Help with new hard drive

Ok, here is the situation……bare with me as I try to explain my problem:) My current computer is a Gateway 500se…..all the hardware is orginal except for 2 additional rams that we installed. My parents got a new computer so they gave us the hard drive out of their old Compaq SR1403WM. The new harddrive is a Samsung SP0802N. I backed up all my programs/files from the old hard drive onto a CD, took out the old hard drive and replaced it with the new one. Hooked up EVERYTHING the same. I put in the Operating Disk that came with my computer, formatted the hard drive, and tried to install Windows XP home. When I restarted the computer, I received the error message "NTLDR is missing, press any key to restart". Naturally, I figured we did something wrong. Long story short, we deleted all partitions on the hard drive, made 2 new partitions (one to run XP and the other we wanted to use as a "recovery type partition") and reinstalled XP. Somehow everything is running backwards. The partition with only 8gigs is running as my C drive and the other 70 gigs is my D drive. When I try to install service pack 2 for Windows, it fails and the computer will not restart to Windows, ( I believe because there is not enought space on the C drive to save all the upgrades). So my question is this, how do I PROPERLY format/partition the new hard drive so that I am able to have my main OS & a recovery on the same hard drive??? And if I am not able to do that, then how do I delete everything and just start over with one big space that will work right with Windows?? This has been the biggest pain in the butt and I don't know where else to turn. Any advice or information would be greatly appriciated:) If you need any more info than I gave…just let me know!!! Thanks a buch in advance:)

Your thinking makes sense. It is a good idea to have your Operating System on a separate Hard Drive or Partition for C:\ That way if you have problems that require you to reinstall XP in the future, you can simply work on it in the C:\ drive without risk to your other DATA and Applications. You may do much better by giving your Operating System alot more room, for instance 20GB for C:\. Alternatively, I wonder why you wouldn't just keep your old Hard Drive for your Operating System, and add the new Drive for Applications and DATA, maybe partitioned as D:\ for applications and E:\ for DATA, Media, Files etc. Having (2) two physical Hard Drives is a common practice. "Recovery" as you mentioned is an entirely different matter. If you are using a backup system or Drive Image utility like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image, you would want to have a completely separate Drive Partition to save your backup image. (and preferrably save the ISO Image away from your computer, for instance on an External Hard Drive) If you don't have an External Hard Drive, create a Partition specifically for saving backup to your Operating System. Keep us posted with your progress. Best Regards

Ok…thank you for the info!! I think we have the whole hard drive situation figured out, but now I am having another issue:( Windows XP home is currently installed, but when I try to install the upgrade for service pack 2, my computer won't recognize the software upon restart. It gives me the option to " Run windows normally- Last known configuration that works- safe mode- safe mode with networking". I can not run in anything but safe mode, and the only way to get Windows to run again is to uninstall service pack 2 in safe mode, and then restart. Why is this happening and how do I get around it???? I did some research and the ony answer I got was from Microsoft stating that I needed "An updated version of BIOS that provides support for the processor that is currently installed"??? I've tried to contact Gateway…( That was a joke) but Gateway can't seem to help me unless I pay them by the minute for their time and tech support. Anyways, Thanks again for your help….you have no idea how greatly it is appriciated!!

Hi shaney3181,

Did you previously have XP SP2 installed on this same computer, prior to the changes that you've recently made? And was it previously running just fine with SP2?
If not, you may need to get the BIOS upgrade for your machine.

Apparently, this type of problem is known for some specific machines, where the machine has a CPU of one of the following types: "Intel Pentium 4 or Intel Celeron D processor that is based on Prescott C-0 processor stepping."

There is a known-good procedure for handling this problem, here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885626

Note: Do not apply the fix, without first determining that your machine does actually have one of those CPUs.

Best Regards

Yes, I do have an Intel Pentium Processor 4 in my computer. I was running service pack 2 before the new hard drive with no problem. I logged onto Gateways support center and downloaded a tool that scans and checks my system configuration to make sure that I have all the updated upgrades that I need for my system. It shows that I need the Network Adapters for the Intel Pro/VE 100 Network Conncetions and the System Devices for the Intel 82845 System Device Drivers. I completed the install and am now trying to download service pack 2 Hopefully the drivers I updated with will fix my problem. I will keep you posted as soon as I restart!!! Wish me luck!!

Since you were able to run your machine with SP2 installed previously, it is almost certain that you do not have the suspect - Prescott C-0 processor - CPU, or that your machine already has the necessary BIOS upgrade. Therefore, please ignore the previously posted recommendation, as it does not apply to your machine. Glad you have another avenue to work on this problem. Yes, keep us posted on your progress. Best Regards

Well, I did the upgrades that Gateway had, installed SP2, and still was not able to run XP normally. I have now uninstalled SP2 for the 5th time and am out of ideas on what else to do. If you can think of ANYTHING else I can try, please let me know. Thanks again for all your help!!

Have you installed DirectX 9.0c?

Download it from Microsoft, then try the SP2 install again, here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details…;displaylang=en

Edit: And have you installed all the Chipset Drivers for your machine's MotherBoard.
(They should be installed immediately after installing the Operating System, and DirectX9.0c and prior to installing SP2 and any Applications you may decide to install.)

Well, after everything I have done, still NO luck with SP2. This is just plain frustrating and I think I'm at the end of my rope with this new hard drive stuff. I even went as far as wiping everything out, deleting all the partitions, and starting over with a clean format. I have a friend who's brother works in a shop that rebuilds computers, so I'm thinking that is my best bet for getting this dang thing to run right. I will let you know what ends up happening, and what ends up fixing my problem. Thanks for your help!!