Installation of XP Fails

640 KB Base Memory
524288 KB Extended Memory
Boot from CD/DVD-ROM drive... failed.
Boot from hard drive... failed.
Boot from floppy drive...
Non-System disk or disk error
Replace and press any key when ready

??

I remember why I have a mac, but seriously.

I know that the install did not happen when I originally tried or any time since, so I am not shocked, but shouldn't it just be booting form the CD (which is brand-new, just opened, and in the drive)? It would be quite a hoot if the cd were just defective...

Any ideas on how to install the OS when the first attempt failed? I have never been able to get it to re-try installing, just try to re-boot.
 
spectre said:
For Parallels Desktop 3.0 build 4128 you need Parallels Transporter build 1240, here is the link - http://download.parallels.com/v3/en/GA/Parallels-Tsp-3.0.1240-Win.exe.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I guess the problem is that I have Parallels transporter build 1240 on Macbook, but Parallels Transporter Agent build 1260 on my PC. The error message says "... your Parallels Transporter agent has another build number than Parallels Transporter. Please install consistent version."
 
installation of 2000, however...

After numerous tries of uninstalling parallels and running disk utility, restarting etc. I finally decided my xp disk might be at fault.

I do not know why it disliked the idea of booting form the xp disk or installing from the xp disk, but the way around it is to first boot from 2000, install 2000, and upgrade.
 
Hmmm. maybe I should try VM ware???

Having the same problem - tried changing the boot configuration and finally that started doing things. Parallels goes to work for a while - blue screen "windows setup." along the bottom, things like "setup is loading files (Human Interface Parcer.) This goes on for about five minutes, the blue screen gets a bunch of text - at the top it says something about setup detecting a problem and the f-in window flips back over to the configuration so I can't even diagnose what the problem was.

MacBook Pro
2.4 GHz
2 GB ram
Parallels Desktop Build #4560
Brand new XP SP2 full version
 
Slight change in progress

I tried a few more times to see what the error message was, then decided to take a snapshot. I sat there waiting with the Command and Shift keys pressed, waiting to hit 3 to take a picture when the error message blipped up. But then, it started the installation! WTF! now it shows the windows xp installation page - says it is on the Installing Windows step and that Setup will complete in approzimately: 39 minutes. It keeps cycling through its promoting xp "Enjoy using Windows XP" & "Now it's easier to get help-and to help others!"

But I do not think all is well

I hear my CD spin up, buzz, spin down, spin up, buzz, spin down, over and over rhythmically - and it has been doing that for over 40 minutes. I don't think this is working. the 39 minute counter has not gone down. I am starting over again.
 
Still Trying

How long should I let this thing run? I started Activity Monitor when starting the install, and looking at disk activity - there is none. In one hour, there has been this much of a change:

Reads in: +978
Writes out: +1,362
Reads in & Writes out/sec is usually 0
Data read: +10.67 MB
Data Written: + 1GB
Data read & written/sec is usually 0

It seems like parallels is not using the CD drive correctly.

One day shot, time to try email support for unregistered hobos.
 
I think you need to get build 4128. I read one thread where the guy said that for the last month he had spent more time trying to get Parallels to work than he spent on any other activity, even sleep.

I have XP Home Edition with SP2 and it installed in about an hour.
 
hfdx said:
I think you need to get build 4128. I read one thread where the guy said that for the last month he had spent more time trying to get Parallels to work than he spent on any other activity, even sleep.

I have XP Home Edition with SP2 and it installed in about an hour.
Click to expand...

I have tried builds 4128 and Build 4560 with little progress. Eventually I decided to install a new VM of XP and that VM oddly enough did read the CD. Parallels automatically gave it a unique name. It started installing XP and *almost* finished. At the very end the status message at the bottom of the black terminal window said something to the effect of "About to Launch Windows". At that point the black terminal window rotated and a blue screen appeared with white text on it. After a fraction of a second, the blue screen rotated back to Parallels Configuration Summary window.

So close.

I have able to repeat this process a few times and eventually managed to capture a screen shot of some of the text on the blue screen during the very brief amount of time it appears. At the top the screen says:

"A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.

SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED"

I searched the Parallels Knowledge-base for "SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED" but did not find anything at all as of today.

Does anyone have a guess as to what I might try? I was not able to capture the entire blue screen. Below the
SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED message I did grab some text that says:

"If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardwa"


That is the bottom of the text I was able to capture. It is followed by some more instructions and then by, I think, by some hex code. Any thoughts appreciated.

Lewis
 
you must be my twin.

LewisDowney said:
After a fraction of a second, the blue screen rotated back to Parallels Configuration Summary window.

So close.

"A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.

SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED"

Lewis
Click to expand...

