bad mobo?

[beaky]

Still haven't got new PC up and running, so of course old #1 is acting up...

Been getting random "no disk" error messages with some programs, and recently installed CD/DVD drive intended for new rig... seemed to clear that up somewhat.. also did a massive cleanup and defrag of both HDDs in order to complete a big video project...
During that period, i found myself having to re-assign my C drive as the boot disc in POST, because for some reason the PC was looking to boot off the E drive.

Past few days since then, all seemed OK otherwise... then last night I got the old boot failure message, but when I reassigned the drive, it still wouldn't boot. It's on the list, but won't boot.

Installed XP on the E drive, got the system up and running, and all files on the C drive look OK. No apparent hardware issue there.
BUT... now I can't seem to get my motherboard LAN connection working... that port doesn not appear in Device Manager. Activity light is working, LAN is working (I'm on it now, on work laptop), but I cannot restore my connection by any means I know. Re-installed mobo drivers from the disc, etc... no go.
Tried booting with the C drive disconnected, in case for some reason the port is still associated with the old XP install... maybe I need to delete that partition altogether?

I'm starting to think all of the above weirdness is related to this board... anybody have any thoughts?

I'm hoping to keep this machine working when the new build is complete, so I guess if I have to, I'll replace the mobo.

[Mushroom_Farmer]

Corrupted/failing HDD? Weak CMOS battery? Corrupted BIOS? Bad/failing option card?

[NicksFXHouse]

Still haven't got new PC up and running, so of course old #1 is acting up...

Been getting random "no disk" error messages with some programs, and recently installed CD/DVD drive intended for new rig... seemed to clear that up somewhat.. also did a massive cleanup and defrag of both HDDs in order to complete a big video project...
During that period, i found myself having to re-assign my C drive as the boot disc in POST, because for some reason the PC was looking to boot off the E drive.

Past few days since then, all seemed OK otherwise... then last night I got the old boot failure message, but when I reassigned the drive, it still wouldn't boot. It's on the list, but won't boot.

Installed XP on the E drive, got the system up and running, and all files on the C drive look OK. No apparent hardware issue there.
BUT... now I can't seem to get my motherboard LAN connection working... that port doesn not appear in Device Manager. Activity light is working, LAN is working (I'm on it now, on work laptop), but I cannot restore my connection by any means I know. Re-installed mobo drivers from the disc, etc... no go.
Tried booting with the C drive disconnected, in case for some reason the port is still associated with the old XP install... maybe I need to delete that partition altogether?

I'm starting to think all of the above weirdness is related to this board... anybody have any thoughts?

I'm hoping to keep this machine working when the new build is complete, so I guess if I have to, I'll replace the mobo.

Using the windows XP setup disk, reboot the computer with the disk in the boot CD drive, hit the "any' key when it asks to boot the CD, then let it load. When it gets to the end of the load and the first setup screen, hit R for the repair console. It may ask which Windows install you wish to log into and/or ask for the admin password. If you don

[beaky]

[quote]

Using the windows XP setup disk, reboot the computer with the disk in the boot CD drive, hit the "any' key when it asks to boot the CD, then let it load. When it gets to the end of the load and the first setup screen, hit R for the repair console. It may ask which Windows install you wish to log into and/or ask for the admin password. If you don

[NicksFXHouse]

Sorry for the winded suggestion however I was going more on your thread topic than I was the specifics. I would still run the disk check on all partitions as you may find the source of your weirdness is the drive itself.

As for the network adapter, it sounds strange install 1 runs it fine and install 2 doesn

[beaky]

Sorry for the winded suggestion however I was going more on your thread topic than I was the specifics.

so I noticed.

I would still run the disk check on all partitions as you may find the source of your weirdness is the drive itself.

As stated in the original post, [i]the network problem is not the questionable first drive... i am running XP on the second drive now.

[quote]As for the network adapter, it sounds strange install 1 runs it fine and install 2 doesn

[NicksFXHouse]

Hmmmmm...

I did not go for the BIOS because I assumed your network connection worked with your flubbed C drive install. If that is true and the same network adapter was functioning just fine on the original install, the only way the NIC could have been disabled in the BIOS was either a power loss with a bad CMOS battery, manual reset of CMOS or someone entered the BIOS and disabled it.

That is of course assuming you were using the same adapter on C.

Glad you got it sorted out.
     

