Weird hardware problem... Windows won't install

[Pan]

When i have had these install errors in the past it has allways been
unstable memory sticks or cd/dvd rom not reading/installing operating
system properly.
When i swapped the memory and cd/dvd roms the install went in fine.

That's what I thought too, but I've managed to discount both of these.
Fiddling with the sticks, the slots, and testing them has given me no
indications that memory is the problem. I've also tried both DVD drives I
have in the computer and neither is working any better than the other.

This is the most bizarre problem I've seen yet when building a new PC.

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[Chris Hill]

That's what I thought too, but I've managed to discount both of these.
Fiddling with the sticks, the slots, and testing them has given me no
indications that memory is the problem. I've also tried both DVD drives I
have in the computer and neither is working any better than the other.

This is the most bizarre problem I've seen yet when building a new PC.

Thanks

I don't think there are any easy answers. In your situation I'd be
wishing i'd built both at the same time so I could swap cpu and/or
mainboard. Sometimes it is worth just buying a machine.

 

[JAD]

That's what I thought too, but I've managed to discount both of these.
Fiddling with the sticks, the slots, and testing them has given me no
indications that memory is the problem. I've also tried both DVD drives I
have in the computer and neither is working any better than the other.

This is the most bizarre problem I've seen yet when building a new PC.

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

IRQ_equal_ to_ blah___ blah errors & pagefile errors, IME, have led me to
some kind of 'drive' error. From the compac disc, to drivers for the chip
set, all the way down to the mainboard's controller.

You have removed the partition(s) and reformatted?
Do you have a sound add on card? take it out and install later
Integrated sound? disable it

 

[Pan]

IRQ_equal_ to_ blah___ blah errors & pagefile errors, IME, have led me to
some kind of 'drive' error. From the compac disc, to drivers for the chip
set, all the way down to the mainboard's controller.

Yes, I thought it could well be drive related too. It seemed suspicious
that most of the errors occurred during the drive preparation stage. But
the hard drives check out fine. I thought it might be a fault with the IDE
interface, but there's no easy way to test that. Transfers using Knoppix
were fine.

You have removed the partition(s) and reformatted?
Do you have a sound add on card? take it out and install later
Integrated sound? disable it

Yes, wiping the drive clean was my first thought. I even tried
partitioning before hand and then trying. Nothing seem to solve the
problem.

The integrated sound has been disabled from the start. I did try removing
the sound card I have for this machine, but that also made no difference.

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[Pan]

I don't think there are any easy answers. In your situation I'd be
wishing i'd built both at the same time so I could swap cpu and/or
mainboard. Sometimes it is worth just buying a machine.

I agree this looks like a complex problem to diagnose. I'm convinced
either the CPU or motherboard is faulty. I am *already* wishing I'd built
both at the same time

I'm also wondering if it was worth just buying a machine. But to be
honest, it costs a lot more to do that, unless you want to buy junk
components. So upgrading is the best alternative for me right now.

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[Chris Hill]

I agree this looks like a complex problem to diagnose. I'm convinced
either the CPU or motherboard is faulty. I am *already* wishing I'd built
both at the same time

I'm also wondering if it was worth just buying a machine. But to be
honest, it costs a lot more to do that, unless you want to buy junk
components. So upgrading is the best alternative for me right now.

Thanks

Regards,

Double check your drive jumpering. Some systems can get away with
having drive jumpers set incorrectly, others can't and it is a bad
habbit to get into. I'm not saying yours is wrong, but I got a
machine in the other day with a wd drive set as single drive and a
cd-rom slaved off it. I'm sure it worked fine, but I wouldn't do it
that way because it is incorrect.

 

[PWY]

Yes, I thought it could well be drive related too. It seemed suspicious
that most of the errors occurred during the drive preparation stage. But
the hard drives check out fine. I thought it might be a fault with the IDE
interface, but there's no easy way to test that. Transfers using Knoppix
were fine.


Yes, wiping the drive clean was my first thought. I even tried
partitioning before hand and then trying. Nothing seem to solve the
problem.

The integrated sound has been disabled from the start. I did try removing
the sound card I have for this machine, but that also made no difference.

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

I remember another thread similar to this one. After everyone offered
suggestions that didn't work, someone suggested that the OP clean the
install disk. Believe it or not, it worked perfectly.
It's worth a try.
PWY

 

[Pan]

Double check your drive jumpering. Some systems can get away with
having drive jumpers set incorrectly, others can't and it is a bad
habbit to get into. I'm not saying yours is wrong, but I got a
machine in the other day with a wd drive set as single drive and a
cd-rom slaved off it. I'm sure it worked fine, but I wouldn't do it
that way because it is incorrect.

The jumpers are set correctly, so that's not the problem. I've done so
much fiddling with it anyway that I've changed them a lot and would of
noticed if that was the problem. So we can unfortunately rule that out as
a problem as well.

Thanks.

Regards,

Pan

 

[Pan]

I remember another thread similar to this one. After everyone offered
suggestions that didn't work, someone suggested that the OP clean the
install disk. Believe it or not, it worked perfectly.
It's worth a try.
PWY

I've heard of something like this happening too. I keep my CD's in really
good condition, so it's not dirty or anything that would cause problems in
this scenario. Just to test though, there are problems with the Windows
installation in both the drives in the new system. But I just finished
building the old system and went through a Windows installation and there
was no problem.

I think we can rule out a CD media problem too

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[Pan]

but was it in the usb port when installing?

No. As I said, I removed it as soon as I'd finished with it. But thanks
for the idea, at the moment, I'm willing to consider almost anything.

memory timings are notorious for this stuff...BTW the board is recognizing
the cpu correctly and your not OC'n?

