Will not boot.. Suggestions?

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 06:07 PM

I have a 1.4 Athlon computer with 256 megs of Micron Ram, Microstar motherboard, GeForce graphics card (I cant remember exactly which one), and Windows 2k. I am on a different computer right now because my real computer died while I was at school, and I didn't have time to fix it.

Long Part

One day the computer restarted mysteriously on its own, and I thought nothing of it, but this eventually led to no starting whatsoever. We determined it was the power supply, but after installing a new power supply, the computer lasted for three days and died again. It would power up, but not go into boot mode on BIOS. The screen stayed blank. We determined the Microstar motherboard was the culprit after reading forum posts (my uncle is a computer tech who helped me out). We got a new motherboard from the company, but it flaked. We got another, and it flaked, too. Then, the the main developer guru checked the board himself to make sure it was OK, and he sent it on over, and I CAN power up my computer. The first try worked fine, and I decided to clean it up a bit, so I began to uninstall some things and update it. Then it restarted mysteriously. Uh oh.

Well, it restarts in BIOS fine with no errors. When it gets to the windows screen it crashes when detecting Network connections or when doing something before that. I am not sure how to solve the problem because the computer crashes to a blue screen of death 2k style, and the computer restarts about .2 seconds after the blue screen appears (I can't read the error). If I were to leave the computer on, it would fire up and restart at this error indefinitely (I assume). Any suggestions?

I can go into BIOS and edit stuff there. I cannot get into Safe Mode because the computer dies earlier in booting Safe Mode than it does in booting Normal Mode.

This is my first post, so be kind and welcome me with a good response. :D

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 06:34 PM

I have the computer set up next to me, so I can work on both at the same time. I have noticed that the keyboard works (Caps, Scroll and Num Locks) until the W2kPro screen comes up to load (the little bar that moves from 0 to 100%). They no longer toggle on and off (keyboard lights) at this point.

**JAMMAN** · 06-30-2002, 06:49 PM

To rule out about a half dozen things at once, see if it will boot in safe mode.

Welcome to the forum, sorry you are having problems.

06-30-2002, 06:49 PM

Have you gave any thought to an OS reinstall?

You know Wipe, Fdisk and format. Then start anew....:D

06-30-2002, 06:50 PM

Hey a double Whammy...LOL

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 07:09 PM

I am going to try to boot into Safe Mode. I went to the listed Boot Disk site on here and made the 4 Window 2kPro boot disks, which I was trying until I saw these posts.

Cheers to you who responded so quickly. I want to get moving on this so I can play NWN and work on Web Sites for my employer at the same time. :D :angel: :bandit:

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 07:17 PM

I tried booting into Safe Mode and the computer froze. I cannot use the restart button, so I have to hold down the power button for 5 seconds and completely reboot.

I tried booting into Safe Mode with Networking, and the computer restarts immediately after the Starting Windows bar completes.

I tried booting into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and the computer restarts immediately after the Starting Windows bar completes as well.

This is bizarre. In normal boot I at least get a Windows Screen.

By the way, I have a GE Force 2 MX (64 MB). I did not include this in the description.

**JAMMAN** · 06-30-2002, 07:33 PM

Quote:

tried booting into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and the computer restarts immediately after the Starting Windows bar completes as well.

The starting windows bar does not or is not supposed to come up when going to command prompt.

This is truly bizzare. Do you have virus protection and have you ran a scan in the days before it gave completely out?

The ge-force should be just fine with det4 drivers, however for awesome openGL performance the MX version was a little weak.

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 07:36 PM

Yes I have Virus Protection, and it was always running because I was on a Campus Sever - Norton was part of our computing package. I always updated. I am letting it constantly reboot, and I have even tried booting from my Windows 2000 Pro CD, and the Directory Services Restore Mode. Enable Boot Logging has been tried as well, but I don't know how to read the boot log.

Any more ideas? Is there a way I can reinstall W2kPro without losing everything? Some stuff on here is irreplaceable. :| :no:

Hey I've noticed that the blue screen says something about dump and physical memory. I am trying to decipher things in the .2 second blink of the blue screen. I think it says contact technical support, too. How utterly ironic.

06-30-2002, 07:41 PM

Don't you do backups?

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 07:42 PM

:no:

06-30-2002, 07:49 PM

Do you know how to do a repair operation off of the W2K CD?

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 07:51 PM

I don't think so. Can you run me through it?

**JAMMAN** · 06-30-2002, 07:55 PM

OK. Do you have access to another hard drive? Even a little 2 gig or something? If so yank the current one, put the alternative in and try to load 2k on it. If it works, load the drivers for your lan and get that working. Then shut down and put the ORIGINAL hard drive back in as a slave and reboot. All your stuff on the original HD can be sucked thru the lan and stored somewhere till you can format and re do the original drive.

