HELP! New PC, XP installs but wont boot?

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 15:42

Howdy,

just setup my new PC and I have 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ST3250620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM in there (not in RAID... just two seperate drives).

XP installs on the HDD fine, and every seems fine, until I go to my first boot into XP and it hangs on the loading screen for a while, then I get a dreaded blue screen saying windows couldnt start etc etc. It tell mes if this is the firswt time you have seen this restart or check your pc for virus or run CHKDSK /F etc.

I rebooted it a few times and nothing? I assume this is the HDD causing this problem right? Or could it be sumin else conflicting when it actually tries to get into windows?

Anyone have any idea?

beer_puppy · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:18

try clearing the CMOS, that might work

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:23

but the only thing i have changed in the BIOS is the boot device order... and the time of course, but nothing else?

Would it still work?

beer_puppy · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:31

give it a try, it wont do any harm.
Are all the other components new? or are the HDD gone into an old machine?

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:35

im installing on the second hdd now to see if that works? if it dont, ill clear the cmos and see if that works!

Everything is brand new, nothing at all has gone across from my current PC

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:49

Nope still getting it... this is worry/annoying me now.. ive not got into windows once yet!

The actual error says:

Code:

A problem has been detected amd windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is the girst time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again follow these steps:

Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF789E63C,0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

Any other ideas? Im gonna try installing Vista.. see if that makes a difference?

ta

RJC · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:52

Can you try the other hard drive!, could be hard drive problem.

Rob

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 16:56

woohoo, i have solved it... well i think i have... not gonna speak to soon but im in xp now.

whenever i have issues in the past i remove a ram stick and it usually works, so i thought id give it ago now. Remove one stick and i got in.

So I figured i know what it was, I was using slot 1 and slot 3 (cos thats how my current mobo likes it). So I put the stick back in on slot 2, so i am using slot 1 and 2 and voila success.

Damn pcs scare me sometimes!

thanks!

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 17:18

Are you suppose to use slot 1&2 now instead of slot 1&3? My last mobo was an Asus as well as this? Was DDR may last pc, this is DDR2 though, so that might be the difference!

Thought it was strange it didnt tell me what slots to use in the mobo manual, it specifically told me 1&3 in my last mobo manual, i just assumed it would be the same?

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 17:29

Ergh, its doing it again!

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 17:34

Ok this is weird, it done it again just now cos i reintalled windows again cos it was on the HDD I didnt want it to be on.

Well I took one stick of ram out and it booted. I have now put the ram back in and it boots again?

So basically i had to remove one stick of ram and put it back in again and it boots? Any ideas what this is?

Trigger · 6 Apr 2007 at 18:02

Link

Have you been pressing F6 to install SATA drivers during setup? If not, try creating the SATA disk from the motherboard CD on a working computer with a floppy drive and install the drivers via F6 during setup

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 18:45

But I don't think its the HDD though? I'm sure its sumin to do with the DDR2 ram? Cos I remove 1 dimm and boot and Im in, then I can shut down and install the second DIMM again and all is fine.

It seems to want me to remove the RAM to get it working... but it appears once I have done it once it is fine? Cos Im in my new rig now and I have rebooted bout 10 times already and its been fine?

I'm not using RAID, and I have never had to press F6 to install XP on my previous PC (which also used SATA-II)?

I'm sure its the ram... maybe because I currently have the BIOS DDR config set to auto... I'm not gonna change it yet until XP and all my stuff is installed, then I'll change it.

Trigger · 6 Apr 2007 at 20:57

Well if it's working fine then I don't understand what you're whining about?? Whether you've had to press F6 on previous builds and install the drivers or not, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference- it will depend on the board and the version of XP you are using. Microsoft seem to think it's a driver problem and if it wouldn't boot into setup after the copying setup files phase then it being the SATA drivers would make sense. As you seem to have decided it's the RAM then why not memtest the sticks?

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 21:04

Well yeah its working now... but my problem is that the problem is prob still there. Cos I originally thought it was the fact I had my DIMMS on slots 1 and 3, cos when I removed one it worked. So I put it back in slot 2 and it worked, so I thought thats it all done.

But I had XP installed on my other HDD at that time, cos I was testing if it as the HDD that had the problem. So I formatted and installed on my other HDD and thought it would boot into XP after install no probs... but it didnt?

So I removed my stick and booted with success, shut down put the other stick back in and I'm still here.

So it seems to be when Windows is installed, the first time it don't like it? Remove the stick and it works? Could this be a voltage thing? Or a timings thing?

Its just weird that its not working, take a stick out and put it back in and I havent had a problem... thats not normal?

I'll try a memtest... outta interest, can you run memtest in windows? From what I have seen I need to put the thing on floppy and run it from there? Will Super PI surfice for a test on the memory sticks? Or does metest actually check the stability of the sticks, opposed to their performance?

Trigger · 6 Apr 2007 at 21:29

To be honest, it could just be one of those things although running memtest on the sticks can't do any harm. I've never heard of the other program so can't really comment although I would stick with memtest as that actually stresses the memory- it's not a performance test- it checks the RAM for errors. IIRC, you can run memtest from a CD- if you have any linux CDs about then you should find memtest on there- could install it on your second HDD maybe or use a linux live CD if you have one? A long way around I know but if it gets the job done...

keogh · 6 Apr 2007 at 22:23

Ok trig, Ill do that!

Send my regards to Del Boy

kingo15 · 7 Apr 2007 at 07:50

on my old 3200+ athlon sysytem i had crucial ballsictx memory in there and that was the problem when i was trying to format and install windows i went through several hdds thinking it was them, but no it was the memory for some reason then i spoke to a few of my gaming buddies and found out they had the same problem with cruical memory whilst trying to format.

may have no relevants to your situation as im sure some one will tell me but seeing i had asimilar problem i thought i would give you some more ideas

keogh · 7 Apr 2007 at 09:59

Nope that is good to know that it wasn't just me.

did you solve the prob by taking the DIMM out and back in again? Or did you make a different change?

kingo15 · 7 Apr 2007 at 10:22

after the 4 th hdd i tried amd kicking everything inc the dog and the pc case i tried the geil memory from my spare pc and it install first time no worries no hassle no bsod, then put me crucial memory back in and it worked fine booted up once windows was installed and acted like nowt was wrong.