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Months old problem, please help


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#1
Ldee

Ldee

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Hello

I have a long standing problem with a windows pc. I have tried many things already due to thinking they were the root of the problem but as yet have not been able to solve it. Please take a look at my previous thread from the windows forum:

http://www.geekstogo...rt-t126691.html

I have started this thread here on the advice of some members in the chat room, I am not 100% sure that it's a hardware issue, but it just seems so to me, even though I've more or less replaced every piece of hardware in the box!

All help and advice much appreciated, thank you.
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#2
SRX660

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I have seen many problems with installing and playing games. Your original problem was probably sourced from the SIMs2 install. That would have been the first place i would have looked at for causing the problems. It did not help that you took off in a different direction( hardware) even tho it looked like the problem might have been in that direction. Because many system files cannot be changed in XP many software companys just add more files to the system to run their games. Many time thes new files will conflict with the original drivers and cause the problems you are having. Installing a Nvidia video card while XP still thinks you have a ATI video card just compounded the problems.

My suggestion is to start all over once again. This time use the diagonistic utilities you can get from the hard drive makers to write all zero's to the drive. You can use the diagonistics to tell you if the HD is healthy. Maxtors is MaxBlast, Western Digital is the Data lifeguard tools, and Seagate calls theirs Seatools. Then i would try reinstalling XP to the computer. If you still cannot install from the CD i would try using the microsoft exe file to make a set of boot disks to try installing XP. I had one computer that i had to make the set of 6 boot floppies to get XP to install on the computer. Something about the Nforce chipset was causing a regular install to fail. Another thought here is that you are using a Recovery CD and not a Windows XP OEM or Retail CD. These wont work usually in this situation. Another thing is to try booting from the 6 floppy disk set to make sure they are working. i had to make a second set of disks because the number 3 floppy failed to work. I did make the second floppy disk set from the same exe file so it was a bad floppy that failed.

Reply to this thread if you are still having problems.

SRX660
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#3
Ldee

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You think writing zeros to the drive will help when I have already performed a number of formats on the disk? The xp disk I am using is not a recovery cd. But I am more than willing to try what you suggest.

If you still cannot install from the CD i would try using the microsoft exe file to make a set of boot disks to try installing XP. I had one computer that i had to make the set of 6 boot floppies to get XP to install on the computer. Something about the Nforce chipset was causing a regular install to fail.


Sorry, I don't understand the thing about 6 boot floppies, and the windows exe? The installer?
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#4
SRX660

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From what i have read of your other thread it seems that even a format doe not help to install windows. That is the reason for thinking that writing zero's to the drive may help. There is something stopping windows from fully loading. It may be a bad file or sector on the drive that formatting is missing. A couple of times i have wrote zero's to a drive and then been able to install XP from the CD. On these computers( 2 of them) a format would still not let me install from the CD.

I mention the 6 floppy disk set as the last resort to install windows. I had a Athlon 2600 computer i built that had a Bioster N7ncd pro motherboard that i just could not get XP to install from the cd. I tried at least a dozen times, formatting between, and trying different methods( including writing zero's to the drive. It just would not install. I read on a forum to try installing from the 6 floppy disk set so i downloaded the execute file that you use to make the floppy disks with and when i ran them i was able to install XP from the CD finally. The exe files to make the floppy disk set is here.

http://support.micro...b;en-us;Q310994

You must choose the correct one from the three, thatis for your version of XP. Original release, SP1, or SP2 are the choices.

SRX660
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#5
Ldee

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SRX660, thank you for your clear explaination and the link to the floppy disk set. I will try writing zeros and if that fails I'll try the floppies. I'll let you know how I get on with this (should be within the enxt two days).

Also, would you or anyone who may be reading this wish to speculate on the situation with the ati card which seems to be broken? Was it just a coincidence that the card broke when I had this problem with the system overall, or could the problem with the system have broken the card? Could I be risking breaking my new nvidia card by having it in the system? Perhaps I dont yet know enough about the actual problem to tell, however any comments are appreciated.

Thanks
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