View Single Post - Boot Failure & Bizarre ongoing problems

Legendiva · Rated PG

Current System: ( Brand new; basically never used, just 'tested'! )

Gigabyte GA-81955X Royal
Pentium D 820 Dual Core CPU ( 2.8 Ghz )
1 GB Dual Channel DDRII 667 RAM ( Samsung/matching )
Samsung SATA II 300 160 GB Hard Drive
Gigabyte GN-NX66256DP PCI Express 16 Video Card
Internal LiteOn Dual-Layer DVD/R/DVDRW ( +/- )
External TDK DED+440 Multi-format CDR/RW/DVDR/RW (+/- )
Seasonic S12430 ( 430 Watt ) Power Supply
New WinXP Pro 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 OEM
( Bought all this from the same vendor; they did all updates to Windows and BIOS. )

This is a complex and confusing one:
At the moment, the problem is Boot Failure.
( Bizarre situation ): due to numerous weird problems, log and file system errors I discovered, ( and everything still being under warranty ) this was returned to vendor for FDISK/reload OS, and general hardware check. It seemed to be working ok in the shop
( I did a preliminary run-through before I took it home. )

****( I won't get into the long list of bizarre, ongoing problems I have experienced with this system at this point, in this post.
They happened immediately in October, and have never stopped.
The original mobo was an Intel D945GNT mobo: this was replaced with the Gigabyte mobo,
RAM was replaced with the same kind
Power Supply was replaced with the same kind
2 more case fans were added
( This was due to the excessive amount of mysterious weird problems; in an attempt to cover all possible hardware problems and save time and money in diagnosis. None of us involved could figure out the real source of the problems. )

Monday night, the system was packed ( with foam supports ) into its box by the vendor, was carried out, and placed in the back seat of my car. No bangs, bumps, or anything that I am aware of. Drive home smooth, removal from car careful, removal from box careful. Tower was set on a table, monitor/keyboard/mouse connected, and it was powered up for testing. Immediate problems:

Start, no beeps. Post screen, then:

OC Fail. ( ???Not overclocked, ever )
Keyboard no lights, monitor intermittent light. No operation of CPU fan. DVD/CD drive would not open.

( Suspected loosening. Replugged plugs, connections, general tightening, removed and reseated memory. )
Reboot. Keyboard/monitor, CPU fan, and DVD/CD ok at this point.
No Boot.

( I tried BIOS "Load Fail Safe Defaults" and rebooted. )

OC Fail error no longer present. Boot Failure. Boot from CD/DVD. Insert System Disk.
( No hard disk listed in Post , but IS listed in BIOS. )

( Reset BIOS to "Load Optimized Defaults" )

Reboot. After Post, get WinXP presentation screen for a split second, and then the Startup Mode Selection Screen.

( I try Normal mode, and Last Configuration mode )

These both get flash of WinXP presentation screen, ( then a flash of a blue error screen, so fast I can't read it ); and immediate reboot.

( I try Safe mode, and Safe mode with Command Prompt )

These both get flash of WinXp Pres. screen, then scrolling boot.ini file screen, then the fast blue screen, and reboot again.
( Hard Disk IS on Post screen as well as in BIOS. )
On the fast-disappearing blue error screen I managed to see the following words ( not all of the text ):
"corruption" "terminated" "remove"

( I am a Computer Consultant ( hardware/software installations/diagnostics/ sytem building. ) I am not the ultimate techwizard, but I KNOW that there is ( and has been ) some ongoing sort of hardware failure, and/or weird conflict; and I think there may also be a corrupt WinXP Pro CD, and SP2 conflict issues woven into all this as well. A real mess, and an infuriating mystery. )

Anyway.....what are your thoughts on this latest Boot Failure issue??

Thanks, Legendiva