PC will not work in windows, suspect a hw issue.... but what!?

zeegy

zeegy

zeegy

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PC just will not work – I am really, really stumped! Any ideas?

Im not sure what thread section to place this in, as im unsure if its hardware of software based.

I have come across an all in one PC (a Compaq unit) that has just confuzzled me beyond belief.

Its not an amazing spec, it’s a Pentium D unit with 1Gb ram that I want to use as a simple workstation.

The fault is, that things are not operating properly – I can install an OS error free (or so it seems) yet once in the windows environment things just appear to corrupt. I will try and download an, or import a file from a cd / usb memory drive and it will not install, the error changes too, so I know that there isn’t likely to be a root cause.
I have installed XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 on this machine – All have the same issue.

My First thought was memory, I have therefore performed a memtest, no issues found in any slot… I then also tried a different stick of RAM… same issue.

I then tried a different hard drive in the case their were any corrupt sectors… no change

Added a NIC (in case it was an issue downloading files incorrectly) again, no change.

So in the end I have done the following

  • Changed the Ram (with a known working part)
  • Changed the NIC (with a known working part)
  • Changed the HDD (with a known working part)
  • Checked that its not over heating (far from it)
  • Installed up-to date chipset / sata drivers
  • Changed the optical media drive (with a known working part)
  • Changed the SATA Cables (getting desperate now!)


Right peeps, ANY ideas what could be the issue here? I am running out if ideas now…
 
Last edited:
Idleman said:
Is this unit new or secondhand?
Can you also post the full spec for this system.
Click to expand...

Not really, no - Sorry - I fail to see how thats totally relevant, but will try and obtain a spec later.

General specs are

Pentium D @ 3.2
1Gb of Ram (just one stick) but tried 2 x 512Mb known working modules
Built in VGA
Built in Nic etc etc...

Tis a second hand machine,
Anyone else have any ideas off the cuff please?
 
Last edited:
Have you tried:
clearing CMOS
Checking bios for any 'other than the norm' settings
updating the bios
windows update
checked to see if the device/mobo drivers are up to date
running a virus scan
do some digging on compaq forums. There might be a known error(s) with the system.
 
Mhmmm, i find those unlikely, but its a tick in the box regardless,
I'll have a stab at all of the above later, and keep you all informed.
 
If it is a really old Compaq unit I believe they used to have a code hidden on a motherboard chip and their windows installation disks which matched, if you didn't use the original disks supplied it never worked properly.

A friend had one of these where we upgraded the harddrive then spent a few days trouble shooting to sort why it wouldn't install a newer version of windows or work properly once installed, used the original recovery disks that came with the compaq went straight on without any issues.

It may be that.
 
ThaReaperGuy said:
Hard drive issue?
Click to expand...

I would've said that or drivers, but it looks like the OP has addressed that.

Just to be clear, you can boot into windows, but what sort of errors are you getting (you said they were myriad)? Is it crashing, locking up, or what? Is the drive set to IDE or AHCI? Can you show us your BIOS settings?

E: Sypher seems to have found a nice-fitting match, if we can find any info to back it up.
 
Devrij said:
I would've said that or drivers, but it looks like the OP has addressed that.

Just to be clear, you can boot into windows, but what sort of errors are you getting (you said they were myriad)? Is it crashing, locking up, or what? Is the drive set to IDE or AHCI? Can you show us your BIOS settings?

E: Sypher seems to have found a nice-fitting match, if we can find any info to back it up.
Click to expand...

that he has, thanks for throwing that spanner in the works E.Syper!

Can they even do that? is it legal!? Can said security feature be disabled?

Will get some Bios screenies up shortly - not that theres many options there.

Can i thank you all for your support so far.

The fault is a hard one to explain, but i will try... there is no BSOD, no hangs... BUT if i want to say install an EXE it almost always fails wether it be downloaded, or imported from usb mem etc.

When trying to install the .net framework for example (that has little or no pre-requisites) it will begin to install and then say that some files within the self extracting installer have become corrupt.

i can literally install no applications at all :(
 
Last edited:
zeegy said:
that he has, thanks for throwing that spanner in the works E.Syper!

Can they even do that? is it legal!? Can said security feature be disabled?

Will get some Bios screenies up shortly - not that theres many options there.

Can i thank you all for your support so far.

The fault is a hard one to explain, but i will try... there is no BSOD, no hangs... BUT if i want to say install an EXE it almost always fails wether it be downloaded, or imported from usb mem etc.

When trying to install the .net framework for example (that has little or no pre-requisites) it will begin to install and then say that some files within the self extracting installer have become corrupt.

i can literally install no applications at all :(
Click to expand...

Do you have any apps on there that you can open and run? Maybe try loading up whatever default apps you have to see if they run, and if they do, try running loads of instances to see if it's a stability issue. Old chip and all, might be worth doing.

Did you install all the drivers for that model from the Compaq site or just the chipset drivers?
 
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