XP SP3 Pro Image for Vostro 200 Slim Issue
Hey Everyone,
So I'm having this issue imaging these newly aquired Vostro 200 Slim Towers. These things aren't much but they have Core2Duo E4500 @ 2.20 GHz Processors with 150 GB HDDs and 1 GB of RAM. Now the odd thing is, at first, I tested a Windows 7 image and it worked perfectly. After I checked that off my list of images that needed testing, my next one was an XP SP3 image. I reimaged the machine without any problem, the computer restarted, past post, then all of a sudden there's a rather short pause on a black screen. After the short pause, the Windows XP loading screen comes on very faint...to the point where it's almost not even visible, and it just sits there at a halt. When I force it off and restart it, that extended Safe Mode & etc. menu pops up. When I try to start it normally, it locks up at exactly the same place. When I try to boot into safe mode, it stops at agpCPQ.sys and sits there as well. If I reimage it with my Windows 7 setup, it'll start back up again just fine, but every time I try an XP image, it halts at that same spot..Why?? I need to build a new classroom with these PCs but if I can't get the thing to boot into XP, then that eliminates more than half of the images I can use on it. Building one from scratch is not an option because I'll have to rebuild all of our XP images soley for that one make/model which is highly impractical and would be a devastating blow to our storage solutions. Any further information needed or whatever, let me know. Much thanks.
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Try changing the storage controller emulation in the BIOS.
Authorised Symantec Consultant (ASC) with Endpoint Management Limited, an Authorised Symantec Delivery Provider based in the UK.
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Well, it's set to IDE instead of RAID. These are the only options provided in the BIOS.
are set to? IDE or not?
What mass storage driver ("Storage controller") does Windows 7 show in device manager?
Authorised Symantec Consultant (ASC) with Endpoint Management Limited, an Authorised Symantec Delivery Provider based in the UK.
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Yes, it's already been set to IDE in the BIOS. The storage controller that comes up in Device Manager is "MagicISO SCSI Host Controller" in Windows 7
Not the actual hardware driver.
Authorised Symantec Consultant (ASC) with Endpoint Management Limited, an Authorised Symantec Delivery Provider based in the UK.
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I don't think this is a mass storage issue, as the problem description is consistent with this being a video driver issue. First of all, the display does not render a clear image, and secondly, the driver file referenced: agpCPQ.sys - suggests that this is an AGP driver (Accelerated Graphics Port).
The only viable solution is to find the correct XP driver for this machine and add it to an imaged machine in "Safe mode" and see if that solves the problem. Then if it does, you would have to add it to your XP builds. Unfortunately, the design of XP does not lend itself to easy driver addition, but you may be able to get away with editing the OEMPNPDRIVERPATH in your existing image to include the new driver folder without having to rebuild the entire image.
Windows 7 has a much more comprehensive driver library, and is likely to have an up to date AGP driver collection as AGP is no longer shipping in new machines as it has been replaced by PCI-E.
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Is that saying that the display driver, in this case "Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset Family" when in Windows 7, actually loads even before that XP splash screen comes on? I'm going to try to load XP at least in Safe Mode. I've heard in some cases, that if I try enough times, it'll eventually load. I also read somewhere that when loading in Safe Mode, whatever driver you see on the list is actually the last successfully loaded driver. That actually it's the driver after that which is locking up. Is there truth behind that? I think it was some "intelppm" thing I read somewhere.
The AGP driver is a low level driver which I believe activates the AGP "bus", way before the actual video drivers are loaded. However, I am not sure whether the driver load information shows which drivers have already loaded successfully, or whether it shows the next driver to be loaded. Logically, it would make more sense to display each driver that is about to be loaded as the last one to be displayed is the one that has hung, as the alternative would not provide you with a driver name for the one that has stalled which frankly is as much use as a chocolate teapot.
Have you tried building one of these machines with XP from scratch, seeing what drivers are needed and then checking your build? The article at: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/readyutility-assist-identifying-plug-and-play-drivers can help you identify all plug and play device IDs in your system and thus assist in ensuring you have the right drivers available for this machine.
If your issue has been solved, please use the "Mark as Solution" link on the most relevant thread.
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