Give full system specs.
This can happen with some conflicting hardware.

Foxconn 945P7AA
Celeron D CPU
2Gb PC2-5300 (2x 1Gb DIMM)
Geforce GT610
Currently trying to install on a WD3200AVVS SATA HDD but also tried a WD800 SATA HDD
Currently installing from Super Writemaster SH222 DVD writer but also tried MS-8148 IDE CDROM, but condition of the MS-8148 is untested
Tried install from Toshiba 16Gb USB stick with bootable win 7 installer on it, this has been tested on other PCs previously

I have plenty of alternative hardware I could try, SATA and PATA HDDs, SVGA cards optical drives etc

Yesterday I actually tried to install Windows 7 on the same hardware and it did boot from the DVD without a problem and go most way through the install but then said a file was missing on the install DVD. I actually had that same problem with one of my Win 7 install DVDs before on another PC so I think that is just a faulty DVD.

Today I am trying with another Windows 7 DVD and also Windows XP CD and can't get past the BOOTMGR error - then I tried again with the 'faulty' DVD from yesterday, thinking I could swap for another DVD when I get the file missing error, but even that DVD gives this BOOTMGR error today

** edit - Another thought **
I don't think I loaded bios 'optimal' defaults when I tried yesterday. However this mobo has a completely flat CMOS battery so everytime I power up it loses it's BIOS settings and says CMOS checksum error. Obviously as long as leave the PSU powered up even in standby the settings remain set. So I imagine it loads bios defaults every time I power up.

The mystery continues...

I brought the WD3200AVVS HDD home with me plus the USB drive with windows 7 installer and a windows 7 DVD

I connected the HDD to one of my old PCs that normally runs XP and Win98 (Core 2 Duo) and it refused to boot from the USB drive but it did boot from the Win 7 DVD

All went well until I got the the part where I partition the drive. I deleted the old partition as I didn't know what was on there and then created a new partition which used the entire drive capacity by default. I formatted the partition OK but then got a message saying 'Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu'

I couldn't get any further so I put the HDD in another PC I have here (intel i3 on gigabyte mobo). This one booted from the USB with no problem. When I came to delete the partition on the HDD and create a new one, it also created a 100 MB partition saying windows could perform better if it made that partition- which is something I usually see when installing Windows 7, but when i tried to install on the older XP machine it didn't create the 100 MB partition and never gave me the option to.

Windows 7 then installed and boots with no problem. So all this proves that the HDD, the Win 7 install DVD and the USB stick are all fine (which I knew anyway)

I still don't understand why I can't install on this HDD on the older PC. I will now put the HDD with preinstalled OS back on the Foxconn mobo at the workshop tomorrow and see if it now boots.

One thing I can glean from all these complications is that there are gaps in my knowledge of windows hard drives and the way they interact with older Mobos/BIOS/Settings.

Can one of you guys educate me as to what is going on here?

Rich

Hi:

First, put a new battery, mandatory. Mobos without battery act weirdly.

second, try to upgrade the bios to latest version, some features are added or corrected (boot form USB, IDE, Sata)

Download BIOS HERE

then try again, good luck. 😉

OK. I tried to boot from the HDD with Windows 7 that I had installed using another PC

The Foxconn would try to boot from the Windows 7 but then reset and retry, stuck in a loop. If i allowed it to boot into windows recovery, the mobo would boot properly and eventually I would get a message saying that it could not repair this windows installation. This happened with AHCI mode enabled or disabled in the BIOS so I son't know what was causing that.

I then tried again with my 80Gb HDD and Windows XP install CD and having messed around in the BIOS with the SATA mode it then installed XP without a problem. I'm not sure exactly which change made it work. 😕

I was gonna try the BIOS update next but didn't need to.

Actually I only want to use the mobo as a test bed for DDR2 dimms, PCI and PCI-e cards, Floppies, SATA and IDE HDDs etc. I figured out it isn't of any real value so doesn't matter if I break it. I'm gonna build an 'open' bench chassis that allows me to test add-on cards using extension ribbons so i can lay the card flat onto some sort of support and poke around with my test gear. I'll upload some pics when i get it built

Rich

dicky96 wrote:

OK. I tried to boot from the HDD with Windows 7 that I had installed using another PC […]
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OK. I tried to boot from the HDD with Windows 7 that I had installed using another PC

The Foxconn would try to boot from the Windows 7 but then reset and retry, stuck in a loop. If i allowed it to boot into windows recovery, the mobo would boot properly and eventually I would get a message saying that it could not repair this windows installation. This happened with AHCI mode enabled or disabled in the BIOS so I son't know what was causing that.

