The Mystery CPU Crisis, Who Knows?? :(

[Shook.XcL]

Problem:
I can't install the Windows on my computer..


Steps Taken:
- replaced hard drive with brand new one!
- used two different legit Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 CDs!
- used two different CD-ROM Drives during installation!
- disabled all caching in BIOS and reattempted to install!


- Still getting unable to copy files around 77%-78% , rendering my computer completely and utterly unoperational and worthless.

Here's my story

My computer works wonderfully, for the longest time, and then:

I turn off my computer one day and then go to restart to find an error message that says:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt
C:\windows\system32\config\system

Okay so at first I thought maybe it's a virus, (my norton antivirus had recently expired and I hadn't gotten around to resubscribing yet..)

So I tried to repair it all up with your standard recovery console, chkdsk /p , chkdsk /r and then chkdsk /p again. Sure enough, there were one or more errors, and after running the /r , I proceeded to re check with /p.. I get freezing during the check, and some pretty blue death screens.

So hey, I posted a thread about this yesterday and got one response from a member named Calvin.. he suggested that I replace the primary drive. So I head over to future shop, pick up the 'Western Digital OEM 250GB IDE Hard Drive' and throw it in the CPU.

The good news is that I have upgraded from 40 Gigs of space to 250 Gigs, cool. The bad news is, (aside from the fact that i have lost all my files and have to start fresh) is that when i go to install windows i get "UNABLE TO READ FILE, PLZ INSERT CD"

This usually happens around 77% of copying files. It's the Windows XP Professional SP2 installation, from a legit disc. So you can imagine how good i must be feeling about all this right about now.. Anyways I went and acquired ANOTHER Windows XP Pro SP2 LEGIT CD just to be sure, because the first one had some scratches on it. Let me assure you, the surface of this second CD is flawless (to the naked eye) but I get the same problem around 77%.

After rapidly pressing skip file and/or retry, i eventually piss off the comp into throwing a blue screen in my face.. either the 0x00000000 or 0x00000019
equal unequal or pool errors..

Hey this could be a ram issue right? I went to bios and turned off all caching, then i ran an installation with the first XP Pro SP2 CD.. it took like 10 hours but at 77% I was getting the SAME problem.

so the hard drive probably wasnt the issue, and I can take some suspicion off of the ram, (but not rule it out yet).

So Hmmm, maybe it's the CD-Roms fault??! I have two CD-Rom drives, one is a burner 24x10x40 (which i've had for ages) this is the drive I've been using for all my failed installation attempts.

my other cd-rom drive, is an asus 52x, most of the time i can't even boot from CD on this drive lol, even though I make it the priority CD-Rom drive.. who knows...

Anyway, I'm sure it's going to give me the "unable to copy file ____ " around 77% again, and I'm completely out of my wits with this one.

Tomorrow, I'll probably have to bring the comp in to a shop and let them fix it for an entire week or something, : ( you guys are my last life line, anyone ?

Re-cap:
Cannot Install Operating System!!


- Comp was working FINE until one day out of nowhere, so I
- replaced hard drive with brand new one!
- used two different legit Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 CDs!
- used two different CD-ROM Drives!
- disabled all caching in BIOS!


- Still getting unable to copy files around 77%-78% , rendering my computer completely and utterly unoperational and worthless.

PLEASE HELP!

Thank you very very much for any insights in advance!!!!

[Shook.XcL]

Oh yeah, it bent me over at 78% this time, ;*( I'm so lost

[wera]

Thats a hard one...
Ill just suggest to run memtest 86 http://memtest86.com/
Run that for a day or two.
Also disconnect ALL cadrds when trying to install windows.
Try taking and swaping ram.

[Shook.XcL]

Ok well I'm not sure what a cadrd is, but I went to download memtest.. apparently I can make CD boot disks for memtest, which is okay for other people but I'm on a wireless laptop that doesnt have a burner, I guess there isn't a way to make a memtest boot from diskette is there ? Because my main comp has no operating system yet.. obviously : (

[EvilRick]

You want the 'Download - Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win)'

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

[Shook.XcL]

TYVM wera & EvilRick =)

I think this is my final Question! :

I prepared the memtest86 boot disk from my laptop here and booted my main comp (the faulty one) with it. I have NO idea how to interpret memtest's findings that i'm seeing right now, but im guessing an endless count of errors showing up is a bad thing.

So I'm running mem test, and I'm reading a website on interpreting what I'm seeing on my screen, but it's a bit over my head and I just wanted to explain myself so maybe I could be shoved in the right direction :P

Ok So I'm at memtest's blue screen and it's racing pretty hard. There's a red background where all the data appears through and it shows me the:

Tst - Pass - Failing Address - Good - Bad - Err-Bits - Count Chan

I don't know what a test would look like with good memory, but it seems to me that something must be wrong with mine. Infinite "Bad" returns and a tally of over 1.34 mil errors (it's been through 789mb so far) doesn't seem like something that would show up if my memory was working fine.

