Start Up Problems BEFORE XP Pro Splash Screen
LouDog0102
of my computer knowledge....
I recently rebuilt a computer that I had originally bought from Alienware.
It was purchased at some time during 2002. When I rebuilt this computer I
purchased a new graphics card (VGA ASUS N7600GS SILENT/HTD/256M R), and a new
hard drive (WD 7K 8M ATA100 WD5000JBRTL). It's a 500G drive. My old hard
drive was 80G. It might be important to note that the old hard drive was
broken. This installation was done on the fresh hard drive, with the old 80G
drive and the old video card removed.
Anyway, when I first replaced everything I ran into the 137G barrier. Since
my Windows Restore CD was pre-SP1, the windows installation process didn't
recognize the full 500G. I installed Win XP onto that 137 partition and once
it was done I installed all updates, bringing me up to SP3. When I got all
of that done, I formated the remaining 300+G. This process made it into a
second partition. This was not by choice, but my only option. I didn't want
to have 2 separate partitions, but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle of
trying to fix and all was right with the world.
About 2 weeks later I decided I wanted to back up some of my DVDs onto my
hard drive. I downloaded a ripper, and when I went to rip I decided I would
put everything onto my larger, unused partition. When i started the rip, my
computer would freeze momentarily and then unfreeze. This would happen about
every 3 seconds or so. I decided to try and run the rip onto the smaller C:
drive that I originally created when I installed XP. Everything worked fine.
No stuttering/freezing at all. When this happened I decided I was going to
reformat the entire drive as one big drive, using a "slip stream" disk.
Basically, what you do is copy your entire (hidden folder.files and all)
installation CD to a folder, download windows XP SP2 and add it to that new
folder. You then burn the original image from the original CD onto a new
disk with the new files (SP2). *Note: This is in no way a workaround to get
a free operating system. You still need you product key, which, of course, I
do.* The process I used it explain on this site:
http://www.tech-forums.net/showthread.php?threadid=79821.
I tested the disc first and it worked fine. So, I reformatted the whole
thing. When I ran through the installation process I deleted all of the old
partitions and installed onto a new one. Also, this time Windows recognized
the entire drive, due to SP2 being installed. I formatted the entire drive
(I did NOT use quick format). Windows installed beautifully. I ran through
all of the updates and everything seemed to be fine. I installed my drivers
with only one problem. The Asus Video Card install gave me the "This
software has not been verified as being compatible with WinXP. Do you want to
continue?" I clicked yes. *Note: it gave me this same message the first time
I installed XP, when I had two different partitions. So I don't think this
has anything to do with it, but I will include it to be as detailed as
possible.*
So, I start downloading my usual software: AVG, Adaware, AIM, PowerMenu,
Firefox (sorry microsoft, I still love you). I start installing this stuff
and everything goes fine. I restart several times. I then decided to rip a
DVD to the 500G C: drive to see if I get the same problem as I had before.
Everything goes fine. I install some of the programs I downloaded and I was
prompted for a restart. When I restarted the computer it took a solid 4
minutes to get past the solid black screen that comes up before the Windows
XP loading screen. Once I finally got to my desktop, everything SEEMED fine.
So, I restarted again, and I had the same problem. I tried several times,
and it was always the same.
So, since I had just recently started using PowerMenu I thought maybe that
was some sort of Mal-ware and I decided to just reformat the whole thing
again (did NOT use quick format). Windows installed fine, I started
installing my drivers, and when i was prompted for a restart I did. Same
problem, on a fresh format and install. No programs installed whatsover,
other than my Nvidia driver. So, here I am. I need some help. I have no
idea what's going on. Is it a bad hard drive, with bad sectors? That's the
only thing I can think of. It's not unheard of for a new drive to arrive
bad.
If anyone can provide any advice or information it would be greatly
appreciated.
*Note: During this process I went into MSCONFIG and made sure that it was
in Normal Startup Mode. Everything seemed fine. There were no unusualy (at
least not that I know of) programs that were set to load on startup since I
hadn't really installed anything.*
Unknown
JS
"LouDog0102" <LouDo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9773D643-CD43-4072...@microsoft.com...
LouDog0102
XP without SP1 did not during install.
Shenan Stanley
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage/browse_frm/thread/6cc475d99eacbfb3/d9e881410b2fef05#d9e881410b2fef05
LouDog0102 wrote:
> Yeah, the BIOS recognized the full size of the hard drive, but the
> original XP without SP1 did not during install.