If it crashes on the alternate drive; time to start digging in to hardware again.

**JAMMAN** · 06-30-2002, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Do you know how to do a repair operation off of the W2K CD?

I do. Never had it actually cure a problem yet. And I love 2k.

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 07:58 PM

I am going to search for one, but if I can't find one laying around, can I take that HD and put it as a slave somehow in my Dell (the one I am typing on) and back stuff up here?

I am still searching, but I can't find the 2Gig I used to have lying around here. :no:

**JAMMAN** · 06-30-2002, 08:10 PM

Yes if...............

if the original HD was formatted NTFS and the dell has 2k or XP,

OR if the original HD was FAT the dell could have 98 and still be ok.

The repair option if you boot to the win2000 CD will come up automatically. I haven't seen it for a while but I think it goes something like "Windows has detected an operating system on your hard disk"
And will give you the option to repair the installation, over write it, or install clean.

Install clean is interesting because it sets up a dual boot with one version of 2k that works and still gives you the option to boot to the one that don't work. Did it accidentially twice.

This is not the exact words they use, but you will be able to tell what it is when it comes up.

CPriceJones · 06-30-2002, 09:08 PM

Alright, it's late now, and I just had a late dinner, so I will work on the rest of this tomorrow between web design and going to German class. I am going to slave this HD in the Dell I am on now, and see if I can access the drive to back it up. If that is finished and actually works, I will format and reinstall 2kPro.

Both computers run Win2kPro, so I don't see a conflict with NTFS drives or such. Thanks for the help so far. My uncle worked on this comp for the first two months of the summer, and it still is not fixed, so I really need to get my computer running again before going to college in end of August. I used to have such a beautifully fast system.. sigh.. X(

07-02-2002, 05:58 AM

Hello! CPriceJones

Any luck yet....:D

CPriceJones · 07-02-2002, 08:00 AM

Well, I am currently backing up everything I need and sorting through the HD, which is slaved in the computer I am writing on.

After this is done, I guess I should use fdisk, but can I use fdisk from this computer and just pop the 0000 HD back in my "broken" computer?

I am optimistic now. :D

06-30-2002, 06:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	Will not boot.. Suggestions? I have a 1.4 Athlon computer with 256 megs of Micron Ram, Microstar motherboard, GeForce graphics card (I cant remember exactly which one), and Windows 2k. I am on a different computer right now because my real computer died while I was at school, and I didn't have time to fix it. Long Part One day the computer restarted mysteriously on its own, and I thought nothing of it, but this eventually led to no starting whatsoever. We determined it was the power supply, but after installing a new power supply, the computer lasted for three days and died again. It would power up, but not go into boot mode on BIOS. The screen stayed blank. We determined the Microstar motherboard was the culprit after reading forum posts (my uncle is a computer tech who helped me out). We got a new motherboard from the company, but it flaked. We got another, and it flaked, too. Then, the the main developer guru checked the board himself to make sure it was OK, and he sent it on over, and I CAN power up my computer. The first try worked fine, and I decided to clean it up a bit, so I began to uninstall some things and update it. Then it restarted mysteriously. Uh oh. Well, it restarts in BIOS fine with no errors. When it gets to the windows screen it crashes when detecting Network connections or when doing something before that. I am not sure how to solve the problem because the computer crashes to a blue screen of death 2k style, and the computer restarts about .2 seconds after the blue screen appears (I can't read the error). If I were to leave the computer on, it would fire up and restart at this error indefinitely (I assume). Any suggestions? I can go into BIOS and edit stuff there. I cannot get into Safe Mode because the computer dies earlier in booting Safe Mode than it does in booting Normal Mode. This is my first post, so be kind and welcome me with a good response. :D

06-30-2002, 06:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	Next to me I have the computer set up next to me, so I can work on both at the same time. I have noticed that the keyboard works (Caps, Scroll and Num Locks) until the W2kPro screen comes up to load (the little bar that moves from 0 to 100%). They no longer toggle on and off (keyboard lights) at this point.

06-30-2002, 07:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	Thanks I am going to try to boot into Safe Mode. I went to the listed Boot Disk site on here and made the 4 Window 2kPro boot disks, which I was trying until I saw these posts. Cheers to you who responded so quickly. I want to get moving on this so I can play NWN and work on Web Sites for my employer at the same time. :D :angel: :bandit:

06-30-2002, 07:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	No Dice I tried booting into Safe Mode and the computer froze. I cannot use the restart button, so I have to hold down the power button for 5 seconds and completely reboot. I tried booting into Safe Mode with Networking, and the computer restarts immediately after the Starting Windows bar completes. I tried booting into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and the computer restarts immediately after the Starting Windows bar completes as well. This is bizarre. In normal boot I at least get a Windows Screen. By the way, I have a GE Force 2 MX (64 MB). I did not include this in the description.

