K7T Impossible OS install

[WhiteTornado]

Hi,

I have this K7T Turbo mobo running with a Duron 1100 which used to run great til the day I moved it to an other house. Now, I have been trying to install an OS on a new HDD and no way.

The problem is that it freezes on the installation of the OS. It freezes at different spot, but it is early on the install, around the time where the inspection for peripherals is about to happen.

I tried different sizes of memory sticks, I changed the CD drive for an other one, I tried copying the CABs on the disk and installing it from there, I tried an other power suply, it keeps on freezing.

Now, I was able to install DOS 6.22 and that is it, as for Win 95, 98, 2000, all the same problem.

The comp boots cleanly, like if everything is fine, it has 4 diag leds on the mobo and they are all green.

I flashed the BIOS, no change. I tried a 3 Go, 30Go, an SCSI 4Go, all the same.

I am running out of ideas, this is a tough one. So, I need to learn something here! Any one has some clues?

Cheers!

 

[bcastner]

As a guess, it is not figuring out your power management support properly.

If you have an advanced power management option in the BIOS, how is it set?

 

[franklin97355]

Make sure the processor is seated fully and the heatsink isn't loose or crooked.

 

[SESaskDFC]

Howdy:

Try disabling the onboard (BIOS) anti-virus.

Murray

 

[paparazi]

What temp does it report in the bios??
Durons idle should be in the mid 30's C
Memory is always the No1 suspect in these cases.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[BadBigBen]

There is another possibility... that the HD in use is not functioning correctly... loose cabeling or defective IDE cables could cause this prob aswell...

or for a fact that some hardware in the case is not connected correctly or not functioning... (had a Adaptec 2904 card that worked 9 out of 10 times) and it screwed with my soundcard (even though it didn't even share an IRQ or such)... and when I tried to install the OS it wouldn't until I removed the SCSI card...

Ben

 

[WhiteTornado]

Hi everyone,
Want to thank you for your tips first.
Here are some answers for now:
1. Antivirus has been disabled all along
2. I newly disabled onboard sound, modem, parralel port, legacy audio
3. The power mgmt is as such:

IPCA fonction - enable
Power Mgmt - User define (with all options disabled)
ACPI sleeptime S1 (POS)
4. The PC health was disabled, I enabled it, but it is not reporting the right temp, I set the Shutdown temp as 70 C, there is no lower temp to choose from
5. On the hardware side, all I have on the mobo is a GeForce 400MX, the floopy and the HDD
6. In the light of your tips, and the changes in the BIOS I just made, I re-tried, I am using my 30Go drive, on it are 2 partitions, on the D: I have a Win98 folder with all the CABs from which I start Install.exe. The system freezes right after I get the first install windows asking me to press CONTINUE. Also, if I wait any time at all during the primary steps, it will freeze. But, strangely, I am using a Win98 boot floopy and that loads ok with no problems.

A 1100 Mhz system to run Dos!! Almost funny! Also, it worked awesome before, one of my best mobo... this is why I am stubbornly working at it, and also, there is something to learn here that is for sure.

Cheers!

 

[squidman]

I had a problem similar to yours. Mine was because my memory stick was incompatible, ie, the system WOULD run, but would freeze/crash somewhere along the installation of OS.

 

[WhiteTornado]

Hi,
Thanks for your input... I have a bunch of mem sticks, I tried about 6 different types, and the same scene... this board used to never give me any trouble, I used all types of memory on it... there is undoubtably something gone wrong with the material, in my experience when it just does not resolve this is the case, however, I am running out of avenues to follow!

Cheers!

 

[INKABINK]

If it worked fine before you moved it.....
Then either something came loose...remove all the cards, but the video and try that...reseat the video. Next..check the power at the outlet and make sure it's good..gound is ground...neutral...hot is hot...also...clear your cmos with the jumper.

Rod

 

[WhiteTornado]

Hi Rod, thanks, good tips. I will try these in a little bit as I am now moving in with my girl and (oh no!! everything will be moving with me!!!) Anyhow, I will be doing this anyway since the comp is all apart now. I will let you know what comes.

Cheers

Marcel

 

[BadBigBen]

Inkabink (Rod) - beat me to it - was going to sugest that he try another outlet in the house (could be bad wiring)...
most appliances (hairdryer, vacuum cleaner, toaster, etc.) don't care about the power fluctuation at the outlet, but the PC does...

Marcel - good luck - in both situations, PC and Moving in... *g

Ben

 

[fluxvoovoo]

See if you can pull up either or both of these files: setuplog.txt and detlog.txt ,you should be able to boot your system to DOS and use the EDIT command to read the file. They sometimes are very helpful in pinpointing where-when-and why a crash occurs during setup. Here's a good site for reference:

http://www.cclub.metu.edu.tr/e-kitap/isletim_sistemleri/Inside Windows 98/ch04.htm#Heading3

 

[vstrode]

OK. I know this is kinda of an old problem. Strip down your PC to the bare minimums; video card should be the only one there. Disable on-board sound, av, etc. Of course, check the dummy stuff; CPU fan running, power fan running, good connections. Did a jumper get knocked off? Is there a loose screw sitting on the motherboard? If you can install dos and run something on it continually, well, the gui os needs better memory reliability. Does the hd overheat? Did you try using a dif ide controller? Just a few rambling thoughts....

 

[WhiteTornado]

Hi vstrode,

Well, this is fine with me to get back to this and tks for the tips! I actually pulled the board out of the computer and decided to put it inside a new box, I put new material on it and it started fine, I installed Mandrake on it with SCSI disks, it purrs only thing I can think of is I must have fixed the hardware situation by shifting all the pieces around!

Or maybe moving in with my loving girl fixed everything else!!

Now I am battling with an other issue, I kept getting messages like dumping of the physical memory till I was not longer able to boot at all, I took out the DDR and put in SDROM (board supports both) and out of 256Mo (2x128) it only sees 64!! and XP acts likes if it only has 64Moram too!

I am still trying to establish what has happened - the original thing that occured was I changed HDD, I had a ghost of my first disk, when I put it in, I got crap about activation problem and I could not enter the system, I formated the new disk and reinstalled and now this ...

Cheers!