Computer Boot Up problems- need help!

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:50 am

Maybe Zerospace or Yoshito can help ut with this one. I'd PM but I'm having problems with my email so it's best to put everything on a website where I can refer to it on another computer

Basically, my computer won't boot up.
It's VERY slow in booting the operating system (WinXP sp2) then after 10mins it freezes on my desktop wallpaper image and no icons load up.

A blue screen pops up with white writing which says:

"A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
A process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
Technical info: *** stop:0x000000F4
(0x00000003, 0x86692DA0, 0x86692F14, 0x805F9F88)

Beginning dump of physical memory. Dump complete. Contact your system admin/technical support group for further assistance"

In fact, I made a note of this error 2 weeks ago but remember seeing another similar message today which suggested I disable BIOS cache, try Safe mode, disable/remove new hardware/software.
I haven't installed any new piece of kit or software recently. I don't think this is a virus as I run Norton Internet Security 2005 and have a hardware firewall.

I can access my computer in Safe mode but the internet is not available and I don't know what I should do (if anything) een if I gain access to the desktop OK.

I've had this message appear several times over the last 3 weeks but whenever I've restarted the computer, it has worked OK.
This time was different. It's no longer responding.

While it was working I discovered these tell-tale symptoms that warned me something wasn't right- when I listened to a regular WAV file, it would sound crackly. I wondered if this was a procesor fault but I'm sure it's to do with the hard disk.

I'm currently using a backup hard disk (it's an IDE Slave) to write this message. I'm able to backup my files from my 'default' HD s the partitions appear in 'My Computer'. I've backed up 4 DVDs already but it'll take me another day+ to do the rest!!
My hard disk is a 200gb Maxtor and I haven't encountered this problem before.

Should I do a clean reinstall on this 'faulty' HD or is it destined for the scrap heap? (It's only 5 or 6 months old).

Thanks A LOT for any suggestions you might have. It's making the final Beta Awards Winners update VERY difficult so I need to remedy this asap.

zerospace · Post by **zerospace** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 12:21 pm

Krafty - a couple of suggestions before I do some intensive research on that particular stop error code:

1. Run chkdsk
2. In safe mode, go into the control panel and then into "administrative tools" - click on the event viewer. Then, in the event viewer, select "system" - it should now display all system related events including errors. You will see this stop error in there. If you can, copy that information and post it here. It might help isolate the exact thread/process causing the issue.

I'm thinking it could possibly be a corrupt driver that does not load in safe mode - since you said you can get into safe mode.

Now, that being said.. I'm off to see what I can find about your particular stop error code.

That should point us in the right direction.

zerospace · Post by **zerospace** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 12:36 pm

OK - after a bit more research I've turned this up:

MS error code link

Which doesn't help much.

Thanks MS.

What you're likely going to have to do is run diagnostics on most of your hardware. Chkdsk should help with the hard drive possibility - next up would be to run memtest86 on your memory - you can download it here:

http://www.memtest.org

Let it run several passes.

So far I've seen this error associated with everything from faulty memory to motherboard issues (you might want to look for swollen/leaky capacitors on the board just in case) to power supply problems and even paging file sizes.

Try some of this stuff & let me know what happens and we can go from there. If none of these tests turn up anything wrong, I'd recommend a repair install of XP or a fresh format and reinstall. If your problems persist after that, you know it's likely hardware-related. I really hope this helps some!

transmet · Post by **transmet** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:12 pm

Did a little research myself and came up with a couple of quick and easy chance fixes:

1. Enter windows in safe mode and run all antivirual and spyware software installed. If you find something it may be the fix but you might still have damaged files so run "system file checker" (go to Start > Run and type in "sfc / scannow" to repair any windows system files (you might be asked for Windows XP CD.) Next, reboot the computer and see if will start normally and continue maintance like "Disk Cleanup" and "Disk Defrag."

2. Enter windows in safe mode and go to Start > Run and enter: "msconfig"
Select the Startup tab and see what is loading when you startup.
Possibly one of these is causing the problem. Unchecking may solve the problem.

Got these results after going through this website:

http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm

I'm hoping since you can access Safe Mode that this isn't too serious.
Best of luck, Krafty.

zerospace · Post by **zerospace** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:28 pm

Using msconfig might help if it's a corrupt driver issue... (and I'd recommend unchecking one at a time and rebooting for each) - but that's not a quick and easy fix. That'll take some time to go through and test each driver. Faster way: format & reinstall of everything.

