Windows related Problem

[Raiden528]

Hello everyone,

My computer (Gateway 838 GM) was having some major problems about 3 weeks ago and I reformatted it from the recovery partition of the hard drive. It appeared that the partition was corrupted because it was not a clean install and the computer simply got worse. I ordered the restore disks from gateway (The computer did not come with them) and used them. Several files failed to extract, the only notable one being WINDOWS\I386\Drivers.cab . I can access the files on the disk but I don't know where to put them. Do I just extract it to the WINDOWS\I386 folder? Do I put the whole cab file in there, or do they all go in different places. I'm really confused and frustrated with this whole problem since my computer has been barely functional for about 3 weeks now. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[kimsland]

Several files failed to extract

This type of fault can be related to HardWare. Notably

HardDrive:
Incorrectly jumpered on back of ATA HardDrive (confirm set to CS)
Physically faulty (bad spots, or generally defective) Try running a HardDrive diagnostic test
Data cable may require replacing

CPU:
OverClocked in CMOS Setup (load Setup defaults)
Not set correctly in CMOS (load Setup defaults)

Ram:
Trying running Memtest for 7 Passes on your Ram (and/or replace if suspect)

PowerSupply:
Even a seemingly working PowerSupply may cause this issue, due to the tolerance being more than 10%

CD/DVD Drive:
Not only the internal laser could be faulty,
but also a faulty, drive or data cable, can cause other strange issues with the entire computer

Disc:
Obviously the disc itself or the data on it could be corrupt

Other:
You should also remove all external (not required) devices
Addon internal PCI cards can be removed as well, before installing Windows

Lastly, you may want to try BenchTesting the removed Motherboard.
BenchTesting also helps by removing any excess dust to components, and any other debri found.

 

[raybay]

You might want to verify who is the maker of the hard drive, then go to the hard drive manufacturer website to download and run their setup program. All hard drive manufacturers but Toshiba and TriGem have one.
Then run a clean setup using the disk set you recently received. Gateway makes good setup software that is usually problem free. So if more problems result, make detailed notes of what happened and get back to us.
The information posted by Kimsland is accurate and you should pay attention to every word, as you work toward a solution.

 

[Raiden528]

Well I've tried about 4 different copies of Windows, and none of them installed correctly. I've had the same problem with all of them. And when I reinstall them they always fail/encounter errors in the same places. Any Ideas as to what could cause this?

 

[kimsland]

Any Ideas as to what could cause this?

None

Oh wait,... the above!

 

[Raiden528]

I've tried some of that but the installs fail in exactly the same place every time. So some wouldn't make sense. There may have been a short in one of my components. If that were the case which would be most likely.

 

[raybay]

Could be bad hard drive, bad optical drive, bad motherboard, or defective install disk (my choice), but no way to tell. Borrow somebody's install disk for a comparison install.