Computer crashes installing XP SP2

H

hkhawk

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
216
Everytime I reformat my computer and install SP 2 on Windows XP my computer stalls and crashes at the exact same moment and then will not boot any more. I only started having this problem about 4 months ago. Before that I could always install SP2 with no problem when reformatting my computer. What is wrong? This is really frustrating, I need SP2 because I have a large HD which is going to waste.

UPDATE:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconFrost View Post
Are you trying SP2 right after a clean install? If not, you may have a conflict with a driver, application, or malware on the system. I'd also second the idea of Autostreamer and SP3. Might as well save yourself some time.

Yes after a clean install. I will try autostreamer. However, I think my computer is dying, after my latest XP install the computer just resets as soon as the desktop finishes loading and does this about 20 times in a row until it will finally boot up and then be usable.
Edit/Delete Message
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UPDATE 2:
Also, my computer is no longer rebooting at start up but I dled MSI LiveUpdate and every time I try to run it the computer will immediately restart.
Click to expand...

UPDATE 3:
Ran memtest for 36+ hours straight. It ran 44 tests with 0 errors. Now what should I do?

I am going out of town until Saturday for Xmas so it will be a few days before i can reply. Again, thanks for all the help.
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UPDATE 4:
OK, I'm back. I ran DSKCHK and it said that my HD was fine. I am using IDE HDs and DVD drives. My computer is still acting up though. It's really strange, it will boot up completely and then reset five or six times in a row and then work perfectly for the next day. Sometimes it will boot up fine and work fine the first time. Sometimes it will be working just right and then reset all of a sudden for no reason (I am not even using it). And every time I try to open MSI Live Update or install SP2 it will crash. And yet, there seems to be no issue with my memory or HD. I am going to try just living with it for now unless anyone else has any suggestions and when I reinstall XP I will use a different Windows CD and DVD drive and see if that makes a difference. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
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UPDATE 5:
OK, so I turned on my computer yesterday and it kept telling me that the Windows C://windows/... (can't remember the rest) files were missing or corrupt. So I thought then it had to be the hard drive that had been causing all these problems despite the fact that every time I have scanned it it has said that it's fine. So, I switched the HD out with another HD that I had. The computer worked fine and installed SP2 but now it WILL NOT INSTALL SP3 and the same crashes I was experiencing before are still happening. So I assume the HD is not the problem as I have switched HDs and it makes no difference. What is the problem? Now I am really confused.
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Get nlite or autostreamer and slipstream not SP2, but SP3 and perform a clean install, its the easiest way :D
 
Are you trying SP2 right after a clean install? If not, you may have a conflict with a driver, application, or malware on the system. I'd also second the idea of Autostreamer and SP3. Might as well save yourself some time.
 
DeaconFrost said:
Are you trying SP2 right after a clean install? If not, you may have a conflict with a driver, application, or malware on the system. I'd also second the idea of Autostreamer and SP3. Might as well save yourself some time.
Click to expand...

Yes after a clean install. I will try autostreamer. However, I think my computer is dying, after my latest XP install the computer just resets as soon as the desktop finishes loading and does this about 20 times in a row until it will finally boot up and then be usable.
 
doctah said:
I'd start with an overnight Memtest86 run.
Click to expand...

Cool, what would that show me?

Also, I assume that I should upgrade my BIOS. I have an old MSI mobo and it seems that I need a floppy to do this but I have no floppy drive in my PC. Is there any other to update the BIOS?

EDIT: DLed MemTest86 but again I have no floppy drive. Is there another program I can use to do the same thing without the need for a floppy drive? Otherwise when I am home over Xmas I can scrounge through my old computer stuff and see if I can find a floppy drive.
 
Also, my computer is no longer rebooting at start up but I dled MSI LiveUpdate and every time I try to run it the computer will immediately restart.
 
