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I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 02:42 Go to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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My 200GB hard drive failed (at least, I think it's my hard drive), to the point where I can't even boot windows anymore. It first began by spontaneous BSODs that had no pattern whatsoever and were impossible to predict. Now I get a blue screen of death before Windows even finishes booting. So I tried installing windows XP on my old 80GB and it would just randomly freeze while copying the system files. It almost never went past drivers.cab and never made it over 80%. The CD-ROM would also stop spinning when the copying halted. At first I thought it was the CD, so I tried burning a new CD from the same image (yes, it is legit), and it still did the same thing. Then I tried isolating the problem by installing Windows on the same hard drive with the same CD-ROM, but in a different computer. It copied the system files fine, but it never made it to the actual Windows installation because it kept trying to boot from the CD... even though I made the hard disk the first boot device. I'm pretty sure that this is some random issue with the bios, but it still makes things iffy. I'm quite certain it's my processor though. I've heard [true] stories about Windows XP never being able to copy the files all the way because of a faulty processor. You'd think that once a processor is faulty, it just won't post, but that isn't necessarily true, even in my own experiences.

So, assuming it's my processor, I could get a new motherboard and processor to hold me out until the summer, when I would just build a whole new computer. Well, there is still a big problem. My processor is an Athlon XP, which makes my motherboard socket A. Socket A is completely wiped out, so I would have to get an Athlon 64. But, I still have an AGP video card and standard DDR, and it's almost impossible to find a 754 or 939 motherboard that supports AGP and DDR400 these days. So, this is where I'm REALLY stuck. I totally cannot afford new memory (DDR2) and a new video card (PCI Express).

Can anyone give me ANY advice at all?

Thanks.

edit: The first paragraph is lacking a lot of information because I already did endless hours of troubleshooting and have mostly figured out the issue. It's the second paragraph that is asking for advice. You can still suggest something for my computer's issue, but I just wanted to make what I was asking for clearer.

[Updated on: Sun, 18 March 2007 03:26]

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250300 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 03:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPNOD is currently offline  JPNOD
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To much to read didn't get to much usefull info out of it.

Did you test your memmory? (Memtet86)
Did you test your hard disk? ( Seatools, WDDiag, ecta..


I doubt its the CPU, unless you had it overclocked or something.. usually a CPU works, or it doesnt work at all.


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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250303 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 03:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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If I gave more information it would have been too long. The whole story is even longer than that and I had to cram it a lot. I did a full hard disk scan with Ontrack and it found a few bad sectors. Also, I already just said that in this circumstance the processor can be the issue. I've had similar experiences and I've also heard this exact issue before. It is not overclocked. The temperature is perfectly normal.

The second paragraph is the one that really matters. The top one doesn't explain much because I've already spent days troubleshooting as much as possible. Meaning I already have it mostly figured out.

If you still need more information or if this is still confusing, it's probably because it's 3:30 AM and I'm really tired... I'll post in the morning/noon and I bet I'll end up finding out how horribly typed out this is.

[Updated on: Sun, 18 March 2007 03:34]

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250304 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 03:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ghostshaw is currently offline  Ghostshaw
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I think you should get an asrock mobo. They have several Mobo's with DDR I and DDR II and PCI-E and AGP 8x. Unfortunately not for athlon procs. Your best option would be to get this board: http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=4CoreDual-VSTA&s=n and get a cheap C2D.

-Ghost-


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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250305 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 03:45 Go to previous messageGo to next message
light is currently offline  light
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Second hand Althlon XP processor seems like your easiest option to me. I'm sure you can find one.

http://www.azupload.com/displayImage.php/setid2745.png
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250309 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 04:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Blazer is currently offline  Blazer
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That sounds like a problem with bad RAM. I suggest burning a bootable memtest86 CD (on another machine) and running it overnight.
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250312 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 05:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ghostshaw is currently offline  Ghostshaw
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Yeah Blazers is prolly right. A proc works or it doesn't, there is no such thing as a broken processor.

