PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Self Building, Upgrading & General Hardware Help => Topic started by: skurken on May 10, 2003, 13:01
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Hey!
I have a serious problem with my PC. The specs are:
Win 2k pro on PIII 1ghz, Abit sa6r mobo, intel chipset, geforce 2 32meg, Ibm deskstar 30gig+80gig, 2*256mb sdram, M-audio delta 66 soundcard, a new 400w power supply.
It began with my PC restarting now and then while in windows but then it happen more frequently and now I canīt start windows without the comp restarting.
Iīve tried everything I can think of; I have checked/replaced the memory, changed the power supply, reinstalled windows (I canīt get through the installation with out the PC restarting!), tried another hd, removed every pci card I have...... only thing left is to replace the graphics card, doing that today.
Does any1 have a suggestion, could this be the mobo? Also it never happens when I am in bios, it only happens when windows tries to load up.
Iīm getting grey hairs here and Iīm only 25!
HELP!
thanks in advance,
skurken
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Hi Skurken and welcome aboard.
It sounds similar to a common problem that happens in XP when it does a physical memory dump and seems to get into a loop as it carries one each time it restarts,does it say anything like that?
I am not familaiar with 2K but think it may be working along the same lines.
Can you get it into safe mode or does it want to restart even before it gets to that point?
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I found this earlier thread about restarting in 2K.
The person with the original problem never said if it cured their problem or not but there are a few ideas and a link to a way that may help diagnose the propblem.
As the original poster never confirmed or denied it solved the problem I dont know if it was helpful or not ???
http://pc-pals.com/index.php?board=28;action=display;threadid=2249
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Hey, and thanks for the reply.
The thing is, I canīt even install windows now so, restarting in safe mode is not an option. The system reboots half-way through the win2k installation, everytime. I get no error messages or anything like that, my PC just reboots and tells me nothing!
thanks ;)
skurken
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I havent heard of anything like that being motherboard related.
Have you tried a different 2K cd(assuming you can get/borrow one)?
How about trying a different OS initially to confirm that the PC is ok and its not just a problem with the 2K installation cd ???
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yup, thought of that also but I had the problems prior to trying installing win2k again so I donīt think that should be it..... but who knows, Iīll try to get another copy somewhere.
Thanks so much!
skurken
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Had a look at various places for any info,even found someone with exactly the same problem but no solutions to it yet :(
A similar one was solved by unplugging any USB devices during installation as it was detecting and trying to load drivers but this was causing the installation to just stick at that point and didnt cause a restart.
I'll keep looking in case I come across anything :-*
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thanks again :) Iīll keep trying and let you know how it goes.
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Don't laugh if this sounds silly, but it couldn't be something as simple as a faulty reset button or power switch on the case could it? You said you had installed a new PSU, and I just wondered if all the connections were sound.
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hey,
I disconnected the reset button (and even the on/off switch at some point), and also I had the same problems with the old psu (thatīs why I got a new one) so that should not be the problem.
Thankīs for replying :)
skurken
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Did you replace the graphics card yet as I found something in Microsoft knowledge base that says:
SYMPTOMS
When you install or upgrade to Windows 2000, setup may stop responding during hardware detection or after the first system restart. The screen may remain black and comma characters may appear on the monitor.
It specifies the display adaptors as being the problem:
CAUSE
This issue may occur if any of the following display adapters is installed in the computer:
The ATI Xpert 2000
The ATI Xpert 128
The ATI Rage 128
These display adapters are manufactured by ATI Technologies Inc.
I know this again is different to your exact problem but may be related,the full article is here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;288873 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;288873)
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OK, it was just a thought. Sometimes the simple things are overlooked. ;)
Welcome to Pals, by the way. Hope someone solves your problem soon. :) :)
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Iīm at work now (busy day at work!-not) and will change the graphics card and install winXP when I get home. Iīll let you know how it goes ;D
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Shame that you have to "WORK" on a saturday ;)
Just found another article but this is a real shot in the dark ::)
Did you buy any chance upgrade from 98 or ME to 2K ?
If so check this article as it sounds very similar to the problem you described initially ie " It began with my PC restarting now and then while in windows but then it happen more frequently and now I canīt start windows without the comp restarting."
Computer Dual-Boots Between Two Windows 2000 Installations Despite a "Fresh Copy" Installation
Full article here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304895 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304895)
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ok. I went home, changed the gfx card, updated the bios and attempted to install winXP
no luck :'(
Had a glimpse of a system alert before the system restarted, it said something like "insufficient system resources...." didnt make out the rest...
Im buying a new mobo/cpu now........ Ive changed everything else so Ive given up.
thanks alot for trying guys :)
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Sandra will be on shortly as she sticks around most of the night. I'm sure she will comment.
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But wait... Bat69 has just flown through the door. ;D He's another of our experts. See what he has to say.
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Ohh dear ... you are misguided Clive ;)
Have you considered a faulty stick of memory ? or the CPU overheating ?
If possible, can you get a pc-diagnostics floppy disk that will boot ... then you can run the diagnostics and check to see what may be wrong ... I use an old version of PC-Check ... don't know whether its still available tho
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Had a word with a couple of very clued up friends this evening about this problem.All they could think of was a faulty power supply or memory,both of which you have replaced ???
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Hi skurken :welcome:
Sorry to take so long replying, I missed your post somehow yesterday :(
I'm afraid I've come to the same conclusion as you. As you've replaced nearly everything that could have been causing the problem (memory, PSU, GFX) the only thing it can be is the mobo.
It may be worth checking the slots that the memory plugs into for damage and perhaps even cleaning them out with a paintbrush and vacuuam cleaner just in case something is causing a short inside.
I sometimes find that cleaning the memory contacts with a plastic eraser sometimes (rarely) helps with random memory faults.
Hope this helps :)
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Hi again.
I think Iīve tried everything now, so a new mobo/cpu is the next thing for me. Iīm in the music buisness so itīs time for a upgrade anyway. A 3ghz P4 will make life much easier since my PIII 1ghz was having a hard time keeping up with my cpu hungry programs.
I really like to thank everyone who tried to help me, now I know where to go if I have more problems in the future :)
Greetings from Iceland,
skurken
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I hope you have clear skies for your solar eclipse on May 31st Skurken.