I've got 3 different ram sticks, im gonna take one out at a time, and move them around to see if the errors go away.. Im hoping its a ram stick and not like the memory in a video card or mobo..

Is there some kind of change I should look out for when I know I've located the problem? Like will the endless errors completely disappear when I've found the faulty module? And is there a further step I should take? Basically how will I know when it's all good and running smooth?

Thanks in Advance Again =)

[Shook.XcL]

Status Update:

Now that I take 2 of the 3 sticks of ram out, I run mem test and I don't immediately get flying errors right of the hop, I actually get no errors so far. I've tried each of the 3 sticks in the 1st slot for a few minutes each, and none of them report errors. So, using some common sense this means one of 3 things.

A) I'm not running the tests long enough, and I would have to run them longer for each stick to find out which one was causing the errors

B) Maybe it's a slot that's faulty and not the actual stick, because when testing the sticks individually, I've put them all in the 1st slot.

C) The error is actually caused by an incompatibility of the 3 sticks being used together.


Now, I've used this setup for over a year, so I'm pretty sure it's not an incompatibility issue. And I'll restate that this computer has worked well for the longest time with the same hardware, so I don't know if that means it's more probable that the stick of ram itself died or that one of the slots just suddenly became faulty.


I don't want to test each stick for hours, and then find out it was a slot issue, I just really want to figure out as efficiently as possible what the problem is.


My question is, am I better off just bringing the 3 sticks of ram into a repair shop and having them test it for me, or is there a specific frame of time i should test each stick in each slot until i find the error?

Again, when i first ran the memtest with all my ram in the computer, i got non stop errors up the ying yang, now when I've put 1 stick at a time in the first slot , i get no errors at all when i run the test for a few minutes on each stick.

Hmmmmmmm

[wera]

EDIT: oh i see. Well it sounds like one stick is bad.
Try dusting the slots incase.
Iyou may want to fool around with theam and Test each stick individually for about a day each.
Find out witch one it is.
And tie it to a pole/stick burn it for making it so hard to install windows.

[Peter M]

Shook, now that you know each individual stick is OK, you might want to look into things that improve reliability on a highly loaded RAM bus:

* Relaxing the RAM timings
* Lowering the RAM operating frequency

[sm8000]

Make sure your CPU cooling is on properly.

[Chuckiechan]

I would reset the BIOS (with the computer unplugged).

Enter the BIOS and see in you can find system temperatures to see if you are overheating.

Also, have you cleaned out the dust and inspected the fan?

I would find a place with a generous return policy and try a new stick of ram, and return it if it's not the problem.

[Shook.XcL]

I don't want to jynx it and celebrate just yet, but I am pretty confident im almost there =)

Like I said I have 3 sticks of ram

I memtested' the 2nd and 3rd piece overnight and this morning I saw errors

So I assume the first stick is FINE

now i test the 3rd stick on its own for 20 minutes and got no errors

so now i put the 1st and 2nd stick in, and I instantly got errors! which is curious, because
when i put either the 1st or 2nd stick in for a few mintues i get no errors, but when both are
in i get instant errors?!

So now I'm going to try and install windows with the 1st and 3rd stick.. I'm also testing them and so far no errors.


What I'd like to know is this
i) Is there a good chance that the fault isn't just a stck of ram on its own but rather incompatibility with other ram? Even though this memory setup has worked for over a year!!!

or


ii) Is it possible that maybe the slot itself is causing the error, like for instance the 2nd slot.

OTHERWISE it's just gotta be the 2nd stick of ram, which I will test overnight tonight.

Thanks All

[Milwaukee]

I have question is 3 ram same or different brand and mhz? It different rams then not work right. My guess.
Or reset bios back to oringally one.
Hope it help you

[||Console||]

I have a question ARE YOU OVER HEATING =) reseat your hsf what cpu are you running ? Maybe you are having a problem running in Dual channel now

[Chuckiechan]

And...

Some board require dual channel to be in specific memory slots. You can't just stick them in there.

Pull your sticks, and give us as much of this information you can find:

Brand
Capicity
Part #
Speed

And can you install OK with one stick?

Also, motherboard name and model number

[EvilRick]

I run memtest by putting in one stick in one slot, letting it run a couple of passes, I move the stick to the next slot, let it run a couple of passess . . . I do that with each stick. This eliminates bad sticks and bad slots. If you get errors when running the sticks together, you've got a compatability issue and there ain't much you can do about that but get different ram. OR, figure out which sticks work together and run those until you get more if you need it.