-Ghost-


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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250314 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 05:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jonty is currently offline  Jonty
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Viva la Resistance!
It's remote, but it could be a problem with the IDE/SATA interface. (Depending on which one you use, I'm assuming IDE seeing as the CDROM would be on the same bus then)

You could try making a bootable USB thumb drive and put Damn Small Linux on it, like I have, and try booting from that.
Also, try to run some S.M.A.R.T. diagnostics. That should prove/disprove that it's the HD that's broken.
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250343 is a reply to message #250312] Sun, 18 March 2007 07:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPNOD is currently offline  JPNOD
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Ghostshaw wrote on Sun, 18 March 2007 07:13

Yeah Blazers is prolly right. A proc works or it doesn't, there is no such thing as a broken processor.

-Ghost-


Do you even read?


Since your HDD is broke ( Bad sectors ) its game over.Later on See if you still have warranty on that disk.


And as I stated in my first post test your mem.

If you have the abbility over a other PC you could try it there, I really doubt it's the CPU.

Also on another note since it's a SocketA mobo, did you check the Condensators?

Make sure you make the PC only with the required components to make it boot.


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[Updated on: Sun, 18 March 2007 07:58]

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250357 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 09:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ghostshaw is currently offline  Ghostshaw
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A few bad sectors don't break your HDD, and besides that, if it was a HDD problem you would get a proper boot error.


-Ghost-


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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250362 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 10:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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Thanks everyone for the responses. I'll run memtest86 and see what I get. My HDD is IDE and so is my CD-ROM, but they're both on their own cables. The reason I concluded that the blue screens were caused by my hard drive is because I just recently dealt with a friend's computer that wouldn't boot into Windows because of bad sectors. It didn't go to the blue screen of death, it just said disk boot failure. So I told him he needed a new hard drive, he bought one, I installed Windows, everything was fine.

So anyways, I'll do that memtest. I could be totally wrong about my 200GB hard drive though.

light wrote on Sun, 18 March 2007 03:45

Second hand Althlon XP processor seems like your easiest option to me. I'm sure you can find one.


Well, I did a bit of searching, and resellers that do actually still sell them are selling them for $100-$200, which is totally ridiculous. So, I checked ebay, and they are reasonably priced, but they're all used. I'm not sure if that would be alright.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMD-ATHLON-XP-2600-Barton-Processor-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ1 60096474054QQcategoryZ44935QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Updated on: Sun, 18 March 2007 11:01]

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250380 is a reply to message #250357] Sun, 18 March 2007 12:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPNOD is currently offline  JPNOD
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Ghostshaw wrote on Sun, 18 March 2007 11:30

A few bad sectors don't break your HDD, and besides that, if it was a HDD problem you would get a proper boot error.


-Ghost-


A few bad sectors give alot of errors even making Windows not boot or not being to able copy files and so on. Bad sectors can be repaired but are usally back after the repair. A faulty HDD does not always give a S.M.A.R.T error. ( especialy if S.M.A.R.T is not enabled in the BIOS. The only way to find out if the HDD is really broke is by checking it with the manufactures tool.



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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250396 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 14:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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I have SpinRite on a floppy disk, but the scan LITERALLY takes 60 hours. It's supposed to be able to continue where it left off, but I tried that and it just started all over again. If I could do that scan, then I would know for certain if my hard drive is failing or not. Memtest86 is still going, it's on pass 5 and so far zero errors. Anybody know how many passes it does?
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250427 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 19:07 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Dethdeath is currently offline  Dethdeath
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I used spinrite to fix my 40GB hdd once, some files needed to get into windows were corrupt, so I was pretty screwed at the time. I managed to fix it all using the program and my windows cd. I wouldn't think memtest takes very long, perhaps you can find the amount of passes somewhere on the web or in the manual, if there is one.

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250440 is a reply to message #250299] Sun, 18 March 2007 21:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
light is currently offline  light
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I've run Windows boxes with HDDs that have bad sectors. It's not an issue if Windows tags then as bad and ignores them.

http://www.azupload.com/displayImage.php/setid2745.png
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250445 is a reply to message #250440] Sun, 18 March 2007 22:52 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jerad2142 is currently offline  Jerad2142
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Computers are getting pretty cheap, it would almost be less expensive to buy a new $300 - $400 computer and put any better parts form your old computer into the new one.

