Loading Operating system Help

[dithrin]

I just got the computer i am going to be using but i ran into a problem loading XP on it.  It went through the install, but after restarting it gave me a black screen with "Error loading operating system".

The people on this site seem helpful so i thought i would ask here as i could use any suggestions.  I dont know a lot about setting up computers but I will try anything with good directions. 

below is the specs of what i got,  if more info is needed i can supply what i know.

Features/Specifications:
HP Compaq dc5100 MT Pentium 4 640 3.2 GHz Desktop Pc

No Operating System
Microtower form factor
Intel Pentium 4 640 3.2 GHz processor
800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache, Hyper-Threading technology
Intel 915GV Express chipset
2 GB DDR2 RAM (4 GB maximum)
40 GB SATA hard drive
DVD-ROM drive
No floppy drive
ATI Radeon 9250 256 MB PCI video card
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
Integrated AC'97 audio with internal speaker
Integrated Broadcom BCM5751 NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
Power button
Power and hard drive LEDs

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Sometimes XP can be a little funny on SATA drives. You might look in the BIOS to see if "ACHI" is turned on for the sata controller, and if it is try setting it to "Legacy IDE" or "Native IDE", something along those lines.

What version of XP are you trying to load? Is it a retail disk? What service pack level?

You may also have more luck trying to find a third-party updated version of XP that has more complete drivers loaded into it. Unfortunately the only way to get such a disk is through the less scrupulous methods that we generally don't explicitly link to here.

[spoot]

Also make sure the HD is in the boot list in the motherboard's bios.

[dithrin]

how do i look at the bios? 

do i go into settings (F10 i think) when it is loading?

[smalltownguy]

Is it a legitimate copy of Windows XP?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

According to this:
http://www.helpowl.com/p/Compaq/dc5100/Research/65233?search=dc5100%20bios

The F10 key is the correct key to enter the BIOS on that particular motherboard.

Here is a thread with someone suggesting a similar situation to yours:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-systems-and/Can-t-install-Windows-XP-Pro-to-my-dc5100-MT/td-p/411389

They also suggest turning off ACHI.

[smalltownguy]

Is it a legitimate copy of Windows XP?

Reason I ask is because I've seen that particular model of SFF computer (small form factor) not behave very well with some of the windows 'activator' programs that are out there.

[dithrin]

thanks i will try these when i get home.

yes it is a legitiment copy,  it is old though so it is not updated at all.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

You might be best served by going and acquiring of of the updated copies of XP floating around the web then changing your serial key to the legit one after install. This will vastly decrease your set up time by already having the current service pack installed, as well as any of the subsequent updates.

[Thenasty]

maybe the HD in there is not set ACTIVE, so you should try to DELETE the Partition first then reboot then do your install (it's a try).