Baffling problem with Asus M2N32-SLI based machine

[alisonnic]

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

I've tried to install again and again, using:

1. Two different optical drives.
2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
3. Two different brand new hard drives.
4. Two different IDE cables.

No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
makes it to 57% before failing.

The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
replace the motherboard? What else could it be?


--- Windows Install Error Messages ---
first message:
ntdll.dll
The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP
system image. If you are installing from a CD, there may be a problem
with the Windows XP CD.

If I retry on this and continue to retry on succeeding error messages,
eventually I get this message:
Setup cannot copy file shell32.dll.

The file names vary but it always begins to happen within 50 to 57%
completion of the copy of the Windows system files to the hard drive.


--- History ---
10/18/06 - Computer built.
12/11/06 - System hard drive failure.
12/13/07 - Reinstall Windows on New WD 250 SATA hard drive. Installed
APC Back-UPS ES 550.
01/29/07 - Installed Electronic Specialists surge surpressor upstream
of UPS.
02/08/07 - System hard drive failure.
02/28/07 - rebuild computer with new Seagate SATA hard drive, new
motherboard, new Thermaltake PSU.
03/23/07 - unexplained failures; recovered after CHKDSK runs corrected
bad index entries.
04/07/07 - failure described above (slow executions, spontaneous
reboots, blank screen).

Please note that I've build over a dozen computer prior to this. None
of them gave me problems anything like this.

Also note that I've monitored the tempuratures via the Asus
motherboard monitoring program and the nVidia control panel. The
motherboard, CPU, and graphics card stay well below upper limits even
when run hard by a demanding racing sim. The LAN Boy case has two 120
mm fans and the Athlon has a large fan as well.

Also note that I've checked the wiring for the 110v outlet the
computer is using with a three-LED type outlet checker and it's fine.


--- System Configuration ---

Antec LAN Boy case
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W; replaced on 2/28/07 by:
Thermaltake PurePower 2.0 500W
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core
Corsair 1 GB PC2 6400 DDR2/800
eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCIe x16
system disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
replaced on 2/28/06 by:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s
backup disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Lite-On 16X DVD+-RW+CD-R/RW
Sony 16X DVD ROM
on-board SoundMax
Rosewill USB Media reader
Windows XP Pro
case lighting & controller

 

[dave]

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

I've tried to install again and again, using:

1. Two different optical drives.
2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
3. Two different brand new hard drives.
4. Two different IDE cables.

No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
makes it to 57% before failing.

The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
replace the motherboard? What else could it be?

I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
(when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios. After that
happens you need to reflash the bios. I would try that and see if
any of your problems go away.

 

[Dan]

I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
(when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.

I would love to see proof of this....

Dan

 

[Dan]

Check your RAM using Memtest86. In this case if your RAM comes out with no
errors then your PSU is probably to blame.

Dan

 

[Mike T.]

I would love to see proof of this....

Dan

What proof do you need? Windows programs exist to re-flash the BIOS. If it
can run on Windows, someone can make a virus out of it. -Dave

 

[dave]

I would love to see proof of this....

When I was running Windows on multiple computers connected to the internet,
I found one of the computers crashed. Rebooting revealed that 4 scsi
disk drives had been reformatted to a (to Windows) unknown format.
So I attempted to boot the Windows install cd from the cdrom. But the
cdrom was not listed as a known device by the boot program. A quick
call to Dell Service resulted in a reflashed bios. At that point the
cdrom was again recognized and I reinstalled Windows. But shortly after
that I dumped all of my Windows OS software, all the windows apps, and
all the Windows books. I switched to and have been running OpenBSD
ever since. I see no possibility of ever switching back to Windows on
any internet-connected computer.

Dan

--
http://RepublicBroadcasting.org - IF you can handle the truth
http://iceagenow.com - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.

 

[Dan]

What proof do you need? Windows programs exist to re-flash the BIOS. If
it can run on Windows, someone can make a virus out of it. -Dave

The fact that its possible and the fact that a known virus has been found
are two different things. I agree that flashing from Windows is a terrible
idea, but as of yet there is no malware that takes advantage of this hole.

