Topic: Problem starting Windows Xp

[Simon]

Tell me if this is a stupid idea, as I'm only guessing, but how about getting started with the CD, then uninstalling the hard drive in Device Manager, then rebooting to see if Windows finds it again?  It's a long shot, but might be worth a try.

[firfirikos]

Tell me if this is a stupid idea, as I'm only guessing, but how about getting started with the CD, then uninstalling the hard drive in Device Manager, then rebooting to see if Windows finds it again?  It's a long shot, but might be worth a try.

Yes windows find it again,but only when i boot with cd.

[Simon]

Still clutching at straws, but the only other thing I can suggest is to use the CD to do a 'Repair' installation of XP.  I know you've just formatted, but maybe something didn't go quite right, and an overlay installation might just fix it.

[Dack]

Another long shot here is that you may simply have a faulty CD drive that is not initialising correctly unless you have a disc in it. That would hang the IDE bus and not allow the machine to boot.

Simple check - just disconnect the IDE cable from the CD drive and see what happens.

[Reno]

No,i haven't got any virus...i have norton antivirus and i checked it.I have my pc one and a half year and i format it every six months.that's why i formated it.
Do you bilieve that the problem has any relation with hardware?

Just formatting wont remove a virus from the disk.. you half to delete the particians and start completely over to remove any viruses that might still be lerking around. And don't forget if your just bootscanning with a norton cd then you don't have all the up to date definition files.

If i were you, i would get a win98 startup disk and delete the present particians on the disk. Then just stick the xp cd in and let it repartician and install. See if the problem persist.

I have a theory thats held up with my technical needs. 99.9% of all problems have the simplist of solutions

Just a thought...I bought a burner not to long ago 52x24x52 seemed like a good deal too. writes great but the odd thing is it cant read worth crap. Half the files i pull off cds with it are corrupted. Theres no way i would waste an hour installing windows through that drive because its a likely possiblity it would be a corrupted installation.

You always half to take in the sh#t happens factor.

[Adept]

I disabled quick boot but still nothing...i think my pc can't find tha hard disk...i have asus motherboard..It sticks after PCI listing and betweens some others i saw:"IDE controllers  IRQ:14/15

Hold on firfirikos. Are you saying that Windows doesn't even begin to start and that it sticks after the BIOS summary screen?

It would seem to me that this has nothing to do with Windows at all Try what Dack said and see if that makes a difference.

Edit. Typos

[firfirikos]

Another long shot here is that you may simply have a faulty CD drive that is not initialising correctly unless you have a disc in it. That would hang the IDE bus and not allow the machine to boot.
Simple check - just disconnect the IDE cable from the CD drive and see what happens.

I did it but still nothing....

[Dack]

Another thing worth trying is possibly checking to make sure the partition on the drive you are booting from is active.

In the bios I take it you've got 'boot sector virus protection' switched off - otherwise you wouldn't have installed correctly.

Suggestions?

1. Make an XP recovery/boot disc - or download one from www.bootdisk.com
2. boot from the bootdisk then run fdisk
3. check to see that the partition on your hard drive is set to 'active'

Alternative possabilities
- power? When you disconnected the IDE cable from the CD did you also disconnect the power lead from it?
- Spin up time of hard drive. Doubt this but how long have you left the machine for when it seems to have stuck?
- Hard drive a bit flakey. Have you tried booting it in another machine? This would at least discount the drive if it did boot. Also worth downloading the manufacturers test software and switching on/off SMART in the bios.

[firfirikos]

Thank you ALL for your help...

Finally I 'll go to a profesional tech.  

[Clive]

Sorry to hear that nothing has worked for you  firfirikos.  Computers can be such a pain sometimes.   :'(

[Simon]

Please let us know the outcome, Firfirikos, it may help someone else in the future.  

[joudi]

Hi Firfircos,

Let me please go a little farer in my idea although - probably it'll make the techies laugh at me.

do the following, as I said to you before:

Control Panel
System  -  Advance  -  booting and recuperation (Sorry, I'm trying to translate from french, so I think you'll understand what I mean), and click on "Parameter" which will open a new small window.

Then it tells you up in that window the version of windows which you have there. (You already told us the answer). Well, now, what I suggest that you scroll it down and see if there is only that option or it has another option? If it has another option of "Windows Home Edition", choose the other one. and press OK.

I'm telling that thinking that, maybe your PC didn't wipe the boot ini of your first installation of XP. Maybe it added a second one similar to it after the second installation.

Sorry to be too simple in my imagination. But as you hope nothing anymore here, it'll cost you nothing to try as a last idea.  sorry again.

[firfirikos]

AGAIN!!!Hello again!!If you remember i went to a tech.He told me that he had done a change in bios settings and the problem solved.Yesterday i changed bios settings in default settings and it appeared the problem again.I can't find the tech again to ask him and i don't know which setting i have to change.Any ideas?(in devise priority i have first tha hard disk and i have out it master slave also)
(sorry for my terribly english :-[)

[Dack]

Hello again If you can tell us the model of the motherboard we can then have a look at the bios settings that can cause this sort of problem.

(Since we now know it's a bios setting that caused the problem).

[firfirikos]

If you can tell us the model of the motherboard

the model is P4 ASUS P4S533/pA  !