As you can read above, I have been having similar problems. I was never able to catch the error message with a screenshot. I was able to get past where you are and then get stuck again. I gave up and installed VMWare's Fusion. Fusion had the same exact problems but was actually able to show the error messages - VERY HANDY (hint to parallels.) The errors that helped most said basically my disk was damaged. It is new, no scratches - virgin.

I tried to make a backup copy of XP on my MBP using Disk Utility but it couldn't read it. I tried on my iMac and it worked fine - HUH? I was then able to install Fusion with no problems at all using the backup disk. I have not tried yet with parallels again - probably will try this weekend.

So try making a backup - see if we are in the same boat.
 
I have read some posts that say that it helps to repair permissions on your Mac before trying to install. It couldn't hurt to try.
 
for the Boot from hard drive failed.... problem

A few days ago, this article was posted to the knowledge base.

Installing Windows OS from Disk Image File Using Mac OS X Disk Utility. Problems During Windows Installation. Installation from the Disk Fails.

http://kb.parallels.com/entry/30/458/

I was experiencing a similar problem as described in some of the posts on this thread. I installed Parallels 3.0 on my Mac and then the XP home edition install would hang while trying to boot from the hard drive. I uninstalled & reinstalled Parallels several times but always the desktop came up with the same configuration page & OS window.

I uninstalled Parallels (for the 5th time), followed the step-by-step directions in the above article & created a brand new virtual machine. Now XP is running on my Mac like it is right at home.

Hope this helps.
 
I am having the same problem trying to install Windows XP Pro with SP2 from the original install CD. I have Build 4560.

I installed Parallels, and as I was about to install Windows, the Parallels update message popped up, so I went ahead and updated it first. Then I went through the OS Installation Assistant using the Windows Express Installation which is suppose to create the VM and install WinXP in one step. I stuck in the CD, entered the Windows Activation Code, and it looked like it proceeded to install, so I stepped away for a while to let it do that.

When I came back, the Windows XP Configuration Page appeared on the Parallels Desktop. There was no error messages or anything else that said installation was complete. So I assumed it was installed correctly. But when I tried to run it, I get the same problem everyone here is getting. I get a black screen that looks like Parallels starts, it checks the memory, and the final line says:
"Boot from hard drive..."
and it just hangs.

I was suspicious if it really did install because looking at the VM directory, it doesn't show the entire Windows installation contents. And if the error messages pop up and disappear, I would have missed them.

Some of the suggestions on this thread will not work. Changing the boot sequence will only give you the same result when it eventually goes to try booting from the Hard Drive.
And the other suggestion to make a disk image and then go through all those steps will be too much to handle for most people. I'm testing this for our department and those steps will simply overwhelm many people.

Besides, what's Microsoft's license regarding making an image of its install disk.
And what happens if I try reinstalling it several times as I thought the Activation Code is only good for a certain small number of installations before it deactivates?
 
Installation Update:

I see what people were saying. The Windows installation never completed because it needed to boot from the CD drive.

So I changed the boot sequence and ran it again through Parallels, this time, watching the whole installation. Blue screen Windows Setup appears and setup is loading files.
Looks good.

After about 2 minutes, it says "Setup is staring Windows". Sounds good....

Then I get the same "SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED" message everyone else is getting before it quickly flips back to the Parallels Configuration Page for Windows XP.
 
Installation Update: SUCCESS!!!

Short version: Clean your discs.

Long version:
I was not content with the solution by creating a disc image. I was almost tempted to uninstall the whole thing and start afresh but was worried about the multiple activation issue. So I scoured elsewhere on the net.

Mainly people encountered the problem when installing on a newly built machine with a faulty component (hence the hardware detection error) or a bad disc (which is why Parallels technical answer is to install it from a disc image. But the MacBook I'm installing it on is new, so is the Windows installation CD, although it's not uncommon to find bad discs.

Eventually, I came to one person's solution that worked: there was a smug on the CD which he cleaned, thereafter, installation worked. Could it be as simple as that? Could a tiny smug throw off the entire installation, especially with a new disc?

What did I have to lose? I pulled out the CD, used a clean tissue and wiped away every single speck of dust (there were not that many). It looked clean and undamaged to me. Oopps, there was a very tiny smudge near the outside edge of the disc. Better wipe that clean. Since the optical beam reflects off the top surface of a CD, I made sure to wipe the top of the CD clean too. I crossed my fingers, holding out very little hope, and popped the disc back into the machine.

Ran Windows through Parallels again. Blue Windows Setup screen comes up, loads initial setup files, message saying it's starting Windows appear again (this is where it crashed before), waiting...waiting....Lo! it continues with the Windows installation!

The Windows installation of copying files to the machine took about 10 minutes. Then Windows was actually able to load! And it went through the Windows setup which took another 10 minutes. And then it rebooted to finalized the installation.

Windows XP is loaded on the Mac through Parallels and I will continue with my testing of it.
 
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