Posts by willcomp

The first things to do for a PC that's been sitting for so long are to:

1. Replace CMOS battery (you already figured that one out)

2. Remove and reseat all cables and power connectors, and

3. Remove memory and PCI cards, clean contacts (red pencil eraser works) and reinstall

Disconnect the hard disk. Boot from a bootable CD. If you can't get optical drive operable, replace it (borrow one from another PC). It's possible removing and reseating power cables may fix the problem.

The UBCD is a good boot disk for testing PCs.
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html

Sounds like an overheating CPU to me.

If the CPU fan has failed, you need to replace the fan or the HSF assembly.

How clean is the HSF? If it plugged up, blow it out thoroughly with canned air. Also clean air intakes and vents.

I doubt it has anything to do with your DVD drive. If it's broken, replace it or al least disconnect power and signal cables.

Does it shut off or reboot? Generally OS errors cause a reboot and hardware problems cause a shutdown.

You likely have a weak capacitor either in the power supply or on the motherboard. Most probably the power supply. Unplugging allows a balky capacitor to discharge.

Swap power supplies if you have another one or can borrow one.

Inspect capacitors on motherboard. Look for bulging tops (tops should be flat) or signs of electrolyte leakage. Absence of external signs does not mean that caps are good, but presence of damage means they are failing.

Check CPU HSF. Did you remove tape/plastic on bottom? Thermal compound applied? CPU fan connected and operating?

This could be an overheating issue.

PSU is a possibility. To test, disconnect drives and remove all but one stick of memory. That'll give PSU a little more "breathing room" but not much. It should boot a basic system.

Another possibility is a faulty capacitor on motherboard or in power supply. Try another PSU if one is available.

PSU is marginal with your CPU and video card. I recommend a good quality one of at least 450 watts.

Re: CMOS jumper -- it's common for ECS and PC Chips (same company), but not everyone else.

Contrary to what you read in Newegg reviews, DOA mobos are rare. The problem usually lies elsewhere -- incompatible parts, improper assembly, or another faulty component.

Your memory is compatible with most chipsets and motherboards.

Check position of CMOS reset jumper.

Remove memory and see if there are any beeps.

Disconnect/remove everything but mobo, CPU, PSU, memory, video card, and keyboard. Try a basic boot.

Look at rear of PC and tell us what the pattern is on diagnostic LEDs. I think they are under PS/2 ports on a Dimension 3000.

From the symptoms, you have a faulty capacitor either in the PSU or on motherboard. I'd try another PSU first.

If PSU has failed, purchase a good quality replacement with adequate power.

Wiping the drive with DBAN serves the same purpose as a low level format (0 fill) and works on all drives independent of manufacturer.

XP itself will partition and format.

It won't hurt to try the manufacturer's utilities/installation software as long as a drive overlay is not installed. That may cause problems in the future. I would't expect to see any difference.

I don't understand why a 244MB partition is being created. XP won't even install in 244MB.

Is a restore disk rather than an XP CD being used?

All the major hard disk manufacurers' utilities are on the UBCD.

i would have use the hard drive makers disk utility ,downloaded and put on a bootable cd

To do what? Low level format, partition, format, test?

The Combofix log is clean.

Did you install VB6 runtime? It's the Visual Basic (VB) runtime module and is required for software written in VB.

Download Combofix on another PC and copy to desktop. You can use a flash (thumb) drive to copy the file or burn to a CD.

Have you disabled startup items and non MS services yet? That may help some.

Apparently, you have already run ComboFix and removed the infection.

See the last post in this thread for instructions on how to remove red x drive icon. It's a registry edit.

http://forum.aumha.org/viewtopic.php?t=31545&sid=d2d58cf1dc34735dd6c3492cd78ffe4f

Download ComboFix by sUBs from either of these locations:
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe
http://subs.geekstogo.com/ComboFix.exe

How to use Combofix:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix

You must download it to and run it from your Desktop
Now STOP all your monitoring programs (Antivirus/Antispyware, Guards and Shields) as they could easily interfere with ComboFix.
Double click combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
When finished, it will produce a log. Please save that log to post in your next reply.
Re-enable all the programs that were disabled during the running of ComboFix..

