General solution to this problem??!!
Thursday, April 8, 2004 at 12:44 am
Windows XP Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by colby
(3 messages posted)
Update to my last post: symptoms appear after upgrading processors or according to
other users when system hardware changes take place, power usage is changed .. or
randomly
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My power supply died hard. I tried a new one .. and it sort of worked but wouldn't
post. I left it off for two hours, and it worked perfectly with the new power supply,
old one is still totally dead.
My theory is this --- the change in hardware .. that people experiences changes voltages,
and on systems with aging or underpowered supplies, this leads to the problem? Maybe?
Now it can't just be power related because windows still won't load with the new
high-end power supply. But I did fix it, as I'm now typing from windows --- Here
is what I did:
Step 1: flash bios to newest version
Step 2: try disabling onboard things
Step 3: remove every optional component in my system
Step 4: Boot from CD to repair -- realize I can't boot from the CD even.. it hangs
during setup
Step 5: Insert new blank hard drive, flash, format everything, change ram, different
windows install cd
wtf? I must have a faulty new CPU (nope)
None of these things work
Finally...
Boot from CD... hit f5 (hidden shortcut) when windows blue install starts and it
says 'hit f6'
Choose "Advanced Conf... Power " system
(must specifically specify this or it doesn't work)
Note that ACPI uniprocessor pc, is actually for a dual machine with only one processor
installed. You want the one with ACPI spelled out. (remember the first time I did
my power supply crapped it self, the second time it worked!)
Then start to setup windows..it doesn't hang! so choose to repair the installation.
It asks for drivers, so I have to burn them on a cd with a friends computer. A few
mins later it bombed with a very odd error box.. and I had to restart.. The next
time it picked up where it left off and worked.
Then I got back to windows as usual, but it said that I must activate to logon. Well,
I can't setup the network settings to connect to the net, so I have to activate over
the phone. 1800 # is disconnected or full..
So I have to dial the LONG DISTANCE #.. and then.. painstakinly read this massive
number to the assitant. then she reads back this ridiculously long number.
(note to microsoft, a 500-bit install id does not protect you from hackers, they
are not using brute force, it only annoys your customers)
I think about giving the nice support girl a giant piece of my mind, but remember
working in tech support, and know inside that she has nothing to do with my pain.
Then I'm in windows.. Logged in. I go to windows update. Can't update, system time
is wrong. I go to internet time update. Can't update time, date is wrong. I go
to my trustly calendar, its april 8th since its 2 am. I set my date from the 7th
to the 8th. I update my time.. I go back to windows update.
43 critical updates to install, since it reverted me to pre-SP1, and some of my apps
don't work.. But all in all, i'm back in action. Go .. turn off system restore, and
all the other crap. Install SP1.(just click next, it'll eventually tell you it can't
install all 43 updates at once)
Get ready to wait a long damn time for the updates. If you're at a university expect
to get a virus that's being broadcast to your subnet during this period.. so if you
have sp1 and updates on a cd.. do that, rather than install over the net, cause you're
vulnerable again now.
Next time do this: http://www.iamnotageek.com/articles.php?aid=12&page=1
So sp1/2 is on your source cd.
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 |  | | | |  | General solution to this problem??!! (colby: Thu, Apr 8, 2004, 12:44 am) |
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