Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - Failure to boot

redasphalt · 03-24-2007, 01:11 AM

I just put together a brand new computer and right when it gets to the point that it would try to read a boot device it hangs completely and the code "00A1" (without quotes) appears in the lower-right.

It's an ASRock ALiveNF6G-DVI Socket AM2 NVIDIA NF6100-430 board with an Athlon 64 X2 4000+, 2x1GB DDR2 800 dual channel pair (installed correctly).

Before it gets to the point where it would start to read a boot device it seems to be working fine -- the memory test completes OK, all the disks are properly detected, and everything else is perfectly normal.

If I hit F2 to enter the BIOS menu it lets me change BIOS settings just like it should, but after exiting it has the same problem, hanging with "00A1" in the corner.

If I turn on RAID it gives five seconds to hit F10 and change RAID settings which works just like it should, but after that or if I don't hit F10 it does the 00A1 crash as well.

So far I've tried changing around lots of settings, resetting the BIOS to factory settings, resetting it to "optimal" settings (which I assume means some sort of auto-detect), swapping out a different DVD drive in case it wasn't able to read it to boot from, swapping out the video card, using onboard video, underclocking the memory, and nothing has changed what happens.

There doesn't seem to be any cooling problem, I left it on the BIOS temperature monitor screen for about half an hour and it never went above 40C, and all the fans are running. Everything is connected properly and the power supply is a brand-new 500W one.

The only reference I could find anywhere on google was to a post on this forum three months ago, but the suggestion there (to run memtest for a while, which I'm not sure worked for the other poster either) is impossible for me because it never gets to the point that it would read a boot disk.

I notice that both my and the other poster's boards are nforce4 ones, so if anyone can refer me to where I might find a comprehensive set of nforce4 documentation I would really appreciate it. I'm sure there's a technical manual somewhere that says exactly what code 00A1 means in this case and would make troubleshooting way easier.

Thanks!

03-24-2007, 01:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
redasphalt Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 4 OS: WinXP	Failure to boot - Displays "00A1" after POST[resolved] I just put together a brand new computer and right when it gets to the point that it would try to read a boot device it hangs completely and the code "00A1" (without quotes) appears in the lower-right. It's an ASRock ALiveNF6G-DVI Socket AM2 NVIDIA NF6100-430 board with an Athlon 64 X2 4000+, 2x1GB DDR2 800 dual channel pair (installed correctly). Before it gets to the point where it would start to read a boot device it seems to be working fine -- the memory test completes OK, all the disks are properly detected, and everything else is perfectly normal. If I hit F2 to enter the BIOS menu it lets me change BIOS settings just like it should, but after exiting it has the same problem, hanging with "00A1" in the corner. If I turn on RAID it gives five seconds to hit F10 and change RAID settings which works just like it should, but after that or if I don't hit F10 it does the 00A1 crash as well. So far I've tried changing around lots of settings, resetting the BIOS to factory settings, resetting it to "optimal" settings (which I assume means some sort of auto-detect), swapping out a different DVD drive in case it wasn't able to read it to boot from, swapping out the video card, using onboard video, underclocking the memory, and nothing has changed what happens. There doesn't seem to be any cooling problem, I left it on the BIOS temperature monitor screen for about half an hour and it never went above 40C, and all the fans are running. Everything is connected properly and the power supply is a brand-new 500W one. The only reference I could find anywhere on google was to a post on this forum three months ago, but the suggestion there (to run memtest for a while, which I'm not sure worked for the other poster either) is impossible for me because it never gets to the point that it would read a boot disk. I notice that both my and the other poster's boards are nforce4 ones, so if anyone can refer me to where I might find a comprehensive set of nforce4 documentation I would really appreciate it. I'm sure there's a technical manual somewhere that says exactly what code 00A1 means in this case and would make troubleshooting way easier. Thanks!