Hardware nightmare with Windows

[Luc]

Although the problems described here are hardware symptoms, a complete
rebuild of the machine has not solved anything - so it seems Windows is a
possible cause - or is it a virus?

using ASUS A8V Deluxe MB w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800, WinXP Pro (32bit), 2GB
DDR400
1st failure: heard "pang" noise at power-on (power supply or motherboard
power component failure?), followed by constant reboot with (very) fast blue
screen asking to check HDD. Did CHKDSK and repaired corrupted drive.
Problem reappeared so replaced with new HDD drive, did windows reinstall and
restored a backup (without settings) that had on an external drive.
2nd failure: blue screen with like-message "windows shut down to protect
computer - check hardware" and/or "Overclocking failed" during BIOS boot (all
BIOS settings normal). Suspected power supply (undersized and previous
"pang") so replaced with new one.
3rd failure: same messages, so thought only problem left could be
motherboard. Replaced motherboard with ASUS A8VXE and new graphics card (no
AGP anymore on new MB), did again windows reinstall and backup restore.
System worked almost well for a month with some blue screens.
4th failure: blue screens, BIOS very slow to boot, memory reported
"installed 2048K, available 2047K". Thought memory (still from original
machine) problem, so replaced with new memory.
5th failure: new memory still reported missing 1K + "Overclocking failed"
again during BIOS.
Only part left to replace: CPU! Replaced with new Athlon 64 X2 3800.
System booted and functioned beautiful (windows did not seem to notice the
processor change) ... until rebooting the system after a windows update:
after windows start, flash blue screen, reboot by itself and stuck on BIOS
screen or restart again before loading windows.

ANY ideas? Thank you!

 

[Bill Sharpe]

Although the problems described here are hardware symptoms, a complete
rebuild of the machine has not solved anything - so it seems Windows is a
possible cause - or is it a virus?

using ASUS A8V Deluxe MB w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800, WinXP Pro (32bit), 2GB
DDR400
1st failure: heard "pang" noise at power-on (power supply or motherboard
power component failure?), followed by constant reboot with (very) fast blue
screen asking to check HDD. Did CHKDSK and repaired corrupted drive.
Problem reappeared so replaced with new HDD drive, did windows reinstall and
restored a backup (without settings) that had on an external drive.
2nd failure: blue screen with like-message "windows shut down to protect
computer - check hardware" and/or "Overclocking failed" during BIOS boot (all
BIOS settings normal). Suspected power supply (undersized and previous
"pang") so replaced with new one.
3rd failure: same messages, so thought only problem left could be
motherboard. Replaced motherboard with ASUS A8VXE and new graphics card (no
AGP anymore on new MB), did again windows reinstall and backup restore.
System worked almost well for a month with some blue screens.
4th failure: blue screens, BIOS very slow to boot, memory reported
"installed 2048K, available 2047K". Thought memory (still from original
machine) problem, so replaced with new memory.
5th failure: new memory still reported missing 1K + "Overclocking failed"
again during BIOS.
Only part left to replace: CPU! Replaced with new Athlon 64 X2 3800.
System booted and functioned beautiful (windows did not seem to notice the
processor change) ... until rebooting the system after a windows update:
after windows start, flash blue screen, reboot by itself and stuck on BIOS
screen or restart again before loading windows.

ANY ideas? Thank you!

That does sound like a nightmare!

In retrospect, it appears that you would have been better off just
buying a new machine. Did you ever perform a completely clean
installation of Windows from the original installation CD? Other than
checking for proper cable connections and proper seating of memory chips
and cards I can't think of where else to look.

 

[OG]

Although the problems described here are hardware symptoms, a complete
rebuild of the machine has not solved anything - so it seems Windows is a
possible cause - or is it a virus?

using ASUS A8V Deluxe MB w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800, WinXP Pro (32bit), 2GB
DDR400
1st failure: heard "pang" noise at power-on (power supply or motherboard
power component failure?), followed by constant reboot with (very) fast
blue
screen asking to check HDD. Did CHKDSK and repaired corrupted drive.
Problem reappeared so replaced with new HDD drive, did windows reinstall
and
restored a backup (without settings) that had on an external drive.
2nd failure: blue screen with like-message "windows shut down to protect
computer - check hardware" and/or "Overclocking failed" during BIOS boot
(all
BIOS settings normal). Suspected power supply (undersized and previous
"pang") so replaced with new one.
3rd failure: same messages, so thought only problem left could be
motherboard. Replaced motherboard with ASUS A8VXE and new graphics card
(no
AGP anymore on new MB), did again windows reinstall and backup restore.
System worked almost well for a month with some blue screens.
4th failure: blue screens, BIOS very slow to boot, memory reported
"installed 2048K, available 2047K". Thought memory (still from original
machine) problem, so replaced with new memory.
5th failure: new memory still reported missing 1K + "Overclocking failed"
again during BIOS.
Only part left to replace: CPU! Replaced with new Athlon 64 X2 3800.
System booted and functioned beautiful (windows did not seem to notice the
processor change) ... until rebooting the system after a windows update:
after windows start, flash blue screen, reboot by itself and stuck on BIOS
screen or restart again before loading windows.

ANY ideas? Thank you!

The first "loud pop" should have been your clue to check out the power
supply.
Since the power supply burns up every motherboard you stick in the case,
perhaps *now* is a good time to replace the power supply?
Steve

 

[philo]

Although the problems described here are hardware symptoms, a complete
rebuild of the machine has not solved anything - so it seems Windows is a
possible cause - or is it a virus?

using ASUS A8V Deluxe MB w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800, WinXP Pro (32bit), 2GB
DDR400
1st failure: heard "pang" noise at power-on (power supply or motherboard
power component failure?), followed by constant reboot with (very) fast blue
screen asking to check HDD. Did CHKDSK and repaired corrupted drive.
Problem reappeared so replaced with new HDD drive, did windows reinstall and
restored a backup (without settings) that had on an external drive.
2nd failure: blue screen with like-message "windows shut down to protect
computer - check hardware" and/or "Overclocking failed" during BIOS boot (all
BIOS settings normal). Suspected power supply (undersized and previous
"pang") so replaced with new one.
3rd failure: same messages, so thought only problem left could be

Did you do a RAM test???