Memory was my guess as well, but I've been unable to expose any problems.
I've heard fiddling with the voltages can solve problems like this, but as
the equipment is under warranty, I'd prefer to return it rather than work
around any problems.

The CPU is correctly detected and I'm not overclocking anything on the
system.

disabled the boot sector antivirus?

This BIOS doesn't seem to have that option. I generally disable it anyway.

at this point I would guess the Hard drive, run diag from the manufacturer,
if you have swapped this, then cable or controller...switch to secondary.

I have two different hard disks in the machine and neither is working. I
think that conclusively rules out any hard disk problems.

I have swopped cables to no avail. Switching to the secondary controller
also had no effect.

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[sdlomi2]

I've heard of something like this happening too. I keep my CD's in really
good condition, so it's not dirty or anything that would cause problems in
this scenario. Just to test though, there are problems with the Windows
installation in both the drives in the new system. But I just finished
building the old system and went through a Windows installation and there
was no problem.

I think we can rule out a CD media problem too

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

Pan, I know this sounds elementary, but I worked on a friend's computer
an individual had just tried to upgrade for him a couple of weeks ago--same
symptoms. It finally dawned on me that it had the older 40-conductor ide
cable on it. Changed to 80-conductor, & problem solved. HTH, s

 

[Pan]

Pan, I know this sounds elementary, but I worked on a friend's computer
an individual had just tried to upgrade for him a couple of weeks ago--same
symptoms. It finally dawned on me that it had the older 40-conductor ide
cable on it. Changed to 80-conductor, & problem solved. HTH, s

Not so elementary I didn't know much about 40 or 80-conductor leads,
although I knew newer cables for used for UltraDMA modes and therefore it
was best to avoid the older ones I have here. But I didn't know any
specifics about the two types, which I just researched.

Unfortunately, for this installation, I used the IDE cables supplied
with the motherboard, which are 80-conductor leads. In addition, the
motherboard came with three separate cables, so I swopped them all around
to ensure one of them wasn't faulty. The only way cables could be the
problem now is if all of them are faulty. I think this is rather unlikely.

Thanks.

Regards,

Pan

 

[Pan]

On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 17:35:25 +0000, Pan wrote:

I stripped the computer again and connected only two devices to the
same IDE controller. I could then independently try each of the
controllers to see if any worked. After having done so, the problems
persisted. However, something new happened that I think is significant.

On one test, I got a new blue screen error message listed below.

CDFS_FILE_SYSTEM

This error is thrown when the CD can't be read properly. However, the CD
is perfectly fine (tested in another computer) and I've used two different
CD drives to install Windows. So logically the CD drives are not to blame.

I noted previously that an error nearly always appeared just after the
hard disk formatting begun. Errors have now started occurring right after
the ENTER key is pressed to begin the installation. But the timing and
errors produced are leading me to believe that the problem is somewhere in
the IDE bus. Therefore, I now suspect that the motherboard is probably
defective and the problem exists in the IDE bus. In which case, I will
return the motherboard to the retailer for replacement.

What do you all think?

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[Carlos]

On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 17:35:25 +0000, Pan wrote:

I stripped the computer again and connected only two devices to the
same IDE controller. I could then independently try each of the
controllers to see if any worked. After having done so, the problems
persisted. However, something new happened that I think is significant.

On one test, I got a new blue screen error message listed below.

CDFS_FILE_SYSTEM

This error is thrown when the CD can't be read properly. However, the CD
is perfectly fine (tested in another computer) and I've used two different
CD drives to install Windows. So logically the CD drives are not to blame.

I noted previously that an error nearly always appeared just after the
hard disk formatting begun. Errors have now started occurring right after
the ENTER key is pressed to begin the installation. But the timing and
errors produced are leading me to believe that the problem is somewhere in
the IDE bus. Therefore, I now suspect that the motherboard is probably
defective and the problem exists in the IDE bus. In which case, I will
return the motherboard to the retailer for replacement.

What do you all think?

Explains why Knoppix worked since it doesn't access the IDE bus.

I know these problems are frustrating, but to tell you the truth, I've
been quite entertained the last few days following this thread. I wish
more posters would follow up as you have. (I'm guilty of not following
up too, though I aim to correct that.)

 

[Pan]

Explains why Knoppix worked since it doesn't access the IDE bus.

Why do you say that? After all, I mounted a disk and used it in Knoppix
and remember the CD-ROM is on the IDE bus too.

I know these problems are frustrating, but to tell you the truth, I've
been quite entertained the last few days following this thread. I wish
more posters would follow up as you have. (I'm guilty of not following
up too, though I aim to correct that.)

Thank you, I appreciate you enjoying my misfortune No, seriously I know
what you mean. It is a bit annoying when threads are posted, receive
answers and then it's just left to die, so nobody knows if the advice
offered was any use or not. I appreciate your comments about my
own behaviour.

Regards,

Pan

 

[Pan]

On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 17:35:25 +0000, Pan wrote:

Hi everybody

Just to mix things up anymore, I installed Debian Linux onto the hard disk
with a normal installation. No problems at all, worked perfectly.... So
it's not a Knoppix not using the IDE HDD bus problem clearly. It seems to
be a specific problem affecting Windows only.

Regards,

Pan

 

[JAD]

what hardware doesn't install, after the knopp install?

 

[Pan]

what hardware doesn't install, after the knopp install?

What do you mean?

Thanks

Regards,

Pan

 

[JAD]

what drivers for hardware aren't being installed during the loading of knop?
IOW are you manually loading any drivers after the install finishes? (knop
doesn't see or recognize a particular piece of hardware?)

 

[Carlos]

Why do you say that? After all, I mounted a disk and used it in Knoppix
and remember the CD-ROM is on the IDE bus too.

Yup, that's true, I overlooked that. I've no idea why Windows won't
install... sorry I have no new ideas.

Good luck.