TheTechGuide Forum
General Category => Tech Clinic => Topic started by: Nate Nygren on July 10, 2001, 04:12:25 PM
-
Ok, this is kinda long to explain so I\'ll keep it to a minimum. Here\'s my system build:
Asus a7v133 (with onboard audio)
512 mb PC133
1.2ghz Athlon
Maxtor 40gig disk
Maxtor 15gig disk
Philips 800 series CDRW
Gforce 2 MX video card
cheap 300 watt case
Ok, the problems I\'ve been having are:
Various file copy errors during the setup no matter what Windows OS I\'m installing making almost impossible to get all the way through an install.
If I do happen, after multiple attempts, to get an OS installed, it only lasts a few days before it gets messed up by the multiple blue screen deaths that occur.
Things I\'ve done to try to fix this:
Returned the Mobo and the memory and exchanged for the same make and model.
Configured the BIOS multiple times trying this and that.
Tried installing Linux. Worked just fine.
Increased the cooling of the CPU by installing a twin fan orb cooler, and opening the case up and running a box fan right next to the machine to cool off all the components.
Tried using a different brand of RAM.
Tried using a different video card.
Tried using a different CD-Rom drive.
Flashed the BIOS.
As you can see, I\'m running out of options here. The last two things I can think of is a bad CPU (which I doubt, but I could be wrong) or a bad power supply??
Does anyone have any input into this? I would be very much greatfull to anyone who helps me out at this point.
[email protected]
-Nate
-
Very well could be the power supply. The Athlon 1.2 will suck down a lot of juice, and if you don\'t have a strong power supply, you could have problems later on. Before you replace it though, can you borrow a friend\'s power supply? If you can\'t, you can also try downlclocking the cpu. If it works fine at a lower speed, then it\'s probably the power supply (a lower clocked cpu uses less watts, so there\'s less strain on it then), or a bad/overheating cpu.
And of course, if your cpu is overclocked, the first step is to always try it at its default speed first, before upping the speed.
-
Thanks for replying!
My mobo is one of the \"auto\" types where all the clock speeds and core CPU voltage is set by the BIOS automaticly. I\'m not sure how to \"downclock\" my CPU on this type of mobo, but I\'ll see what I can find on the AMD and ASUS websites. Otherwise, if you already know how, could you help me out a bit more?
I went through the tutorial on slipstreaming SP2 into Win2K yesterday (thanks for that tut!!) hoping that it would help, but I still got the file copy errors during installation. Darn! :-)
-Nate
-
I\'m now registered under the name \"Magicnate\"
-Nate Nygren
-
Could it be the CD itself?
I got some copy errors from just trying to manually copy system files to my hard drive using windows 2000. Maybe the CD has some bad blocks (I traced my problem to the originating ISO).
Check it out by doing a manual copy of all files from the CD to the HDD using a friend\'s win2k computa.
-
No, it\'s not the CD, because I\'ve tried a few different versions of Windows (WinNT, WinME, Win2K, and WinXP RC1) and all give me the same problems. I\'ve even borrowed a friend\'s Win2K cd (shame on me!) to see if it would work. No go.
So, no, it\'s not the CD.
Thanks :-)
-
I\'d still look into the power supply, if I could. Also, do you have the chipset drivers loaded? Get the most recent ones. Maybe there\'s a problem copying from your CD to your hard drive, that some new drivers could fix (also wouldn\'t hurt to do what the other guy suggested, and copy the files to the hard drive first, and install from there).
-
I got errors setting up w2k ,and or repairing too .
I have an abit bf6 440bx chip , and then I had an Intel p3 667 (133) .
When I downgraded my cpu to a p3 500e (100fsb x 5) the errors were less , when I changed to 6 x 100 fsb the errors augmented .I had sdram 133 too .Later I changed the cpu to a p3 700 (100) the problem was resolved the 133 sdram has no influence in producing the errors only the p3 667 133fsb cpu .Seems the 440bx didn\'t tolerate an 133 cpu .
