Re: Problem reinstalling Windows - think it's a hardware issue

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

Paul wrote:
taa800 wrote:
Ok, so I reseated my memory and I am not getting the BIOS checksum
error anymore. I changed my voltage in the BIOS. I didn't see one
for Vdimm. I saw one for DDR so I changed that to all the settings
possible, nothing worked. I did see one called Vlink. But that only
had a setting for 2.5 and 2.6. I still can't get into Windows.

OK.

So how is memtest doing ?

Still seeing errors ?

Vlink is probably the interface used between the Northbridge and Southbridge.
So that could be considered to be one of the chipset voltages. Your
memory is connected right to the processor, so a memory error is not
dependent on that. It might have an effect on reading a disk though.

Paul

Also, as another test, try booting a Knoppix (knopper.net) or Ubuntu
(ubuntu.com) CD. Both sites provide a 700MB ISO9660 file, which you
burn to a CD. You can boot a computer, right from the CD. I use
that for testing overclocks on my computer. (Rather than use the
hard drive with Windows on it.) Knoppix displays text messages during
the boot sequence, making it easier to see if the software is
having trouble with some hardware. You can also open a terminal
windows when the OS is finally booted, and type "dmesg | more"
and reviews the messages there. That command reads as "dmesg piped
to the more command", and prevents the text from scrolling out
of view, so you can watch it a page at a time.

Linux can mount a FAT32 hard drive, and do read/write on it. So you
can actually fiddle around with the contents of a Windows drive.
For an NTFS formatted drive, out of the box, the Linux CD will mount
that read-only, which means you can look but not touch. There is at
least one package for Linux, that allows read/write to NTFS, but
that would likely be a bit more work to set up and I've never tried
it.

For the hard drive, you can go to the hard drive manufacturer's web
site, and get their drive test software. It should boot from a
floppy, and it might be an idea to give the drive a test. With the
one I've played with, the test software only uses reads, so won't
wipe the drive. It is possible some software would attempt writes,
but you should be prompted before the test software does that.

Paul
.

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