If you're having stability problems, I wouldn't jump right into updating the BIOS. Try some other things first (like the memory test, or whatever else gets suggested in this thread). If you do a bios update and it reboots in the middle of it, it could be difficult to recovery.

I'm not saying don't update the bios, just make sure you have a reason to and that your machine is stable enough to do it.
 
Definitely sounds like a memory issue to me.

Download Memtest, burn to a CD. Boot from the CD and let memtest do her thing. If it comes up with errors, your memory is bad, and it's time to replace it.

If memory passes a 24hr scan, report back and we can try other troubleshooting methods.
 
d3c1us said:
Definitely sounds like a memory issue to me.

Download Memtest, burn to a CD. Boot from the CD and let memtest do her thing. If it comes up with errors, your memory is bad, and it's time to replace it.

If memory passes a 24hr scan, report back and we can try other troubleshooting methods.
Click to expand...

Cool, I will do that. So Memtest works from a CD as well? That is great news
 
d3c1us said:
Definitely sounds like a memory issue to me.

Download Memtest, burn to a CD. Boot from the CD and let memtest do her thing. If it comes up with errors, your memory is bad, and it's time to replace it.

If memory passes a 24hr scan, report back and we can try other troubleshooting methods.
Click to expand...

Ran memtest for 36+ hours straight. It ran 44 tests with 0 errors. Now what should I do?

I am going out of town until Saturday for Xmas so it will be a few days before i can reply. Again, thanks for all the help.
 
Try a different newer XP install CD. One you make or borrow. If it still does it, your HD is on it's way out.

"Exact same spot" indicates that it's hitting a bad sector on the HD.
 
hkhawk said:
Ran memtest for 36+ hours straight. It ran 44 tests with 0 errors. Now what should I do?

I am going out of town until Saturday for Xmas so it will be a few days before i can reply. Again, thanks for all the help.
Click to expand...

Okay here is two more options.

-Try another optical drive. My god the issues that a faulty optical drive can cause.

-Run a diskcheck on the drive for bad sectors. If they can be repaired, try and repair, and then run the scan again. If not... might want to look into another drive.
 
question, is your dvd drive a SATA drive? If so, change it from SATA to IDE in the bios, try that.
 
You could also be getting a crash if your HDD is a SATA drive in AHCI mode (instead of IDE emulation mode) and you're not doing the F6 to install drivers from floppy (or you don't have your SATA drivers slipstreamed into your XP install).
 
OK, I'm back. I ran DSKCHK and it said that my HD was fine. I am using IDE HDs and DVD drives. My computer is still acting up though. It's really strange, it will boot up completely and then reset five or six times in a row and then work perfectly for the next day. Sometimes it will boot up fine and work fine the first time. Sometimes it will be working just right and then reset all of a sudden for no reason (I am not even using it). And every time I try to open MSI Live Update or install SP2 it will crash. And yet, there seems to be no issue with my memory or HD. I am going to try just living with it for now unless anyone else has any suggestions and when I reinstall XP I will use a different Windows CD and DVD drive and see if that makes a difference. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
 
OK, so I turned on my computer yesterday and it kept telling me that the Windows C://windows/... (can't remember the rest) files were missing or corrupt. So I thought then it had to be the hard drive that had been causing all these problems despite the fact that every time I have scanned it it has said that it's fine. So, I switched the HD out with another HD that I had. The computer worked fine and installed SP2 but now it WILL NOT INSTALL SP3 and the same crashes I was experiencing before are still happening. So I assume the HD is not the problem as I have switched HDs and it makes no difference. What is the problem? Now I am really confused.
 
Reset your CMOS, it may be corrupt.
Make sure you note any settings that you have changed.
Dont apply any overclock until it is stable.
 
Do you have another video card to try? I only ask because I just went through a nightmare of a stability problem (no where near as repeatable as yours) that ended up being the video card. I also had no problem in memtest. Did you actually get a chance to try different media and optical drive?
 
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