-
So I should try reducing my FSB to 100 even though I\'ve got PC133 RAM? Cuz I can do that through my BIOS. I\'m not sure it\'ll help that way, thought, cuz you had to buy another chip, right? Hmm. I hate this problem. Thanks for the input, though.
-
Did you copy the files to the hard drive first, and install from there? That would rule out your cd drive almost completely (if it didn\'t copy correctly, explorer should complain about that...so you know for sure you\'re installing from good media). Also, I would try downlclocking your cpu (setting the fsb to 100 would do it) if you can\'t try a more powerful power supply. If it installs correctly then, you can be pretty sure it\'s either the ram\'s fault, or your power supply (a cpu running at a lower MHz uses less watts, so a weaker power supply could power it).
-
i would exchange your proc...
i just made myself a 1.33GHz system on a MSI K7T266 Pro board... and i was gettin registry corruption up the wazooi.
i exchaned: mobo, vid card, ram, and hsf. all led to the same errors. i formatted my IBM 75GXP 45GB bout 6 times throughout the whole process. finally i exchanged the proc.
fixed all my problems
of course i didnt have a cheap case/ps. i have an Enermax 300W ps.
now i have a fully stable system, not a single error since i replaced the proc.
i would absolutely exchange the proc if you have warranty, or at least the ability to exchange.
Bobcat0070
-
Similar problem with changing speed settings to get install to work. BUT, the real problem is UDMA-66. I think on a via or other non intel chip set, the install doesnt have drivers for the UDMA 66 hard drive. Change your bios setting for your hard drive from auto to pio4, and disable the UDMA. Now any speed will work, and you can install without getting the blue screen of death. took me weeks to install, and finally figured it out.
Let me know if it works for you1
-
Ok I\'ve been havin gthese probs for a while now. I used to be able to load any os on my pc, but now I get all errors, any erros...and nothing had changed on my system, the only thing that had happened was I had a memory resident virus and I had upgraded my bios. All My os cds are original aprt from XP and all have been installed beofre on this pc, so why would I start getting erros now..I only seem to get 2 errors now during xp setup, Ive given in with other os\'s..When installin xp pro it tells me it can\'t copy shell32.dll and main.cpl, this happens while loading from cd or from hdd, full install or upgrade..I even changed my ram, mobo, etc etc..basically I\'ve rebuilt the pc, I\'ve even tried taking the hdd out putting it in my 2nd pc and insatlling xp on there..the install goes well, but as soon as i put it back on this pc I get NTDLR is missing (or whatever the file is called) and it won\'t boot. The only thing left in the pc from original setup is the case...lmao..surely it can\'t be a power supply prob...I have had the case for 13 months and as I said xp used to install..
PLEASE HELP
-
What is your IDE config like? do you have the harddrives on the master and then both cdroms on the slave? maybe you need to make one cdrom the master and use cable select on the second...
-
The power supply would have not cause a blue screen. If a CPU can\'t draw the power it needs it shutsdown. No GPF etc just instent shutdown
-
I\'m not saying whether that\'s true or not, but a faulty power supply (or just one not powerful enough) could cause a gpf or other problems. Perhaps the cpu is getting enough power, but the video card doesn\'t so it starts to flake out and causes problems. Ram doesn\'t get enough power so the contents become corrupted. Basically, it is very possible that the power supply could be the problem.
-
Change urgently the CD-ROM!!! All Philips, Sony sucks.
I use NEC 16x10x40x and can succesfully install XP, but 2 friends of mine, one using Phillips 8x4x32x and the other Sony 52x weren\'t able to do it, due to a file copy error in the middle of installation. They also tryied to copy the kit on HD before installing it and again no success!
-
I have had similar trouble loading OS\'s onto machines. Constant errors, file cannot be read and so on. The one thing that has worked everytime is using good sdram or DDR. The other things to try are turning off the timing by SPD and cacheing other than L1 or L2 (leave those alone). Also disable the OS plug and PLAY in the BIOS untill it has been fully installed. This has worked on 815 chipset, 266a and 133a chipset mobo\'s. I think when the price of ram went way down there was a flood of bad stuff out there. You might try, if you know how, to flash the CMOS with the latest BIOS upgrade.
good luck
-
Do you have a SBLive card installed? If so, that\'s probably what\'s causing it (due to a bug with VIA chipsets and Creative sound boards). I have to remove my sound card from the system during installation.