Note:
Do not mouse-click combofix's window while it is running. That may cause it to stall.

CF disconnects your machine from the internet. The connection is automatically restored before CF completes its run. If CF runs into difficulty and terminates prematurely, the connection can be manually restored by restarting your machine.

I recommend using msconfig to disable all startup items and non MS services before running ComboFix to ensure AV programs and others that interfere are disabled. A reboot is required after changes are made in msconfig.

never seen that in the options before until now ,sorry

Made you look, did I? :) Option was added in SP2 and is very useful on BSOD reboots, especially those caused by a corrupt registry hive.

that sounds familiar ,but wit less detail

I'm referring to disabling restart on error from Boot Options (F8) screen NOT within Safe Mode. Changing behavior on error from within XP won't work if you can't boot in Safe Mode.

Although 2003 Server will run nicely on most any mid range PC hardware, I agree that you would be better served with a true file server. The Dell Poweredge servers are very good and reasonably priced. You can buy cheaper than you can build.

Reliability and redundancy are the keys. You want either a RAID 1 or RAID 5 array and solid components.

For a true server, take a look at Intel, Tyan and Supermicro workstation and server motherboards. Pick a quality 450 watt or better power supply -- PCP&C and Seasonic are top choices. Sturdy case with good air flow and plenty of 3.5" drive bays.

Do you have another PSU to try. Standby power LED lit and PSU fan running when power on lead is jumpered does not verify PSU is actually providing power on all rails. That's especially true if the original Bestec PSU is still installed.

If you have XP SP2 installed, press F8 for boot options and disable reboot on error. That option is not available on boot menu prior to SP2.

Then, you may be able to see what the error is and post details here.

Use DBAN on the UBCD to wipe hard disk. UBCD contains other useful utilities.
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html

Or if you prefer a stand alone version of DBAN:
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Note: use the /quick switch. One pass is sufficient.

Thought it would be appropriate to post a little personal and professional information.

Dalton Williams
Grandpa
Port Gibson, MS USA

I have over 20 years experience building and repairing PCs. Obviously my prime areas of expertise are hardware and operating systems.

Prowl around some other help sites as well, particularly EE and TechRepublic. What drew me here was the opportunity to provide factual information and help to what seems mostly a younger audience. The old "get em started on the right track" approach.

Hope I can be of help.

You are already operating in single channel mode. While I agree that adding 2 1GB sticks along with 2 existing 256MB sticks is preferable (dual channel support), adding a single 1GB stick should cause no problems and you should see a performance increase.

Dual channel only increases memory performance a small amount (about 5 to 10%) not the significant amount many people think. There is almost no effect on gaming performance.

For best single channel performance, place largest module in first slot, second largest in second slot, and so on. First slot is usually the one closest to the CPU.

I can't find any mention of an SATA controller card on the Creative web site. Are you sure Creative is the manufacturer?

I'm beginning to wonder if you have a faulty hard disk. Is the disk spinning up? You can listen or place your finger tips on top of drive to feel vibrations from motor.

With those drivers installed and drive properly connected, it should be recognized by BIOS and by XP.

Try installing controller card and connecting drive to card. There should be a key to press during bootup to access controller BIOS. You also may get a message that controller BIOS was not installed since no drives were detected.

Do you have a model number for controller card?

Based on symptoms you described, I suspect the motherboard.

Either a drive is faulty or jumpers are not configured correctly.

Disconnect all drives -- both signal and power cables. Only way to rule out a faulty drive hard or optical or floppy.

Disconnect all drives, both signal and power cables. Remove PCI cards. Disconnect card reader (if instakked). Disconnect all external devices except monitor and keyboard. Then try a basic boot.