[Updated on: Sun, 18 March 2007 22:53]

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250464 is a reply to message #250396] Mon, 19 March 2007 01:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPNOD is currently offline  JPNOD
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icedog90 wrote on Sun, 18 March 2007 16:08

I have SpinRite on a floppy disk, but the scan LITERALLY takes 60 hours. It's supposed to be able to continue where it left off, but I tried that and it just started all over again. If I could do that scan, then I would know for certain if my hard drive is failing or not. Memtest86 is still going, it's on pass 5 and so far zero errors. Anybody know how many passes it does?



We usually do 2/3 passes gauranteed most known errors will come out. 5 Should be enough.


What brand hard disk(s) do you have that seem to be broke?

If the memmory is fine then the only thing left is mobo and cpu, assumin you replaced the hdd.



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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250520 is a reply to message #250299] Mon, 19 March 2007 11:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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Okay, well, something I forgot to mention is that if I leave my computer off for a day or two, it will boot into windows just fine again. It will eventually start BSODing a lot though. Right now I'm on my computer, but that doesn't mean the problem is solved.

I'm starting to think it can't be the processor, because I even played four games of Supreme Commander with my friend yesterday (all of which I won), and it was fine. It seems to BSOD when I access files or visit certain websites. Only once did it do the blue screen of death in a game, which was Garry's Mod. If my processor is partially damaged, then I wouldn't be able to play games like these that take immense processing power. The memory test reported no errors, and I did 7 passes plus the 90 minute test.

My friend (the same one I played SupCom with) suggested that it could be my power supply... I don't know why I didn't think of that before. I remember that I swapped my older PSU with this one only like two months ago because mine had a really noisy fan. The next time I start getting a ton of BSODs again, I'll swap the power supplies and see if windows boots normally.

[Updated on: Mon, 19 March 2007 11:27]

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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250557 is a reply to message #250299] Mon, 19 March 2007 14:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Zion is currently offline  Zion
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Took a temp reading? It could be that the hardware gets too hot too fast and causes the hard drive to fail.
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250560 is a reply to message #250520] Mon, 19 March 2007 14:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jerad2142 is currently offline  Jerad2142
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Power supplies do go bad so it could be it, but there are so many thing that you listed that could have been wrong that I think it would be both easier and simpler to just buy a new computer.

Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250613 is a reply to message #250299] Mon, 19 March 2007 17:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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Yeah, it would be easier, but I don't have the money. I have a job, but money still doesn't grow on trees. I've already estimated that I'll have the money by this summer. I am also saving for a trip to Germany, so it's kind of rough. Also, I would like this computer to continue to work because my sister really needs a working one. Her computer died from a really bad power surge we had a few months back, I feel sorry for her.
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250738 is a reply to message #250299] Tue, 20 March 2007 12:09 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPNOD is currently offline  JPNOD
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What powersupply do you have?

If it's a unknown brand/B then thats indeed a big chance that that's causing it.


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Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #250776 is a reply to message #250299] Tue, 20 March 2007 15:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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I used to use an iCute one that came with my case, which is also an iCute. It is 350 watts and the +12 volt rail is at 15 amps. The one I'm using now is also 350 watts, but the +12V rail is at 16 amps. I know that it used to belong to a computer that totally died from a bad power surge we had, but I used a power supply tester and all the rails were good. Maybe I should test it again... but strangely enough, I haven't gotten one BSOD for nearly three days.
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #252763 is a reply to message #250299] Tue, 03 April 2007 23:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
icedog90 is currently offline  icedog90
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Okay, well, this doesn't make any sense at all, but my problems completely disappeared. I really don't know what that was all about, and I don't think I want to know. I just hope they don't come back.
Re: I'm stuck... REALLY stuck... [message #252774 is a reply to message #250299] Wed, 04 April 2007 02:30 Go to previous message
Zion is currently offline  Zion
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Glad to hear.

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