Major hardware or XP pro problem (not sure)

I am not sure what this problem is... When I start my computer, as normal, the XP loading screen comes on, then the screen turns white and freezes. Lately I have grown impatient and pretty much said heck with it. When i put in the Windows XP disk, this screen comes up:

If i push enter, then the Windows XP install screen comes up on the "preparing installation" screen, finishes preparing, then restarts without any progress whatsoever. If i push F10, then this screen comes up after a while of diognostic stuff:

NOTE: nothing new, other than PSU, did have new stuff, but took out. Disable caching, thats messing with the jumper next to the CMOS battery, right???

Was i right to post this as a hardware problem, and if (or if not) so, please guide me in the right direction.


Thanks,
Jason

 

Hi Jason,

Not right. That is the jumper to clear the CMOS. It would reset all your BIOS settings to "default ". Caching and shadowing are in the BIOS settings. Those should not need changing unless they have been changed at some stage. If you want to check, go into the BIOS settings and use your motherboard manual to see if they are set to default (assuming you have a reasonably detailed motherboard manual).

Suggest you follow the instructions to go into Safe Mode. Check in Device Manager if any of the hardware you have "taken out" is listed and remove it. See if there are any problems listed.

Any recall of what happened when the problem started, eg. added some new hardware or changed drivers?

Matt

 

this problem started around the time that my PSU went out (see post). This was a upgrade from Windows 98 SE. allthough, I don't think that is the problem, because i have had this on the computer for a couple of years and only lately has it been giving me problems (lately, as in april 13th). When I instaled a new PSU, I put in another video card (for dual moniter), I never got dual monitor to relly work, so i took it out (worked just fine with it, and without it) it is now back in my computer. I put in another HD, I gave up trying to figure out what jumper settings would work with the main HD and gave up. I also added another chip of RAM. Could any of this be to blame? (im guessing yes)

Thanks,
Jason

 

ok, now i am getting this message

 

How bout seeing if your computer will run anything? You can go to memtest86.com and download their utility (which installs onto a floppy) and then boot that floppy and a memory testing utility will run until you press ESC. At least you can kind of see if your machine works from a hardware perspective. I realize you'll have to use another machine to do this.

On the assumption that you own an XP CD that is not an upgrade CD, I would completely wipe your OS partition and reinstall XP onto a freshly formatted partition. Of course, your data would need to be pulled off first or at the very least, copied to your D: partition. Of course, if you truly have a hardware problem this isn't going to help. I'm hoping you can pin it down to being or not being hardware with the above test - maybe.

If it's a software problem, IMHO, you've entered the zone where troubleshooting will take longer (and be much less rewarding) than a fresh install.

I realize that the steps I've outlined are generalized and not detailed. If you feel your experience level makes you uncomfortable with them, feel free to continue to try troubleshooting in other ways.

Make sure you CMOS jumper is in the correct position - not the position that will clear your CMOS settings. You don't want to boot with it in the wrong position.

Gary

 

Jason,

From Arie's (and your) link:

Apart from my previous suggestion, also recommend that you uninstall your antivirus program in Safe Mode and your additional video card, both physically and the drivers in Device Manager.

Could try only using one stick of RAM, although this does not seem to be the cause from the Microsoft info.

Gary's suggestion of a format would be final option I suppose, but watch that the problem does not reoccur due to a driver/hardware problem that has not gone away.

Check for updated drivers for the hardware you will be using when your system is going again.

Matt