Maybe you saw my old thread (here), maybe you didn't, but I followed the advice of the wise people on this board, bought a new Windows CD (the install I was using was OEM preinstalled, which I had been trying to move over to a new rig I built myself), and proceeded to try and reinstall Windows. But, in the way these things often go, it didn't work out so well. At random points in the beginning of the process (between where the computer first says "Press any key to boot from CD", and where Windows Setup is copying files to my hard drive in preparation for the real install, but always in the stage where I can't use my mouse), I get BSODs. Sometimes they're IRQ errors, sometimes they're "MEMORY_MANAGEMENT" errors, and I am never able to complete the install. I consider myself (correctly or not) a seasoned pro at Windows installs, but I have never had as many problems as I'm having now. I've tried different CD drives, but not different hard drives yet, since my other ones are spoken for, all with valuable data on them. So, I am asking if anyone has any ideas whatsoever on how to fix this problem.
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Snowball effect, cont'd (XP install horrors within)
- Thread starter adg1034
- Start date
You should have continued this in the old thread so people would be able to keep it logical and threaded, as a proper conversation is. Now they'll have to open another tab/window to read the old one or jump forward then back to keep up...
And I say this with all due respect:
Hit the Enter/Return key more often, for your sake. Putting all that into one gigantic paragraph makes it difficult to keep up with - for most people.
In the situation you're describing, as a former bench tech/customer service rep/salesman/Jack of All the damned trades with a lifetime of experience working with computers (32 years and counting), you need to minimize the hardware to figure out what the hell is going wrong.
You need to create a basic machine to get XP installed on and running, meaning just the following components:
CPU (clocked to stock speed)
RAM (clocked to stock speed timings; if you have multiple sticks, just use one single stick of your choice but just one)
Power Supply (only attach the necessary hardware mentioned here, nothing else)
Mobo (all settings to factory defaults)
Video (if your mobo has onboard video, use that instead of any add on cards)
Hard drive (to install the OS on)
CD/DVD drive (to install the OS)
That's it. Any other hardware, yank it out, disconnect it, disable it, etc. That's a barebones machine to get XP installed.
If you can't get XP installed with just the absolute bare minimum hardware requirements, then you more than likely have a hardware issue, which becomes another nightmare in and of itself to resolve.
The MEMORY_MANAGEMENT comment stands out and makes me suspect bad RAM, so if possible, head over to memtest86 and get the bootable CD version of memtest86 and let it run for 12 hours with all your RAM installed - and I'm being completely serious, not one minute less than 12 hours of memtest86 testing. If it passes, then I'd say the RAM has a clean bill of health, but only with 12 hours of testing, period.
After that, come back and report on what happened and the results of the RAM testing and the installation attempts on the bare machine...
And I say this with all due respect:
Hit the Enter/Return key more often, for your sake. Putting all that into one gigantic paragraph makes it difficult to keep up with - for most people.
In the situation you're describing, as a former bench tech/customer service rep/salesman/Jack of All the damned trades with a lifetime of experience working with computers (32 years and counting), you need to minimize the hardware to figure out what the hell is going wrong.
You need to create a basic machine to get XP installed on and running, meaning just the following components:
CPU (clocked to stock speed)
RAM (clocked to stock speed timings; if you have multiple sticks, just use one single stick of your choice but just one)
Power Supply (only attach the necessary hardware mentioned here, nothing else)
Mobo (all settings to factory defaults)
Video (if your mobo has onboard video, use that instead of any add on cards)
Hard drive (to install the OS on)
CD/DVD drive (to install the OS)
That's it. Any other hardware, yank it out, disconnect it, disable it, etc. That's a barebones machine to get XP installed.
If you can't get XP installed with just the absolute bare minimum hardware requirements, then you more than likely have a hardware issue, which becomes another nightmare in and of itself to resolve.
The MEMORY_MANAGEMENT comment stands out and makes me suspect bad RAM, so if possible, head over to memtest86 and get the bootable CD version of memtest86 and let it run for 12 hours with all your RAM installed - and I'm being completely serious, not one minute less than 12 hours of memtest86 testing. If it passes, then I'd say the RAM has a clean bill of health, but only with 12 hours of testing, period.
After that, come back and report on what happened and the results of the RAM testing and the installation attempts on the bare machine...
