really unusual problem 3

[ruler1]

hi
i have a computer with a very unusual problem and i cant figure it out
i will try to explain the problem and then explain the hardware i have...
i have xp installed on a 40gb hard disk but when booting to XP i come to the countdown screen where it offers to boot to the last known good configuration or safe mode etc... ok if i click last known good configuration the screen goes blank and freezes forever. ive tried all the safe mode options but when extracting all the tools on the loadup screen it seems to freeze on the same file everytime and never recovers.
ive also tried using the XP cd to repair the installation but it loads up all the tools perfectly until it says at the bottom of the blue screen 'Starting Windows' it again freezes. ive tried several other genuine copies of XP and does the same thing in the same place.
ok i a AM37 motherboard made by FIC and ive tried different power supplies, removing all the IDE devices eccept the windows HDD ive even tried other hard disks and still the same thing. i just cant figure it out and i would really appreciate anyones advice. thanks

 

[stduc]

Yep - XP is HARD on the CPU.

Now I would suspect overheating caused by that dent. NOW - if your feeling REALLY CURIOS you could try using Arctic Silver paste to mount that CPU with it's heat-sink. Carefully spread about 1 grain of rice worth with a credit card. That should fill the hole & keep it cool enough!

Personally I would mount that CPU on another mobo and run Linux! LOL - or bin it !!!???

[navy]When I married "Miss Right" I didn't realise her first name was 'always'. LOL[/navy]

 

[ruler1]

im going to brave it and see if it will work on my packard bell machine which also uses a similar CPU. it also has XP home edition on it too that already works si if it does the same on there then i will glue a magnet to it and use it as a fridge magnet

 

[ruler1]

yup the problem has now carried over to the other machine so its definatly the CPU. i can get another one cheap enough, at least i know what it was now

 

[Freestone]

I am glad to see you got it working, ruler1. And a star for you for your persistence to the end, and more importantly (at least to me), your feedback throughout. Following this thread has proved useful. I certainly would never have suspected the CPU.

 

[ruler1]

looking at the CPU with a nacked eye is almost imposible to see the damage but when you look through a good quality magnifying glass i could see near the center what looks to be a small dent. i still find it strange how it will still run with windows 98 and windows ME but nothing above maybe XP or vista uses parts of the CPU that other operating systems dont use.

 

[mainegeek]

ruler1,
I would suspect memory or hard drive.

 

[ruler1]

mainegeek thanks but this topic has been resolved.