Argh problems

.:dhry:. SiroVa · 5 Nov 2006 at 12:17

Hi,

Tried to boot up my PC today, it gets to the XP loading screen (The one with the blue bar scrolling along) and nothing happens. The bar keeps on scrolling but theres no HD activity.

I tried rebooting and again it got stuck in the same place.

I then tried rebooting again and this time it wouldnt Post, it would count the RAM, then stop before it got to "Detecting IDE Drives"

So I rebooted in safemode and managed to get on ok. I used system restore to put my system back to before I installed a couple of games last night.

What do you think was the cause here? A dodgy motherboard? A corrupt windows?

My system:
AMD 3500
MSI Neo2 Plat
2x512 Ballistix pc3200
XFX Geforce 6800 GT > Clocked to 1.09/400mhz
2 x Sata Maxtor HD

Ive got all the latest XP updates INC SP2, my BIOS is fully updated. I have scanned for virus/spyware. My CPU temp never goes above 40C, the GPU maxs at around 55C.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

flying grouse · 5 Nov 2006 at 15:53

.:dhry:. SiroVa said:
Hi,

Tried to boot up my PC today, it gets to the XP loading screen (The one with the blue bar scrolling along) and nothing happens. The bar keeps on scrolling but theres no HD activity.

I tried rebooting and again it got stuck in the same place.

I then tried rebooting again and this time it wouldnt Post, it would count the RAM, then stop before it got to "Detecting IDE Drives"

So I rebooted in safemode and managed to get on ok. I used system restore to put my system back to before I installed a couple of games last night.

What do you think was the cause here? A dodgy motherboard? A corrupt windows?

Thanks

I think you answered your own question above "thats if it is working"

xirokx · 5 Nov 2006 at 16:21

test your RAM using memtest 86+

could be your hdd is about to die? is it really old?

open the case and remove all dust...

.:dhry:. SiroVa · 7 Nov 2006 at 21:04

xirokx said:
test your RAM using memtest 86+

could be your hdd is about to die? is it really old?

open the case and remove all dust...

Ram is brand new and tested ok on memtest86.

HDD isnt old, bought Nov 04. Doesnt bring back any errors on the HD Tune.

Insides are kept as dust free as I can.

Put a fresh format and XP on, problem still remains, Any ideas?

Peety87 · 7 Nov 2006 at 23:09

Could be a software issue mate, is your copy of windows a legit copy? a
corrupted file could be the case, this has happened to me before try a fresh
reinstall, that seemed to work for me after 2 installs :S good luck.

.:dhry:. SiroVa · 7 Nov 2006 at 23:28

Peety87 said:
Could be a software issue mate, is your copy of windows a legit copy? a
corrupted file could be the case, this has happened to me before try a fresh
reinstall, that seemed to work for me after 2 installs :S good luck.

Yeah its legit XP Pro, bought from here actually.

Ive tried repairing using the XP Cd,

Tried reinstalling with freshly formatted HD.

Now Im on my 2nd format and reinstall, this time on a fresh partition - Fingers Crossed.

If it still doesnt work then ill call OCuK support, see what they say.
I fear if I get a replacement the same problem will happen again. Ive got it in my head its a compatibility issue now. Although its more than likely just a faulty HD. Theres no way I can test it as its the only one I have and my other PC doesnt support Sata.

I will ask for a refund and go for the Raptor 150gig early as part of my planned 2007 upgrade. If that HD has the same problem then I will be seriously miffed. :confused:

Peety87 · 7 Nov 2006 at 23:52

hey again, hmm weird so you are not getting any error messages, when my hard drive was faulty or about to fail i would get a S.M.A.R.T error saying backup or replace.

In your bios you can turn the smart feature on if it isnt already, and see if you can get an messages on boot up.

I know it may sound stupid but have you double checked that everything is connected up properly and there are no loose wirings. one of my power cables to the mobo wasnt securley pushed dwn and that was causing random reboots ect.
make sure your PSU is compatible with your mobo and read your manual for what type of ram works best on your mobo.

let me know how things go, cause i have had relatively the same prob.

.:dhry:. SiroVa · 8 Nov 2006 at 00:49

Fixed it.

This is the wierdest thing ive seen.

The culprit is Daemon Tools. If I load a CD image/iso/cue into DT's XP wont load.

If I remove the Image/iso/cue and just leave DT empty, XP loads.

If I disable the virtual CDROM Xp loads.

So there we go, if I leave a CD Image loaded into Daemon tools and reboot, XP will NOT load.

Ive never had this problem before and certantly never heard of it, the only thing I can think of is the recent XP update.

I think ill try removing the latest updates and see what that does, will keep you informed.