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My Brand New Computer Won't Work. P41.6A chip busted? Mobo? RAM? Which can be the culprit??

W

WayneTeK

Golden Member
Ok.. here is the dilemma..
I just built a new system from the ground up:

-P41.6A GHZ
-ASUS P4B533 Mobo
-2 STicks of 256mb Pc2100 DDR (512mb total)
-ATI AIW 8500DV 64mb DDR
-Pioneer 106s DVD 16x
-120GIG WD SE 8mb Cache Edt.
-etc...

Well, here i am so happy to have my first brand new system, built by my own two hands... only to be disappointed and frustarted because I don't know what is going on with my computer...

First off, my computer it will turn on and etc... I put in my Win XP PRO OS in my DVD drive and try to format my computer to the WIN specifications... As it starts in the Windows Setup , i run into several different interesting errors:

#1, as it is in the SETUP mode, my computer, as it is loading drivers and etc... my computer freezes... or at least the Windows Setup program freezes.

#2, sometimes it says:
Line 2008 of the INF file /i386/txtsetup.sif is Invalid. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to restart.

and sometimes the Line # and the file name changes from time to time... And sometimes it says it cannot load a certain file, such as NTFS.exe and files like that... What the heck??

#3, I thought it was my WIndows XP os that was buggy.. so i tried Win 98, i run into the same problems... Only to have my computer crash in SETUP.

I ruled out the following:
-Hard drive: It cannot be my 120Gig WD HD i got from dell.com when it was super cheap ($142 in april), because i tested it on my other system and it formats fine and runs fine. And also, i tried booting up the computer without the HD, and in SETUP, i get the SAME PROBLEM!

-Ram: I thought it was my ram too, but it isn't. I tried each stick separately and they run fine and i get the same problem, my computer still crashing.

What is my problem? My friend says it is my CPU; he says it is buggy... I'm not sure.. It runs fine.... It has been overclocked though.. so could this be the reason that it isn't working? I have it set at its default Vcore, etc... runs at exactly 1.6ghz...

Please HELP ME OUT!!!!!!

EDIT:
Got my computer to install windows... It only does this though if i DISABLE Level 1 and Level 2 Cache in the bios. If i enable them, Windows setup crashes... What is wrong w/ my comp? Processer is broken???

Edit #2:
Ok... This isnt' good enough. I don't want to disable my cache just so that my computer can format... so far, it has been over 16 hours trying to format the computer to winxp... ridiculous i say... is my procssor @#$!# up??
 
Is your CD a real Microsoft CD? Any dirt, smudges, or scratches? Got any other optical drives you can try? Did you plug in the auxiliary power plugs to the motherboard? Also, is Boot Sector Virus Protection disabled in the BIOS? (not sure if that is important or not)

You might want to try resetting the BIOS to default settings if this is a used board you got. You might also try running it with just one stick of RAM, then the other one. Good luck!
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Is your CD a real Microsoft CD? Any dirt, smudges, or scratches? Got any other optical drives you can try? Did you plug in the auxiliary power plugs to the motherboard? Also, is Boot Sector Virus Protection disabled in the BIOS? (not sure if that is important or not)

You might want to try resetting the BIOS to default settings if this is a used board you got. You might also try running it with just one stick of RAM, then the other one. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Already tried one stick of ram... swapped them both... still nothing. cd is in excellent condition... nothing should be wrong with it.. I tried my Burner to see if my DVD drive wasn't working or not... tried everything...

I spent $1100 on this system.. Help me out!! thnks guys for trying.
 
Ok... I think i solved the problem... So far so good... I disabled my Level 1 and Level 2 cache because Windows, during setup, gave me an ERROR screen that said to remove all your hardware and disable my cache and disable "shadow" (dont' know what that is.) is the BIOS...

To my delight, it's working!!! Oh my goodness it's working! Don't understand though why Disabling the "CACHE" would let me system run... Perhaps it's because my system was too fast??? heheheh...

 
Originally posted by: WayneTeK
Ok... I think i solved the problem... So far so good... I disabled my Level 1 and Level 2 cache because Windows, during setup, gave me an ERROR screen that said to remove all your hardware and disable my cache and disable "shadow" (dont' know what that is.) is the BIOS...

To my delight, it's working!!! Oh my goodness it's working! Don't understand though why Disabling the "CACHE" would let me system run... Perhaps it's because my system was too fast??? heheheh...
Click to expand...

If you have to disable the cache to get it to work then return the cpu. It is defective and will run slower with all the caches disabled.
 
Originally posted by: NesuD
Originally posted by: WayneTeK
Ok... I think i solved the problem... So far so good... I disabled my Level 1 and Level 2 cache because Windows, during setup, gave me an ERROR screen that said to remove all your hardware and disable my cache and disable "shadow" (dont' know what that is.) is the BIOS...

To my delight, it's working!!! Oh my goodness it's working! Don't understand though why Disabling the "CACHE" would let me system run... Perhaps it's because my system was too fast??? heheheh...
Click to expand...

If you have to disable the cache to get it to work then return the cpu. It is defective and will run slower with all the caches disabled.
Click to expand...

