[James Sullivan]

I bought a barbones ASUS P4S8X system with P4 2.4G, WD drive and CD.

Sytem completes power self test and I downloaded and installed the ASUS driver P4S8X002.AWD BIOS after I had problems installing windows with the original driver. I also tried 03A and 004 but went back to 002 when they gave me a problem.

The problems persist for my windows 98 Cd and one my son had.

I get a start up message "While initializing NDIS:
Windows Protect Error you need to restart your computer."
I can step though and avoid two lines with the NDIS driver but later windows restarts and I fail again. Eventually the system goes black, blue or freezes.

NDIS has something to do with allowing non-standard driver formats so skipping it may always lead to failure. But, why do I get the protect error - where do this config.sys type lines come from the Autoexec and config.sys is empty?

When I relead windows I choose to overwrite so I start with a clean slate and avoid any registry problems but I cant load WIN98.

Any ideas?
ASUS is partying like its 3799 or something for Chinese New Years and won't get back until next week. PARTY ON!

:no: :winking:

 

[johnwill]

I'd be checking for bad memory or bad BIOS settings. Is the processor properly cooled? Are all connections tight?

 

[James Sullivan]

You seem to be pointing in four different directions. The memory was checked when I bought it and reports ok. There are no setting except for time and date. The processor is cooled and will speed up as it overheats or shuts down. It is ok.

If something is loose, why does all the hardware work and I get the same software problem, although sometime at different palces) consistantly.

Thanks, I will check around - re-insert memory.

Does anyone have anything more concrete to offer.

 

[johnwill]

Well, I was pointing out the more likely candidates. What you are describing is VERY UNLIKELY to be a software issue. Since it's happening in multiple places, and from two installation CD's, I'm forced to conclude that the likelyhood of a software issue is pretty small.

However, if you'd rather look for software solutions, I'll butt out and let someone else take it.

 

[James Sullivan]

Johnwill:
Thanks for your help. This type of circumstance completely baffles me. If it was hardware why do I go through most of installation before there is a problem. If it is software how can two WIN98 CD's than work on other sytems fail on a bare system with no other hardware problems.

I don't mean to be ungrateful. I will try the connection and check motherboard jumpers. Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to get WIN XP and see if that works. That is the system I want anyway because I want to do capture VCR to CD and eventually DVD.

Any experience with this particular problem?

 

[Volt-Schwibe]

windows protect

i myself have run into this problem once or twice, and the time i can remember was when i tried to run my 233 at 266. it would install, it would even start, but it wouldnt finish loading windows. i even turned it back down and reinstalled, and then turned it back up, and it still froze upon boot. i would think maybe you are running at the wrong speed, but thats just a guess. oh and the other time was when i was trying to run my ram at a higher latency then it was made for. i really doubt it is software related, and i dont think xp will make a tidbit of difference and i can tell you that my autoexec and stuff is empty also, but many things seem to be starting because of it. and the reason that it gets most of the way through installing is that it has to actually load windows to finish installing, and bad speed settings or overheating will keep windows from starting. i was plagued by this for a while, and it was not the brand new cd i was using, and replacing it with a new one didnt change a thing. i hope this helps, even though you seem to be convinced it is a software problem, you will most likely find that your machine has an error, and will only run dos until you fix it.

 

[johnwill]

You have to start narrowing down the possibilities. If you have any spare parts, like other disk drives or memory, I'd try them. Also, try going into the BIOS and setting it to defaults, then check and see if the processor or bus speed is set higher than what it should be. Also, make sure the heatsink is properly attached, and there is thermal bond between it and the processor. I'm guessing it's something about the MB/processor/RAM, but it's hard to say without narrowing it down. The P/S could also be an issue, though IMO it's a bit less likely in this scenario.

I've seen this thing a few years ago, and mine turned out to be a bad MB...

 

[James Sullivan]

All right I am starting to catch on. I am not used to hardware acting so flakey. I figured it either works or doesn't.

I get the error right away when the system is cold.

I took out 2 of three memory modules - same result.

I swapped one back in as the only one - same result.

I checked the memory and it is not one of the brands recommended by Sanyo.

I will swap the memory.

Thanks for the tips.

Jim S

 

[Volt-Schwibe]

wont finish loading

it sounds to me like your processor is overclocked or underpowered, not a problem with memory. and of course not all memory is recommended by a manufacturer, that is usually because the manufacturer tests a number of products on their machine, and that number isnt necissarily typical of what consumers would purchase. the 10 dollar 128-meg memory in my machine isnt recommended by the manufacturer of my board, and it works just wonderful. still, you might be onto something there with the memory, and if all else fails you might try checking the power supply for a low voltage, as this was happening to a machine i just threw away. it could definately also be the motherboard itself, and those types of problems dont always relate to reality. just whatever you do, dont give up

 

[James Sullivan]

I searched the MS knowledge base and found the problem *( have a 2.4 M processor):

SYMPTOMS
When you are installing Windows 95 or Windows 98 on a computer that has a CPU that runs at 2.2 gigahertz (GHz) or faster, you may receive the following error message:

While initializing device NDIS: Windows protection error
CAUSE
The timing calibration code in the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) driver causes a divide by zero if the CPU runs at 2.2 GHz or faster. This problem does not occur with CPUs that run at 2.1 GHz or slower.

Thanks for all your help

Microsoft want me to pay money for thier support.

They sold me 3.1 that had bugs that reduced its funtionality to a small fraction of the full functionality advertized and sold.

Win 95 ditto

Win 98 ditto

Now I have to get Windows XP. I'll try not to buy it. The evil empire (certainly not a monopoly - I just prefer to deal with the same theiving swines) has cheated me enough.



:upset: