PC Hangs on 'Verifying DMI pool data .."

[arst06d]

Hi - hope someone can help

My friend has an old pentium 3 running win98 which hangs during boot-up with the following:

Updating ESCD ...
Verifying DMI pool data ..

and will go no further.

I initially thought the master boot record was missing or corrupt so I tried to boot from CD and startup disk, but it will not play ball - gets to teh above msg and that's it.

Have taken it apart & remade all connections - no change.

I removed the HDD and tried it in a spare box and it booted up fine.

I have connected dfferent floppy & cd drives - no change.

I have removed the battery to clear CMOS - no change.

Any pointers will be much appreciated.

 

[biglebowski]

Are you using SCSI as i have seen this on machines that are SCSI bus but do not have the terminator connected

The two basic principles of Windows system administration:
For minor problems, reboot
For major problems, reinstall

 

[arst06d]

Hi - thanks for the response.
Not using SCSI, I'm afraid.

The reinstall option is a bit of a no-no at the moment as I cannot get it to boot from floppy or CD ....

 

[biglebowski]

that's not advice it's a comedy signature

The two basic principles of Windows system administration:
For minor problems, reboot
For major problems, reinstall

 

[Crowley16]

lol...

what about fiddling around with the bios a bit?
I seem to remember there's a dmi configuring bit, but my mobo is quite a lot more recent...

 

[arst06d]

sorry - I'm married. I don't respond to humour any more.

 

[arst06d]

Hi Crowley16
I've checked aettings in BIOS and changed what I thought I should, to no avail.
I then reloaded the BIOS defaults - again, no joy.

 

[Crowley16]

hmm...

well, it's beginning to sound more like a hardware fault...

when did this problem start?
any new stuff installed/removed/updated...?

can you try testing some of your appliances on a working box?

 

[Crowley16]

found this on google...

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000474.htm

do everything on here

 

[arst06d]

Thanks Crowley16
I had seen that one myself in my trawling for ideas.
Only newish item is a soundblaster card, which I have pulled but still have the problem.

 

[Crowley16]

if nothing there works, then come back for more advice...

 

[temporello]

Try this thread : thread751-754866.

(You can always perform an advanced search of tek-tips to find stuff...)

 

[TekTippy4U]

Disable the onboard AV software in BIOS...and pop in a newer CD/CDRW drive.....update the BIOS, if all else fails, and/or toss the mobo
BTW....Disable any Onboard LAN in BIOS, as DMI = Desktop Management Interface and implies a LANDesk ClientMananger for access.....
Check the Boot Order in BIOS for "Network Boot" .....Disable or move to rear of the bus....put CDROM, C:, A:, Removable media as Boot Order

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[TekTippy4U]

the ESCD (Extended System Config Data) generally pertains to the BIOS assigning Interrupts...so see if some screwy hardware assignment, look at the Interrupt assignments...

remove any added on PCI cards and use only orig. factory stuff first, to get the OS installed...disconnect any/all the peripherals

Try to "Reset" or "Clear" the ESCD (should be a choice in BIOS)

though after rereading your initial post, it looks like a BIOS/mobo specific issue

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs