can't install/boot winxp
 

the problem:
i cannot install winXP, nor boot into it with an install from another system (blue screen during load, or hang during install)
however, i can install and boot win98 albeit not stable

the system:
abit NF7 v2.0 (non-S)
amd athlon xp 2100+ AIUHB
2* 512Mb pc3200 takeMS

this i already did:
rma'd mobo -> problem remained
another cpu (2200+) -> same problem
exchanged ram -> problem is still here
tried diffirent hd's -> did not help

except for the graka, everything is new
and the graka is working fine for 3 weeks now in another system (gaming, 3dmarking, ...)


so eh, anyone any ideas?

change PSU.

antec truecontrol 550 watt
voltage rails are fine
and adjustable
but ok, i'll give it a shot

would be a shame though, such a nice psu

PCI-slots : only essential stuff, no nics/sound/modems/...
BIOS : disable all non-essential onboard stuff, use most safe settings for cpu/ram

... try again

psu change didn't help

pci slots are empty
loaded fail safe defaults
disabled all onboard ****

problem still here
very strange indeed

nf7-s worked fine
but i fried that one

edit: i'm even using stock cooling

Try to use one memory at the time, that is mostly the problem,
Is it PC3200?

www.bytesatwork.be/forum

tried www.memtest86.com already.
Most likely memory failiure. Have you tried another BRAND of memory, or just had the ones you have replaced?

no errors after 3 passes

Re: can't install/boot winxp
 

This is pretty normal, unless you install it on an identical system. The error you should get is "unmountable boot volume". WinXP looks for a drive on a specific controller to boot from. If you installed an XP on a via platform, it not going to find the via IDE controller on the nForce board.
Only way around this is to change the IDE controller to the default windows driver BEFORE you remove the harddrive.

Still, problems with installing XP and stability issues under 98 point to a core problem, CPU-memory-mobo. A faulty CD(-drive) could cause the first, but once win98 in installed it should work fine.


If possible you might try another approach, instead of replacing the parts of the system, take a working system, and replace it's parts one at a time. (motherboard, see above, unless you have another NF2 board, set the IDE controller to default)
The only problem is that this requires another -working- system.

And small addition to the memtest thingy. Press c, 2, and the key for "full test" or something similar. It takes ages but if it passes 2 of those, it's OK
BTW never seen memory fail on the extended tests that didn't fail on the standard tests, but it might happen. Also I've seen memory without errors in memtest, but still causing problems. Most often this happens on intel platforms.

back from holiday
i'm going to save some money and buy diffirent ram
but in the meanwhile i messed around a bit with the system, and i'm getting a little further with the win install
however when it's almost done i get this error:

Did you format before install?

jup
completely empty disk

Look for the 0x7A error in the windows techdocs.

It means kernell corruption, most likely due to hardware failiure.

With the sub codes you can get more specific info.

I have this problem also dunno what cause it , i think my OC , buts it is very random.

I get rid of it when i did clean install + format.

pfff, tried some apacer, still the same error
my friend took the system home with him, he's gonna try with some of his own parts
let's hope he finds something


on the bright side, i got my scooter up and running again, faster than ever :D

mobo/ram/cpu works fine at my friend's home :wtf:


so eh, we decided to switch mobo's
he's got a Epox 8rda+, still pretty decent no :D

i only hope that this one will work with all those bad vibes around our house :p

bad power rails?

hardware used:
3 psu's 350/350/550 watt
3 dvd-roms 1x/16x/16x
2cd-roms 12x/52x
3hd's 10Gb/40Gb/60Gb
geforce2 mx 200
hercules kyro1
geforce 5900xt
whole bunch of diffirent cables

i tried every possible combination, and always got the same error
friend took it home, booted and installed winXP, no problems whatsoever :wtf:

edit: every piece of hw works perfectly on other systems

IT'S ALIVE
MOEHAHAHAAAA
:D

You live in a haunted house, scary to think about it.

i know

but it's working with that epox now :D
doing 10*200 @ 1.6V -> 31° (idle)
more testing will follow

WOW you are working @ 200mhz what a great oc, even at that voltage and those temps

what kind of cpu is that? a p1 75mhz??

edited :p

35° stressed btw
in a pretty hot room :s