-
I have a SBL card and I had a similar problem. I was attempting to slipstream SP2 onto my win 2k disc. The problem occurred when I was trying to copy the win2k disc to my HDD. Win 2K kept crashing while the files were copying. It seemed to happen when it reached the DRIVERS.CAB file. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Could it be related to the MBs VIA 4in1 drivers and the SBL card?
-
I think the hard drive (even if new) on which you\'re trying to copy/install the OS is defective. I had this problem before, and what I did, was to put my HDD into a friend\'s computer and try to install OS for this computer and I got the same error messages during copy. Second, I put the hard drive of my friend into my computer and try to use it. Of course OS detected new devices and I had to install them (he was a VERY good friend), but at the end it worked fine ! So no doubt anymore about my problem. May it help you !
-
Hi Magicnate,
Interesting. I have had these exact same problems when attempting to install 2000 on PCs with VIA chipsets, using an Athlon/K6-2 or III processor. I think the problem revolves around UDMA. It certainly worked for me once I had disabled UDMA in the BIOS and changed the access modes on both CD-ROM drive and HDD to Mode 4 PIO.
Hope this helps.
-
Concur that is probably hard drive problem as have had same experience.
-
im not 100% sure here but .... it could be a hard drive failure! u have got two maxtor hard drives there and trust me they go wrong very easily! i work as a technician at a school and they are forever going wrong and being replaced! borrow another hard drive and see if that works.... i got my fingures crossed 4 ya mate
-
In my experience with 30 PC\'s a day everyday, most of which are Win Xp, these errors you describe are usually caused by in this order...... RAM, CD-ROM/CDRW, MB, HDD, VCard. Especially file copying errors during first stage of setup = RAM. You say you\'ve changed it, but for same brand?? XP seems a LOT more fussy about RAM and hardware than 98 or Me.
-
um, hardrive controller? (on the hardrive itself) in other words-swap the hardrive
-
I had nearly the same problem with an Aopen MB with VIA K133 with an AMD Athlon 1.4Ghz 266FSB and 256 PC133 SDRAM.
Win 98 would install but with an hour or so was trashed. Win2k would half install before crashing and XP got nowhere.
I now have a working system.
Found it was all to do with the memory speed. Clocking it back from 133Mhz to 100Mhz fixed it. A side effect is the CPU runs slower, but it is now overclocked to 1.2Ghz.
(you may think it was my memory, I tried several different kinds and 2 different CPU\'s (initial thoughts were cor damage).
It\'s worth a try
-
Had all the familiar problems. Took the advise here and killed UDMA, went to pio4 and pulled back to 100mhz on the ram. Nothing worked for me until I disabled the on board audio. Install completed fine after that.
-
Nate, I\'m having the exact same problem as you. I was wondering if you (or anyone else in this forum) managed to fix the problem using the suggestions earlier in the thread? Was it an issue with UDMA-66, or a bad processor, or what? I\'m getting ready to tear my hair out here!
-
Problem:
BIOS bug and/or 4-in-One driver bug.
Here\'s the fix:
Update your BIOS and VIA 4-in-One drivers. I can\'t remember off-hand exactly which version of BIOS I used to fix this, but they were the ones available about the same time v4.32 of the 4-in-1\'s came out (early 2001?). This was a very confusing issue, as VIA released updates that claimed to correct this problem, but the bugfix didn\'t actually work (or was not included) until the version that was released *AFTER* the version that was supposed to correct the problem.
I wasted approximately 30 hours of my life tackling this same problem with an Asus A7Pro motherboard. I believe your mobo and the A7pro use the same Southbridge chipset which had a BIOS bug (namely the harddrive controller drivers on the Southbridge). This particular bug (different than the SBLive bug mentioned earlier in this thread) affected files written to any disk (basically any data passing through the drive controller). This was especially problematic for large files (greater than 50MB) but can/did affect any and all files.