06-30-2002, 07:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	Virus Protection Yes I have Virus Protection, and it was always running because I was on a Campus Sever - Norton was part of our computing package. I always updated. I am letting it constantly reboot, and I have even tried booting from my Windows 2000 Pro CD, and the Directory Services Restore Mode. Enable Boot Logging has been tried as well, but I don't know how to read the boot log. Any more ideas? Is there a way I can reinstall W2kPro without losing everything? Some stuff on here is irreplaceable. :\| :no: Hey I've noticed that the blue screen says something about dump and physical memory. I am trying to decipher things in the .2 second blink of the blue screen. I think it says contact technical support, too. How utterly ironic. Last edited by CPriceJones; 06-30-2002 at 07:40 PM.

06-30-2002, 06:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
JAMMAN TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle Ohio Posts: 841 OS: all	To rule out about a half dozen things at once, see if it will boot in safe mode. Welcome to the forum, sorry you are having problems.

06-30-2002, 06:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
SPEEDO Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Have you gave any thought to an OS reinstall? You know Wipe, Fdisk and format. Then start anew....:D

06-30-2002, 06:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
SPEEDO Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hey a double Whammy...LOL

06-30-2002, 07:41 PM	#10 (permalink)
SPEEDO Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Don't you do backups?

06-30-2002, 07:42 PM	#11 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	:no:

06-30-2002, 07:49 PM	#12 (permalink)
SPEEDO Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Do you know how to do a repair operation off of the W2K CD?

06-30-2002, 07:51 PM	#13 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	I don't think so. Can you run me through it?

06-30-2002, 07:55 PM	#14 (permalink)
JAMMAN TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle Ohio Posts: 841 OS: all	OK. Do you have access to another hard drive? Even a little 2 gig or something? If so yank the current one, put the alternative in and try to load 2k on it. If it works, load the drivers for your lan and get that working. Then shut down and put the ORIGINAL hard drive back in as a slave and reboot. All your stuff on the original HD can be sucked thru the lan and stored somewhere till you can format and re do the original drive. If it crashes on the alternate drive; time to start digging in to hardware again.

06-30-2002, 07:58 PM	#16 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	Searching I am going to search for one, but if I can't find one laying around, can I take that HD and put it as a slave somehow in my Dell (the one I am typing on) and back stuff up here? I am still searching, but I can't find the 2Gig I used to have lying around here. :no: Last edited by CPriceJones; 06-30-2002 at 08:04 PM.

06-30-2002, 08:10 PM	#17 (permalink)
JAMMAN TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle Ohio Posts: 841 OS: all	Yes if............... if the original HD was formatted NTFS and the dell has 2k or XP, OR if the original HD was FAT the dell could have 98 and still be ok. The repair option if you boot to the win2000 CD will come up automatically. I haven't seen it for a while but I think it goes something like "Windows has detected an operating system on your hard disk" And will give you the option to repair the installation, over write it, or install clean. Install clean is interesting because it sets up a dual boot with one version of 2k that works and still gives you the option to boot to the one that don't work. Did it accidentially twice. This is not the exact words they use, but you will be able to tell what it is when it comes up.

06-30-2002, 09:08 PM	#18 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	Cool.. Getting Late Alright, it's late now, and I just had a late dinner, so I will work on the rest of this tomorrow between web design and going to German class. I am going to slave this HD in the Dell I am on now, and see if I can access the drive to back it up. If that is finished and actually works, I will format and reinstall 2kPro. Both computers run Win2kPro, so I don't see a conflict with NTFS drives or such. Thanks for the help so far. My uncle worked on this comp for the first two months of the summer, and it still is not fixed, so I really need to get my computer running again before going to college in end of August. I used to have such a beautifully fast system.. sigh.. X(

07-02-2002, 05:58 AM	#19 (permalink)
SPEEDO Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hello! CPriceJones Any luck yet....:D

07-02-2002, 08:00 AM	#20 (permalink)
CPriceJones Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 27 OS: win2000/win200pro	A bit Well, I am currently backing up everything I need and sorting through the HD, which is slaved in the computer I am writing on. After this is done, I guess I should use fdisk, but can I use fdisk from this computer and just pop the 0000 HD back in my "broken" computer? I am optimistic now. :D