Correct - nor would it be expected to. SP1 for Windows XP added support for
drives larger than 137GB (in essence.) All service packs after that
included SP1, thus included the support for drives larger than 137GB.
If I understand your whole story - you are complaining because it has a 4
minute boot time and perhaps some lag when doing some things?
When you installed drivers - did you install the motherboard chipset drivers
(downloaded to ensure they were the latest) from the manufacturer? Then
install the video, sound, etc? (Make sureyou have the latest version for
each.)
Also - check your system BIOS - check the performance settings, research
your particular motherboard and see if there are any settings you can tweak.
--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
LouDog0102
information. I reformatted everything and it all went smoothly. I installed
my INF files and everything went fine. My wireless card drivers went fine.
At this point I had restarted more than a few times and everything booted up
nicely. As soon as I installed the display drivers it went back to it's old
ways. I don't know why this happens. I feel like it has to be the dispaly
drivers that are holding this thing back, although I don't know why. I tried
uninstalling the driver and I ran into some problems there. It said I need
to restart and that I needed to close a window before I did. I couldn't do
it in time and everything restarted and I still have the problem. Please
help.
*Video Card: Asus N7600GS Silent
I believe this is built off the GeForce 7600 GS series
*It uses the AGP Bus architecture
When I installed the drivers I used a "WinXP pro" version from Asus instead
of the ones that came with the disc. It installed fine but it made my
computer start the extremely slow startup process. I then tried downloading
a driver from NVidia. It did not help. Still the same slow startup time.
Is there any other system information that would be helpful?
"Shenan Stanley" wrote:
> <snipped>
> http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage/browse_frm/thread/6cc475d99eacbfb3/d9e881410b2fef05#d9e881410b2fef05
>
>
>
>
Unknown
the BIOS.
JS
"LouDog0102" <LouDo...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:20AA71A5-B21F-4316...@microsoft.com...
Daave
> *Video Card: Asus N7600GS Silent
> I believe this is built off the GeForce 7600 GS series
>
> *It uses the AGP Bus architecture
>
> When I installed the drivers I used a "WinXP pro" version from Asus
> instead
> of the ones that came with the disc. It installed fine but it made my
> computer start the extremely slow startup process. I then tried
> downloading
> a driver from NVidia. It did not help. Still the same slow startup
> time.
I just visited that site. Did you download Version 91.31 (July 11,
2006)? And if so, did you download the 32-bit or 64-bit driver?
LouDog0102
have visited it, but I'm not sure if I downloaded that driver or not. I'll
be honest, I've downloaded so many drivers during the last couple of days
that I've lost count. Could you possibly send me a link to that set of
drivers on the site you are referring to? It would be greatly apprteciated.
Also, all drivers that I've downloaded have been 32-bit.
Also, I'm wondering if the problem could be related to something else. Do
the drivers load up before windows loads(like do they load up before you see
the splash screen?), or do they load afterward? If they do load afterward
maybe it isn't the drivers ?? All I know is that everything goes ok until I
install the video drivers and restart.
In case it is helpful, I will tell you what I know about my motherboard:
Pentium 4 Processor
D850MVE2 Motherboard
Daave
> I'm not sure I know which site you are talking about. The Asus sight?
> I
> have visited it, but I'm not sure if I downloaded that driver or not.
> I'll
> be honest, I've downloaded so many drivers during the last couple of
> days
> that I've lost count. Could you possibly send me a link to that set
> of
> drivers on the site you are referring to? It would be greatly
> apprteciated.
> Also, all drivers that I've downloaded have been 32-bit.
This is what I did:
I found this Web page:
http://support.asus.com/download/download_item.aspx?product=9&model=N7600%20Series&SLanguage=en-us
I clicked on the + sign next to VGA. There is a choice of five drivers.
The 32-bit XP driver is:
nv9131_w2kxp.zip
LouDog0102
after the problem had started. Meaning that I had already installed the
drivers included on the CD. Do the new drivers uninstall the old ones?
Daave
"Those" drivers? You're losing me, Lou; there's only *one* driver on
that page that fits the bill!
What do you currently have? Please do the following:
Right-click My Computer | Manage | Device Manager | Display Adapters
Then right-click the graphics card adapter and choose Properties.
Then click on the Driver tab.
What are the values for:
Driver Provider, Driver Date, and Driver Version?
And is your BIOS configured properly? Does your motherboard have onboard
graphics, too?
LouDog0102
one. Sorry about that. When I get home I will definitely post the
information you asked for. Thanks again