I like to reset because i'm difficult.

[F22reject]

Spent about..roughly four hours clicking everything into place. Lit er up..she spun then died...then spun to life once more, i had given my creation life. Pleasing as it was, I was unaware of the trouble to come. I then installed WinXP, first time around she did a disk read error. Second time around the OS was installed and wanted to restart, GREAT! Now comes the dilema. The computer will start up...go past the energy logo and onto a screen with two boxes and below it more info. At which point she'll restart again...and again.....and quite a few more times just for kicks. I am unable to get to the WinXP logo or into regular windows itself. Any thoughts perhaps as to why WinXP dosn't want to creak to life? Perhaps something plugged in wrong? I'm thinking maybe memory compatabily? I bought the DS3/E6300/Corsair 1g. I'm at work right now and about to d/l updated bios into a disk but if thats not the problem, any thoughts as to what else i can try...other then kicking my darling PC.

 

[F22reject]

MOBO - DS3
CPU - E6300
Mem - Corsair 6400 - 1.9V


I read up that the DS3 was having problems with memory voltage being higher then 1.8v. I'm going to be d/l the updated Bios later today.

 

[F22reject]

Heres the exact memory i have:
CORSAIR XMS CM2X1024-6400
240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 1GB
DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
5 5-5-5-12 1.9V No

Thanks for the help Vern.

Not sure on loading the OS on a sata? I don't believe so since it gave me the option to create a Sata i believe.

 

[joefriday]

Make sure your hard disk is set on LBA. I just had a similar problem on a Foxconn e-bot. For some reason the auto setting in the Bios would set the hdd to CHS. Anyway, make sure your hdd is being addressed correctly in the bios.

 

[Straker]

>Second time around the OS was installed and wanted to restart

Did it actually get to the Desktop (Start button, etc.)?

>, GREAT! Now comes the dilema. The computer will start up...go past the energy logo and onto a screen with two boxes and below it more info. At which point she'll restart again...and again.....and quite a few more times just for kicks. I am unable to get to the WinXP logo or into regular windows itself.<

Not exactly sure what you're describing there. However, (assuming the install actually completed) try getting into Windows safe-mode by tapping F8 immediately after POST. If that works, tell it to disable automatic restart on failures, so that maybe you'll see an error code when it crashes. And if it runs okay in safe-mode, then it's not a memory error.

But, given what you've described so far, I agree with the other poster that it's likely to be a memory related problem. Have you used memtest86+?

Crashes like this can screw-up Windows file system, so I'd reinstall Windows after the root problem is resolved, or at least run Chkdsk.

 

[F22reject]

Havn't been able to get to the desktop yet. Computer resets itself before even showing the windows logo.

As soon as i get home i'll try and find this disable reboot key on error. Afraid i don't have the memtest86.

Thanks.

 

[F22reject]

Mornin, took me awhile until i found the stop reboot. The computer reboots 1 second after giving the option to go into safe mode/stop reboot. Problem i'm having now is that after i select the stop rebooting it brings me to another screen giving me the only option to fire up the computer in "windows(default)" After which the computer resets itself for giggles =)I've tryed selecting the safe mode option but i get the same reaction.
I was reading through the manual and it was saying something about a Sata drive? could that be the problem? I've brough the cd/floppy to work so i'll get the info onto that later.
Oi! Also, i flashed to the latest bios..should clear up any concern for memory compatability i'd think.

I have dual memory but only one stick so i'm running it as single at the moment. I have the HDD plugged into Satall0.

Thanks for any help guys.

 

[F22reject]

I never did any of that. I will do it tonight.

Thank you

 

[Straker]

I never did any of that. I will do it tonight.

Thank you

I'm not quite understanding the situation. If it made it through an install and it's responding to F8, then I'd rule out a disk driver problem. BTW, what model harddrive do you have?

However, If it's a SATA and you don't remember loading SATA drivers during the install, I guess you should go through that again to make sure. Shortly after the install begins, you'll see a message at the bottom of the screen about F6. If you hit F6, then later on (not immediately), it will ask you to insert a floppy with SATA drivers. (My mobo maker sent me such a floppy. I don't know if you got one or have to make one.)

Now, if you still have the restart problem after that, I'll throw out a few suggestions...

We still haven't ruled out a memory problem. It would be good if you could download (it's free) and run Memtest86+. Or, if possible, try another stick.

Reconnect cables to make sure the connections are good.

Heat or power related problem? Disconnect/take out anything you can do without and see if that makes a difference.

