Thread: PC Problems

O_O ..... geezzz Silver...

OK, well when upgrading I normally start with 1 thing at a time so if something goes wrong there is no doubt what did it. Takes longer but it helps if something does go wrong. I realize that is of little help to you now but none the less.

Now as far as your issues...POST errors vary depending on your motherboard/BIOS however 1 long beep and 2 short ones is normally a Video card error. Maybe it wasn't seated right (pushed all the way down) or maybe the card you got was bad, maybe there is a compatibility issue (say you have a PCIx card in a PCI slot or mis-matched voltage levels) there is also the possibility that when you installed the card that you weren't properly discharged and ESD (electrostatic discharge...i.e. a shock to the card) occurred nuking the card (seriously takes very little voltage to nuke a card). It is hard to say for sure but I would try the card in a different computer and see if it works there or not. Either way the card carries a standard warranty which will cover the replacement of the card if it does turn out the card is bad (I have bought a new card that was bad before so while it is rare...it does happen).

I assume that the RAM is fine since you didn't state that the POST errors occurred after you took the new card out and put the old one back in.

The message you get about the windows/system32/config/system being corrupt or missing is well.... really bad. It basically means your registry is corrupt. Look here for some details on things you can do: How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

I haven't read the article completely but it seems to cover all available options other than just re-installing all. As for what caused it...hardware issues have been known to screw up the data on a hard drive. I had a pc that I put a AGP card in what I thought was a AGP slot (it wasn't it was a AGP sized and colored riser board slot) and it whipped the HD clean. Maybe it was the card having issues that did it or make something else altogether.

The cause isn't much concern as just getting your PC back...try the options in the link and when you have that back then we can work on the card issue. If you can't get the data back and have to reinstall then check the compatibility of the new card to the motherboard and reinstall using it if you find the card is ok.


BTW...the below message means it was definitely a video card issue! Hammer wasn't crazy lol You could look at reinstalling the driver or updating it if there is a new version but normally it is the card going bad and causing the driver to not work right. I mean all a driver is a little piece of code that tells the operating system and the hardware how to talk to each other after all so it isn't far fetched.

Originally Posted by Silverskater145

Didn't see anything like that. No.

EDIT: I started my comp after a few hours of rest, everything is working quite fine. No problems with anything at all.

I looked went to my Admin. Tools and to Event Viewer for my system, and I found this error (among others):

'Description:
The driver nv4_disp for the display device \Device\Video0 got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates a problem with the device itself or with the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly. Please check with your hardware device vendor for any driver updates.'

Originally Posted by Chiefblackhammer

O_O ..... geezzz Silver...

OK, well when upgrading I normally start with 1 thing at a time so if something goes wrong there is no doubt what did it. Takes longer but it helps if something does go wrong. I realize that is of little help to you now but none the less.

Now that I look back on it, that is something I should have done. I plugged both the RAM and card in at the same time. I guess I just figured "it should
work" and wanted to get my computer finally working again.

Originally Posted by Chiefblackhammer

Now as far as your issues...POST errors vary depending on your motherboard/BIOS however 1 long beep and 2 short ones is normally a Video card error. Maybe it wasn't seated right (pushed all the way down) or maybe the card you got was bad, maybe there is a compatibility issue (say you have a PCIx card in a PCI slot or mis-matched voltage levels) there is also the possibility that when you installed the card that you weren't properly discharged and ESD (electrostatic discharge...i.e. a shock to the card) occurred nuking the card (seriously takes very little voltage to nuke a card). It is hard to say for sure but I would try the card in a different computer and see if it works there or not. Either way the card carries a standard warranty which will cover the replacement of the card if it does turn out the card is bad (I have bought a new card that was bad before so while it is rare...it does happen).

What would you suggest one do to properly discharge himself?

Originally Posted by Chiefblackhammer

I assume that the RAM is fine since you didn't state that the POST errors occurred after you took the new card out and put the old one back in.

I would assume so. Though I've been reading around and RAM is said to be the cause of that corrupt message.


EDIT: So after a large amount of reading over several things, I come over this piece: "

“This motherboard comes with the support of different PCI express specification on different PCI express slots. The PCIEX16_1 slot has been designed based on PCI express 1.1 specification, while PCIEX16_2 slots adopts PCI express 1.0/1.0a specification. As PCI express 1.0/1.0a standard is not compatible with PCI express 2.0 specification, installing PCI express 2.0 cards onto PCIEX16_2 slot will result in system fail to detect expension cards installed on both PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slot."

Could it be then, after all, that my card and motherboard (ASUS A8V-E Deluxe) are not compatible? I feel almost cheated. Why are these miniscule detailes omitted everywhere? Maybe I'm just not researching my hardware hard enough. I'll take the blame, I guess.

Originally Posted by Silverskater145

What would you suggest one do to properly discharge himself?

You could have done that by doing two things:

Not wearing anything that can create static (sweaters and such).

and keeping your power supply of your computer plugged in and touching that. Or any metal without paint is fine too.

