Re: Help - boot up problem - followup
- From: "Jan Alter" <bearpuf@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 16:08:03 -0400
FWIW getting a board with onboard graphics these days is not a bad route
if your video needs are not demanding. I make it a point to read reviews on
newegg.com of mbs I may be interested in using for a build. Though the
feedback may not always be perfect I've gotten a good sense of which ones
have good reliability and those that don't along with specifics of what is
lacking in a particular mb.
Good luck John.
--
Jan Alter
bearpuf@xxxxxxxxxxx
"John" <my_name_is_my_own@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Jan Alter wrote:
"John" <my_name_is_my_own@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:htp4tl$hc4$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks for the suggestions. I have used them where I could but am
hampered because I only have the one floppy (installed on the pc
giving me problems) and my other pc is a laptop with CD burner.
So to recap what I have done:
1. disconnected all devices, reset CMOS (again)
2. inspected mobo for any sign of bad capacitor (puffed out dome)
but didn't see anything there
3. d/l Western Digital LifeGuard Diagnostics and made bootable CD
4. booting pc with only video card, k/b and mouse behaved normally
FWIW 5. each of the hard drives passed both the quick and extended
disk tests 6. connected only the boot HD. pc boot process reaches
screen that says "building DMI pool" and then I get disk failure
message - insert system disk
7. connected the cable to the optical devices - Windows Setup disk
is seen at boot up and Windows setup procedure starts. I stop there
because no hds connected yet
8. set CMOS to boot from CD, added connector cable for the hd, and
started Windows Setup. At setup screen, chose option to install
new, then selected hd (only the one), delete existing partition and
install new one and format. Windows Setup proceeds and eventually
displays the screen saying to remove any floppies and that it will
reboot the pc in 15 seconds. However, it does not reboot and
AFAICT it's as if all the prior setup work is lost and am back at
square one.
I still haven't figured out if my problem(s) is a CMOS/BIOS problem,
problem somewhere else on the mobo or conflict between BIOS and
Windows config (because it hangs at point "building DMI pool").
I also would like to figure out why the pc does not perform the
"soft" reboot at the end of the Windows Setup Install process. I
read somewhere that that was probably a result of BIOS settings,
but the stuff I've read is usually as clear as mud describing the
settings. These were the two clearest articles:
http://www.dewassoc.com/support/bios/awardfaq.htm
http://www.buildeasypc.com/sw/bios_setup.htm
John
I admire your diligence and tenacity in continuing to carry through
suggestions. As Paul suggests possibly changing the bios chip, since
you continue to get a lack of completion of the DMI information. I
might consider that, but would be very thoughtful to necessary cool
and steady hand coordination to actually changing a bios chip while
the computer is on. He has additional recommendations to changing the
chip and they may be viable. However, I'm still unsure if that's the
problem. Though mentioned that it probably wouldn't work I would go
to the degree of just checking the mb maker's website to see if there
is a newer bios available than the one you have programmed on the
CMOS chip. It might be worth flashing the bios, thinking that the
current bios is partially corrupt. You did mention that you were
having trouble with your floppy drive. I would not even consider
flashing without having a reliable one. If another is available
exchange them, since a bad flash would render the cmos chip to be
totally useless. It would seem though that at this point you could
rule out the hdd from being part of the problem. I'm not sure how
much RAM you have onboard, but I believe one needs 125 mb to install
XP. If you have two chips and you still have 125 mb left after
removing one of the chips then try the installation again. I know
that it's a long shot but bad RAM can cause quite a bit of mysterious
occurances to happen. If the same incomplete install happens
substitute the other chip and try the install again. If none works
and you've gone through the flashing of the bios successfully then I
would go the route of replacing the mb (that would be for myself
talking now) rather than replacing the bios chip on an older machine.
Thanks Jan. I've reached the end of what I feel I can try to fix on my
own and will switch to either looking for a replacement mobo fitting my
budget that would also allow me to re-use my stuff or to (less likely)
building a new pc.
It's certainly been a learning experience because it's something that I
don't deal with on a frequent basis. I think I've only had to replace
a CMOS battery once or twice since the mid-90s. I think I've had to
replace mobo's more often and that doesn't happen that frequently to me
either :-)
John
.
- References:
- Help - boot up problem
- From: John
- Re: Help - boot up problem - followup
- From: John
- Re: Help - boot up problem - followup
- From: Jan Alter
- Re: Help - boot up problem - followup
- From: John
- Help - boot up problem
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