Dan

 

[Dan]

When I was running Windows on multiple computers connected to the
internet,
I found one of the computers crashed. Rebooting revealed that 4 scsi
disk drives had been reformatted to a (to Windows) unknown format.
So I attempted to boot the Windows install cd from the cdrom. But the
cdrom was not listed as a known device by the boot program. A quick
call to Dell Service resulted in a reflashed bios. At that point the
cdrom was again recognized and I reinstalled Windows. But shortly after
that I dumped all of my Windows OS software, all the windows apps, and
all the Windows books. I switched to and have been running OpenBSD
ever since. I see no possibility of ever switching back to Windows on
any internet-connected computer.

If the four SCSI devices had been in a RAID array and that array failed,
then windows would not recognize the format, neither would any nix os. Just
because a BIOS became corrupted (it does happen) does not mean it was caused
by an outside influence such as malware. Anything from the original BIOS
being badly written, a magnetic event, or a under/over voltage situation
could cause those same symptoms.

Dan

 

[dave]

The fact that its possible and the fact that a known virus has been found
are two different things. I agree that flashing from Windows is a terrible
idea, but as of yet there is no malware that takes advantage of this hole.

Dan

Au contraire. You can find it documented on the web via Google. Unfortunately
I have forgotten the search terms I used to locate it.

--
http://RepublicBroadcasting.org - IF you can handle the truth
http://iceagenow.com - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.

 

[dave]

If the four SCSI devices had been in a RAID array and that array failed,

They weren't.

then windows would not recognize the format, neither would any nix os. Just
because a BIOS became corrupted (it does happen) does not mean it was caused
by an outside influence such as malware. Anything from the original BIOS
being badly written, a magnetic event, or a under/over voltage situation
could cause those same symptoms.

Dan

--
http://RepublicBroadcasting.org - IF you can handle the truth
http://iceagenow.com - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.

 

[Mich...]

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

I've tried to install again and again, using:

1. Two different optical drives.
2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
3. Two different brand new hard drives.
4. Two different IDE cables.

No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
makes it to 57% before failing.

The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
replace the motherboard? What else could it be?


--- Windows Install Error Messages ---
first message:
ntdll.dll
The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP
system image. If you are installing from a CD, there may be a problem
with the Windows XP CD.

If I retry on this and continue to retry on succeeding error messages,
eventually I get this message:
Setup cannot copy file shell32.dll.

The file names vary but it always begins to happen within 50 to 57%
completion of the copy of the Windows system files to the hard drive.


--- History ---
10/18/06 - Computer built.
12/11/06 - System hard drive failure.
12/13/07 - Reinstall Windows on New WD 250 SATA hard drive. Installed
APC Back-UPS ES 550.
01/29/07 - Installed Electronic Specialists surge surpressor upstream
of UPS.
02/08/07 - System hard drive failure.
02/28/07 - rebuild computer with new Seagate SATA hard drive, new
motherboard, new Thermaltake PSU.
03/23/07 - unexplained failures; recovered after CHKDSK runs corrected
bad index entries.
04/07/07 - failure described above (slow executions, spontaneous
reboots, blank screen).

Please note that I've build over a dozen computer prior to this. None
of them gave me problems anything like this.

Also note that I've monitored the tempuratures via the Asus
motherboard monitoring program and the nVidia control panel. The
motherboard, CPU, and graphics card stay well below upper limits even
when run hard by a demanding racing sim. The LAN Boy case has two 120
mm fans and the Athlon has a large fan as well.

Also note that I've checked the wiring for the 110v outlet the
computer is using with a three-LED type outlet checker and it's fine.


--- System Configuration ---

Antec LAN Boy case
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W; replaced on 2/28/07 by:
Thermaltake PurePower 2.0 500W
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core
Corsair 1 GB PC2 6400 DDR2/800
eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCIe x16
system disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
replaced on 2/28/06 by:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s
backup disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Lite-On 16X DVD+-RW+CD-R/RW
Sony 16X DVD ROM
on-board SoundMax
Rosewill USB Media reader
Windows XP Pro
case lighting & controller

Had a similar problem with a customers Dell (it had overheated), I had
stripped the machine and pulled the BIOS battery and let it sit for two
days, instead of throwing it away I put all back together.

I fired the PC up and it has run like a charm ever since
Go figure!

Mich...

 

[ewawrzaszek]

They weren't.



--http://RepublicBroadcasting.org- IF you can handle the truthhttp://iceagenow.com           - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This happened during a large file swap. This is not uncommon when
playing large consumming graphic programs such as a game or a CAD
application. Normally you would uninstall the application and
reinstall it, regrettable you have swapped some components and
reinstalled windows. No big deal but to have a good clean reinstall of
windows I typically reccommend to zero out the hard drive. This means
first format the hard drive then zero out the hard drive and park the
head. Reboot then reinstall windows everything should run fine after
that.

