Computer will not boot to HD or CD

[quolo]

I think this is a software issue, but I'm not positive.

Firstly, here's the configuration:
Athlon XP 1900+
ECS Motherboard with the SIS 735 Chipset.
Master HD - NTFS w/Windows 2000 Pro
Slave HD - Fat32
CDRW
Brand New ThermalTake Heatsink and 80mm fan w/thermal grease
GeForce4 Ti 4200
512 Mb DDR RAM

I recently backed my data up onto the slave drive and reformatted the Master HD. So luckily my data is all secured. Things were working well enough after the rebuild till I installed a file-sharing program and maybe downloaded some dodgy files. I've always had a bit of an issue with starting this computer up - sometimes in boot up the computer just restarts the process, but it's a very inconsistent issue and could have been software related.

Anyways, I installed a few things - a file sharing program, and antivirus program, a digital camera driver, and reboot the machine. I get through the "Starting Windows 2000" screen, then get a blue background, and then the computer restarts the boot up from square one.

So I figured I'd rebuild the hard drive again, no sweat. I booted up into Safe Mode and copied over the few files I needed to keep. Even getting into Safe Mode was tricky. I've tried maybe a half dozen times and got succesfully into safe mode maybe half the time, once with Networking enabled. Safe Mode ran sluggishly and froze once or twice.

I have, at my disposal, a Windows 98 CD, a Windows 2000 Pro CD, and a Windows XP Pro CD, which I figured I'd upgrade to. I could succesfully boot up to neither the Win 2000 or XP CD's, which is a surprise. I get into the setup screen and it loads all the drivers it needs, then gets to where it says "Starting Windows 2000" and freezes there. I've let it sit for 20 minutes and nothing.

I can boot up from a Win 98 CD or a Win 98 boot disk, but since the master hard drive is NTFS, it doesn't even see that disk.

I've reseated the RAM a few times, bought a slick new heatsink and fan and grease to make sure it wasn't a thermal issue, and checked the IDE and power plugs on the hard drives. I restored BIOS settings and none made a difference.

I booted into safe mode and ran the WIN XP setup from the CD, hoping I could maybe overrwrite the problem files with a total install. It succeeded in copying over the install files and then rebooted the system. Upon reboot, I have the option to boot into Win 2000 or Win XP setup and neither work.

I'm totally stumped. Any advice would be a lifesaver. If I can't boot up from a Win 2000 or Win XP CD, I can't even reformat the drive because I can't see it. And does this indeed sound like the solution?

 

[alexhu]

If you can boot 98 can't you used fdisk to delete the NTFS partition and then format the disk ?

Alex

 

[quolo]

You hear that whirring sound? That's my brain trying to figure out why I didn't try that.

I'll give it a go tonight when I get home.

 

[wolluf]

I'd say you've got a hardware problem of some kind - whether bad or just incompatible with 2k or XP, don't know.

Try removing/disconnecting everything non-essential (all expansion cards except graphics, second hard drive, and CD writer/zip drive). Also, if you have more than one memory stick, try one at a time. Now try booting from XP or 2k CD.
If ok, try installim o/s, then add back thinks one at a time.
If still no good, try slowing down the processor speed (most mobo/bios will let you do this), so its running as a 1800+ for example. Also try a different graphics card, if you have one.

As mentioned by alexhu, you could boot from win98 floppy & use fdisk to reove non-dos partition & create new fat32 one - but as you question - I don't think this will help (though you could also try this approach - but even if you get further - eg, install completes, I suspect the 'real' problem will resurface).

 

[quolo]

Finally I got a free moment at home and booted from a Win98 CD and started fdisk. fdisk doesn't even see the partition. I even ran ranish partition magic from a floppy and couldn't see the parition. It's still as if the HD isn't even there.

I'm going to disconnect all essential hardware like you suggested, Wolluf, and we'll see what I can find out.

 

[quolo]

I disconnected my 2nd hard drive (leaving just the troubled NTFS one), inserted my Win XP Pro CD, and rebooted to the CD.

Win XP installed all those little drivers and utilities, hit the "Windows is Starting Up" message, and then I got a blue screen of death. This is what it reads:

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, ,follow these steps:

Check to be sure you have adequate disk space. If a driver is identified in the Stop message, disable the driver or check with the manufacturer for driver updates. Try changing video adapters.

Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, ,and then selct Safe Mode

Technical Information:

***Stop: 0x00000007E (0xc00000005, 0x807c7c6F, 0xF89D5784, 0xF89D4E84)


This leaves me a bit confused as to what to do next. I've seen this blue screen before,and actually, a couple other slightly different error messages from blue screens of death. Something is really fouled up.

All I can think to do if Flash the BIOS? Any other suggestions?

 

[beerhunter2]

When you are using the Win2K or WinXP installation CD's do you get to the point during installation that allows you to Delete or Remove the existing partition?

 

[quolo]

Nope, I sure don't. The only time I've gotten to fdisk or any other partition utility is from booting from a Win 98 CD or Win 98 floppy.

 

[tlcscousin]

Read this article on that error

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;330182

 

[quolo]

Thanks, that's pretty informative.

Sounds like I should flash the BIOS, test the RAM, and consider the fact that my hard drive might be fried.

As far as driver issues or incompatibilities, I'd be surprised if that were the issue.

I unearthed a 2 Gig hard drive; I'm going to throw XP on it to see if that'll fix the problem. Which will probably require me to call Microsoft if I want to install it on a new HD, I'm sure, but oh well.

Thanks for the help. If I ever get some clarity, I'll share the verdict.