XP problems

[Guest]

I have put together a PC and everything seems to be working except it took
over 5 hours to install XP. I can get into the BIOS and everything seems to
be being detected, and have put my DVD Rom as the primary boot device. Once
the install was complete everything in windows was running really slow (task
manager used 40% of CPU)and eventually crashed. Now when I try to boot up, it
goes through POST but doesn't make it past the welcome screen. Any help would
be appreciated.

 

[Malke]

I have put together a PC and everything seems to be working except it
took over 5 hours to install XP. I can get into the BIOS and
everything seems to be being detected, and have put my DVD Rom as the
primary boot device. Once the install was complete everything in
windows was running really slow (task manager used 40% of CPU)and
eventually crashed. Now when I try to boot up, it goes through POST
but doesn't make it past the welcome screen. Any help would be
appreciated.

It sounds like your drives aren't running in DMA mode but rather PIO
mode. Of course, since you built the computer yourself it could be
other hardware issues, too. A normal install of XP is less than 1 hour.
See MVP Hans-Georg Michna's site regarding DMA/PIO:

http://www.michna.com/kb/WxDMA.htm

Malke

 

[Guest]

Ok, I checked the BIOS and the PIO modes were auto or a choice of 1-4. Then
it states the DMA options which are auto or disabled so I left it as auto
then saved and rebooted and the PC still fails to make it past the welcome
screen. I have an Asus Premuim motherboard if it helps.

 

[Malke]

Ok, I checked the BIOS and the PIO modes were auto or a choice of 1-4.
Then it states the DMA options which are auto or disabled so I left it
as auto then saved and rebooted and the PC still fails to make it past
the welcome screen. I have an Asus Premuim motherboard if it helps.

If you followed Mr. Michna's advice, you would have been looking at your
DMA/PIO status in Windows, not in the BIOS. Again, take a look at what
the drives are using. Otherwise, you'll need to do hardware
troubleshooting. Here are general steps:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Troubleshooting

Malke

 

[Guest]

Problem is, Windows does not make it past the welcome screen, I can't get to
the device manager to check. I've ruled out faulty RAM, optical drive or
graphics card. Is there a way to get into windows that I could use?

 

[Malke]

Problem is, Windows does not make it past the welcome screen, I can't
get to the device manager to check. I've ruled out faulty RAM, optical
drive or graphics card. Is there a way to get into windows that I
could use?

No. Just test your hard drive and your motherboard. Don't forget the
power supply.

Malke