First of all, thanks for taking the time to respond. Second, the next thing on my list was to try an absolute barebones install, which I will try immediately and report back on. Memtest has been downloaded, and I will run that a little later this evening, so that the 12 hour mark will take it to when I wake up tomorrow. What's frustrating me the most was that this machine was working. The first time I powered it up with the PCI-E power adapter installed, I booted right into Windows, logged in, set up my new hardware, and proceeded to watch part of "V For Vendetta" while my new hard drive was formatting. This system has (I'm hoping I never have to say "had") the capability to work correctly. I just hope I can figure out what's causing it not to.
The following post is reflective of my new cautiously optimistic mood. bbz_Ghost, I did what you suggested, but I also did two other things, things that were unique to my situation and may have been causing some/all of the troubles.
First, as I was unplugging power cables, I noticed that the front USB connector cable was put on wrong, where I had only plugged it into one row of pins instead of two. I unplugged that entirely, and proceeded to close up my system. After one more failed install, I remembered reading that my RAM needed 2.1V in order to operate correctly, a fact I'd forgotten in the midst of my problems. So, I went into the BIOS, set the DDR2 voltage to +0.3V over normal (1.8V to 2.1V), and restarted into Windows Setup.
I now have typed in my product key, a step I had been unable to get to before, and am quite optimistic that my rig will finally come together. I'll still run Memtest, as that's an integral part of any setup, but I think this will work out just fine.
Wish me luck.
First, as I was unplugging power cables, I noticed that the front USB connector cable was put on wrong, where I had only plugged it into one row of pins instead of two. I unplugged that entirely, and proceeded to close up my system. After one more failed install, I remembered reading that my RAM needed 2.1V in order to operate correctly, a fact I'd forgotten in the midst of my problems. So, I went into the BIOS, set the DDR2 voltage to +0.3V over normal (1.8V to 2.1V), and restarted into Windows Setup.
I now have typed in my product key, a step I had been unable to get to before, and am quite optimistic that my rig will finally come together. I'll still run Memtest, as that's an integral part of any setup, but I think this will work out just fine.
Wish me luck.
YARDofSTUF
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2001
- Messages
- 1,469
Its always RAM, probably 95% of BSODs during installs for me have been RAM. Good that it seems to only be a voltage issue.
Tigerbiten
[H]ard|DCer of the Month - February 2007/January 2
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2002
- Messages
- 5,028
I've learnt the [H]ard the first thing you run before you install Windoze is Memtest.
If I can get three loops error free then I install the OS.
Or I will overclock it untill Memtest fails, reset to stock speed, then install the OS, then clock it back up and see how Prime runs.
Luck ............
If I can get three loops error free then I install the OS.
Or I will overclock it untill Memtest fails, reset to stock speed, then install the OS, then clock it back up and see how Prime runs.
Luck ............
Well, I'm not posting this from my new rig, seeing as though the main family computer is the only one with access to our 56k connection (broadband hasn't reached our area yet), but it is up and working. Now comes the long and tedious task of downloading all my old programs, new drivers, and other myriad things at my local library tomorrow morning. Also, not that I'll ever really know for sure, but since it looks like I might not have had to purchase XP Home (since my old install was running before), I could have an extra $100 in my wallet today. Oh, well. It'll probably be a good idea to have a physical XP disc with product key for something in the future.
Just out of curiosity, is it possible that my motherboard USB connection was the problem? I only ask because Windows worked fine before I added the extra voltage.
Just out of curiosity, is it possible that my motherboard USB connection was the problem? I only ask because Windows worked fine before I added the extra voltage.
Honestly, I can't say what it might have been. The RAM issue stands out, especially if for some reason the voltage decided to drop for whatever reason. Computers are finicky beasts when you think about it, and sometimes, for whatever reason, a reboot tends to just make the machine "forget" some stuff, like CMOS settings, BIOS settings, etc. Suddenly you start having issues you never had before and can't figure out why...
I've learned over the years that the simplest, shortest answer I can give people is:
"It's Windows. Get over it..."
Some things just can't be explained, and I gave up trying long ago.
I've learned over the years that the simplest, shortest answer I can give people is:
"It's Windows. Get over it..."
Some things just can't be explained, and I gave up trying long ago.