Win XP Home Trouble!!!!

Your install is not working - Windows is not loading. Reinstall Windows. Is this a new built PC? Why did you reinstall - had something stopped working or what problems did you have? If you want to contact us directly visit www.barrada.co.uk for contact details.

Paul

my pc is 3 years old. i bought it from a high street shop. i just did fresh install of windows to improve performance. i do not want to use the 'factory settings CD'

what is the propblem?

p.s. ive been to your site and your prices are really high. even higher than RRP!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by matrixripoff on 01/20/05 10:19 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

What is this? The home shopping network?

....WW (5.0)

no just a dude with a pc problem.

help!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is there any1 who can help me?

List your comp's specs.

:smile: Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

I have three suggestions:

It's well documented (i.e. a common problem) that WinXP is finicky and won't run on all hardware. Is your computer a "brand name" (like Dell, Compaq, eMachine, etc? Post the brand and model number, along with basic specs like how much RAM, processor type/speed and size of hard disk. If not a brand name, open the box (take anti-static precautions) and look for brand/model information on motherboard and note any brand/type information re BIOS, video card, hard drive, etc. Post this information (it takes longer to type this request than to get the info!)

Now, for the suggestions:
1) The problem is likely with your video card. Swap yours with a friend and try again. If that doesn't fix it, change your motherboard to an ASUS (absolutely never use Elitegroup Computer System motherboards!) and reinstall. One of those changes will fix it;
2) Get a copy of Windows 2000 (*not* Millenium Edition) and install that instead. WinXP is one of the worst releases for hardware incompatibility;
3) Download (free!) and install a Linux operating system like Kanotix. The installation is much better (and just as easy as) Windows and all software is free. For wordprocessing, use OpenOffice.org -- it reads/writes MS Office documents. It has built-in PDF creation (no need to purchase $600 Adobe Acrobat), built-in CD/DVD burning, etc etc. Linux is finally ready for us home users - "Forgeddaboudit"
http://kanotix.com/files/kanotix/mirrors.html
(get the Fix2 iso)

my pc never had a problem for 3 years until now.

so why did pc gave up on me now and not earlier in the years?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by matrixripoff on 01/22/05 06:09 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

Okay, new information.

A few more ideas...

1) Some chips/cards may have become partially unseated from their slots. Open the case, TAKE ANTI-STATIC PRECAUTIONS (ask if you don't know how), and unseat/reseat the video card and RAM chips. Again, if you don't know how, ask first.

2) Reinstall Windows again. Use a different CD if you can.

By the way, this is pretty basic but maybe you didn't know this: before reinstalling Windows you should always reformat the drive and boot from a boot from the Windows install CDROM. You will not get a proper reinstallation if you try to reinstall over an existing Windows installation because Windows will *not* recopy all of the files.

As they say in the manuals, rots of ruck.

i did that but still get the same problem  

Well, let's get back to the original problem, just for the fun of it.

Matrixripoff, why don't you give us a complete description of your hardware setup? It's going to be a lot easier to tell what's going on if we have some idea of what the software is trying to run on. Be sure to give us all the detail you can, right down to model numbers and how old each item is. Pay real attention to the size of the power supply, CPU, memory, and your video and sound cards (if any) plus the driver version installed.

Then tell us what was on the system originally and why you decided to start over.

<font color=green>****</font color=green> Never Assume <font color=red>ANYTHING</font color=red> <font color=green>****</font color=green>

List your computer specs....

....WW (5.0)

P4 2.6ghz
256 MB DDR 333
120GB HDD
Geforce TI4200 128MB
DVD DRIVE
CD-RW DRIVE
WIN XP HOME
250W PSU

(Its a Medion PC)

i have listed the specs

Check your RAM's timing and voltage. Sometimes, if it was set too agressive or voltage too low can prevent Windows bootup properly.
Another thing, your PSU might be failing or not enough power for all of your components. If you have another one, try it (I'd suggest it should be at least 300W).
BTW, what name brand and model is your motherboard?

:smile: Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

1) I would run DOS based diagnotic utilites to check the Hard drive and memory. (memtest86 + utility form hard drive manufacturer).

2) It wouldn't hurt to flash your motherboards BIOS to the latest version just in case.

3) On some motherboards it is best to underclock your CPU/memory until after XP if installed and running.

4) Some XP OEM CD's are tied to specific motherboards. Are you trying to use an XP CD that came with another system?

You might also want to try creating a SP2 install CD and try installing from that.

5) Some people try to install XP on one machince then move the hard drive to another.

Only install XP by booting fron the CD, and only install it on the hardware on which it is intended to run.

A clean install on a formatted partion is best.

6) Its always a good idea when trouble shooting to disconnect as much as possible from the system.

You only need 1 stick of memory, 1 hard drive, 1 cd-rom, 1 video card, powersupply, keyboard and mouse.

Everything else needs to be disconnected or disabled in your BIOS.

PS I am amazed your system runs 100% stable with just a 250 watt supply, it most be a good model. OEM's have a bad habit of putting in a supply that is just good enough to handle what's in the system. Add just one more component and ...

An Antec (or other quality brand) supply 430 watts or higher would be a decent investment. (remember watteage rattings alone don't equal stablity, go with a well regarded brand)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Codesmith on 01/25/05 03:36 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

no im not using xp cd that came with another system.

what is the likely solution from all the options available for me?

please help!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by matrixripoff on 01/29/05 08:07 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

which one shall i choose from all the solutions given to me?

Is your RAM one stick or two? If it is two, try doing the install with just one of them...one of your sticks may be bad.

Not sure if this is true, but I've been told many times 256Mb of RAM is almost not enough to run or install XP.

....WW (5.0)

it is one stick of 256MB DDR ram. I ran with this with for 3 years. so why winxp refuses 256MB now?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by matrixripoff on 01/31/05 10:24 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

Win XP will install and run with 128MB of RAM... so someone was giving you inaccurate advice. That said, it will run, but it will be much slower than it would with 256MB or even 512MB. I prefer a minimum of 512MB for XP... mostly because I'm a gamer. If you're just web browsing or other simple tasks, 256MB will probably do just fine. 512MB seems to be the 'sweet spot' for XP... I'm running 1GB at home.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

whose advise shall i take to solve my problem?