[Shook.XcL]

Alright let's see. Here's the specifications:

Intel 865G Chipset
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU, 800 MHz
Chipset: Intel 865G + ICH5
Main Memory: DDR DIMM x 4
Graphics 8X AGP Slot
Form Factor: ATX

RAM:

1)
CCI 438300
DDR333 512MB 32x8
2)
512MB
P22100 DDR 32x8
Simpletech
3)
XR-DDR-32x64-266
DTI33256MB-T01456 0303-211

So two 512mb and one older 256mb i think. I hope that was all the information that was asked for, the other numbers i think were just serial codes..

I finally got windows to install by using just the 1st and 3rd stick!.. since using all 3 would make me stop at 76%.... but

Everything was going well then the comp forced me to reboot once, so I took out the sticks and they were pretty 'warm'..
now I'm just using the 1st stick and i think i still may be getting reading errors because i got another auto reboot..

So yes I installed ok but now when i run more programs i get memory errors and above is the information on my setup.. as for bios

Right now CPU Temp. is 71 degrees Celsius / 159 degreses farenheit
System Temp. is 41 degrees Celsius / 105 degrees farenheit
fan Speed 5273 rpm, full speed

My CPU Warning temp is currently disabled, i can enable it for temperatures of 50 degrees celsius and up..

[wera]

Like we all are saying to elimnate the ram or bad slot.
You should run each one For a few hrs.
By itself.

[Shook.XcL]

Alright let's see. Here's the specifications:

Intel 865G Chipset
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU, 800 MHz
Chipset: Intel 865G + ICH5
Main Memory: DDR DIMM x 4
Graphics 8X AGP Slot
Form Factor: ATX

RAM:

1)
CCI 438300
DDR333 512MB 32x8
2)
512MB
P22100 DDR 32x8
Simpletech
3)
XR-DDR-32x64-266
DTI33256MB-T01456 0303-211

So two 512mb and one older 256mb i think. I hope that was all the information that was asked for, the other numbers i think were just serial codes.. if im missing something let me know I'll try to get more information.

I finally got windows to install by using just the 1st and 3rd stick!.. since using all 3 would make me stop at 76%.... YES!.... but ,

Everything was going well - then the comp forced me to reboot once, so I took out the sticks and they were pretty 'warm'.. so I take out the 3rd stick leaving just the 1st in the computer, and disappoingtly i think i still may be getting reading errors because i got another auto reboot..

So yes I installed ok but now when i run more programs i get memory errors and above is the information on my setup.. as for bios

Right now CPU Temp. is 71 degrees Celsius / 159 degreses farenheit
System Temp. is 41 degrees Celsius / 105 degrees farenheit
fan Speed 5273 rpm, full speed

My CPU Warning temp is currently disabled, i can enable it for temperatures of 50 degrees celsius and up..

Maybe I should download some programs that can diagnose this problem in windows, since I can run windows now and because I am not able to ascertain by myself whether or not I'm overheating (unless u guys know) any recommendations?

So whether or not my CPU is cooling properly I don't know for sure, the fan is running well, but the ram was pretty warm after it forced a reboot.. As for:

"* Relaxing the RAM timings
* Lowering the RAM operating frequency"

Is this my next step? Because I will definitely look into that if its the answer.

Also, I am about to attempt to reset bios now and see if it fixes anything, I just wanted to get this post down first because of the information that was requsted. With my luck, I'll have to do something other than reset bios to fix this..

Another question, what does "reset your hsf" mean? I don't know what Console is telling me to do.. and talking about dual channel conflictions is over my head, so I'll have to go by what i'm told to do in that area.


I read each post yall make carefully and really appreciate the help, but right now I'm not even sure it's the fault of one of the ram sticks in itself

As I mentioned earlier, the original Stick1Slot1 - Stick2Slot2 Stick3Slot3 worked fine for over a year and now it gave major errors when I ran memtest. [Stick1,2,3 are at the top of the post under 1) , 2), 3),]

the Stick1Slot1 - Empty -Empty showed no errors when i memtested a few minutes

the Empty - Stick2Slot2 - Empty showed no errors when i memtested a few minutes

the Empty - Empty - Stick3Slot3 showed no errors when i memtested a few mintues

then, Empty - Stick2Slot2 - Stick3Slot3 gave me errors after i ran memtest overnight

so, I ran Stick1Slot1 - Stick2Slot2 - Empty and got errors

by deduction I chose Stick1Slot1 - Empty - Stick3Slot3 to install windows with, it worked.

But when i got windows set up and world of warcraft installed, I was thrown out with memory reading errors during gameplay so I removed stick 3

and ran Stick1Slot1 - Empty - Empty and I still got kicked off and forced reboot.

Aggravating yes, but Im still happy I got windows finally going.. I don't know what problems just conjure themself up after over a year of working perfectly, is this leaning towards a heating issue?

Thanks again for all the help, greatly appreciated

[Shook.XcL]

I just went ahead and "loaded setup defaults" in bios, I hope that accomplished what you were advising me to do Chuckiechan & Milwaukee , but I didn't unplug the computer and do it manually.