Insufficient Memory to Install Windows XP - Help Needed!

[Taysanro]

Hi friends!

I have been all around the web, trying to understand if my problem had happened to anyone in the last weeks, and since I couldn't find much help, I stand here now, hoping that you, pc experts, can help me.

I accidentally deleted all my drivers, from the \\Windows (XP) root, so as I couldn't restart windows due to the missing drivers (pci, for giving one example!) I tried to reinstall Windows, using a CD-Room Boot. I access to the winnt.exe program through a DOS (DRDOS) environment and then the winXP setup is actually opened, but, all of a sudden, the program is terminated due to lack of memory (I have 768 MB RAM installed, 256 + 512, on this computer, thus it is impossible that the problem comes from RAM). The error message that appears on the setup blue screen, in my language, is close to "There is insufficient memory to perform this action".

I have to say one more thing, I had already tried the "fdisk" solution, consisting in the deletion of second hard disk partitions (and neither of the first hard disk or primary partition, seeing that, allegedly, "fdisk" command does not have a full functioning under STANDARD MODE - and I donīt know how to switch to other mode), hopefully this would have erased all data from computer, allowing the system to detect automatically Cd Boot setup.

Edition: I had already solved this last issue - see it here --> http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,44443.0.html

But, again, that did not solved my first issue, which is to install an operating system and surpass the error: Out of memory. Any suggestions are warmly welcome! Thanks

[contrex]

Yes, you can have insufficient memory in a machine with 768 MB installed RAM. This could be lack of "conventional memory", i.e. the first 640 K. DOS was written in the days of 640K RAM, and needs as much as possible of this to be free. You may need to check this out, and alter config.sys and autoexec.bat accordingly.

[Taysanro]

I see... But, can the configuration of these files be achieved in an DOS environment?
In the mean time, I had acquired an online DRDOS Help "manual", which contain an all chapter about how to alter config.sys and autoexec.bat files. I will give further notices of it. Thanks!

[Deerpark]

What I want to know is, why aren't you installing XP the regular way?
If you got a genuine XP install disc you should be able to boot from it and go through the XP setup. Then you would avoid this whole "out of memory" deal altogether.

[Taysanro]

Quite good question, Deerpark...  I would think the same... but, I rather ask you, first, if one can assures that a windows XP setup copy disk can act as the genuine one?

[contrex]

Quite good question, Deerpark...  I would think the same... but, I rather ask you, first, if one can assures that a windows XP setup copy disk can act as the genuine one?

Oh you have a pirate copy! How foolish to reveal that!

I accidentally deleted all my drivers

That reminds me of the time I accidentally slept with my secretary; at least that's how I pitched it to my wife...

[patio]

I accidentally deleted all my drivers

That reminds me of the time I accidentally slept with my secretary; at least that's how I pitched it to my wife...

How did that work out for you ? ?

I have a similar dilemna...

[contrex]

I accidentally deleted all my drivers

That reminds me of the time I accidentally slept with my secretary; at least that's how I pitched it to my wife...

How did that work out for you ? ?

I have a similar dilemna...

Well I made it up, but if it had happened, she would have said, "it wasn't an accident, it was folly"

[Deerpark]

Quite good question, Deerpark...  I would think the same... but, I rather ask you, first, if one can assures that a windows XP setup copy disk can act as the genuine one?

I'm sorry but I have no idea what you just asked me. Could you please rephrase?

[contrex]

Quite good question, Deerpark...  I would think the same... but, I rather ask you, first, if one can assures that a windows XP setup copy disk can act as the genuine one?

I'm sorry but I have no idea what you just asked me. Could you please rephrase?

Seems to me he's asking "can you assure me that a copy of a Windows setup disk will work just like a genuine one?"

[Deerpark]

Ahh you're of course right contrex, for some reason I just couldn't decipher that question yesterday.

Taysanro, no I can't assure you a copied version will work.
But I'm not all that convinced starting the XP setup from DOS will work either. The XP setup isn't expecting another OS to be running (the whole reason for booting from the XP setup disc is to make sure nothing else is running), so it may conflict with DOS.

[contrex]

A copied disk might or might not work. Depends on whether the disk drive can read it. (As with any CDROM, original or not). If the disk is 100% readable, and the code on it is a binary clone of the original, it should work. But it may be a breach of this forum's policy to encourage or facilitate the use of pirate software.

The MS-DOS executable winnt.exe is specifically provided on OS install CDROMs for the purpose of installing from a MS-DOS environment. The program is able to start an NT loader which continues the installation task.

However there can be problems if the DOS environment is not set up properly, e.g. if conventional (the first 640K) memory is short, and if UMA/EMS/XMS are not configured correctly. People who know what those things are, are a dying breed these days, although there is plenty of material on the Web about it.

[Taysanro]

Ok, people, lets now clarify one or two points. First of all, I do not have a pirate windows XP-CD version, all I did was asking:

"can you assure me that a copy of a Windows setup disk will work just like a genuine one?"

You are just assuming that I'm trying to breach the forum's policy, which I'm not! A copy of my actual XP-CD might be needed as I cannot be sure of its reliability (The Cd have some minor scratch on its surface, but I believe that after spent so many years closed in the drawer, the humidity might had been harmful).

Anyway, I thank you, contrex. From your words I could understand that there isn't a way to put the computer back to its initial state or, to be more specific, to put the conventional memory configuration back to what it was when the computer had came just right from the factory.

One more question, where is this DRDOS comes from? Is it from the OS CDROM?

But I'm not all that convinced starting the XP setup from DOS will work either. The XP setup isn't expecting another OS to be running (the whole reason for booting from the XP setup disc is to make sure nothing else is running), so it may conflict with DOS.

Deerpark, I set up BIOS to start the computer from the CD, but as the computer is restarted, Boot from the CD turns, automatically,  into the Caldera DR-DOS environment, instead of initialize Windows setup!

[patio]

Run FDisk and format on your primary partition. I saw that you said you ran it on D: but not C:
Make sure to set the partition active.
Boot to the CD and setup should run.

Warning you will lose all data on C: so backup what you need.

[Deerpark]

Deerpark, I set up BIOS to start the computer from the CD, but as the computer is restarted, Boot from the CD turns, automatically,  into the Caldera DR-DOS environment, instead of initialize Windows setup!

This just shouldn't be able to happen. But the strange thing is that it does apparently happen sometimes. If you do a search for "xp install disc caldera dos" you get quite a few posts from people reporting issues similar to yours. But unfortunately no one seems to have any answers. The closest thing to an answer I've found was one person who suggested it might be because of a damaged install disc.