i am trying to install windows 2000 pro sp 3 (original disk) on a new laptop (compaq c700, 1.86g dual core, 2g ram, standard bells and whistles) . 

i bought a new computer with windows VISTA only to find that vista doesn't like a lot of my older software.  so i bought a harddrive (new) and tried installing Win 2k pro.

problem is that the install hangs up on the blue screen saying 'windows 2000 will now install' (paraphrased) immediately following installing drivers and such necessary for setup just before moving on to the agreement and drive formatting STEPS and the actual install.  i have the cd rom set as the FIRST boot device (no problems) followed by the hard drive (still unformatted) in the bios.

i've done this install before on a desktop pc and had no trouble.  so i'm stumped.  could there be a hardware conflict (hope not) or does vista have it's fingers in other places (bios? ram cache?) that is preventing the install?  ultimately i need to finish the install.  please helpYour HDD might not be recognized by Windows 200, as it is SATA.  The only way I can think of to get past that is to slipstream the drivers using Nlite or similar tools.
I WOULD take a bet that most of the hardware in that laptop would not be supported by that OS anyway.excellent:(

well, at at least i know now.  thanks for the reply Calum and that makes sense about the sata non-support.  do you think i may be better off using xp?Sorry hagarty, I edited my post when I discovered some new information.  If you were a bit slower you wouldn't have noticed, heh.
XP might be better for that laptop, if your software works on it.no problem Calum.  i have the drivers for all the hardware so it win 2k support 'shouldn't' be a problem but what do i know....

i'll go get a copy of xp now and try that even though it's a downgrade from 2000:)

thanks again for the replyIf you have the drivers then I agree, Windows 2000 should be fine.  I must admit I haven't checked it out specifically, just that in my experience Windows 2000 hasn't LIKED any of the laptops I've tried.
You could try slipstreaming the drivers if you like, it's not too difficult if you already have them, and a blank CD.
I get where you're coming from about XP and 2K, although I do prefer XP - seems faster to me on newer hardware than 2K, but I can't fault either of them.i know nothing about slipstreaming.  how's that work?  what is it?  and where can i learn more?

also, if win2k won't recognize a sata drive will it even matter?  or will slistreaming the drivers handle that?Sorry, I should've explained better.
http://www.nliteos.com/ for the software.
http://www.nliteos.com/guide/ for a rough guide to doing it.
Basically, this program can, amongst other things, integrate your SATA drivers into a new Windows 2000 CD, allowing Windows 2000 to recognize the drive, assuming it's compatible.i don't know if it matters for slipstreaming but the hdd is still unformatted.cool!  thanks Calum.  i'll check out those sites and give it a whirl.

i'll keep you posted.... Quote from: hagarty on December 03, 2008, 12:10:46 PM

i don't know if it matters for slipstreaming but the hdd is still unformatted.