Computer Lab Problem

[jdwright]

Hi Gurus,

I have a lab of 33 computers that all run WinXPsp2 and Virusscan 7.0. They are all working great with the exception of one. It is a Dell Optiplex GX520 and is less than a month old. I don't think it was a problem when it was originally ghosted to the lab model.

The problem with the above computer is that it continually drops McShield.exe on boot. To make things simple, I ghosted a drive from another working computer that is EXACTLY the same machine. It continued to drop McShield.exe after the ghost. I then used fdisk /mbr to rewrite the boot record (in hopes of squashing any boot viruses). No luck. Also tried removing alternating sticks of RAM to see if there was a conflict (had heard rumors of this). No Luck.

I have since used ranish partition manager to set the mbr for a FreeBSD drive and saved it. Then back to NTFS. Still no luck.

Any help that you guys can offer would be sweet...and if this is in the wrong forum, I apologize. I couldn't decide where it belonged.

 

[timswim78]

Here are some ideas. Good luck getting it fixed:

Maybe a low-level format would get rid of any pesky bug that might still remain after a format.

You may want to run an online scan, such as Panda or Housecall.

Make sure that DEP is enabled.

Test the hardware, try replacing the hdd if you can.

 

[jdwright]

working on panda scan...

what is DEP...not sure what you mean.

I'll try moving a hd from another computer to this one to eliminate more possiblities.

What tool would be good for a low level format?

 

[spherrod]

Give DBAN a try for formatting the drive, it may also be worth running Dell's diagnostics on the machine to see if that flags any issues

 

[scottws]

DEP = Data Execution Prevention

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=875352&product=windowsxpsp2

 

[jdwright]

Okay, here's where it stands.

I tried another hard drive for an identical computer WITHOUT the problem. The exact problem occurred on the problem box with the NEW hd. Sooo...I believe the problem to be hardware.

Next, I moved a stick of ram from the same computer that I got the hd from. Removed all other ram and inserted single known good stick. Still same problem.

Question is: what hardware issue could cause virus software not to load? Aside from RAM? Thanks for the help!

 

[nweaver]

Didn't the Optiplex fall under the bad cap problems? Could it be motherboard?

tbh, if these are new, and have a service contract, I would make a Dell tech deal with it.

 

[spyordie007]

I'd also run the dell diagnostics; they tend to do a fairly decent job of picking up hardware issues.

 

[jdwright]

Thanks for the replies!

I'll definitely hand this over to the District techies or Dell if I can't get a quick fix, but that usually means at least a week of computer goneness. So, I try to solve most of the problems on my own.

I think the caps issue was on a slightly older model, but I could be wrong on that. =)

 

[jdwright]

I'm sure the Dell diagnostics are quite good, but they are no longer on the system. We almost always swipe to a clean install of xp with new machines.

I'd try 'em if they were there though!! =)

 

[spyordie007]

I'd try 'em if they were there though!! =)

I'm pretty sure you can download them off of Dell's website.

 

[Leafblighter]

For a question that may also seem obvious and stupid at the same time, but I assume that you have tried remaking the ghost image just to make sure there's not any strange problem with that, right? I only say this because your HD switch didn't work to fix the problem.

Or maybe even try using the same ghost image on a working machine to test it.

 

[spherrod]

Originally posted by: spyordie007

I'd try 'em if they were there though!! =)

I'm pretty sure you can download them off of Dell's website.

Yep - they're available for download. Worth keeping a copy of them to hand

 

[Mojonba]

Sounds like a bad ram issue. I suggest trying out your memory with this extremely handy utility. MemTest86. It usually picks up errors during the first minutes its running.

 

[spherrod]

Originally posted by: Mojonba1
Sounds like a bad ram issue. I suggest trying out your memory with this extremely handy utility. MemTest86. It usually picks up errors during the first minutes its running.

He's already tried a known good stick...

 

[thegorx]

I am working now on a system one year out of a one year warranty that has bad caps
Dell won't even acknowlegde the problem
I think the problem with Dell systems might be wide spread
in fact I see a lot of Dell replacement boards and systems on ebay
I have a feeling dell dumped them on people knowing they have bad caps

 

[spherrod]

Originally posted by: thegorx
I am working now on a system one year out of a one year warranty that has bad caps
Dell won't even acknowlegde the problem
I think the problem with Dell systems might be wide spread
in fact I see a lot of Dell replacement boards and systems on ebay
I have a feeling dell dumped them on people knowing they have bad caps

I don't think problems with Dell are that widespread, having supported various laptops and desktops for major companies (5000+ users) the hardware falure rate was minimal