Help a poor soul :D

[nightelf]

Here's my system's specs:


MSI KT3 ULTRA-ARU (MS-6380E-020) VIA KT333 DDR ATA133 SocketA MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL
Chaintech G4Ti4200-VTD (MS-8871 8871-020) GeForce 4 Titanium 4200 DDR/SDRAM 128MB
AMD ATHLON XP 1900+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL
Mushkin 256MB PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE - OEM
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY (Has 8MB cache)
Teac 40X12X48 CDRW
Encore ENL832-TX +
Antec 400W ATX SmartPower
Antec SX1040 Performance Series Case

Just built it, and I am trying to install Windoze.

What happens is:

I boot from the windows 98 Cd-rom to the windows setup program. Some times I get random reboots, sometimes I dont. If I make it past this part, I get segmentation faults (ie SUWIN General Protection Fault in Setupx.dll). And cant go any further. This is really driving me nuts, this is the first system I have built and was very nervous at first, now I'm worried that I might have defective or damaged parts.

Anyway, the first thing that came to mind with this kind of thing happening was heat problems. I can get my CPU and Case temps, and they look perfectly fine (44C for processor, little more for the case I think). I cannot think of anything else that could be causing such erratic and unpredictable behavior (I get different seg faults all the time).

And then I thought maybe it would work if I had a fresh start. I erased the entire hd, formatted it, and then tried to install 98 again. I got this error msg:

While initializing device VCDFSD:
Windows Protection Error.

Ah crap! methinks to myself as I enter another unknown error message.

So I go to M$'s website, and I find this about why Protection Errors Occur:

-If a real-mode driver and a protected-mode driver are in conflict.
(What the heck dows this mean?)

-If the registry is damaged.
(Dont see how it could be damaged from a clean install...)

-If either the Win.com file or the Command.com file are infected with a virus, or if either of the files are damaged.
(Dont see how it could be damaged from a clean install...)

-If a protected-mode driver is loaded from the System.ini file and the driver is already initialized.
(Dont see how this could happen)

-If there is a physical input/output (I/O) address conflict or a random access memory (RAM) address conflict.
(Ditto, seems fine)

-If there are incorrect complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings for a built-in peripheral device (such as cache settings, CPU timing, hard disks, and so on).
(Hmmmmm.... need more info)

-If the Plug and Play feature of the computer's basic input/output system (BIOS) is not working correctly.
(Seems unlikely because when I had a bad copy of windows installed previously everything of that nature worked fine...)

-If the computer contains a malfunctioning cache or malfunctioning memory.
(Possible, but unlikely because of same reason above)

-If the computer's motherboard is not working properly.
(Is this the reason? Hope not.

-If you installed Microsoft Office 97 and you are using the Novell Client 32 software.
(nope.)


Please help- any and all help will be greatly and immensly appreciated. I'm desperate. I've spent over $1000 all together on this, and this wasn't what I was expecting. Any help would be great.

 

[bozo1]

First thing that comes to mind is RAM. Try reseating it if you haven't already, try the stick in a different slot, try a different stick if possible.

 

[nightelf]

Great- thanks for your help. I'll try it and keep the thread updated ....

 

[Buz2b]

Interesting but maybe not as tragic as you think. Just doing a quick search on Google for "device VCDFSD" turns up many articles, some of which are just useless text logs. However, one particular article is a MS Knowledge Base one that describes something vaguely similar. The "interesting" part is that it provides a description of what device an error message is referring to. Your particular device is referred to as, "# 0041 VCDFSD CD-ROM File System Driver". According to the article there may be something wrong with a CDROM (maybe CDRW) driver that you are using or that Windows is using to activate one of those drives. Hey, I don't make this stuff up. I just reports 'em like I seez 'em. You can find the article on this link.
I'm also curious; do you normally boot to the CD when loading Win98? Why not try the "old fashioned" way and boot to a boot disk, select "Start computer with CDROM support" and then do the Setup from there. Try it with only the CDROM installed. What have you got to lose? If I were you also, I would only start the initial load of Windows with absolute minimal components installed in the system: Hard drive, video card, RAM, Floppy, CDROM and CPU w/HSF. Then, if you get a sucessful load, you can shut down and add other components one at a time.
BTW, if you try what I suggest and it does not work, use the CDRW (instead of the CDROM) and try again. Could be a faulty drive or installation of said drive.

 

[bozo1]

Also make sure your memory settings in your BIOS are set properly. That board is capable of running the memory at PC2700 speeds which your PC2100 RAM may not be capable of. Make sure you aren't trying to run it that high. (at least for now)