Trying to install Windows XP on a Dell Dimension 3000
Ok, I know this is outside of the norm for this page, I don't really care.
Backstory: I buy things from estate auctions on hi-bid. Nobody else bid on this so I got it for the minimum bid, $2.50 USD.
It was missing the hdd, and it was in a filthy barn.
Side note: auctions are generally "as-is, where is" that means you pick these items up at the location of the estate, they usually pull things out and organize them, but they don't clean them or anything usually.
I have an extra IDE HDD, so I threw that in and tried to install Windows XP. I got errors halfway through saying "setup cannot copy the file:"
Then I got it to go all the way through, but it won't boot.
Then I got a system error that the HDD is not present.
I tried an IDE adapted SSD, still not recognized.
Then I got the HDD recognized again.
I figured I would check the ram: 1x 256MB. I threw in 2x512MB, that's a neat trick.
I also swapped out the cd drive since it was having a hard time opening up anyway.
Now I'm back to, "setup cannot copy the file:"
Maybe a bad CD burn? Idk, it's been awhile since I've done this.
That machine was built during the capacitor plague. It could have all sorts of weirdness going on. Have you ran any hardware diagnostics yet? Did you notice any distended caps when installing the hdd?
This was my thought too. Whenever you open one of these Dells you always see swollen, leaky capacitors. They can cause some very odd behavior, such as only booting exactly one in three times.
Theoretically, it should be relatively straightforward to find and replace them if you were really dedicated
The problem I've always had with mobo caps is the high heat solder they used. You either need to use an extremely high wattage heat source or you need to get a lower temp solder to bond to the existing solder so that you can melt it with a regular iron.
Does it have a requirement for the first memory slot to be populated by something smaller than 256? Can you try a low end Linux OS just to get it up and running?
There is a bios setting for "os install" which limits the amount of available ram, I believe that is for older os's. This one shipped at the very end of windows xp in around 2005.
If the HDD is intermittently not being detected even in the BIOS, there's probably an issue with the hardware involved. Flaky IDE port on the mobo? Bad power or data cable? Overheating? Or, as someone has already suggested, capacitor plague?
I can't remember whether Dells of that era had manufacturer hardware lockin issues or not.
Do you know, with absolute certainty, that the RAM and CD Drive are compatible with your laptop? Talking like manufacturer, model, capacity, speed, the whole shebang.
IMO the RAM is probably what is causing issues, I'd stick a single stick of comparable RAM back into the first slot and try again.