Are you serious???? no no no... it only says disable for the installation process... i'm gonna enable them again to see if it works.. we shall see.. 🙂
 
you are not using samsung ram... which makes the system prone to a common failure which leaves it in a state of being "unsexy". Especially when overclocking, you want to slow burn it in to avoid this embarrassment. Sounds like you bought the chip from a friend, instead of buying it for a little more from a reputable dealer with a return policy =).

Try reseating chip, mobo... and even with a different chip (unoverclocked) if possible. If those measure dont solve it I would guess there is permanent damage with the chip. Try using your chip on someone else's computer (sure way of finding if it is the chip).

Good luck =)
 
this worries me...

damage to the CPU/Cache? oh no.. shouldn't have OC'ed when i tried to boot comp into the win startup disk.. :-( but i doubt that i damaged it... but this brings the question up, "why must i disable the cache so that it installs w/o the comp crapping out??"
 
Hmm, have you re-enabled the cache after installing WinXP? Try that. Oh BTW only enable L1 and L2 cache, don't do the BIOS or Video BIOS Shadow etc. I really doubt it's your cpu, but if your settings are still overclocked, make sure to set them back to default speeds. Also check your hard drive in another computer, try formatting it in another system.

My bro recently disabled the cache on a Duron 650@750 system. It was having a problem and he read somewhere that disabling the cache would help to re-install WinXP. Anyway, the system ran dog slow, and WinXP still wouldn't re-install. Eventually he just ripped the drive out and formatted it in another system. After that everything was fine(and re-enabling the cache). Seems that the Boot sector or something else on the drive was fouled up.


BTW, though your title makes a very incorrect assumption, it's refreshing to see a P4 being incorrectly accused rather than an Athlon! 😀
 
If it is disabling the cache and not the BIOS shadows, then that definitely is the CPU itself. The cache is one of the first pieces of a CPU to fail when run overclocked. I would definitely try not overclocking your CPU and see if you can enable cache without a problem. I would definitely run some burn-in tests on the CPU to make sure it really is stable. You will be better off with the cache enabled at a lower speed then overclocked at a higher speed.
 
Originally posted by: cneo
you are not using samsung ram... which makes the system prone to a common failure which leaves it in a state of being "unsexy". Especially when overclocking, you want to slow burn it in to avoid this embarrassment.
Click to expand...


that's no longer true with current batches of Samsung stuff. on topic, i agree that the CPU has some...issues. RMA that sucka.
 
sounds like overclocking is your problem
what happens if you install XPwith the caches enabled but at stock speed.....1.6 that is

 
Originally posted by: PG
sounds like overclocking is your problem
what happens if you install XPwith the caches enabled but at stock speed.....1.6 that is
Click to expand...


with the caches enable and at stock speed, computer still crashes... Isn't that weird? I have o disable the cache just to let winxp install... My computer has been installing WINXP for the past 13 hours; it's almost done... Man, w/o the caches enabled, my system runs DOG SLOW i tell you.... Supa slow... Thank gawd for Cache...
 
UPDATE:

System is sitll not working. Thought it was the ram because when the computer boots up, it says "MEMORY TEST FAILED"... but i swapped new ram into it and the system still will not work..

My final conclusion is the CPU.. It has to be the CPU... Or maybe the mobo??? What do you guys think.
 
Try the CPU in another system.

It still could be the motherboard or BIOS, but more likely the CPU. As I said earlier, I had this exact same thing happen when there was nothing wrong with the CPU and it was a bad BIOS chip. It was on a real cheap mobo where the manual never stated who the manufacturer was and no support (no BIOS's available for download) was available = new mobo. Some people never listen. I told the person not to buy another cheap mobo, guess what they did... (WayneTek, I am not claiming your Asus mobo is cheap, but just telling the story.)
 
Originally posted by: dszd0g
Try the CPU in another system.

It still could be the motherboard or BIOS, but more likely the CPU. As I said earlier, I had this exact same thing happen when there was nothing wrong with the CPU and it was a bad BIOS chip. It was on a real cheap mobo where the manual never stated who the manufacturer was and no support (no BIOS's available for download) was available = new mobo. Some people never listen. I told the person not to buy another cheap mobo, guess what they did... (WayneTek, I am not claiming your Asus mobo is cheap, but just telling the story.)
Click to expand...

If the CPU doesn't work in a different system, then it is definitely the CPU. It is very unlikely you were given a bad CPU unless you ordered it from a sleezy dealer, and thus if the CPU is dead it is most likely your fault. Buy a new CPU.

If the CPU does work in a different system, then start diagnosing the mobo. Try flashing the BIOS, if that doesn't work then the motherboard is bad. You most likely did not damage the motherboard. Return it if it returnable or RMA it if it is still under warranty.
 
Originally posted by: WayneTeK
Yes, i know it sucks.. thank you for pointing that out for me.. hehehehe... i still need advice.. anymore?
Click to expand...

😀 Just thought I'd make sure you knew! 😀

If that's the case, like the post above, all you can do is RMA it or buy another cpu. 🙁
 
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