I can't install winxp on my new system

owencherryowencherry
edited November 2004 in Hardware
I am having serious troubles installing winxppro on my new system.

the system is:
athalon 64 300+
gigabyte k8vt800pro mb
samsung 512mb RAM
seagate barracude 200gb hd
antec SLK2650-BQE case

I've run into a strange problem. I can't seem to install windows xp pro when the hd is the case. to elaborate, when i first tried to install one of three events would occur after hitting <enter> to start windows:
-it would freeze on "please wait"
-it would reboot
-I would get an error, either IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL or PFN_LIST_CORRUPT

when the hd was in it's removeable bay sitting outside the case, winxp installed fine! A few hours later, when i put the bay back into the case, windows would either hangup or reboot while loading, or freeze of reboot if it actually did load. when I removed the bay and hd from the case again, windows worked fine. i'm really not sure what's going on.

I've tried swithing cables, checking the power, resetting the RAM and different RAM. I've also tried a different HD, but have the same problems

Now, I've now reformatted the hd to start over and I'm having the same problems that I did at the start: windows will not install!

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Owen

Comments

  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited November 2004
    PFN LIST CORRUPT's are often memory related, though it seems strange you only get them when the hard drive is inside. You could download Memtest from our downloads page:

    http://www.short-media.com/download.php?d=223

    Install to a floppy, and reboot. Memtest will test the RAM, and if you get errors, test another stick of RAM. If you get the same errors on the 2nd stick, your motherboard has a problem.

    Dexter...
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    One other thing, since bay works outside case.... ANY wild chance the bay CARRIER mount screws used are too long, or that HD was not screwed into bay when out of case and that screws thta were just a tib too long were used to screw HD down??? Doing that CAN LEAD TO POTENTIAL FOR A SHORT with the screw being the condutor for the short.... If you stick shorter screws in, or can, might elminate your install problem. Way back, this has happened to me with:

    CD-ROM drives, floppy drive, magneto-optical IBM, ZIP, LS-120, AND HDs. Folks sometimes used CASE screws to screw these in, and typically fastest cheapest fix, IF the computers were brought in quickly and drives not run that way long at all, was to just stick shorter screws in to mount the drives in bays.

    Given that this is a HD, I would try a HD mfr's diag on HD out of case, then in case, also, as well as check RAM. BUT, if not RAM, check the screw lengths carefully and do NOT use case screw length screws to mount HDs in removable bays. Put a ground in where one is not intended to be, you get flake city and eventually or sooner you also get component failures and then device failures-- too long a screw can definitely create a non-wanted short-to-ground via case ground bonding to PSU. While we are at it, make sure PSU is screwed tightly onto case, and that motherboard has metal studs used and not all nylon feet, OK??? BAD ground bonding where ground is wanted can also make storage and bridged chip(s) or DRAM, which all do use ground lines\traces to a ground point on motherboard also, act flaky as all get-out....
  • owencherryowencherry
    edited November 2004
    Thanks for the advice... but...

    Since my posting, I ran memtest with my RAM and found no problems. I checked the drive when it was in the computer (both unscrewed and screwed in - with the proper short screws) using Seagate's diskwizard software and still found no problems.

    Finally, I've given up and I'm sending the mb back.

    Owen
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    I'm not familiar with that mb but are you on an sata ide that isnt initialized in the bios?
    or perhaps you need special drivers during the install at the F6 prompt.
    I've had this before but it was because of something I had turned off in the bios ...maybe try the bios optimized defaults and see if it reboots after the install. If it does then just make one change at a time til you see whats causing it.
    If thats not the problem then it may be that you need drivers install @ F6
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    Owencherry,

    You are saying that you have the primary drive in a removable hard drive bay. What brand of removable hard drive bay is it? I have known that sometimes these devices can fail or just don't work right to begin with.

    Of course check the BIOS settings.

    A) If it is a SATA drive then you may need to F6 and install the SATA drivers from a floppy during installation.

    B) If it is a PATA or SATA drive then try with the drive directly patched to the mobo...don't use the removable hard drive bay.

    C) Let us know if you are putting the drive on IDE 1 or 2 (directly or via the removable hard drive bay) or if it is on a SATA RAID header or PATA RAID header.

    We'll get you sorted.
  • owencherryowencherry
    edited November 2004
    Sorry, I guess I'm confusing you guys. The "removeable bay" is simply a removeable part of the antec case. Since the case has only one side panel that comes off, it has a frame for the hd and floppy drive that comes out so you can screw the drives in. The drives just plug into the mb.

    My seagate hd is not SATA, it's plugged directly into ide1 (actually ide0 on the mb) as a master.

    I've tried setting the BIOS to the fail-safe defaults and tried many combinations of enabling and disabling the RAID and SATA. I don't see any BIOS updates on the gigabyte site that seem to help me (although, for some reason I can't get anything to download from their site anyway)
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    Okay...so it's a PATA (Normal EIDE) drive. It's plugged directly into EIDE 1. You've troubleshooted the RAM, switched cables...may as well try switching power leads to the HDD too. Sometimes those molex cables can short especially if they've been unplugged and replugged in a lot.

    Just to confirm...when you go into BIOS before installation does BIOS show the hard drive as detected?

    Does the WINXP installation begin then fail?

    Try cleaning the disk by taking a damp paper towel and wiping one direction only across the disc. Check the disc for scratches too.


    Sometimes on some particular systems of my own...an optical drive will not allow me to install on some systems...but will on others. 1 out of every 10. It's an oddity so I have to use another optical drive.
  • owencherryowencherry
    edited November 2004
    BIOS detects the drive, and the seagate bootable Diskwizard software also recognizes it.

    The problem comes up during the winxp installation after loading the initial files, when I first hit enter to begin the actual installation. I've also tried 3 different winxp discs. I also get the same problem using a different optical drive.

    Bizarre, eh?
  • owencherryowencherry
    edited November 2004
    So... drumroll....

    There was an extra metal spacer screwed into the case beneath the mb. With the hd in the case, this spacer grounded the mb where it shouldn't have. When the hd was out of the case, the cable pulled the mb away from the spacer.

    Next time, if I have a problem like this, I'll completely disassemble the computer and start over. Lesson learned.

    Thanks for the help,
    Owen
  • CryptoCrypto W.Sussex UK Member
    edited November 2004
    Glad you're sorted owencherry. :)

    And thanks for posting back with the confirmed fault or solution, that helps everybody :thumbsup:

    Cheers

    Crypto
Sign In or Register to comment.