Originally Posted by Legend

You could have done that by doing two things:

Not wearing anything that can create static (sweaters and such).

and keeping your power supply of your computer plugged in and touching that. Or any metal without paint is fine too.

Yea, I usually just touch the metal.

Originally Posted by Silverskater145

Well, I'm back. With worse news.
What is EVEN worse is that I take the card out and plug my old one back in. I boot up the system and on the screen I get: "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: windows/system32/config/system"

That one should be fixable without loss of data. Hammer already seemed to supply a decent how-to on that. I'd like to add that if you have a retail xp cd then you can also insert that. Point the installation to the partition with the original install and it should say something like "existing installation detected".
At that point most modern cd's offer you two options;

1-Format and replace
2-Try to repair the current installation.

At the very least make sure the installation does not format the drive when installing, this might save you're data.

I'd consider this a last resort though.

As for the vidcard like the other peeps said, check the card with a friend's pc.
If that works consider this:

Did you reset the motherboard's CMOS before installing the new card?
Some of the older motherboards have been known to take on wrong frequency or voltage lvls if the mobo had adjusted itself to the old one. So a CMOS reset might do the trick.

Also boot windows in safe mode to remove the old vidcard driver if you havent already. (only if you've solved the beeping) Windows can display the desktop without it.

Furter more you're motherboard manufacturer's website has a list with compatible memory for you're motherboard in most cases. Might wanna check that if you still think the memory might be causing issues. (memory support list) Note that you're memory not being on that list doesnt necasarily mean it cant work with the mobo, it just means asus hasnt tested with it.

Thanks for the post, Remagine. Some good stuff there.

So here's what is going on now. I finally found my recovery CD, as I turn on the computer for the first time, it goes into the BIOS for some reason, except I didn't press anything. No biggie, except my keyboard isn't working. I check the plugs in the back, and everything is in. The keyboard is 'on', but not working. Then I restart the comp, insert the CD and nada. I shut it down manually once more, and turn it on, nada. I take out the CD and re-insert it, and nothing once again.

Could the motherboard finally be gone? My keyboard and CD drive aren't even working anymore.

Originally Posted by Silverskater145

Thanks for the post, Remagine. Some good stuff there.

So here's what is going on now. I finally found my recovery CD, as I turn on the computer for the first time, it goes into the BIOS for some reason, except I didn't press anything. No biggie, except my keyboard isn't working. I check the plugs in the back, and everything is in. The keyboard is 'on', but not working. Then I restart the comp, insert the CD and nada. I shut it down manually once more, and turn it on, nada. I take out the CD and re-insert it, and nothing once again.

Could the motherboard finally be gone? My keyboard and CD drive aren't even working anymore.

If the motherboard and cd are totally screwed they should make beeps. Its possible that a expansion card slot or something is damaged.

If its one of those standard recovery cd's you get with brands like dell, hp etc its unlikely yell be able to perform a repair install. Computers you buy with screens/keyboard from the local pc/media stores usually have recovery cd's designed for that specific series of system cases. (in fact they're probably locked to you're motherboard. If you buy a new motherboard its unlikely they will work with it.)Those kind of cd's usually erase the harddrive and put a fresh image of windows on it.

Did you do anything before it started going into the bios, did you change anything?

-As for the keyboard, try plugging it in and out when the pc is on.
-Try booting with the keyboard unplugged.
If you get yer keyboard working, choose and apply the option called Reset CMOS to factory defaults.(in youre bios) It basicly resets all stored user settings for you're motherboard.

If it goes into the bios again, theres 2 possible things i can think of.

The first is that you're motherboard is looking for comformation that it's hardware has changed. Meaning Hit save and exit if you can get the keyboard to work. However i was assuming you're old card is still in.

The 2nd thing that comes to mind is that you're cmos does not remember it's settings or there is a conflict with its current settings. (which should generally be fixed when it goes to factory defaults. The cmos is basicly you're motherboards limited memory which saves any changes to the config you make) Meaning the cmos battery on the mobo might not have enough juice. These can be replaced, but i'd recommend not trying this yourself unless you know how to. In fact don't and try something else first =P (they're like lil battery's from watches)

The cd being ignored (under normal boot)might be the cause of a motherboard setting called boot priority. This is a list of devices, usually hard disk, floppy, cd/dvd and USB. The order in which these are listed determines what you're computer looks at first for useable media. So if you want you're recovery cd to be picked up once it boots normally. You might have to put cd/dvd on top of this list in the BIOS and then save and exit.

If all that doesnt work;

I would seriously suggest you find someone who knows what hes doing to have a look at you're comp in rl at this point. It's much easier to understand what's going on when you're actually in front of the pc.
The solution might not be as hard or doomsday-like as were headed towards. Sometimes it can be a tiny lil thing or setting that messes up the entire pc.

If it were me i'd rip all the parts out of the comp and insert them one by one untill something messes up.

Ofcourse we don't mind trying to help you, but at this point it might be in you're best intrest.

In fact i'd like to hear what's next if possible, we'll be curious to see if this turns out to have a happy end i think =)