Problems installing Windows :(

[imported_BorderC]

I got a new motherboard, ram, and a new hard drive for my comp because the old motherboard went bad. When I try to install windows I keep getting errors. sometimes I get a blue screen when trying to format the drive, sometimes the formatting works and then it starts copying windows files. The files copy REALLY slowly. like after a half hour it'll be at 10%. and eventually I get an error saying it couldn't copy a file. Or other times it'll just go to a blue screen. the blue screen says PFN_LIST_CURRUPT

I've tried a different CD Rom drive, 2 other hard drives, 3 different Win XP CDs, and it's always the same. The only thing that isn't new in the PC is the CPU.

The new motherboard is a PC Chips brand MB and I've not had good luck with that manufacturer. I dont know if it could be the problem.

 

[mechBgon]

Can you post a spec list with the brands & models of the specific parts you're using, including the RAM? Maybe you've got RAM that needs a voltage bump to run stable.

 

[imported_BorderC]

OK here's whats in it.

AMD Athlon 1.2ghz
PC Chips M848A v5.0
1GB PC3200 DDR (K-Byte brand from Staples)
350W PSU

I really appreciate any help as I'm stumped... Im only a novice when it comes to computers.

 

[mechBgon]

If possible, try running a Memtest86 diagnostic to see if your RAM is the problem. You can get Memtest86 from here, if you can burn .ISOs to a CD on the computer you're using now.

Also, what hard drives have you tried? If they happen to be Western Digitals, and if they are on a data cable by themselves, jumper them for Single Master (which is when you remove the jumper cap and just leave it off).

 

[imported_BorderC]

ok I'll try the memtest86

the new hard drive is a western digital 250gb. I also tried an older seagate and maxtor.

 

[imported_BorderC]

Alright I ran the memtest86 program and it showed 10 errors.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: BorderC
Alright I ran the memtest86 program and it showed 10 errors.

That's 10 too many

Pull out one stick and try again. Then switch sticks. Try to isolate which stick of memory is bad, or possibly which slot may be bad (indicating a memory controller/mobo prob)

 

[imported_BorderC]

Oh man. now it's gotten even more complicated. I put in a different stick of ram and it worked! windows installed but when I went to put in my CD key I realized I had installed winxp home instead of my pro version so I started over but when I started over the problem was back with the new ram!! wth! and I tried yet another stick of ram from another comp and still I got those errors. Can the mobo be screwing the RAM up??

 

[Smilin]

Keep in mind that memtest can give false negatives (everything is OK) but it will never give a false positive (if says it's broke, it is)

Account for that in your troubleshooting logic. Memory or a slot that appears good may not be. Letting memtest run for an extended period may reveal a problem.

 

[mechBgon]

Can the mobo be screwing the RAM up??

Possibly. You've got a bit of a mongrel computer there. The bus speed of your processor is either 100 or 133MHz, double-pumped to DDR200 or DDR266. Your RAM, on the other hand, is DDR400. I know this is not supposed to matter, but if your motherboard is looking at the memory's SPD and running the RAM at its rated DDR400 speed, you should manually correct that and sync the RAM to the CPU's frontside-bus speed.

Additionally, most "vanilla" DDR400 / PC3200 on the market is spec'ed for 2.6 volts. Your motherboard is old enough that it almost certainly defaults to 2.5 volts, especially considering it's an econo-board. If it allows you to adjust the memory voltage, cranking it to 2.6 or 2.7 volts, so the RAM gets the voltage it's designed for, might help.


Confused yet? Ok, now for plain English:

When your motherboard puts up its POST screen during startup, hit the DEL key on the keyboard to enter the BIOS menus.

1) Go into the ADVANCED CHIPSET SETUP menu. Compare the Current Frequency (the CPU's bus speed) to the DRAM Frequency (the memory's bus speed.

2) if the two items above do not match, then change the Auto Detect DRAM Frequency to Disabled, then set the CPU/DRAM Clock Ratio to 1:1 so the RAM gets sync'ed to the CPU's bus speed.

3) While you're in this section, also disable the Clock Spread Spectrum Enable feature.

4) Hit the ESC key to get out of ADVANCED CHIPSET SETUP. Then go into the HARDWARE MONITOR SETUP menu. Change the DDR Memory Voltage to 2.7 volts.

5) Now use the ESC key to get back to the main menu, and do a Save & Exit so the new settings are retained. Go back into ADVANCED CHIPSET SETUP on the next POST and confirm that the CPU's bus speed (shown as Current Frequency) and the memory's bus speed (shown as DRAM Frequency) are now matched.


Any good?

Oh, and PC Chips motherboards are not necessarily all that great To make things more compex, if you're using a power supply whose pedigree is as low as your PC Chips motherboard and your K-Byte RAM, then it can even be a PSU problem. And that's no speculation, either... been there, seen that in real life. Quality stuff can be worth the up-front cost sometimes.

 

[imported_BorderC]

This computer is actually my mothers and she had very little to spend on it when the motherboard went out. I know the quality components are definitely worth the costs, and can save on headache medicine too. But that wasn't an option for her.

After getting errors while trying to install WinXP Pro I went back to the WinXP Home and it installed fine again. Nothing would install with the ram i tested that showed up as bad ram. And only WinXP Home on the good ram.

I appreciate the advice on syncronizing the ram with the CPU fsb. I didn't know that. I haven't check up on that yet though, so I'll let you know if it improves anything. I'll try installing the XP Pro after making any changes, as the XP Home on it currently cannot be activated cause it's been used to many times or something.