[Jacques Olat]

I have a problem with the kids computer in that it freezes up all the time. I formatted the HD today and when trying to re-install Win98 se the machine keeps freezing up so I cannot even get the OS installed. I have tried new video cards, taken out sound cards, ethernet cards and the RAM. It is an older machine so do not want to spend alot of money on having someone look at it.

300 megahertz Intel Pentium II, 6 Gig HD 192 Megabytes Installed Memory. I am at wits end on what could be making it freeze up so much . Could it be the hard drive? How could I check the hard drive out? I did a complete scan disk and there were no bad sectors. I would appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks

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At what point does it freeze

[Retired Tech]

At what point does it freeze

[Jacques Olat]

I am trying to load windows back now and it freezes when trying to load the win 98 setup wizard

[Retired Tech]

If you have it set to boot from the CD ROM Drive then the hard drive and you press any key to load from CD, select load from CD and it freezes, is the CD clean and unscratched

Have a look at Boot and Nuke to wipe the drive more comprehensively than the windows format, unfortunately it isn't quick, you can probably run it overnight, but it will make sure the drive is completely clear

There are floppy and CD versions

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

[Jacques Olat]

Thanks Keith, will give Boot and Nuke a try and let you know how I make out.

[Jacques Olat]

ok. ran Boot and Nuke, reformatted the drive again, started to install Win98. I have tried 4 times to install and each time it gets to different points in the install and it freezes!!!!!!!! Is there anything else I can do?

[Retired Tech]

I will PM the hardware Moderator to have alook at this

[Samm]

Hi there

There are a number of things that could be causing this problem. My first guess would also have been the hard drive but you seem to eliminated this possibility so we need to look else where.

It sounds like you may have already removed most other hardware (e.g PCI cards etc) but in case you haven't, then do this. Also disconnect any external devices (eg USB devices, printer, external modem, joystick etc), except keyboard/mouse/monitor.

Do you have any integrated devices enabled? If so, then disable them in the bios. This includes USB controllers as well as onboard sound etc. Leave the parallel & serial ports enabled though.

It may be worth checking that the system isn't overheating as well.
Make sure the PSU fan is working. As the CPU is a PII, it may not have a fan but check anyway. If it does have one, make sure this is also working.

Another thing you may wish to try is copying the Win98 CD to the hard drive first, then install it from the drive. You will need a win98 book disk (floppy) to do this. You only need to copy the WIN98 folder to the drive so the command to use would be :
A:> md c:\win98
A:> copy d:\win98\*.* c:\win98

where d: is the drive letter of your CDROM drive. To start the win98 install, you then need to type the following :
A:> c:
C:> cd win98
C:\win98> setup

See if this method helps at all.

Can you also tell me what video card you have?

[Jacques Olat]

My video card is a nVidia Vanta L (bought used a while ago) and I bought another video card the other day because I thought the nVidia might be what was making the computer freeze up but after installing the new card it kept freezing as well. I put a new fan on the CPU a month ago.
I tried to install windows your way but I am not sure I did it right After I entered the line "A:> copy d:\win98\*.* c:\win98" it came up no file found.
Where do I find the integrated devices in the BIOS. After pressing "Delete" when the system is booting where do I find them.
Thanks for all your help.

[Samm]

Right, lets get you through the bios part first!
Am I right in thinking that you are able to get into the bios OK? i.e pressing DEL on boot up brings up the bios screen?

If so, then the exact location of the integrated devices in the bios will depend on which bios you have unfortunately. When the bios screen first opens (i.e main screen), you may only see a list of sub-headings or menus. These will be listed something like 'Advanced Bios Setup', 'Integrated Peripherals', 'Power Management' etc.
Other bios's open straight on the first page, where you will see the date & time listed for example. This type of bios often have a menu bar along the top instead with items such as 'boot', 'advanced' etc listed.

Let me know which one of these yours looks like & let me know what menu headings you can see.

Its also possible on older machines such as this, that the integrated peripherals are enabled/disabled through hardware jumpers, instead of in the bios.

Is the computer a major brand PC such as Compaq or HP for example? If so, can you tell me the make & model of the PC?
If the computer is a generic make however, then it would be extremely useful if you could find the motherboard make/model itself.
In order to do this, you will need to open the computer up & look on the motherboard for this information. You will usually find it printed on the board either near the centre or in between the PCI slots. Occasionally it will be written along the edge of the last ISA slot but this may be a pain to read without removing the board from the case!

[Jacques Olat]

Thanks for the info Samm, but will have to wait until tomorrow evening to get the info you want as my daughter is asleep in the room now and would be very cranky if I went in and put the light on.
Cheers

[Samm]

Ok mate, no problem.
Let us know how you get on tomorrow!