I then tried again with my 80Gb HDD and Windows XP install CD and having messed around in the BIOS with the SATA mode it then installed XP without a problem. I'm not sure exactly which change made it work. 😕

I was gonna try the BIOS update next but didn't need to.

Actually I only want to use the mobo as a test bed for DDR2 dimms, PCI and PCI-e cards, Floppies, SATA and IDE HDDs etc. I figured out it isn't of any real value so doesn't matter if I break it. I'm gonna build an 'open' bench chassis that allows me to test add-on cards using extension ribbons so i can lay the card flat onto some sort of support and poke around with my test gear. I'll upload some pics when i get it built

Rich

you can't change an installed OS to another system, because the HW are totally different, then the OS try to install all the new HW and boom, BOSD or loops.
you can't change AHCI mode to IDE/SATA on an installed OS, they crash on boot (because the HDD controller are different).

you can't change an installed OS to another system, because the HW are totally different, then the OS try to install all the new HW and boom, BOSD or loops.
you can't change AHCI mode to IDE/SATA on an installed OS, they crash on boot (because the HDD controller are different).

Yeah I know the drivers are different but generally in the past when I put an HDD with installed OS from one PC to another it works and loads the new drivers. I do say 'generally' other times i have seen the reset loops etc like you say, but I wouldn't go so far as to say 'you can't do it' - more like 'you can... and it may or may not work'.

The reason I was trying the AHCI mode was because I didn't know how it was set on the other PC but i take your point. It didn't help anyway.

I still don't know exactly what I did to fix the problem and get XP to install. Yesterday I couldn't get the same CD to install to the same HDD no matter what I tried. I got the BOOTMGR error. Today it worked.

manuelink64 wrote:

you can't change an installed OS to another system, because the HW are totally different, then the OS try to install all the new HW and boom, BOSD or loops.
you can't change AHCI mode to IDE/SATA on an installed OS, they crash on boot (because the HDD controller are different).

windows 7 and up are perfectly fine with it, as long as the SATA controllers use the same access mode (AHCI or IDE/legacy) on both systems. Their hardware detection is 95% able to set up drivers correctly. I have done this multiple times in the past.

Windows XP (and probably 2000, no idea here) is more iffy but has a reasonable chance to work with the same limitation as win7 an d up for controller modes. Everything earlier is a stupid idea if the OS is set up.

Koltoroc wrote:

manuelink64 wrote:

Windows XP (and probably 2000, no idea here) is more iffy but has a reasonable chance to work with the same limitation as win7 an d up for controller modes. Everything earlier is a stupid idea if the OS is set up.

I did a Windows 2000 for a client last week who had the old sata hard drives from PC that the motherboard had failed. It all worked quite happily fitted in a replacement PC, Just had to install all the new drivers. He then had access to all his files and Apps. So I can confirmed it worked without any issue.

Same client also had a sata hard drive with OS from a Windows XP rig but I could not persuade that one to boot in a new rig - but I have had XP work OK when transferring the drive.

Rich

dicky96 wrote:

I did a Windows 2000 for a client last week who had the old sata hard drives from PC that the motherboard had failed. It all wo […]
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Koltoroc wrote:

manuelink64 wrote:

Windows XP (and probably 2000, no idea here) is more iffy but has a reasonable chance to work with the same limitation as win7 an d up for controller modes. Everything earlier is a stupid idea if the OS is set up.

I did a Windows 2000 for a client last week who had the old sata hard drives from PC that the motherboard had failed. It all worked quite happily fitted in a replacement PC, Just had to install all the new drivers. He then had access to all his files and Apps. So I can confirmed it worked without any issue.

Same client also had a sata hard drive with OS from a Windows XP rig but I could not persuade that one to boot in a new rig - but I have had XP work OK when transferring the drive.

Rich

probably both of you are very lucky. 😳
I tried in the past with terrible results. 😵

Regards!

PS: your HDD pass the SMART check?
PS2: update the BIOS!