help...... i m not able to isolate the problem

[metallica]

hi ppl ,

i m new to this forum ,..... i own a pc config is :

intel pentium 4 1.6 ghz
intel 845dwn motherboard
sb live audio card
nvidia riva tnt 32 mb display card
samsung svo411n 40gb hdd
asus witer drive
samsung rom drive .....et..al

OS : win xp prof + sp1 version 2002

all was fine .....my pc used to work like a f15 fighter ..... but suddenly 1 day ,i started my pc ... it took an exceptionally long time to complete POST . then i got a black screen ::: Boot Failure System Halted:::::

since then its been 8 days ..my pc acts some weird ....it works fine for 2 to 3 days ... n on some days i get to see the "Boot Failure " screen 10 times before my pc starts again ....

i hav tried the following tilll now :

1 switching the ide cables(in case of data cable failure )
2 switching the ide slots (in case of motherboard iedslot failure )
3 replacing the battery (thiis happened cos out of the blue it flashed CMOS Battery low )
4 switching the power cables (not the SMPS though....)

5 i hav tested my hdd with a utility(Hutil125) available at the samsung site
my hdd passed all the tests in the diagnostic (no bad sectors ....)

6 i hav tested my pc's memory with a so called window memory diagnostic (mtinst)...... no errors found in the test .....

it seems that when the system halts due to the boot failure , my hdd does not get detected in the Bios toooo .....

obviously the boot failure is due to the non detection of the hdd .

but today i removed the hdd from my cabinet (though connected to the system) to see the spinning behaviour of the hdd n noticed that all the times when the system went into boot failure the hdd jus kept on spinning up n spinning down immediately .......

n after 5 to 6 tries (restarts) ...its gave a constant spin , ....n the system started ......

so is this a hdd problem ...or the hdd is not gettin proper power from the smps .........or somethin else is the culprit that i m missing

i hope the description of my problem is clear ....

any kind of help is appreciated .....i have my GRE exam in 15 days i need the system runnin so that i can practice mock tests ... so without pc ..my GRE is doomed ,........

Please help .........

[Catweazle]

Here is how to systematically track down the source of the problem:

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread27079.html

[metallica]

sir, i hav already gone thru that process even before signing up for this site .........i specifically need to isolate the problem between the power supply n the HDD... i could hav alternately brought another powersupply or hdd to test it ....but i live in an colony of 110 apartments with only 5 pc s .... that tooooo belong to novice users who think the computer will seaze to work if the cabinet is opened...n more over my system is over 4 yrs old not covered under any warrenty/gurantee/AMC.....

i m trying to get hold of spare HDD/Power supply but till then ....all i can do is to gain Knowledge form EXPERIENCED ppl like u sir ....

ani ways thanks for atleast reading thru my post ......sorry for ur time consumed .....

[Catweazle]

OK, thanks for the further information.

I'm sorry, but unless you have spare components you may have reached the end of the road as far as what can be achieved yourself.

Check, recheck and triple check that the drive is jumpered correctly and attached to the correct connector on the data cable. For a boot drive it should be set as 'Master' and attached to the end connector of the IDE0 data cable. A secondary drive on that channel should be set as 'Slave' and attached to the middle connector. The equivalent configuration should be set for the drive(s) on IDE1.

Misconfiguration of the drives will cause the system to have problems detecting dirives.

You can also check that the pins in the molex power connector(s) are actually pushing fully home whenm connected. Sometimes, a pin will move upwards in the connector and not make adequate contact. If any such pins are working loose that needs attention. Check that there are no bent pins on the connectors.

You can also check that 80 wire data cables are in use. If you are using the older 40 wire cables they will be unreliable.

Apart from that, there's not much you can do without having spare components to test with.

[metallica]

"""""""""""A secondary drive on that channel should be set as 'Slave' and attached to the middle connector."""""""""""""

i did not knew that this was a hard n fast rule ..... havent tried this , i dont hav a secondary "slave" HDD but till i get spare utils i 'lll try this trick tooooo ....

thanks for reviewing back so soon ....

will keep u updated with the situation ...