reason said blackmarket was if xp copied from hd & not made bootable it just won't boot, just asking to make certain thats all
spent 7 or 8 hours with my two techie friends working on the problem today. we were all running similar old-HP rigs with the same motherboard and that was a plus. we tried all forms of solving the problem and at one point thought my hard drive was shot and at another, my motherboard. scared the shit out of me, lol. as it turns out, we can't install xp pro on this system...somewhere along the line it isn't compatible. we were able to reformat the C drive and reinstall XP home this time a legit copy and not HP's tainted version. after a pit-stop at 7-11 and several high-speed breaks along deserted roads out here (65 in a 20 on gravel roads isn't bad, is it?) we got things working again. i guess that until i upgrade my mobo/processor i'll have to live with xp home. i'm hoping this ACTUAL version is more stable than HP's. thanks for the advice, all. i appreciate your help.
just as a warning all, the mobo is the Asus A7N8X-LA. Considering that I haven't slept much in the past...two or three days...maybe 8 hours total..maybe 6..i forget...anyhoo, i started this project around 4:00pm and now it's almost 2 in the morning. time to watch some movies and start my thursday!
GLAD you got it going -Auslander- maybe HP doesn't play fare with outside programs that isn't programed by HP.
