Help! Serious error in Windows XP

Discussion in 'All other topics' started by xbennyboy, Jun 23, 2004.

  1. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    I have recently upgraded from a Pentium II to a Pentium III. Chucked out the entire motherboard. Then I had to reinstall Windows because there was a difference in the AGP bus. Now my entire system is unstable. Programs would just shut down and some even restart my computer. Please, any tips will be appreciated
     
  2. Toiletman

    Toiletman Active member

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    I don't want to burst your dreams in my harsh words of impending pain, but...

    It's time to get a new computer I'm afraid.
     
  3. Praetor

    Praetor Moderator Staff Member

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    True it is a good idea to get a newer system however that doesnt really help solve the problem now does it Toiletman? I'm running a P3 and it runs plenty fine

    xbennyboy : what version of windows do you have? what motherboard?
     
  4. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    Well I have Windows XP Professional 5.1. No Service Packs (because I have the MSDN version). The motherboard is an Intel CC820. Also when I check the system log in the event viewer, they list several parameters and then it gives me a link to this microsoft website that leads to nowhere.
     
  5. Praetor

    Praetor Moderator Staff Member

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    Virus/trojan/exploit? Unstable voltages?
     
  6. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    Well my comp is not connected to the Internet. I use a different comp to go online. Also I have been using the same power supply as before and it never gave me any problems. unless pentium II and III motherboards use different voltage which is unlikely. Also i think all these problems happened after i installed my NVIDIA drivers.
     
  7. Derr_lol

    Derr_lol Member

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    Replace Motherboard on a Windows XP System
    This article examines replacing the motherboard in a system that has Windows XP installed. There is no method that can guarantee a 100% success rate, but careful attention to the items discussed will at least give you better odds of a successful motherboard replacement while preserving your current XP installation. As with any procedure you attempt there are caveats. Let's look at three that apply to this procedure.
    If you are contemplating replacing the motherboard in an OEM system with anything other than an exact replacement OEM motherboard this procedure is likely going to fail. Why? Part of this procedure involves doing a Repair Installation of Windows XP. To perform a Repair Installation it's necessary to have a Microsoft supplied bootable XP Installation CD; not one of the Recovery CD's or a system where the operating system installation files are stored on a hidden partition on the hard drive like many Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's) supply. Click this link and read through the section called Windows Installation CD - Repair Current Installation before you proceed if this applies to your situation.
    Backing up the system before undertaking the changeover is essential. I'm not going to spend time here going over the different possibilities for backing up the system. If you need more info this link will get you started. The important part is that you have a backup of all critical data that you absolutely cannot afford to lose - and - that the data backup be available in a format that is compatible with Windows XP so it can be restored after the procedure is completed if something does go wrong.
    Anytime substantial hardware changes are made to the system there is a possibility that XP will have to be reactivated. I'll discuss this at the end of the article, but as a hedge against possibly having to call Microsoft to reactivate, look at the article Activation Workaround for Windows XP.
    Changing the Motherboard
    While the current system is still running, visit the website of the motherboard manufacturer and download the current RAID and SCSI drivers for the new board in case you need them along with the most recent BIOS update. Follow the manufacturer instructions and place these files on floppy disks so they will be available once the motherboard has been replaced. After the necessary floppies have been created, insert the Windows XP CD in the drive, close the window that opens if the auto-start function is enabled and shut down the computer using standard procedures. This leaves the XP installation CD in the drive so it will be ready for use after the upgrade.
    Entire books have been written about PC hardware and how to swap components so I'm just going to touch on the highlights of swapping out the motherboard. If you need more detailed instructions a Google search will yield hundreds of sites that go into excruciating detail.
    To view the rest of this go to:
    http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm
     
  8. Derr_lol

    Derr_lol Member

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    Also you do not have to have the internet to obtain a virus, any software or hardware you install could contain a virus especially if it is a copied version,
    it never hurts to run a virus check on your system even if it is not used for internet connections.
     
  9. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    Its the MSDN version. No need to reactivate XP. Its already activated. Also I have no RAID and SCSI devices. I did do a repair installation with the XP CD.
    Could it be a memory problem? Cause I also added a 128 mb of memory. Can you mix pc133 with pc100?
     
  10. Derr_lol

    Derr_lol Member

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    Usually you can mix the two but occassionally compatiblilty problems arise in which case you need to contact your manufacture of that of the motherboard for more details. If you have pc 100 and pc 133 your system will automatically run on the slower of the two so if you dump the pc 100 then it will upgrade to the pc133 so if your pc does not seem to have improved this could be why its only running one and the slowest of the two.
     
  11. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    Dang. It was that 128 MB stick of memory. When I removed it everything worked fine. Oh, tech hates me. I can never get above 256 without a problem. Why? Why? Tell me now!
     
  12. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    I am assuming the 256 is PC100 and the 128 PC133.
    Well, not exactly :) your system should run memory speed it is set in BIOS to run.
    But I know what buddy meant, it is capable of running reliably only at the slower of the two ratings.
    I believe the P3 runs 100MHz x 6 and so would run PC100. However, the introduction of 128MB PC133 has weirded it out (to use a technical term) and so, the two sticks are incompatible, bank architecture or whatever, NFG.
    Get a duplicate 256MB stick and run 512MB. If you can't match it (I don't think I can buy PC100 anymore) you can buy 1 512MB stick of PC133 for, lemme see here, USD $100 bucks or so.
    Too bad about the 128MB. Will your PC run OK with it alone? Is it double or single sided? 8 chip or 16 chip?
    Don't know if you have mobo info but some are real picky about memory config's allowed.
    Find a home for the 128 and you'll feel better, one of your buddies or whoever, $30-40 bucks.
    256MB is workable. A P3 is still fine but you don't want to put a whole lot of money into it...
    But if you love it, shrug, say WTF and buy it a 512MB stick! (Memory is a noble expense, very justifiable.)
    L8R
     
  13. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    My 256 MB is 2 sided 16 chips. Well don't leave yet. My computer got better for a while and then the problem started again, but just less in frequency. Help again! Please. Is there any other problems. Can you give me some hints?
    _X_X_X_X_X_[small]Windows XP Professional
    Pentium III 600 MHz with 384 MB of SD-RAM
    GeForce4 MX-440 SE with 64 MB of DDR from eVGA.com[/small]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2004
  14. vurbal

    vurbal Administrator Staff Member

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    is a likely cause so I'd start by running a memory stress test on it. You can get memtest86 to do this for you from http://www.mrbass.org/dvdnewbie/#4 Your original memory may have just gone bad. If you find out it is bad and decide to replace it, you may be able to use PC133 or you may not. In general, motherboards made for PC100 can't see more than 128MB on a single stick of PC133 so unless yours is actually designed for PC133 it's probably not worth going higher than that on any one stick.
     
  15. Derr_lol

    Derr_lol Member

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    sorry I got them backwards yes I meant dump the pc133
    but anyways these two are not usually compatible.
     
  16. xbennyboy

    xbennyboy Guest

    I ran the memory test from the fedora core 2 linux cd. Everything ran fine.
     

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