I didn't suggest an antivirus/spyware check because he seems certain that's not the issue. With XP SP2 fully up-to-date, an active a/v, and a hardware firewall - provided he doesn't visit shady websites in the nether-regions of the Internet, it's likely not a virus or spyware.

Krafty, if I were in your shoes the first thing I'd try is a repair install of windows. If that doesn't work, I'd do a format and re-install. If the problem persists after that, investigate the hardware in your computer.

If you're convinced your HDD might be dying - get the diagnostics software from Maxtor and run a full check on your drive - it will check for bad sectors and relocate them. If your drive has SMART monitoring - check the Maxtor site for how to get that info from the drive. That'll tell you if the drive is destined for the scrapheap.

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:19 pm

Thanks for your suggestions Zero/Transmet.
I've been trying various things for the last 7 or 8 hours and haven't been able to remedy the situation.

The last resort for me is to do a clean reinstall. It takes me AGES to get evertything back to how I like it, I remember the last one took me several days to install all the progs/settings I use.

I'll look into the Windows Install Repair, I'm guessing that can be loaded from the original WinXP CD (I think I've seen it on other instalations I've done in the past).

I tried 'chkdsk' but that only gave me the disk sizes so prehaps I need to configure the parameters? I haven't don't that before so I'm flitting back and forth between the Help interface then trying things.

Zero, the 'Event Viewer' had some interesting results. There were three types of warning. One was an 'Atapi' one:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: atapi
Event Category: None
Event ID: 9
Date: 30/11/2005
Time: 20:39:50
User: N/A
Computer: KRAFTY
Description:
The device, \Device\Ide\IdePort0, did not respond within the timeout period.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 0050000f 00a40001 00000000 c0040009
0010: 00000100 00000000 00000000 00000000
0020: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0030: 00000000 00000007 0e000040 00000000
0040: 120a2000 00200340 00000000 0000000a
0050: f7a5f558 867cc980 00000000 867e2cd8
0060: 00000000 005dfe07 5d000028 000007fe
0070: 00000048 00000000

Another indicated that the error was 'nvidea' related (the graphics card/drivers I use), and there were two disk warnings/errors:

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Disk
Event Category: None
Event ID: 51
Date: 30/11/2005
Time: 20:12:13
User: N/A
Computer: KRAFTY
Description:
An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk0\D during a paging operation.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00680003 00b60001 00000000 80040033
0010: 0000012d c000000e 00000000 00000000
0020: 00000000 00000000 0002d282 00000000
0030: ffffffff 00000001 08000040 00000000
0040: 120a2000 40200340 00004000 0000000a
0050: 00000000 859b61a0 00000000 85c45db8
0060: 00000000 0e811165 810e0028 00006511
0070: 00000020 00000000 00000000 00000000
0080: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

and the second, more profound maybe:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Disk
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7
Date: 30/11/2005
Time: 20:47:46
User: N/A
Computer: KRAFTY
Description:
The device, \Device\Harddisk0\D, has a bad block.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00680003 00b60001 00000000 c0040007
0010: 00000100 c000009c 00000000 00000000
0020: bbfe2e00 00000000 0001c9f8 00000000
0030: ffffffff 00000000 84000040 00000002
0040: 120a2000 00200340 00000000 0000000a
0050: 01177da0 85c462c8 00000000 85bbd008
0060: 00000000 005dff17 5d000028 000017ff
0070: 00000008 00000000 000300f0 0b000000
0080: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

Don't know if that means much to you. It just looks like bad news to me *meh*

I uninstalled the graphics driver to see if that was slowing up/conflicting with the boot up process. It did nothing.
I'll try Transmet's 'msconfig' suggestion and see if any sodding startup programmes are causing problems.

If that fails, I'll try the OS reinstallation after backing up my 100gb of files.
My priority is getting the Beta Awards done for tomorrow so as long as I can still access the files, I'll do that first THEN work on the computer in case it totally packs up

I'm glad I have this second HD with WinXP installed on it *phew*

I shall report back tomorrow as it's late now... Thankyou for your help!

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:20 pm

I'm not sure if it could.

transmet · Post by **transmet** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:32 pm

zerospace wrote:I didn't suggest an antivirus/spyware check because he seems certain that's not the issue. With XP SP2 fully up-to-date, an active a/v, and a hardware firewall - provided he doesn't visit shady websites in the nether-regions of the Internet, it's likely not a virus or spyware.

