Not sure if HD failed or Video Card busted... 1

[Steve065]

After a power outage, I started to receive stop errors involving nvstor.sys (an nvidia-related file). I ran through dozens of different errors from "No boot device available" to "disc read error has occurred".

I eventually used DBAN to wipe the drive clean (which ran in to a few non-fatal errors along the way). Now, when I try to put a fresh install of windows on the drive, it takes ~5-10 minutes until the installation shows up (just black screen is show for a while) and eventually it gives me the same, original stop error!

I'm not the most tech-literate person when it comes to hardware, so I don't want to go out and buy something unnecessary if the problem is elsewhere.

I know it's a long shot, but I was hoping the power outage may have just screwed up the bios or partition table (which is where my knowledge starts to fade in terms of software issues).

 

[G0AOZ]

You haven't mentioned doing it, so clear CMOS. Make sure mains power is removed from the PC, disconnect all drives including their power and data cables. Remove any plug-in adaptor cards from the motherboard. Pull the CMOS battery and set the CLR CMOS jumper. Leave as is for a couple of minutes, then return jumper to original position and replace battery.

See if the machine starts up ok and displays the POST screen. Set date and time in the BIOS. Now try reconnecting drives, etc., and see how far you get.

It's possible that a number of components could have sustained damage when the power failed, particularly if it went out with a series of nasty spikes or glitches. The PSU could be causing issues with low or missing voltage rails. Easiest solution is to replace it with a known good PSU of equal to or greater Wattage rating.

See if you can run something like MEMTEST86 on the RAM.

It's also possible that the HDD is damaged. Can you attached it to another PC and run CHKDSK on it?

I'm assuming the video is on-board the mobo. Try disabling it and plug in a known good video card.

After that, you're down to CPU/motherboard. Any error beeps from the system speaker?

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[Steve065]

Thanks Roger!

I can do all of those steps except for clearing the CMOS, which I simply don't understand

Could it be done safely with a little help from google along the way?

Also, I'm not sure if the Memory Diagnostics tool that comes with Vista is sufficient, but I was able to run that a few days ago with no errors to report.

 

[G0AOZ]

I'd use MEMTEST86 as it's a known good piece of free software:-

http://www.memtest86.com/

Clearing CMOS involves deliberately 'losing' the initial settings stored in the BIOS. Date, time, boot order, and lots of other settings. CMOS settings can become corrupted, and removing the backup voltage (i.e. the battery), theoretically takes it back to manufacturer's defaults. I've assumed we're talking about a desktop rather than a laptop, so somewhere on the motherboard will be a small battery. Often it's a lithium 3v button cell, (CR-2032). Nearby you'll usually find a 2-position jumper, NORMAL and CLR-CMOS. If you can't find the jumper, just pull the battery out, remembering which way round it goes in the holder. You will be doing this with the mains power disconnected from the PC. Now short out the battery terminals in the battery holder on the motherboard. This ensures all residual voltages stored in the CMOS circuit capacitors are zeroed. Leave for a couple of minutes, then replace the battery. See if you can find a motherboard manual on-line for your PC - this will hopefully tell you where the CMOS jumper is.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[goombawaho]

You can do the BIOS reset, but I'm not thinking that's the root cause.

I'd swap out the power supply if possible as a test. If that's not possible without buying one, use the manufacturer's hard drive diagnostic tool to test the hard drive.

Find them here after downloading/burning this CD image.

http://www.ubcd4win.com/downloads.htm

Also, if that CD boots correctly, you can run some of the other tests on there (memory, CPU, etc.) to see if anything acts flaky. If it doesn't boot correctly, I start to suspect motherboard.