Computer crashed while running Motherboard Utility

[fakeaddress]

Just installed a Gigabyte GA-8I945P (Pro) motherboard. It booted up ok and
seemed to be working, but kept getting found new hardware, but needed
drivers. I ran the utility CD that came with the MB and it was doing its
thing when it caused a reboot. Since then I get the following message if I
try to boot from my hard drive:

-------------------
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
System32/DRIVERS/pci.sys
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the
original Setup CD-ROM.
Select 'r' at the fierst screen to start repair.
-------------------

I tried that, but then I get the following message from Setup:

-------------------
Setup either detected multiple disks in your machine that are
indistinguishable or detected raw disk(s). Setup has corrected the problem,
but a reboot is required.
Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.
-------------------

Undoubtly setup did not correct the problem, because I get the same message
again and again . . . each time I reboot.

This is a new one on me. Anyone have any ideas???

OS: Windows XP SP2
CPU: PENTIUM D 950 3.4G (800MHz)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 533(1GB x 2)


P.S. I disconnected all drives except my boot drive and reran Setup. This
time Setup got all the way to Starting Windows and then I get the following:

-------------------
A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your
computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check for viruses on your computer, remove any newly installed hard drives
or hard drive controllers, check your hard drive to make sure it is properly
configured and termineated, Run
CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive ccorruption, and then restart your
computer.
-------------------

Same message after reboot.
Can't check for viruses nor run CHKDSK . . . computer won't start up.

What now ???

John

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Just installed a Gigabyte GA-8I945P (Pro) motherboard. It booted up ok and
seemed to be working, but kept getting found new hardware, but needed
drivers. I ran the utility CD that came with the MB and it was doing its
thing when it caused a reboot. Since then I get the following message if I
try to boot from my hard drive:

Snipped....

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore not
transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting), unless
the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same IDE
controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.

--

Bruce Chambers

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