grizwaldo

Hello,
I've been assembling a PC to give as a gift.
I'm using: an Asus-type P3VT m14 rev.D motherboard
with a 733MHz cpu
Windows 98SE
ATI Rage128 AGP Graphics Card
Sony NEC Optiarc IDE DVD ReWriter
440+ Mb RAM
Hitachi DeskStar 80GB Hard Drive (SATA)
1 SATA/IDE adaptor
The sound & network cards have been disconnected.

I formatted the (new) harddrive and installed Windows 98SE.
The first time I ran the O.S. in Normal Mode, I typed my password,
an 'installing new hardware' box appeared and the pc rebooted.
I've been stuck at this stage for the last week.
I can use Safe Mode.
I'm guessing the solution is to install DirectX but I can't use the
cd:drive in Safe Mode. I've tried the win/d:m command in Safe
Mode/Command Prompt Only - 'HIMEN.SYS' is missing.
Can you help?
thanks



I've been stuck at this stage for the last week.

wrench97

Have you installed the video card drivers?

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grizwaldo

Hello,
no, I saved the video-card drivers to floppy-disk. I realise now that I could use safe mode and install the drivers from the floppy-disk.
But I've re-installed Windows98se and now I can't use safe mode. I press F8 but that command is ignored.
The pc always starts in normal mode, detects new hardware, reboots,
does a long scan because of the improper shut-down, starts in normal mode,
detects new...

wrench97

You don't have to save them to a floppy you can install them from a folder on the C drive.
Do you get a Dialog box when it detects new hardware or is it rebooting before the dialog opens?

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grizwaldo

I see 'PCI-VGA compatible Display Adaptor' inside a 'New Hardware Found' box.
Seconds later the pc reboots - I can't input anything.
And the whole process begins again.

wrench97

Starting to sound like a power supply issue.
Will this pc boot from the CD drive if so you want to try a version of live Linux just to see if it will boot up and stay running.(Something like Puppy Linux, Or DS Linux)

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grizwaldo

Hello,
I copied PuppyLinux to cd and ran the program.
I saw a list and green and red/pink words.
'Ready' was at the bottom of the screen - seconds later the pc
rebooted.

wrench97

I would try swapping the power supply with a known good one do you have or can you borrow one.

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grizwaldo

I tried three psu's and the rebooting happens with all.
I also used flashfxp to transfer the drivers and directx.
I entered safe mode and attempted to install the graphics card
drivers. The installation failed and a box appeared with 'severe'
inside.
The graphics-card and motherboard are from a complete pc which was
bought in 2000. I also intend to use the sound card and dvd-drive.

wrench97

Check the capacitors on the motherboard (I think they are blue on that board) for any signs of bulging or leaking if the tops look swollen or you see discoloration on the caps or the board under the capacitors it's a goner.

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grizwaldo

I'm unsure which chips are the capacitors. I believed they were the light-blue chips. Several of the dark-blue chips were oozing or stained with an orange goo.
Thanks for all of your assistance.

wrench97

Well I'd say the capacitors have expired on the motherboard

You may be able to find something to fit your CPU pretty cheap on Ebay.

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