Hardware related windows boot problem that im rather miffed about

[Cassius105]

Hi

This is a follow up post to a post a made a while ago but with more info

Ages ago my windows crashed when installing the supreme commander demo and since they whenever i boot windows i get a "cannot mount volume" BSOD. I have tried reinstalling windows multiple times and it goes through the install process fine but then dies as decribed when it actualy boots. The system boots fine from things such as Knoppix or Bart PE.

So far i have tried the following to fix it:

Iv reformated the HD
tried a different HD
Purged the HDs MBR
ran various disk repair/diagnosis programs
tried an IDE HD rather than SATA
Tried a different motherboard
tried a different graphics card
tried a different power supply
tried different RAM

And tbh im kinda running out of ideas, the only real major system part that is left to check is the CPU which is quite a pain and since the problem doesnt really sound like a CPU problem to me i thought id get someone elses opinion before i go ahead and get a new 1

the system is:

Athlon 64 3500+ winchester
1GB PC3200 Corsair RAM
XFX Geforce 6800GT 256MB
ASUS A8N32 Motherboard
2x 120GB Seagate SATA HD
Antec Neopower 480W PSU

Thanks

 

[Puffnstuff]

Ok when you installed windows did you have more than 1 hd connected to the system? Did you have a mix of sata and pata drives hooked up? If so unhook everything hd wise except for the hd you want to install windows to. If you attempt to install with a mix of drives hooked up the ide's will always get system files placed on them regardless of what drive you are trying to install to. I always unhook all of my ide's when installing to a sata however I've had good luck when all drives are sata. The other thing that comes to my mind is your ps. It could be wigging out on you.

 

[Cassius105]

yes when i was installing windows there was only ever 1 HD plugged in just to make sure there where not any conflicts.

 

[mechBgon]

Try unplugging all the other hard drives and running DBAN on the boot drive to completely nuke it. Now try Windows Setup again and see if it does any better.

 

[Cassius105]

I have tried that

and when i tried the IDE drive rather than SATA it was actualy a brand new drive never been used before.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Cassius105
I have tried that

and when i tried the IDE drive rather than SATA it was actualy a brand new drive never been used before.

Interesting. What exact version of Windows is it? e.g. OEM Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2, or whatever. Also, what is the brand & model of the other motherboard you tried, and what is the brand & model of the other HDD you tried?

 

[Cassius105]

winXP OEM with SP2
Other mobo is MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
The IDE HD is a 5400RPM Western Digital

 

[mechBgon]

Try jumpering the WD hard drive for the special Single Master mode, as opposed to master-with-slave-present or the other settings.

 

[Cassius105]

tried that, same thing

 

[mechBgon]

Perhaps your Windows CD is damaged or corrupted. It is a genuine one, right? Also, have you tried Memtest86?

 

[btcomm1]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Perhaps your Windows CD is damaged or corrupted. It is a genuine one, right? Also, have you tried Memtest86?

I was about to say the same thing, at this point I would either blame the windows install cd or the cd rom drive you are using to try and install.

 

[Cassius105]

iv tried 2 windows discs

1 legit 1 not

i have tried memtest and i have just incase taken the memory im currently using for this pc and put it in the other one just to make sure with the same result

will attempt taking the CD drive out of this pc to be used in the other

 

[Puffnstuff]

A new dvd-rom is like $17 and a burner is $30 so just get a new drive. You might also try a cd/dvd cleaner disk to make sure that dust hasn't gotten onto the lense.

 

[Cassius105]

Iv just tried 2 other CD drives and tried putting in 2 other sticks of ram and removing the old ones of course with the same issue so its not either of those :/

 

[mechBgon]

The Windows OEM disc... is it a normal non-brand-specific OEM Windows disc? If it's branded for a Dell, HP, Gateway, etc, then you need to throw it away. Stay away from the pirated Windows disc, you might get more than you bargain for :evil:

If problems persist, try downloading a free 120-day trial of WinXP Pro x64 Edition from Microsoft at this page, burn the .ISO to a CD, and try installing from that as a fact-finding step.

 

[Cassius105]

That did it

Not sure how but it seems all 3 of my windows discs are dead(anyone wanna figure out the odds on that? )

borrowed a mates and it worked fine so while annoying at least problem is solved

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[beethoven1290]

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