XP Setup (HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!)

[Bruce]

Hello,
I successfully installed my Windows XP on a ECS K7S5a Pro
motherboard with Athlon 2.1 gig processor. I successfully
used the machine the first time I logged on to my Windows
XP PC. However, I shut down the machine properly, then
powered it up, and I noticed some weirdness (mouse would
not respond when I started up a game I played on the
initial logon mentioned above.

Things got really bad so I ended up uninstalling XP.
When I attempted to reinstall it from the CD, I booted
from the CD and the blue Windows Setup screen came up.
Then a couple different messages came up on the bottom line
telling me to press F2 and then another line said to press
F6. I did neither, and then the F6 message went away, and
I got one of two things:

1- Nothing at all happened (bluw screen with "Windows
Setp" title and no other messages (I waited for 20
minutes).
2-Error message displayed
"An unexpected error (0) occurred at
d:\xpclient\base\boot\setup\arcdisp.c"

I tried many things and got the exact same result:
0- Tried a different XP CD.
1- Purchased another motherboard of the same exact model
and processor type.
2- tried installing with a different AGP card installed.
3- Tried disconnecting the DVD and floppy drives.
4- reformatted hard drive using utilities that came with
hard drive as well as using fdisk.
5-Tried different hard drive

**NOTE**I installed windows 98 successfully, so then I
tried
removing windows 98, and installing XP, but got the
same results!!!!!!!

I do not know what to do, any help would be appreciated!!!
Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a mess !!
Pick a motherboard out of the pile,match components,if youre still usein
the same hd,with 98 that had xp fine,at start-up enter the BIOS,exit page
select,load set-up defaults,then save changes and exit BIOS.Install xp cd,boot to cd
let it load to options page,select install xp,new install-this formats the drive also
Now with a clean install of xp,head to windows update,then load the drivers for th
mouse,keyboard etc.,get from mfg. web site.Forget the utilitys for the hd,use xp utilitys
Try starting with on board video,then switch to a video card,dont forget to set it up in BIO
before xp loads,youll also need to uninstall onboard display adapter in device mgr before shutdown.

 

[RJK]

This is what happens with ECS K7S5a (PcChips I believe) boards and XP. And
it REALLY does seem that more than just a few people have problems with this
board....and XP on one is worse, I think.

Don't get me wrong, if you get a good K7S5a, they're fine with W98 on'em.
As with all makes and models of mobo's there's always a few bad'uns
among'em. I've seen quite a few K7S5a's with W98 on'em, and they're fine.
Only seen a couple with XP on'em and they're a nightmare. A bad board
often reveals itself as faulty with a series of SU error messages during the
early stages of installation.

About a year ago, I made a friend of mine replace his K7S5a board with an
Asus A7V8x-x, abpprox. 50% of his wide and varied, and wierd, problems went
away. I believe he had the unfortunate combination of cheap psu, a bad
board, and more recently an overloaded USB (Alcatel 500ma broadband
modem!!). His psu died a few weeks after he bought the machine, the company
that sold him the machine replaced it with another 8oz. one! DVD player
drive died a few months after that. Then we replaced the mobo. I suspect
there's a VERY poor or problematic mains supply to/in his house, that's not
being handled as well as it would be with a high quality power supply such
as Antec (reccommended by Tomshardware in addition to the three top
reccommended brands/models -
http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html

Obviously a poor quality psu and a relatively poor quality mains electricity
supply = an unstable hardware platform. And yet some people stubbornly
continue on, fighting, tweaking and reinstalling XP until it's a mess,
wondering where all (never the same) error messages are coming from when,
occasionally, the psu is the real culprit. Still, one can only tell a
person a finite number of times to get a new psu I suppose. I don't think
I'll be spending many more hours in front of that machine. .....until he
gets a new high quality psu, another 256mb of pc2100, a powered USB hub, and
an, at least, 80gb 2nd hd to keep his bloody great big dvd films on !

......what was that post about ? ...oh yeah, check your psu isn't letting
your hardware down, is my advice!

regards, Richard

 

[Jim Macklin]

The F2 and F6 messages were intended for you to actually
press those keys. Then the system would be scanned and the
drivers you don't have would be installed.

Do it again and this time, press the keys.



| Hello,
| I successfully installed my Windows XP on a ECS K7S5a Pro
| motherboard with Athlon 2.1 gig processor. I successfully
| used the machine the first time I logged on to my Windows
| XP PC. However, I shut down the machine properly, then
| powered it up, and I noticed some weirdness (mouse would
| not respond when I started up a game I played on the
| initial logon mentioned above.
|
| Things got really bad so I ended up uninstalling XP.
| When I attempted to reinstall it from the CD, I booted
| from the CD and the blue Windows Setup screen came up.
| Then a couple different messages came up on the bottom
line
| telling me to press F2 and then another line said to press
| F6. I did neither, and then the F6 message went away, and
| I got one of two things:
|
| 1- Nothing at all happened (bluw screen with "Windows
| Setp" title and no other messages (I waited for 20
| minutes).
| 2-Error message displayed
| "An unexpected error (0) occurred at
| d:\xpclient\base\boot\setup\arcdisp.c"
|
| I tried many things and got the exact same result:
| 0- Tried a different XP CD.
| 1- Purchased another motherboard of the same exact model
| and processor type.
| 2- tried installing with a different AGP card installed.
| 3- Tried disconnecting the DVD and floppy drives.
| 4- reformatted hard drive using utilities that came with
| hard drive as well as using fdisk.
| 5-Tried different hard drive
|
| **NOTE**I installed windows 98 successfully, so then I
| tried
| removing windows 98, and installing XP, but got the
| same results!!!!!!!
|
| I do not know what to do, any help would be appreciated!!!
| Thanks,
| Bruce