Checksum error - Vista won't boot anymore.

C

ChrisWest

n00b
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
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6
I got the following rig a week ago :

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO 2.40GHz Quad Core CPU Overclocked too a minimum of 3.30GHz and beyond. (8/9 x 400MHz - 1600MHz FSB)
- Tuniq Tower 120 Pro Blue LED Intel approved cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Heatsink compound professionally hand installed by our technicians
- Abit IP35-Pro Intel P35 (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Award winning Crucial 2GB Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 CAS5 (2x1GB) Dual Channel Kit (Overclocked at 1000MHz+)
- 500GB Western Digital 16MB Cache SATA-2 Hard Drive
- NVIDIA 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) DirectX 10 Graphics Card
- Pioneer 115DBK 20x DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black)
- Antec NINE HUNDRED Gamers ATX Case
- OCZ 600W Next Generation Power Supply

It was working fine for a week. I then left the pc on overnight downloading some stuff and came back the next morning to find the pc still on, but the monitor on standby mode. Normally when you move the mouse or keyboard etc the monitor comes back on.

This time it did not and would not respond in anyway so I rebooted the pc. The first few times it stuck on the bios screen so I then removed the power cable from the psu The pc then tried to boot into windows vista but it came up with a blue screen saying my work was being saved and the pc restarting to avoid damaging my pc.

On subsequent boots it then said checksum error : checksum doesnt match value on file.

I tried repairing with the vista cd but no joy.

Any ideas ? or should I just send it back to the distributor as it is only a week old and I havent made any alterations to the setup.

I think also I may have lost network connectivity through my router.. although I couldnt check on my computer, the other pc linked to the router could not connect to the internet.

Any ideas how this could have happened? Could windows have tried to auto update but as I was downloading and accessing the hard disk it may have gone wrong? I know I didnt lose power to the pc in the night.
 
Any ideas ? or should I just send it back to the distributor as it is only a week old and I havent made any alterations to the setup.
Click to expand...

I'd give it an honest effort to figure out what is going on, then turn it back over to the place you bought it from. Be quick about it though, as usually the "money back" warranty expires rather quickly.

The reason I build my own PC is because I can deal with RMAing hardware and troubleshooting my own issues. The reason I don't build for my friends and family is so I don't have to support the damn things. If you bought it from some company, then take advantage of the support options you get from them, and make sure you don't do something that is going to void your warranty with them, because that support is what you pay for when you buy a pre-built computer!
 
Does that checksum error come from Windows or is it a BIOS message? Maybe a CMOS reset would help.
 
Well it is most unusual I have to admit.

I got in from work booted up PC and it stopped on the BIOS loading screen. Previously the checksum error was coming up when the bios had loaded and it was booting vista.

I unplugged pc power in a sulk and went and phoned the people I bought it off who issued me with an RMA and collection time.

I then came back upstairs unplugged my router power left it to reset.. plugged pc in and tried to access BIOS settings. It actually worked this time after about 4 or 5 tries. I managed to set the boot sequence back to hard disk > cd rom drive... and low and behold windows loaded up fine. ( i had changed the boot sequence the first time it wasnt working to try and boot from vista cd and repair).

The only thing I did was unplug my router power supply... and reset the pc about 4 or 5 times before it would let me into the BIOS setup screen.

I dont know whether to send it back now or not :S
 
If you're already experiencing problems might not be a bad idea to stress test your machine, im wary of pre built pc's and usually build myself as well because I have complete control of how it was built. It wouldnt be a bad idea to send it back now then further down the road and lose even more data when something really bad happens.
 
I would still take note of the BIOS settings and clear it. Sounds like some setting in it may be corrupt. Better safe than sorry.
 
Hmm ye I might try that before I send it back unless it voids my warranty.. I will check today.

I will try making a note of all the settings, resetting to defaults then reconfiguring bios to the factory O/C settings.

I then have 3 days to leave it running to see if it is unstable before they come and RMA it.

Maybe they didnt setup the bios right when they built it :p
 
P.S. Anyone suggest what the best way to stress test the pc ? I will do it before and after I ammend the BIOS.

memtest86 ???? any other progs?
 
memtest86 isn't in my opinion a great way to test a machine. I bumped up my overclock once and ran it for about 4 hours, no errors. I tried to boot into Windows and it blue screened before it finished loading. Load some demanding games on it and play them. Steam based games (TF2, HL2) seems to be good at bringing out any stability problems. I am sure others will have more suggestions. Good luck.
 
Replace the CMOS battery. If it's dead your BIOS settings will be lost every time you turn the PC off and you will get a checksum error on the next boot. It's a cheap fix if thats whats wrong.
 
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