Win2K crashed, tried to install XP...serious error

[JR27]

Hello everyone,
My Win2K recently died on me and so I finally decided to upgrade to XP. Turns out that I may have a hardware issue but I'm not sure. When my 2K died, I briefly saw an error msg that said something about ACPI being enabled or disabled. I had no idea what that meant (and I still don't) so I decided to buy a new HD and install XP on that. Well, during installation, I got the same error so I was forced to look at my MB manual and found how to change the ACPI setting. Luckily, it seemed to help. Not sure exacly what I did but I was then able to install XP.

I quickly upgraded XP to the latest service packs and upgraded my drivers and all. Within a day or two, my comp started to crash and eventually I was unable to even start windows. I got an error saying that some of my files were either missing or corrupt (several different files like NTFS.sys or a file in the DRIVERS folder, among others).

Eventaully, I couldn't even repair or install XP and got an error that a file on the CD couldn't be copied or something. So then I re-formatted my HD with the CD that came with it (MAXTOR 80GB), and then was able to re-install XP only to get the same type of error a day later.

My guess now is that maybe I had installed an incorrect driver but that doesn't explain why I would have problems re-installing XP. So I may have a hardware issue...I don't know. I am going to flash the BIOS to see if that does anything but other than that, I am at a loss. I need some help!! Any help would be greatly appreciated! FYI, I have an ASUS P4B266-C MB with 80GB Maxtor Ultra. I believe I have 512MB of memory, Kingston. Could my RAM maybe have gotten damaged? Or maybe the MB got damaged since I had to change the ACPI setting. Also, I got a blue screen which mentioned a memory dump of some sort.

Please help!!

 

[sparky853]

Try running <A HREF="http://www.memtest86.com" target="_new">MemTest86</A> as bad RAM can cause all kinds of weird errors.

Changing the ACPI on your motherboard won't damage it. It a power function, that among other things, allows you motherboard to shut itself off when you do a shutdown.

You could also try doing a low level format of your HDD before installing your OS again. Should be able to find a utility to do this on your HDD manufacturers website.

Intel P4 2.4B MSI 645E Max-U Mobo 1GB DDR333 ATI R9600XT 128MB SB Live 5.1 Samsung 120GB
Maxtor 120GB LG DVD+-R/RW WIN2K PRO SP4

 

[JR27]

Thanks for the recommendation. I just ran the Memtest86 and found that one of my memory modules was bad. I took it out, reformatted and reinstalled XP. So far, so good as I had no problems during installation and I am able to type this msg from my home PC as opposed to my work PC. I hope this was the problem but I really won't know for a couple more days and let the comp run for a bit. Anyway, you may have hit the nail on the head. I'll post an update in a few days in case you might be interested in the outcome.

Thanks!!!!!!!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jr27 on 08/17/04 05:41 AM.</EM></FONT></P>