Problems installing Windows 2000 & XP (1 Viewer)

[Tim H]

My comp was the victim of a lightning "attack" last Saturday morning. I thought the whole thing was gone, or at least the motherboard and processor.

I borrowed an old motherboard from my dad, plugged my video card and RAM into it and loaded XP with no problems. On a lark, I plugged in the modem that was in my computer when the lightning came through, just to see if it would still work. I did that and when I turned the computer on, it just more or less sat there...fans running but wouldn't post, which is the same problem when I first turned my computer on that Saturday morning. So I thought "Hmmmmm".

My inquisitive nature getting the best of me, I decided to take my dad's mobo out and put mine back in without the modem, just to see if my problems were simply the result of a bad modem. Well, what do you know it posted and started booting up.

I then formatted the drive and tried to install XP. No go. Multiple files not copying from the CD...various blue screen errors...physcial memory dumps...what have you. I tried booting from the XP CD, letting it do the formatting. I've formatted the drive myself, then started XP from DOS. Nothing works! I then tried my Windows 2000 CD with the same results. (Weird thing is 98SE will install, not that I want to keep that OS.)

So my question is....if every component and cable that I used with both motherboards is the same, would my installation troubles be caused by some faulty aspect of my motherboard? My logic tells me this is the case, but my dad disagrees with me. That seems to be the only way I can wrap my head around the problems I'm having.

I only have my video card and memory sticks in the motherboard while I'm trying to install. I know the video card is good because it worked in my dad's motherboard when I got XP loaded. And the memory registers ok when the computer posts.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions

 

[Rob Gillespie]

It's very possible. It sounds like your modem took the brunt of the power surge but that the mobo took some damage too. I wouldn't try to use either of them again.

 

[Roland_Sjouw]

Hi Tim,

First of the memory registering in post doesn't say
anything about the state of the memory. If you really want
to test it try a memory tester, which can be download and
loaded on a floppy (Just do a google).

I've worked at a computer shop, and had many computer come
in with lighting damage. This is not the best thing for a
computer . Every thing in a computer is electro sensetive
as it is. The way to test ting is take out a component of
the damaged computer, and put it in a working one and see
what happens, and repeat for every component.

The modem is ready for the bin that's for sure.
As for the motherboard wouldn't user it anymore.

As for the rest its testing, every lightning has a
different effect on a computer.

Regards

 

[Dalila]

I would say your mobo and modem are prolly onion rings.

It could be deeper than them as well. I would start going through each component and checking them out

 

[Tim H]

Turns out it was a problem with my memory, as Roland suggested. I found a program to test mine and it did fine until about 40-50% through the test, then all these errors started showing up. I stopped the test and replaced my RAM with a stick I got from my dad. With my dad's RAM in there, XP installed with no troubles whatsoever.

Still doesn't explain how I got XP loaded with my dad's motherboard and my faulty memory. And here I thought computers were logical!

Thanks for the help!

 

[DaveGTP]

My computer was also killed Saturday, oddly. However, it was an apparent "puppy attack"

However, my fiancee's little Shih-tzu puppy was the culprit. Chewed up the digital camera cable that was plugged into the front USBs while we were gone. Now I get no light, power, fans, anything from the PC. I have a friend doing some testing to see if the memory, CPU and video card are still OK. I just upgraded it a few months ago, too. Grr..

The lesson: get a good quality modem/surge protector, and a puppy protector? :0