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Need Help! Not sure if Motherboard is gone!

  • 10-09-2004 11:03am
    #1
    tomED
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,452 ✭✭✭


    Ok Guys,

    Really stuck on this one. A friedn tried to upgrade from windows ME to Win XP recently. Whatever they did caused the system to be severly damaged, you could basically only access it through safe-mode.

    So they weren't too concerned about losing files - so I set of on the task of wiping the drive and installing xp from scratch.

    However, xp wouldnt install on the first drive saying that there seemed to be errors on the drive. Fine did low level format, got the drive up and running on another machine as a slave, then tried to bring it on to the other machine to install windows again - same again - there appeared to be errors on the drive.

    Did tests with the maxtor tool no problem with the drive. anyways.....

    I got my hands on a different hdd - one that I thought was a bit dodgy anyway cause i took it out of another pc. Anyways - did the same again - and low and behold got the same probelm, expect this time it fooked up the hdd altogether. I can see it in the bios, but installation can't see. As a slave on my own machine - windows wont boot.

    So I got another BRAND NEW hdd - tried the xp installation again - still no joy - says there was an error on the drive. I tried another installation disc. Same again - i tried linux- had no problem formatting the drive - but couldnt install on it.

    So again I formatted the drive and tried installation again - still no joy.

    Im afraid to do it again cause i dont want to wreck this new hdd.

    Any ideas what the problem could be? Is the computer dead?

    Thanks for any replies
    Tom


Comments

  • #2
    stevenmu
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,689 Mod ✭✭✭✭stevenmu


    Your motherboards probably not damaged or else you wouldn' have gotten as far as you did. If you can get in to the BIOS settings try and restore defaults, if SMART is enabled try disabling that. If you haven't already tried different ide cables give that a go too. If none of that works it's probably a problem with the IDE controller on the motherboard, you can buy a PCI card to replace that but maybe a new motherboard would be better. Before that another thing to try would be to format the new HDD in your own machine and copy the winXP install cd to it, boot of a boot disk with just the HDD connected, no cd drives or anything, and instal like that.


  • #3
    Redshift
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,486 ✭✭✭Redshift


    Could be a bad stick of Ram, that can cause problams like this on installation. Google for a utility called memtest. That will tell you if the ram is suspect


  • #4
    MacXP_Irl
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 73 ✭✭MacXP_Irl


    if the computer had ME originally on it its pretty old, have you tried updating the bios first?


  • #5
    tomED
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,452 ✭✭✭tomED


    MacXP_Irl wrote:
    if the computer had ME originally on it its pretty old, have you tried updating the bios first?

    No! It's the one thing I had thought of - but never did it.

    I'll try all suggestions later. Thanks a million everyone.
    Tom


  • #6
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    I had a motherboard, Abit BP6, a few years ago that had similar problems. It was giving disk errors on any disk I tried. Tried the idsks in another box and they were fine. I reckon it was the IDE controller that was corrupting the data and so the system thinks it's a bad disk. The disks worked fine afterwards in other computers so no damage was done to them.
    If this is the problem it could indicate further problems with the board, you could plug in a PCI IDE controller if you have or can get one. Try installing with this and if it works you know the mobo is on the way out.
    I just changed my BP6 for a new mobo, still have it and tried it again recently but the same problem was there still.


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