[beaky]

Somewhat sorted out, but not really...
Connected yesterday, turned off computer for awhile, now can't connect. Adaptor is enabled, etc... but cannot connect. This laptop is on that same ethernet cable and connects no problem.
Also, my display settings mysteriously changed themselves... maybe loading the nVidia software onto the E drive will fix that, but... why did it change, I wonder?

I guess I  could dump both partitions and start all over again, but I feel it may be a waste of time if it's the board causing all these odd problems...what a PITA...

[NicksFXHouse]

[quote]Somewhat sorted out, but not really...
Connected yesterday, turned off computer for awhile, now can't connect. Adaptor is enabled, etc... but cannot connect. This laptop is on that same ethernet cable and connects no problem.
Also, my display settings mysteriously changed themselves... maybe loading the nVidia software onto the E drive will fix that, but... why did it change, I wonder?

I guess I

[beaky]

I appreciate the input, guys, but it's interesting what's ahppening here:
Each time I reveal some information, another assumption gets made, which I have to try to dispel with another fact, which leads in turn to another assumption.

Then there's the "read the thread title,the  first and last sentence of each post, and ignore the rest " syndrome...  ::)

Also, I'm getting confused myself about drive letter designations since I reinstalled the OS... none of this makes sense anymore.

So...

Here's a recap:

In the last several weeks, I have seen peculiar random glitches- mainly, that on booting, BIOS has changed itself(?) so that the wrong drive is called for to boot... and also error messages concerning the CD/DVD drive.

I have replaced the CD/DVD drive, and also defragged both hard drives. I've also re-installed FS9.

For a week or two, everything was OK. Except for continued "no disc in drive" error messages that popped up regardless of whether or not I was trting to do anything with the CD/DVD drive....

But just recently, the system would not boot from the disc on which the OS was installed (the 40GB HDD; the other is a 200GB HDD). Initially, BIOS did not even see that drive; but after a few reboot attempts, it listed it, but would not boot from that drive.

Installed the OS on the other drive, saw that I could access the 40GB as a slave HDD; no data loss, no problems. Except that for some reason the OS as installed there would not boot.


Then discovered that the ethernet adaptor (which is built into the motherboard) would not work... but it turned out, after all, that it was disabled in BIOS. That may or may not be odd- depends on what WinXP considers a default setting for that.

So now, ethernet port is OK, and system is stable with OS running on the 200GB drive. I don't really have a problem anymore, except for the fact that all of this stuff went wrong in the first place, and I'm still getting nonsensical "no disc in drive" messages... so I still suspect the motherboard or the CPU, not the 40GB drive.

There. If anyone would still like to comment or assist, please read the above carefully before continuing.

Thanks again for checking in; it's not as if I don't appreciate it.

[Gunny04]

Have you tried google yet Rottydaddy? Just wondering.... I'll look there now and see if I can find something useful!

Gunny

[NicksFXHouse]

[quote]I appreciate the input, guys, but it's interesting what's ahppening here:
Each time I reveal some information, another assumption gets made, which I have to try to dispel with another fact, which leads in turn to another assumption.

Then there's the "read the thread title,the

[beaky]

Have you tried google yet Rottydaddy? Just wondering.... I'll look there now and see if I can find something useful!

Gunny

Yes, I've tried Google, and of course various mfr's websites... but I always get better results here.
Trouble with Google is it'll lead you to forums where you could spend a year wading through threads before you find anything relevant...

[beaky]

The fact that your BIOS is changing settings itself indicates the CMOS battery is going bad or the motherboard itself is on its way out or a combination of both. Usually strange BIOS changes and strange Windows changes is a symptom of the CMOS battery mounted on the motherboard is getting weak and forcing the BIOS to read from its 'boot-block' to find very basic and default settings it needs to properly boot.

I would say Mushroom Farmer was very close with his suggestion the battery may need to be replaced. I would start there and replace that battery, clear the CMOS and then set the BIOS back up and see how the system responds.

It a process of elimination and the primary thing i would be concerned with is the BIOS changing itself.. everything else is a secondary diagnose because that battery being bad can cause an entire list of strange issues simply because the BIOS code is being forced and some of it could be getting scrambled between boots.

I'll give that a try first... I'm not eager to tear this machine apart to replace the mobo. Thanks.

[NicksFXHouse]

I'll give that a try first... I'm not eager to tear this machine apart to replace the mobo. Thanks.

It the fastest and cheapest place to start with the symptoms you posted. The BIOS should never change settings unless you do it manually, BIOS battery is going dead or the BIOS chip or motherboard is indeed defective.