Ed

 

[Frank McCoy]

I would love to see proof of this....

Malware *can* corrupt the BIOS.
All it takes is for the programmer to know the right instructions.

However, usually most viruses and Trojans that *do* crap on the BIOS,
out-and-out *trash* the BIOS memory; so the usual solution is to just
reset the bios and reboot ... It no longer recognizes your hard-drive or
other things.

*IF* perchance you suspect something like this has happened, and you can
get into the BIOS at all, then simply load power-on-defaults, and see if
things work. Whether or not that works though; you'll then have to go
through and select better operating modes than default. Some computers
work just fine with "Optimized Defaults" but usually a little tweaking
will give *much* better results. Watch out for overclocking though:
many an experimenter, trying to get the computer to run faster, trashed
the BIOS when trying to run too fast. (I know ... I'm one of those.)

If you CAN'T get the BIOS to power up; then try resetting it by turning
the power off (unplugging the PSU) and shifting the BIOS reset-pin from
one side to the other, waiting ten seconds or so, then returning it to
"normal" position. Consult your motherboard manual for resetting the
BIOS.

If your actual BIOS EPROM gets trashed (like mine did) then you get a
catch-22 situation: In order to rewrite the BIOS, the BIOS has to be
working. ;-{
I've got *two* otherwise good motherboards downstairs; either of which
would greatly outperform the one I'm presently using ... If the BIOS
chips on both weren't trashed by my mistakenly setting too fast a
clock-speed.

 

[KCB]

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

I've tried to install again and again, using:

1. Two different optical drives.
2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
3. Two different brand new hard drives.
4. Two different IDE cables.

No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
makes it to 57% before failing.

The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
replace the motherboard? What else could it be?


--- Windows Install Error Messages ---
first message:
ntdll.dll
The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP
system image. If you are installing from a CD, there may be a problem
with the Windows XP CD.

If I retry on this and continue to retry on succeeding error messages,
eventually I get this message:
Setup cannot copy file shell32.dll.

The file names vary but it always begins to happen within 50 to 57%
completion of the copy of the Windows system files to the hard drive.


--- History ---
10/18/06 - Computer built.
12/11/06 - System hard drive failure.
12/13/07 - Reinstall Windows on New WD 250 SATA hard drive. Installed
APC Back-UPS ES 550.
01/29/07 - Installed Electronic Specialists surge surpressor upstream
of UPS.
02/08/07 - System hard drive failure.
02/28/07 - rebuild computer with new Seagate SATA hard drive, new
motherboard, new Thermaltake PSU.
03/23/07 - unexplained failures; recovered after CHKDSK runs corrected
bad index entries.
04/07/07 - failure described above (slow executions, spontaneous
reboots, blank screen).

Please note that I've build over a dozen computer prior to this. None
of them gave me problems anything like this.

Also note that I've monitored the tempuratures via the Asus
motherboard monitoring program and the nVidia control panel. The
motherboard, CPU, and graphics card stay well below upper limits even
when run hard by a demanding racing sim. The LAN Boy case has two 120
mm fans and the Athlon has a large fan as well.

Also note that I've checked the wiring for the 110v outlet the
computer is using with a three-LED type outlet checker and it's fine.


--- System Configuration ---

Antec LAN Boy case
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W; replaced on 2/28/07 by:
Thermaltake PurePower 2.0 500W
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core
Corsair 1 GB PC2 6400 DDR2/800
eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCIe x16
system disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
replaced on 2/28/06 by:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s
backup disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Lite-On 16X DVD+-RW+CD-R/RW
Sony 16X DVD ROM
on-board SoundMax
Rosewill USB Media reader
Windows XP Pro
case lighting & controller

Have you cleared the CMOS before you start, using the most basic
configuration? Do you have the latest BIOS installed? Does this board
have a different SATA controller or a PATA controller that you can try
to install through? Have you tried swapping out your SATA cables? It
sounds to me like something is corrupting your data, something related
to the SATA controller.

 

[Stephen]

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

File copy errors while installing XP can be caused by memory errors.

Slowing down can be caused by the cpu overheating.

Stephen
--

 

[lkboop]

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

I've tried to install again and again, using:

1. Two different optical drives.
2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
3. Two different brand new hard drives.
4. Two different IDE cables.