Actaully, I tend to agree. But what the hell, right? Don't know till you try.

zerospace wrote:Using msconfig might help if it's a corrupt driver issue... (and I'd recommend unchecking one at a time and rebooting for each) - but that's not a quick and easy fix. That'll take some time to go through and test each driver. Faster way: format & reinstall of everything.

Yeah, unchecking each box can be time consuming. It was more intended to try and possibly pinpoint a program that looked like it didn't belong in the boot-up process (I always check what processes are running after start-up through Ad-Watch, but if your unfamiliar with what should and shouldn't be there then this is probably a waste of your time.)

More than anything else Krafty I was trying to save you from a re-format and full re-install by seeing if it was either a virus, faulty program or faulty driver (I still think this is the source of your problem). But as zerospace says, the fastest and surest way to clean-up any problem that isn't hardware related is just to re-format and re-install.

Sorry your going through this - I feel your pain.
Bluescreen-o-Death and I know each other all to well.

Xelloss · Post by **Xelloss** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:48 pm

chkdsk could solve your block problem, but not the driver issue ...
chkdsk C: /F

(documentation follows)
CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:size]]

volume Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
mount point, or volume name.
filename FAT/FAT32 only: Specifies the files to check for fragmentation
.
/F Fixes errors on the disk.
/V On FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of every file
on the disk.
On NTFS: Displays cleanup messages if any.
/R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information
(implies /F).
/L:size NTFS only: Changes the log file size to the specified number
of kilobytes. If size is not specified, displays current
size.
/X Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary.
All opened handles to the volume would then be invalid
(implies /F).
/I NTFS only: Performs a less vigorous check of index entries.
/C NTFS only: Skips checking of cycles within the folder
structure.

The /I or /C switch reduces the amount of time required to run Chkdsk by
skipping certain checks of the volume.

What video card do you have?

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:49 pm

I really couldn't say for sure about Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information
implies F.

zerospace · Post by **zerospace** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:31 pm

Well it definitely appears you have at least one bad sector on the HDD - you might want to run some tools (Maxtor should provide) to find and map all bad sectors to new sectors...

I hope it's not a hardware problem, but if you do have bad sectors on the disk, they could be the source of the problem (ie. bad sector where a driver or other system file is located).

I'll hope for ya in the meantime, Krafty!

Also - did you try updating to the latest nvidia video driver?

yoshito · Post by **yoshito** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:53 pm

Ack, sorry been in and out all day so missed the whole forum.

I agree with Zero that you have some bad sectors. From the sounds of it, might be where some Windows files are located, leaving the OS in a state of "um, helloooooo..." Also doesn't help that you said that running an OS on a secondary drive works just fine, I just hope you can get all of your data off of the primary drive w/o loosing anything because of a bad sector(s).

I hate having HDs fail... but they do have that chance. At least they aren't failing like they used to back in the 10meg days.

zerospace · Post by **zerospace** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 7:18 pm

^^ Is always late.... woops, wrong thread. sorry yoshi!

Gotta remember that quote.. "leaving the OS in a state of um, hellloooooo" hahaha. nice.

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:26 am

Before I started doing anything I popped back here because there were more replies ^__^

I just DL'd the latest graphics driver, http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_81.95.html, which actually came out on 22nd Nov 2005 so it's very new. If I'm able to, I'll install it and see if it makes a difference. My card is a NVIDEA GeForce Ti 4200.

Before running the chkdsk again like Xelloss suggested, I'll back up my data onto DVDs first. My old, functioning HD doesn't have the capacity for me to transfer everything over directly.

I agree with Transmet that there could be a startup problem. From what I remember following my check on the processes that were running, I had about 40 'things' running at he same time, that sems like a lot to me. Thing is, I don't know what should and shouldn't be running as the weird names mean very little to me.

I've DL'd Maxtors 'Powermax' diagnostic tool. This has to be loaded onto a floppy then it boots up directly and analyses the HD setup and checks for boot sector problems among other things. Sounds like a good thing to test, as you say Zero.
Reading up about this tool, it suggests that data is backed up beforehand. I'll do that now because it seem that whatever step I take, I may need to save my files.
If I boidge it up along the way, I know that the clean reinstall is the last resport and I won't have a problem if my files are safe. [Must remember to save my Bookmarks and Emails]

I'll be back when I have more to report.

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:27 am

OK then let me think over your offer.