I know there are a bunch of posts about this on here as well as other forums, but this is driving me nuts. I put an 80GB IDE hard drive into my other desktop yesterday, attempting to install Windows XP on it. I am able to start and run the windows setup, but during the setup, when it needs to reboot, it will freeze at "Verifying DMI Pool Data...".

I tried installing Windows once before I gave up and erased the hard drive with Kill Disk. The BIOS recognizes the hard drive and I am able to install windows on it, so I'm hoping that the HD isn't bad. I found these guidelines in a search:

1. Corrupt boot files on the computer.
Can't be, no OS installed yet.

2. Settings for hard disk drive are not correct.
Possibly. I've gone into BIOS and loaded the preformance defaults.

3. Floppy diskette or CD in computer causing issue.
No media in any of the drives.

4. Boot devices not set properly.
I have the hard drive set to boot after the floppy drive (second).

5. BIOS corrupt or misc. setting not set properly.
Possibly. I have reset the CMOS, but not since I've installed the HD.

6. Connections loose or disconnected.
Don't think so, but i'll double check when I am home.

7. Bad Hard disk drive or other bad hardware.
I hope not

Here are the computer's specs:

ATX Case & 400W PSU
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (2.0GHz)
ECS nForce4-A754
PQI 512MB DDR333
GeForce 7300LE 256MB
CREATIVE SoundBlaster Live!
Seagate 80GB IDE
Samsung 4.3GB IDE
DVD-ROM IDE / CD-ROM IDE
1.44MB FDD

Any help/recommendations are appreciated!

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/computer/dmi.html

This website (from 2004) also has some guidelines I will try:

1. If you changed the hardware just before this problem occurred (e.g., installed a new hard disk drive), unchange it.

2. If you installed a new hard disk drive, set the motherboard CMOS Setup to Auto for the drive type. You may have to disconnect the drive first.

3. Enable "Reset Configuration Data" (may be "Force Update ESCD" in some CMOS Setuups) in the motherboard CMOS Setup PNP/PCI configuration. (Rebooting will automatically disabled it after it has done its thing.)

4. The CMOS may be corrupted. Clear it.

5. Disconnect all drives not required to boot the computer. If this fixes it, reconnect one at time.

6. The floppy drive may be bad or not connected properly.

7. Reseat all expansion boards.

8. Pull all boards not required to boot the computer.

Well... all I had to do was reset the CMOS really. I also unplugged the old small hard drive (idk why its in there anyway). Everything works fine now.

Glad I could help.

I asked here and google at the same time. I worry too much about over little s**t like that.