No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
makes it to 57% before failing.

The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
replace the motherboard? What else could it be?


--- Windows Install Error Messages ---
first message:
ntdll.dll
The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP
system image. If you are installing from a CD, there may be a problem
with the Windows XP CD.

If I retry on this and continue to retry on succeeding error messages,
eventually I get this message:
Setup cannot copy file shell32.dll.

The file names vary but it always begins to happen within 50 to 57%
completion of the copy of the Windows system files to the hard drive.


--- History ---
10/18/06 - Computer built.
12/11/06 - System hard drive failure.
12/13/07 - Reinstall Windows on New WD 250 SATA hard drive. Installed
APC Back-UPS ES 550.
01/29/07 - Installed Electronic Specialists surge surpressor upstream
of UPS.
02/08/07 - System hard drive failure.
02/28/07 - rebuild computer with new Seagate SATA hard drive, new
motherboard, new Thermaltake PSU.
03/23/07 - unexplained failures; recovered after CHKDSK runs corrected
bad index entries.
04/07/07 - failure described above (slow executions, spontaneous
reboots, blank screen).

Please note that I've build over a dozen computer prior to this. None
of them gave me problems anything like this.

Also note that I've monitored the tempuratures via the Asus
motherboard monitoring program and the nVidia control panel. The
motherboard, CPU, and graphics card stay well below upper limits even
when run hard by a demanding racing sim. The LAN Boy case has two 120
mm fans and the Athlon has a large fan as well.

Also note that I've checked the wiring for the 110v outlet the
computer is using with a three-LED type outlet checker and it's fine.


--- System Configuration ---

Antec LAN Boy case
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W; replaced on 2/28/07 by:
Thermaltake PurePower 2.0 500W
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core
Corsair 1 GB PC2 6400 DDR2/800
eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCIe x16
system disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
replaced on 2/28/06 by:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s
backup disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Lite-On 16X DVD+-RW+CD-R/RW
Sony 16X DVD ROM
on-board SoundMax
Rosewill USB Media reader
Windows XP Pro
case lighting & controller

Well, Dan down the list a ways is the only guy that can stick to the
subject and think.

He is absolutely correct in saying run memtest, preferably overnight and
if no errors occur you need to look at the motherboard for swollen
and/or leaky capacitors. If all appears OK the power supply is almost
certainly the culprit. The real problem is that it's almost impossible
to properly diagnose the problem with out the remove and replace procedure.
You really need a scope, however; most people don't have one. The
problem is the power supply starts generating noise (electrical noise)
long before it fails completely ( maybe a year) and causes all sorts of
weird problems in the inter rum period.

 

[Rev. G.G. Willikers]

This happened during a large file swap. This is not uncommon when
playing large consumming graphic programs such as a game or a CAD
application. Normally you would uninstall the application and
reinstall it, regrettable you have swapped some components and
reinstalled windows. No big deal but to have a good clean reinstall of
windows I typically reccommend to zero out the hard drive. This means
first format the hard drive then zero out the hard drive and park the
head. Reboot then reinstall windows everything should run fine after
that.

Ed

Also take into consideration that quite a few people neglect to use a
separate partition or physical drive for the OS.

Nothing beats getting a nice tuned install of XP backed up and imaged.



--

Rev. G.G. Willikers
(Founder, Custodian & Janitor of the Shrine of HOoMSJ)


"Sir, I am unaware of any such activity or operation - nor would
I be disposed to discuss such an operation if it did in
fact exist, sir."

 

[Rev. G.G. Willikers]

File copy errors while installing XP can be caused by memory errors.

I have had this happen more than once.
I could be a failed stick, or a failing mobo slot.

Slowing down can be caused by the cpu overheating.

Stephen

--

Rev. G.G. Willikers
(Founder, Custodian & Janitor of the Shrine of HOoMSJ)


"Sir, I am unaware of any such activity or operation - nor would
I be disposed to discuss such an operation if it did in
fact exist, sir."

 

[CBFalconer]

I have had this happen more than once.
I could be a failed stick, or a failing mobo slot.

To the OP: Do you have ECC memory?

 

[alisonnic]

... snip ...



To the OP: Do you have ECC memory?

The memory is Corsair xtreme performance DDR2. Here are the numbers
on the back:

CM2X512A-6400
XMS6405v3.1
5-5-5-12
800MHz
512MB
XMS2-6400