Problem with XP 32 bit installed on SSD

[SamBarz]

Hello:
I am new to this forum and I have looked for my particular problem and gave up after a while with no results. The answers I seek could be somewhere but alas I can't find it. My problem is this. A little while back an old SSD went out. So I replaced it with a new one. Being in a hurry I never checked to see if the new SSD was compatible with Windows XP 32 bit. I installed the new SSD loaded all my programs and all worked really great for almost 2 months. Then I ran into a big problem. I can not load up my desktop. All I can load is Windows in Safe Mode. So I wonder what could be wrong ? Is it the TRIM function in the SSD, since Windows XP does not support that ? Or could it be something entirely different ? Has anyone had this same problem ? And what could I do ?
Many thanks
SamBarz

 

[DSzymborski]

Hello:
I am new to this forum and I have looked for my particular problem and gave up after a while with no results. The answers I seek could be somewhere but alas I can't find it. My problem is this. A little while back an old SSD went out. So I replaced it with a new one. Being in a hurry I never checked to see if the new SSD was compatible with Windows XP 32 bit. I installed the new SSD loaded all my programs and all worked really great for almost 2 months. Then I ran into a big problem. I can not load up my desktop. All I can load is Windows in Safe Mode. So I wonder what could be wrong ? Is it the TRIM function in the SSD, since Windows XP does not support that ? Or could it be something entirely different ? Has anyone had this same problem ? And what could I do ?
Many thanks
SamBarz

This is a bit short on information. What do you mean you "can not load up my desktop" precisely? What is the observefd behavior beyond cannot? All you've stated is Windows won't load, and that's it, and that can be a billion different things. Without a shred of information beyond the fact that there is a problem, no description of what you're seeing, what you described, and not a shred of information about your hardware, it's just guessing in the wind.

 

[SamBarz]

This is a bit short on information. What do you mean you "can not load up my desktop" precisely? What is the observefd behavior beyond cannot? All you've stated is Windows won't load, and that's it, and that can be a billion different things. Without a shred of information beyond the fact that there is a problem, no description of what you're seeing, what you described, and not a shred of information about your hardware, it's just guessing in the wind.

Sorry about that. My system is a ASUS ROG Rampage II Extreme. 2 gigs of ram, nvidia FX 3800 graphics card, 750 watt PSU, Intel i7 CPU, new SSD is a Teamgroup CX2 SSD 256GB , Windows XP 32 bit SP2, chipset on the MB is Intel X58, SATA1 , 2 DVDs, no floppy, USB 2.0, Serial and Parallel port card, storage drive is a SSD with 1TB. Turning on system [Thermaltake Chassis] is like this: all fans come on, jmicron logo appears , Bios option or "Press Tab ti=o view Bios" after all that the Windows logo appears, then that goes away. [Up to this point all of the start up messages are normal] Next thing is nothing, my monitor cycles thru the [I guess cable or ports on the monitor]. And that is as far as I get. In order to get into Safe Mode I press F8. I have inspected the MB, all cables securely attached, replaced monitor cable. So if I have left out anything please let me know.
Thanks

 

[BFG-9000]

There's nothing wrong with using a SSD on Windows XP, you mostly just have to install the F6 driver for AHCI SATA because it does not come with one. Yes, the built-in partitioning tools don't properly align the sectors and TRIM is not supported but those only make it slower, not fail to boot. You can realign it afterwards with a 3rd party partitioning utility, and occasionally zero-fill empty space manually with the DOS program sdelete -z or else the cipher /w included with Windows XP whenever you notice it's slow.

While there are many things that can bork an XP installation I can think of one in particular: if you installed XP in IDE mode and then reset your CMOS which defaulted to AHCI mode. If that's the case then you only need to change it back to IDE mode or install the AHCI driver from safe mode

 

[BFG-9000]

If all else fails you could always install XP on top of itself with an in-place upgrade. Unlike newer versions of Windows that only allow you to do that if Windows isn't broken.

 

[SamBarz]

I want to thank all those that have offered help. I have not done anything yet. I want to ask a rather stupid question if I may. What tools are available in XP [safe mode mind you][That are included in XP] that one can use to examine settings, software side of things] What tools can one examine for the hardware side of things. I ask these questions because I am sure there is a lot I do not know and have no clue what might be right at my finger tip. And as was mention in the previous post about windows being broken, what are some of the signs [obvious - non obvious] that Windows is broken ? Many, many thanks for your time and trouble !

 

[geofelt]

A ssd is not likely to be the issue.
Safe mode loads windows with a minimum of essential drivers and startup tasks.
Apparently, one of your loads is faulty.
If you worked well for two months, I suspect that a windows update loaded a less than good driver.
Possibly malware was installed.
Look in your installed programs list for anything unusual or that was installedrecently.
Run a free malwarebytes scan.

See if you can't run system restore to reset back to when all was well.
Failing that, look at your startup tasks.
Reintroduce them one, by one until you get the failure.

 

[SamBarz]

Thank you for the help I have the Malwarebytes downloaded but I need the XP service pack 3 installed. I have tried in the past to find that, with no real luck. Where can I find the SP 3 for XP Pro 32 bit ?
Thanks

 

[geofelt]

You might look on ebay.
For a long time, I struggled with trying to run a 32 bit os.
Drivers and support was always an issue.
I wanted to run civ 2.42, a 16 bit game.
Ultimately, I gave up.

Exactly why do you need to run xp 32 bit?
Why not sp2?
only 16 bit apps will not run on 64 bit windows.

 

[SamBarz]

Thanks so much for replying. Well I can try a Malwarebytes or any antivirus that can run on Windows XP 32 bit Pro Service Pack 2. It seems things are gradually deteriorating , now my Windows installer won't work, and I can not load from the DVD drives. Is it possible to load a operational anti virus on a thumb drive, plug that in and let it do its' thing ?

Thanks

Sam