can't get past POST into windows

hi folks, hope you can help me with this one

been using my pc for months now with no problems
but now, not sure why, when i power on the pc, it gets as far as listing the IRQ's wih the message 'Verifying DMI Pool Data' then hangs

cheers

soll

 

Try the suggestions here.

Computer Hangs at "Verifying DMI Pool Data "

 

ty for the help, Whiskeyman, tried every thing on thet list but to no avail i'm afraid

still getting to the 'Varifying DMI Pool Data' then hanging

anyone else have any idea's please?

 

Hi soll.

That is usually a bios problem caused by either a low motherboard battery or a hard drive with a bad mbr. I would boot from a floppy with an FDISK on it and key "fdisk /mbr ". That will rewrite the mbr (anybody running Vista along with an installation of XP don't do this. It might cause problems). The bios also needs to have the right specs for that hard drive. I would set all the ide settings to auto. If you search the internet for "Verifying DMI Pool Data" (WITH the quote marks) you'll find a lot of data on this problem. Let us know how you made out.

Check out this site. Click Here.

Do NOT do the sys c: noted on that site. That is just for dos, not Windows. That data is from 2003 but still valid.

Giles

 

hi Giles, thankyou for the reply

i downloaded the file from Windows site and created the required 6 floppy boot disks

i changed the boot order, putting boot from floppy first, then put disk 1 of the xp boot disks into floppy drive and restarted machine

got to exactly the same point 'Varifying DMI Pool Data' then screen went blank and stayed blank

i also tried the DOS boot disk, but again machine just hung

unable to get to the A:\ prompt at all

you mention booting from a floppy with an 'fdisk'? how do i create one of these btw?

any further assistance would be greatly appreciated


ps: if all else fails, would formating the HDD on another machine solve this problem

thankee in advance

soll

 

Hi soll.

The problem isn't with the floppy or hdd. You can't boot to the A:\ prompt or with the hdd, the problem is in the bios. I would disconnect the hdd drives and work on the bios problem until it completes the post and comes up with "No operating system found ", etc or boots the floppy. No need to format the hdd on another computer because the bios never cycles through to reading the hdd yet. Be sure you're using a floppy that boots to an A: prompt.

Possible solutions are to replace the motherboard battery, download and reinstall either the current bios or an updated. (A fresh bios whether it is the same one or a new one might work.) Check all the settings in the bios. Reload the defaults. You may have a bad bios chip, it can be replaced for about $10.00 from the motherboard manufacturer.

On the Microsoft site, if you have this problem they refer you to the motherboard manufacturer for a solution. If it was my computer I would replace the battery (probably CR2032, Wal-Mart, couple of bucks, don't break the battery holder), reload the defaults, check ALL settings in the bios and if that didn't fix it I would try and replace the bios chip if it was an expensive motherboard, otherwise I would get a new motherboard. To verify that your hdd is ok plug it in in place of a cd on another computer and see if you can read it (be sure to set the jumpers for master, etc to match the cd).

The Fdisk program can be found amonst the old DOS programs. I keep them around in case I need them. You can probably find a zillion places to download it on the web.

In doing the above, be sure you reboot between everything. Also, be sure and do all this with the hdd totally disconnected. That will eliminate any problems with the hdd and allow the floppy to work if everything else is ok. Keep in mind that the problem could be memory timing in the bios, cpu settings, etc. If you have two memory sticks, take one out and try it then swap and try it. Try clearing the CMOS. Something in that motherboard wants to give you a hard time.

Giles

 

It sounds like "Varifying DMI Pool Data" does get completed. Usually after this you see a cursor flashing at the top left-hand corner and this is when the BIOS is looking for an operating system. Try disconnecting the cables to the HDD and booting to the floppy again. That should confirm that the problem is the HDD. Try the same with any other drive like the CD drive. I also suggest that you get the utilities for the HDD from the manufacturer and make one of their boot floppies.

Giles covered all this, but I would tend to agree it was a drive problem since it seems to be getting past the "Varifying..." stage.

Matt

 

sorted!!

flashed the BIOS, all sorted now

thankyou guys for the help, appreciate it

soll

 

Hi soll.

Way to go. Probably a spike in the electrical lines at some point dumped the bios a little. A low battery shouldn't have caused that but if the battery hasn't been replaced in a while, etc.

Very happy it worked out without having to replace something.

Giles