cant reformat...

[guineypigg]

im having problems reformatting.
Im runnin windows XP home edetion.
went into bios - changed boot sequence so cd-rom boots 1st.
I have a a cd-rw rom and a dvd-rom
Ive tried placeing winXP in both roms.
I boot from CD.
I get as far as the WINDOWS SETUP. (blue screen)
at the bottom of that screen it says...
"Setup is loading files (hardware abstraction layer)...
then it just freezes there,stops.
Ive tried to reformat many times now within the last umm 5-6 months.
Ive always only been able to get as far as that screen.
I just reformatted my bros computer yesterday with my XP CD and it worked fine...yes its the orginal not burnt..bro used his own CD-key (NOT MINE).
and ive also tried using another XP CD (retail copy) still only get as far as setup screen and freezes.
any suggestions? or another way or reformatting? i got no floppys so thats outta the question.

Please and thank you.

Guiney

 

[guineypigg]

Not sure if this helps but heres my specs:
Windows XP home edition
version 2002
service pack 2
AMD athlon XP 2400+
2.0ghz
512mb ram
vid card = RADEON 9200se 128mb ram

computers not even 2 years old.

if theres anything else needed,let me know.
really wanna reformat.

 

[poertner_1274]

It sounds like it's a hardware issue. Try removing everything from your motherboard, except 1 stick of RAM, your CPU, your HDD, CD-rom, and your video card. Then boot and it should go through everything. If that doens't work, post back here, and we'll figure something else out.

BTW
:wave:Welcome to TechSpot:wave:

 

[guineypigg]

Hi ya Poertner,thank you for replying.
Ive tried what u suggested,except for the RAM,ive got 2 256mb sticks installed...i'll remove one stick and try to reformat again.

I'll post back here soon.

Thank you again.

 

[guineypigg]

Poertner....ive tried just 1 stick of ram,both sticks by themselves.
1st time i got as far as
Windows setup
blank blue screen
along the bottom it said....
setup is loading files (kernel debugger dll)...
2nd time i got as far as,setup is loading files (windows setup)...

both times it froze.

nothing plugged in but monitor,keyboard,mouse.

Please get back to,thank you.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

Download and run Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org

There is an iso version that you can burn to cd then boot from that.

This will test your ram for errors.

Also try cleaning your cd-rom`s lenses with a cd lense cleaner.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:

 

[guineypigg]

alright, ive tested my RAM with Memstat - No errors - Passed.
Tested harddrive with Maxtor powermax, everything passed.

Is there anything else i can try so reformatting with work?


Thank you.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Maybe try changing the ide cables.

Cleaning out any dust bunnies, and making sure everything is properly connected and seated.

Regards Howard

 

[guineypigg]

replacing things now just to reformat, sounds a lil crazy, computer is only about 18 months old. ive cleaned out what dust there was, i use pc dust covers so that helps out alot with dust protection.

Well if theres anything else anyone can do to help me so a reformatting will work, pls tell me...i highly appreciate the replys and suggestions ive received but none have worked...thanks again...i'll be checking back in a few hours.

If i figure it out (which i doubt) lol....i'll post and let yas know

Thank You again.

Ive just came across this site,seems semi-similiar to my problem, BUT i did change boot sequence to boot from cd.
http://www.coolweblog.com/bilodeau/archives/001114.html

I just wanna reformat, simple task lol (usually)

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Get hold of this ISO file, burn it onto a CD, then wipe your partition/disk with it
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dban/dban-1.0.5_i386.iso?download

Description here: http://www.icewalkers.com/Linux/Software/520060/DBAN.html

Or spend a tenner and get yourself a floppy-drive and a boot-floppy (with Format on it) from www.bootdisk.com

 

[guineypigg]

alright ill give it a try.
says it auto wipes the drive?
is there a step by step how this works?
and when will it ask me to install xp after formatting?

 

[guineypigg]

do/would i have mass storage controller drivers? where maybe i gota hit F6 during setup in order to get further in the reformat process?