Win XP install error - can't install XP

[altonb1]

I had my sister pick up the SOYO K7ADA w/ 1700+ chip (from Hot Deals forum) and since receiving the system, i can't get anywhere with installing the OS.

Initially, I installed 98, but that craps out and I have to keep booting with safe recovery. It also wants to run scandisk everytime, which finds an error, which then corrupts the registry, and sends me back to square 1. So...I figured 98/98se just weren't going to work so I had her purchase XP.

If I boot the system and boot from the CD, it starts loading the drivers, and then a blue screen pops up with "File SETUPDD.SYS could not be loaded. Error Code 7" and forces me to reboot. If I boot to a floppy, then run winnt (to kick off setup manually), I end up with the same result, although sometimes the system just blue screens with "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" and a addressof 0x000050 (not sure on the exact number of 0s) and ntfs.sys is referenced as well. The hard drive is formatted at fat32.

Any ideas? I cannot seem to get an OS on this thing. I ran memtest86 on the system and the stick comes out clean. I also thought it was a MOBO problem, so we had a 2nd case/MOBO combo shipped out and both systems have the same results. I can format the disk and run around at a command prompt all day without any problems, so i don't think it is the CPU.

SPECS:
SOYO K7ADA
512mB DDR - Crucial, 1 stick
30GB ATA100 HD
32x12x40 lite-On CD-RW drive
ATI Radeon VE AGP video card (also tried Matrox Mystique 4MB PCI card and a Matrox AGP card.)

Please help! microsoft's 'search' feature is iunavailable, so i can't seem to find anything there. TIA!

 

[DaiShan]

Well normally I would guess a problem with the RAM, but in this case I think it may be a bad hdd, when it runs scandisk and finds an error, this means it has a bad sector. Try using another hard drive and see if that works to install the os, then insert this drive in as slave and "flag" the bad sectors so the os won't try to write to them, then install the os onto that drive.

 

[daveshel]

definitely hardware

 

[Idz21]

Ok you can try doing this.

1st off you should format your HD as NTFS not FAT32. If this doesn't solve the problem, in your BIOS don't tweak any of the RAM settings. Keep it at CAS3, and leave the other timings at default as they are. This could cause installatino problems with blue screens.

Now try installing again with NTFS and w/out boosting the RAM settings. This should solve your problem. If not, try placing the RAM stick in a different slot.

Ok, let me know what the progress is, and we'll go from there.

 

[altonb1]

I spent the afternoon running scandisk with surface scan and the drive is fine. No bad sectors found, and S.M.A.R.T. does not detect any problems with the HDD. Since this is the exact same problem I had with the previous case/mobo, I can probably rule those out as being the problem. The RAM passed the thorough memory tests I ran last night. There really isn't anything left, other than a BIOS configuration problem, I guess, but I'm not sure what to tweak. I flipped a switch on the MOBO to drop the speed down, so instead of a 1700+ it is read as an 1100. That didn't help, either. The BIOS is current, as it is recent (Dec. 2001.)

What do I need to do to format the drive at NTFS? XP does not get far enough into the setup to prompt me, and I really can't remember how to format the drive ahead of time from a boot disk. as for the memory, I'm not sure what CAS3 is. I've seen the term before, but I'm not sure what to change in BIOS to set it to this.

Please advise, and thanks for your help.

 

[mastertech01]

Have been into the bios to make any adjustments? Maybe you just need to reset to defaults and try again. YOu also may have an overheating processor. Most of the time when I had registry errors in Win98 it was due to processor failure due to overheating while overclocking, or memory settings set to high. Have the memory detect by SPD for now.

 

[ianbergman]

I'd highly recommend replacing the memory stick (even though it tested out fine) with another, if you can. Also, try new IDE cables on your CD and HD drives.

Formatting with NTFS won't really help, because it seems like you're crashing before setup even tries to read the drive info.

SetupDD.sys, to the best of my knowledge, is a controlling file that compares what should be on a drive with what is actually on a drive. Not sure how it is used in Windows setup, but if it crashes upon being loaded from the CD, it's almost always indicative of a memory problem. So replace the memory stick - that's my suggestion. lemme know how it goes

 

[altonb1]

I don't use DDR yet, and I don't know anyone else that does (or at least well enough to ask) in order to borrow a stick. Not sure whether I should have my sister buy a new stick from a retail store and then ship it back if it is flaky or not, although I guess i should try to IDE cables, first. I thought about that last night as i was going to bed, but didn't think about swapping them today. I already tried loading the fail-safe options in the BIOS and it doesn't seem to make a difference, except for taking longer to POST (that setting turns off quick-boot, so I have to wait or just hit escape on the memory check.)

I'll try swapping the IDE cable from the PC I'm typing on at this moment and see if it makes a difference. thanks again!

 

[altonb1]

I tried resetting the BIOS (by shorting the jumper on the mobo and also setting BIOS to fail-safe values) and the system is still having the same problems. I also swapped IDE cables and that didn't fix it, either, so it looks like the problem probably is the RAM. That sucks.... When I ran the configuration utility at Crucial to find the proper ram ofr this MOBO, I was offered 2 choices: ECC or Non-Parity. I had her buy the non-parity since it was cheaper. Would that make a difference? It looks like RAM prices have jumped up significantly in the last couple of weeks, and if she has to get a new stick, she'll have to argue with Crucial regarding the price difference, I guess.

 

[pamf]

Here's a few things you might want to try.

Check the core voltage of the cpu in the bios.. You said you clocked it down, so this probably isn't it. But if it's unusually low, the cpu wont get enough juice and will crap out a lot.. I don't know what it is for an xp, but my tbird defaults to 1.75v ..

Try removing ALL other devices from the system .. all you should have is one hd, one cdrom, and the video card.. If that helps, then something you have is screwing with your system... Add them back in one at a time to find the culprit.

You said you had this problem with the last case/mobo .. is it the same cpu both times? There may be something wrong with it.. What are the CPU temps in the bios?

And like Idz21 suggested check your ram settings.. what kind of ram is it? You should try and make sure you have the timings set right.. Also turn off any 'turbo' settings.. I don't know if thats applicable for DDR though.