tool. May have to play with it a bit when I have time. Depending on how it affects the BIT on the flash drive = how the BIOS see`s the device. Something to keep in mind. Depending on age\make of the mobo, BIOS may not support booting from a USB device.

When you installed XP on the other system...you used the settings and drivers which are designed for that particular system.

So...that drive works in that system only...because it doesn't have proper files and settings for the original system it belongs in.

You've done the same as moving the hard drive from one system to another, which Windows is set up to make troublesome, if not defeat.

Another possible complicating factor is that you probably used restore/recovery disks to do this install...as opposed to a Genuine Microsoft copy of XP, with a valid license. Such recovery/restore disks are meant only for the original system for which they were created, they do not function in the same manner as a Genuine XP CD sold by Microsoft.

Changing a Motherboard or Moving Hard Drive - http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

Louis

ThunderZ, on Oct 15 2009, 11:57 AM, said:

I totally forgot about that. I'm sure theres a way you can make a floppy disk boot a USB drive though, I assume they have a floppy though. Almost all PC's had floppy drives till recently. I'll look into it.

http://btmgr.sourceforge.net/

Smart boot manager uses floppy disks to boot and is OS independant.

The one thing I don't like about it is it's suppose to be a really "user friendly" application, but it seems like it's a somewhat advanced process to create the installation of the program.

thank you all for your help. the pc has no floppy drive either only usb slots. how can i tell if the pc is able to boot from usb? do i check in the bios? how do i do it? thanks for any help.

how do i check the bios to see if it is bootable by usb?

When you first start up the machine prior to Windows loading you should be presented with 2, maybe 3 options that you can choose from. These involve striking an F# key. You will want the key that equals either to enter setup or BIOS. You may have one that says boot order as well. This will work for one start-up then the boot order will revert to the previous boot order.

This post has been edited by ThunderZ: 19 October 2009 - 07:08 AM

http://www.howudune.com/2007/04/how-to-boo...sb-flash-drive/
According to that guy he tested installing Knoppix on his sx280 using a pny flash drive. So, chances are you'll be able to use it to install windows. Go out and buy a Flash drive if you don't already have one. Remember not all flash drives are bootable. Ask someone before buying and if it isn't then bring it back and buy another one. I believe post 4 has a program you can use to copy ISO's to a flash drive. If you need help figuring it out let me know. Also, if you need a good free program for ripping ISO's or burning them, let me know I can help you figure that out.

Still wondering why he does`t just pop the optical drive out of the one and into the other. The ideas given are all good and in theory should work. But we are kind of re-inventing the wheel here are`t we.

As far as making a USB device bootable I have had good luck with this utility. It does work on XP even though it is not listed and I have used it successfully on both Kingston and Laxar flash drives.

This post has been edited by ThunderZ: 19 October 2009 - 04:42 PM

ThunderZ, on Oct 19 2009, 03:46 PM, said:

Exactly!
Also: I believe you should to be able to boot off a USB flash drive with that computer.

MichaelMatirko, on Oct 19 2009, 04:27 PM, said:

sorry i wasnt thinking that day. i would do that now but of course its too late. i am going to try the USB thing, hopefully my PC allows me to boot with a flash drive. i have a lexar usb drive is that similar to a laxar? will update with my progress.