Get a harddrive diagnostic utility from your vendor's website and check out your drive. If you have an old drive handy, see if you can run on another drive without crashes.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[F22reject]

Good morning fellas,
Thank you for all the help so far.
Last night i installed the sata drive then proceeded to reformat and reinstall windows. Crossed my fingers and booted up the computer...it restarted where it likes to restart.
I've flashed Bios to the current version. Before i bought the memory i checked on Gigabytes website for memory compatabilty and the stick i bought is on it. Corsair, 1.9v.
Tonight i planned on reconnecting everything and ensuring it looks good. My first build so i'll go through it again more thorughly.
Heat problems....Kinda need everything inside the PC and the CPU is running at 42 for the most part. Have hsink/fan,vga,cpu,mem,hd,cd,floppy. Bare essentials =)
I'll look into the hard drive thing on the website though.
Thanks for the input fellas.

 

[Straker]

Sounds like you are doing everything right, but just having bad luck with a faulty hardware component... especially frustrating on a first build.

Let us know if you get more info about the problem, or if you get stuck. Maybe someone else could jump in here with more suggestions.

 

[Avalanche]

Maybe recheck the HSF to make sure it is seated correctly. Do you get any beeps? I have had a computer restart because the HSF was not on correctly.

 

[Arctucas]

Just a wild guess: Power supply? I once had a P/S that had a bad pin in a HDD Molex connector that caused random crashes and reboot problems. Once I replaced the defective pin, I never had another problem.

 

[F22reject]

I havn't heard any beeps from the hs/fan. I did have one heck of a time trying to put it in. FreezerPro, aftermarket.

 

[F22reject]

How can i check the memory? I cannot get into windows to d/l anything. If i take the memory out and put it into a new computer it probally wont work...I'm kinda at my breaking point where i'm ready to give in and go to a computer store and see if they can't check it out.
Last weekend i unplugged everything, went through the manual again and reinstalled windows...same restart before the OS will boot up. Maybe i just got a fault MOBO? heard it tends to happen?

 

[mike99]

What PSU? Make and rating. What Video card? You can download a memory test on any PC and create boot floppy to test memory.
Mike.

 

[F22reject]

Yes, unfortunatly i'm unable to get into dos. Unless thier is a command i can press during inital startup to get into dos. I restart RIGHT AFTER the OS decides to start, have yet to see the windows logo. I normally do not have the option to change drives unless i specify which driver to start up first. I dont know, i'll bring it to Fry's or somethin.
Thanks guys, seriously.
Bet it's some small thing

 

[Straker]

To help narrow down the possibilities, start the computer and go into BIOS and just let it sit there a while. If it does not hiccup, then I would suspect HDD, memory, or maybe PSU.

If it does hiccup in BIOS, well it's not using memory or HDD...

I'd be interested in seeing some more specs, especially the power supply model and the motherboard.

 

[F22reject]

The computer will sit in BIOS all day long and have no problems. Heres the setup =)
MOBO- Gig DS3
CPU - E6300
Mem - 1g Corsair 6400 1.9v
GPU - Saph X850 xt
PSU - Thermaltake 430W
HDD- WD 160 G / Sata2

That in a nut shell is my setup. I can list product codes if needs be. Got most the stuff off Newegg.

 

[F22reject]

Would the computer not start up the OS because of memory compatability? WHats the norm for memory not gellin together? Would it not say it on start up? I've brought a disk and i'm going to d/l memtest tonight and see what it does.

 

[Straker]

Would the computer not start up the OS because of memory compatability? WHats the norm for memory not gellin together? Would it not say it on start up? I've brought a disk and i'm going to d/l memtest tonight and see what it does.

The OS cannot detect or recover from memory errors... it just crashes. I don't believe you have a compatibility problem (based on the Newegg reviews). I'm hoping either your memory or HDD has a defect... those would be the easiest problems to find, at this point.

Here is the floppy diagnostic builder for your HDD...
http://support.wdc.com/download/?cxml=n&pid=999&swid=2

This is the memory test I would use.
http://www.memtest.org/
"Download - Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win)"
If this test doesn't show errors right away, typically people will let it run for several hours to be sure.

 

[F22reject]

Thats great Straker, i'll d/l the programs now.

 

[F22reject]

I booted up the computer and ran the HDD diagnositc floppy disk. It ran clean with no errors, did the quick and thorough inspection. I then did the memtest-86. I let it run for...a little under four hours. Came up clean with no errors. Any other tests i can d/l onto floppy? Perhaps a Mobo diagnostic one? I checked Gigabytes website and couldn't find anything.

Also like to take a moment to thank everyone whose helped me. Appreciate the time and patience.

 

[Straker]

Dang!!! I was hoping it would be something easy. I've got doctor appointments today and tomorrow... will have to get back to this later. Sorry if I steared you in the wrong direction.

 

[woollyjl]

I personally believe that you don't have any hardware problems. You just got a bad install. The smallest spec/scratch on your install cd can corrupt the install but will not give error untill you try and use it. Clean the install cd and try again. do a full, (not quick) format on drive at beginning.

I say this because I have seen it happen quite frequently.

Hope this helps!