Recent experience attempting to install Win XP Pro on a Compaq Presario 1625

Recent experience attempting to install Win XP Pro on a Compaq Presario 1625

Relevant Terms: Compaq Presario 1625, Save To Disk Partition Not Found, phdisk.exe, BIOS, CMOS Battery

The laptop was kicked down by a friend. Before I got it, I had helped him upgrade it to XP without a hitch. When I got it. I wanted to reinstall XP on a freshly formatted hard disk as the disk is 3 gigs and I wanted to maximize space.

I repartitioned and formatted the hard drive using 'fdisk' and 'format' from a win 98 boot disk, then received the following error on reboot:

Save To Disk Partition Not Found

This is a partition created during the initial OEM configuration of the laptop used to store the memory in the RAM in the event of a suspend.

Utilities to remedy this are phdisk and (0vmakfil for IBM systems) (easiest to copy this file to a Win 98 boot disk, then boot from the disk and execute the file [I also like to add smartdrv.exe to boot disks in cases of extensive file copying]), neither file worked successfully for me.

Warning all of the above utilities (other than smartdrv.exe) can potentially erase any and all data from your hard drive, use at your own risk!

Luckily I was able to locate the:

original restore CD - (Serial Number Located On Machine) - (Zipped Nero CD image)

Win98 OS key - (P2M8X-QFQH3-3KC2X-C7BJH-6C2WB)

Maintenance Manual (PDF)

and restore the laptop to its original condition, but not before I started receiving the following error:

0270 Real Time Clock Error

This was due to a faulty cmos battery. Maxell CR1220 or (replacement Energizer 1216). I had to bend the contacts in a little to fit the new Energizer battery [it's thinner].

When lifting the front panel with the touch pad, be very gentle or you will yank out the ribbon. Simply lift gently about a half inch then move it straight forward resting it on the key board. (Follow the manual to this point) Now you will be able to lift the keyboard with the front panel resting on it, but no more than an inch up. Then you should have sufficient access to the cmos battery. It sits behind the main battery which should be removed before disassembly.

Now when attempting to install XP, the installation would hang at "Setup is starting" or right after the progress bar completes.

When I finally found the restore CD and restored the computer, I was so sure that the XP installation would be successful.

Restoring the Laptop did restore the "Save to disk" partition, however, the XP install, and Real Time Clock errors persisted. I chatted with HP reps who told me that the real time clock error should not be preventing XP from installing, however, since it was my last option and they weren't providing any further advice, I figured I would give it a shot.

I pulled out the cmos battery, and reinserted it seeing as it had become a little scratched up where the contacts had been for almost ten years. This successfully stopped the real time clock error, and surprisingly enough, XP installed successfully, however, not long after, XP would start hanging at start up again so I finally replaced the battery all together, and all is fine.

Why would I want to bother putting XP on this old laptop? Well, as I have several computers and servers in my network, and I am concerned with energy use, I have decided to use the laptop to remote desktop to whatever machine I need to access. This way I can turn off the monitors and not have to use them at all. It also provides a portable means to connect to my network while away. Remote desktop does not require a lot of resources to run. In fact, when I am Remote Desktop connected to another machine, it runs faster than the actual laptop does even going through my wireless network.. Why XP for remote desktop, you can use it on 95? Because it is the only OS I have that will install my wireless G MIMO pcmcia card I recently purchased, which was my real motivation to figure this out.