You need to install drivers for VIA 8237 southbridge (SATA controller).
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=1&CatID=1180&SubCatID=143

Also install chipset drivers if you haven't already done so.
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=1&CatID=1070

Although BIOS setup info is generic, it's much better than nothing. I didn't even find that and I'm very familar with HP's web site.

Any other little tidbits of major importance you've neglected to pass on?

Look in BIOS for any settings related to SATA. I'm not referring to drive table on first BIOS page but rather one where SATA is enabled and/or mode set. It would be helpful if we had BIOS Setup layout from HP, but we don't. What are BIOS page headings in your BIOS?

With card installed and drive connected to it, drive will not show up in BIOS. The SATA controller card BIOS will configure the drive and pass information to Windows. What SATA controller do you have?

Just to be sure -- is there an SATA power connector attacched to drive? It's over twice as wide as signal cable connector.

Flashing the BIOS got you into the predicament you are in now. Since it won't POST and there apparently is no BIOS recovery option on that motherboard, there is no way to reflash BIOS.

Motherboard or BIOS chip? -- either one. Appears that BIOS chip is socketed and readily removable.

I looked on HP's website and couldn't find any information about BIOS recovery. A retail Asus motherboard usually has a BIOS recovery routine, although a floppy drive might be needed.

You can call or e-mail HP tech support and see if they have any suggestions.

I can't think of any other options besides replacing BIOS chip or motherboard.

One should only flash a BIOS when absolutely necesary unless there is a recovery option available. It's a procedure that's done much too often by end users and can result in a useless PC -- as you found out.

That's a real shame. What exactly happened when you flashed the BIOS? Give us a blow by blow description.

Probably because XP MCE won't join a domain.

Let's try to get drive working with motherboard SATA controllers. Remove add-in controller and connect drive to a motherboard SATA connector.

Ensure data and power cables are fuly seated. Boot PC. Enter BIOS Setup and look for any SATA related entries (I assume HP tech walked you through this). Post back what BIOS settings are available. I couldn't find BIOS setup info on HP web site. Should be in one of the manuals but isn't.

Is this the file you downloaded? If so, it should create a floppy disk with drivers.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-39535-1&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1843762&os=228

First, try the easy route. Check BIOS settings for SATA controller and see if there is an IDE mode or OS Install Mode. If so, no SATA controller drivers are needed. Also disable AHCI in BIOS.

Just looked at specs on notebook. It has 2 hard disks but there's no mention of a RAID array.

Appears file you downloaded was Intel Matrix software. What You need is SATA driver and/or RAID drivers. Do you know which Intel chipset is used? Southbridge would be most helpful (e.g. ICH7). I'll do some more looking in the interim.

How about telling us what motherboard and SATA controller you have. What hard disk(s) you have and what you have tried.

Also, are you trying to install Windows and, if so, which version (XP, Vista)?

I'm very proficient with PCs but not too good at reading minds :)

Poor quality or degraded power supplies (PSUs) are the root of many PC problems. Appeared to me that drive was not adequately powered. Could have been an inadequate PSU or a faulty one.

Did you check for a size limit jumper? Here are Seagate jumper settings.
http://www.seagate.com/images/support/en/us/u5_family_1.gif

Many, if not most, new PCs do not have serial ports, but you can add a PCI serial port card. An example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815166003

Why not simply use a serial port? It will likely be difficult at best to use a USB port.

Your best bet is GetDataBack. There is a trial version so you can see whether it will recover data before purchasing the software.
http://www.runtime.org/

Try removing upper and lower filters (if present).
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060

There are no separate drivers for internal optical drives. Necessary drivers are included in XP/Vista. Burning software does install additional drivers.

Then they don't and will install to their default folder.

Then power supply is the likely suspect. Try swapping power supplies.

Will it reboot immediately or do you have to wait? That's important.

You are much better with a soldering iron than I am if you can do that successfully. It's your PC, do what you wish.

I erred in FSB speed -- should be 166MHz not 133MHz.

You assume correctly :-)