Q: Hi
I just bought some parts and built a new computer, using an MSI KT3 Ultra, an Athlon XP 1900 +, 40GB 7200rpm HD and a Maxtor. I have a GeForce2 Pro as well.
When I tried the OS, Windows XP, it was 100% through formatting the partition to install, but then froze when it started to actually install XP. It has done just a few times, and even another time instead of freezing to reset. If it were not so far, it often says “Error Loading Operating System” and a little bit that I had the message “NTLDR is missing”.
What do you think is the problem? I tried switching from a 300W power supply (thats there now) to a 400W, but it did not help. I try switching the RAM, 2 sticks of PC2100 DDR PC2700 DDR works respectively. I know that the CPU is fine, the temperatures are nice and stable, never exceeding 35 C. In principle, I think its either the hard disk or motherboard, but Im not sure. Mem not really sure how to whether this control. I have my old hard drive, but does not want to reformat, as I had planned to make a slave and a lot of old files.
Any help would be greatly appreciated . the parts of newegg, so at least I know Im a good customer service when I get them back.
~
p.s me. Is that 300W ps good enough for this rig? I was told by one # of PPL that it is. (Theres also a CD-RW and DVD drive in the system and, together with the fans, but thats all i put in so far as to minimize the conflicts).
Best Answer: i think it is a hard were problem try installing xp it has more drivers
Re:Ok, some weirdness to go over:
I formatted the HD, created a new partitition, and copied the whole i386 file from the WinXP cd to my hard drive. Then I ran winnt from there, and it started setup….well it got to the screen where it says "Please wait while setup copies files to your hard disk" but it just sat there and did nothing. This is similar to what had happened before, so I threw my hands up in the air in disgust and went to eat dinner. Well, I came back 40 minutes later, bent over to restart the mofo, and all of a sudden it actually STARTS copying the files! It took it 40 minutes to start doing that! What the heck is it going so slow for, and will I be ok as long as it just completes XP installation, no matter how long it takes?
One thing to note is that I directly went into the BIOS and made sure S.M.A.R.T. was enabled…but as I started XP setup, it gave me a notice saying SmartDisk is not enabled and I should turn it on before running setup as it will make the process run better….I re-checked to see if it was really enabled (by the way, SMART and SmartDisk are the same I'm assuming…) and re-started the setup but it gave me the message again, so I just went through with it.
Could the fact that this SmartDisk or SMART is not being registered as being enabled be the reason why its going so slow, and will this cause any problems in the overall installation?
(its about 25% done copying files now)
~me
Re:well to add to this insanity the Maxtor diagnostic test came out fine, at least the first few I ran…
hmmmmmmmm
~me
Re:This is probably a long-shot here, but a friend had trouble installing XP on his system. It would give the same error about loading the operating system. Strangely, he finally got it to load by disabling the CPU's L2 cache in the BIOS. After the OS was installed, he re-enabled it and it's been fine since. Strange, but worth a try I guess. BTW, he said it was VERY slow with the L2 disabled. He was also using a 1900+ CPU.
Re:Well, to clear up a couple of things, I have a cd-rw and a dvd drive installed and have tried using both to install the OS. I also cleared the CMOS to make sure there weren't any conflicts. And lall the drives are connected firmly and the IDE cables seem fine.
I did try copying the i836 file to the hard drive and installing from there, as suggested by a friend, and it stopped copying from the cd very quickly because of "insufficient disk space."
This seems odd….does this point to a HDD problem any more clearly?
~me
Re:I have had a lot of trouble installing an OS from a Samsung 24/10/48 CD/RW. Didn't matter which OS I tried (Win98, WinXP Home) Changed my RAM, changed the CPU, changed HDD etc. Finally I popped in an old Compaq 8X CD-ROM and the OS installed fine. I then swapped in the Samsung CD/RW and all works just dandy. Just a thought.
Re:300watts is fine as long as it is a quality psu from the amd approved list. have you tried swapping the ide cable from the hdd to the controller with a known good one? same for cd-rom, which cd drive are you trying to install off of? are you sure it is good? make sure that all cables are seated properly in the drives, I have a cd-rom that the cable keeps trying to sneak out of on me.
as for testing the hard drive, use the drive diagnostic software that came with it (if it was oem you can download it for free from maxtors site.)
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