Good luck with that,
Ann
-
Working in a computer shop, I\'ve worked on 30 or more computers with errors installing Windows XP. Ranging from rebooting randomly during install, files missing, file copy errors, blue screens, to anything. And I will tell you, every time it was a memory issue. I swapped memory, and it would work EVERY time. Never the CD, or anything else in the computer. Sometimes I might put in another flawed stick of memory, but swapping it out again would get it going. XP and 2000 are memory sensitive when installing and running it. I wouldn\'t recommend buying \"generic\" memory on the net cheaply to save a buck, because most of those are really [censored]ty.
Michigander Technician
-Chris
-
Dear Nate.
Just spotted your thread.
Have been using W2K PRO for some years -no probs on installation. Recently upgraded to Athlon 1800 system (see below) and on fresh installs I get multiple \'cannot copy file errors\'. I have managed to complete the installation by 1) taking the CD out and replacing it (this sometimes works) and 2) by inserting a friend\'s installation disk (this seems to allow the files that the first disk will not).
I know that the friend\'s CD is fine and he has no probs when installing from it. I also know that it is not the CD drive - have tried with 2 separate drives.
Did you ever resolve this? Could it be because I have ATA 133 enabled?
GA7-VRXP Board no: 203048E 1.1
XP1800
Starnet 350 PSU
AK 785 SE cooler
256 PC 2700 2.5
GeForce 4200 Ultra 650 (64 Meg)
Maxtor 40 7200, ATA 133
IBM GXP 13 gig
WIN 2K
Bios F4
Top performace
+.5v
CPU temp 44 - case closed
Board temp 35 - case closed
-
VIA SUX plain and simple! I have a Tyan Trinity 450 with VIA and a SB Live and LOL what POS!! I\'ll never buy a TYAN product again, the support manager verbally attacked me whan I emailed them a simple question about weather or not my board supported anything above a G Force 2 !! The way he reacted was as if he had not read my letter at all, he just started going off! And he sent 3 follow up attacks afterwards wjen I asked if they planned on doing anything about the file corruption problem. His answer amongst several swear words was NO its not our fault you bought the motherboard !!! Can you F***ing believe that poo? I know this is off topic but it does fall into the problem, I had/have the same problem I need to do several things to get a clean instal goin in. First is turn off the USB mouse support in the bios, if its left on the comp will hang everytime when it reboots. Secondly clean the CD before attempting to install with dishsoap and warm water, be careful not to drop it in the sink full of dirty dishes! I did and got a big scratch for my efforts LOL. You\'d be suprised how much cleaning the disc will help if you are having trouble installing. Soap and warm water seems to work better than any of the voodoo mixtures on the market. Also turn off support in bios for dma until it reads and writes the cab files. and oh ya, yank the SB Live out until its completed the inital instal, infact dont have any cards in the mobo but the graphics card that seems to help a good deal. Then get down on your knees, and begin to chant some unintelligble mumbojumbo as its installing keeping your fingers crossed while its doing it. Then swear at the top of your lungs at VIA and anyone connected to them if you even see the tiniest hint of blue screen! Gawd I hate my POS comp it cannot even transfer a 25mb file across my lan without making the file unuseable! It took several months of frustration and trying every concieveable combination of vid cards drivers via 4in1\'s you name it I tried it. Suprisingly Mandrake Linux 8.1 will install without any of the afore mentioned antics, it just goes right in error free like its a \"normal\" comp, and not a \"special\" retarded model that it is.... I am leaning toward the ol aspi issue and something along thoes lines. I\'m not too familiar with Linux since I downloaded that version to try it but being \"weaned\" on winbloz I find Linux similar to attempting communication with a martian on crack or something.... LOL
-
I went through hell with very similar problems. As a last resort I went in to the BIOS and did a \"Restore BIOS Defaults\" and amazingly my ASUS/AMD system is running absolutely perfectly. Try it! then format c: and re-install..