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Major Problem! Need Expert Help Please!!!!!!

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by mdbradsh

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Hello All, I hope someone can help me with this problem as I'm totally at my wits end with it and it is getting more & more expensive.
I recently built my daughter a new PC. A quick list of main components:
AMD 64 3800 X2 dual core processor
Abit KN8 SLI MOBO
Western Digital 250GB SATA Drive
2-1GB sticks of PNY Ram
Windows XP PRO 64 bit OS
When first assembled and loaded w/OS and all other software, PC worked great for about 6 or 7 mos. Suddenly, one day a couple of weeks ago it developed an error when booting up of something like " File XX\system32\ntkrnl.exe missing or corrupt. Please reload file"
I tried but could not do a repair with the OS CD. So, I thought I'd just do a reinstall of the OS, but then got the error " line 2003 of the INF file\AMD64\txtsetup.sif is invalid. Setup cannot continue"
I tried using an eraser program, to erase the HD and do a clean re-install, but the eraser program only sees the unallocated space on the HD and would only erase that.
I tried installing WinXP Pro 32 bit instead. This started and ran but kept hanging at the "Starting Windows" screen.
I bit the bullet and bought a new HD and am still getting the same error with the 64 bit OS, and still hanging with the 32 bit OS.
Thinking it must be a bad processor, I bought a new AMD 64 4200 X2 dual core and installed that.I also purchased a new copy of WinXP Pro 32 bit, to be sure it wasn't any of my copies that were bad or something.
Am still getting the same error code with the 64 bit OS, but now getting about the same error also with the 32 bit OS " Line 20896 of the INF file\i386\txtsetup.sif is invalid"
So now I"m totally flabergasted and disgusted that I can't get this PC up and going. The only thing left to replace is the MOBO and RAM? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

43 replies

by hal 9000

Drop a Live Linux CD into the Optical Drive and boot off that. You should be able to get one from your local newsagent as a cover Disc on a Linux Mag or you can download one from here

http://tinyurl.com/23nmq

If everything works OK you can then set about deleting the partition information by using a Utility Like Boot & Nuke available here

http://tinyurl.com/4rfur

This will write zero's to every sector of the HDD no matter what unless you chose not to allow this to happen which isn't what you need in this case. Once you have deleted everything on the HDD you can reinstall the Windows XP OS again. But I would advise against the 64 Bit Version as there isn't the software available for it and no where near enough drivers available yet to make it a workable OS.

Peer Mail me if you have any problems.

Col

by mdbradsh

Hi Hal and thank you for your response. As Stated in my post, I've already replaced the Processor and HD w/new ones, so I would not think these are the problem. However, I am downloading the "Ultimate Boot CD" (UBCD) from the site link you provided as I'm writing this. I will test all that I can. I already have DBAN and tried using it previously to erase the old HD with no success. Although, I may not have downloaded the correct version of it. I'll see what version comes on the UBCD. I'll let you know the results once I used UBCD.
Yes, I fully intend to stay away from the 64 bit OS. The helper geeks at the puter store where I bought everything talked me into that OS. I had compatibility issues right away with it. Just another reason I'm trying to switch over to 32 bit. Thank you again for your assistance.

by hal 9000

Just in case there was something added there.

Within the last week there have been a couple of questions asked about why people are unable to reinstall XP after installing Vista Beta. So far in every case that has come up the BIOS has been dropped back to it's original Date before XP was made available and is preventing XP from installing.

So you might like to check the Date in BIOS or better yet Clear it by changing the Jumper and then reset things to what you want and try again.

Col

by mjd420nova

It seems that maybe the BIOS has been flashed, it has been showing up quite a bit more lately. I had had a number of machines that erupt with these similar errors and the diagnostics find no trouble with the hardware. Blanking the BIOS, or resetting it, usually cleared the error. You have to pull the battery and short the input to discharge any capacitors to get past that error.

by mdbradsh

I have ran a couple of tests off of the UBCD. I started with the MOBO test first. I did get an error, but do not have that info with me at the moment. I'll have to get back to you on that. I also ran the memory test on the CPU. It took over 5 hours and I think it passed ok. Hard to tell as when I checked it last, before hitting the hay, it seemed to have started all over, so I had to cancel it. Then I read your most recent posts. I had already tried removing the battery for several minutes and then replaced, with no effect. I did not short anything caps, or change any jumper settings other than the CMOS though. I'm at work now, but when I return home this afternoon, I will try to reset the BIOS per your suggestion. I'll have to check out the MOBO manual, to see how to do that. Sure would be nice if this fixes problem! Thanks to both of you again. I'll let you know what happens, so please keep a check on this post.

by hal 9000

Change the BIOS Jumper from 1 - 2 to 2- 3 for a few seconds to clear it and set it back to the Factory Defaults.

I'll look up your M'Board and post here the Jumper that you need to change to clear the BIOS but remember to reset it back to the original place before attempting to load the system again.

The item is on page 2/11 of the manual and is called the CCMOS Jumper which is located toward the front of the SATA Data Connectors and behind the IDE ! header connector looks a bit tricky to get off but it should be doable. Just remember that after you clear the BIOS you need to reset the Date & Time so that things will work properly if the date is not reset you will get that error message every time.

Col

by csims32

I have seen this problem a few times. It is usually the cd media is bad, RAM, or the hard drive. Most of the time it is the ram or cd.

by mdbradsh

I have, and have tried, several WinXP Pro CD's, both 64 and 32 bit and even a Win Server 2003 CD. I also just purchased a new copy of WinXP Pro 32 bit and still no luck. So I'm positive it's not a bad CD. I've already replaced the HD with a new one, so don't think that's it either. Like you, I'm wondering if it's the RAM, or possibly the BIOS is corrupt. I'm wondering if I need to flash the BIOS to refresh it?

by mdbradsh

Sorry. I thought you were meaning something different than resetting the CMOS. If I understand BIOS and CMOS, BIOS is the little start up program, so to speak, and CMOS RAM is where it is stored. I've already tried clearing the CMOS by changing the jumper with no power applied, for 2 to 3 minutes and then back,(and then resetting date & time)many times to no avail. It has not fixed the problem.

by hal 9000

CMOS stands for Composite Metal Oxide Semiconductor and is a piece of what is effectively Read Only Memory that the BIOS program is loaded into. Though it's not volatile so when power is removed there is no loss of data.

You can Flash the BIOS with the newest available listed here

http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/bios.php?categories=1&model=306

The newest one is dated 29-September 2006 so that should be fairly close to the fixing any possible problem that has somehow affected the BIOS.

You can also buy a replacement BIOS Chip from

http://www.biosman.com/

They are great to deal with fast and a lot cheaper than a replacement M'Board if some how the BIOS Chip has been corrupted.

Col

by mdbradsh

While your link was somewhat informative, it was not very helpful, as it does not disclose a fix for my particular problem, only for reatogo. Your criticisms are not helpful at all.

by kiltie

There are many LiveCD OSs about that may help.

Some of the newer Linux ones are almost user friendly, with good GUIs.

Try this link for a fair selection from FrozenTech's LiveCD List.
http://tinyurl.com/jhp9y

The most popular are at the top of the list, but personally, I would try Knoppix or Puppy to start with, they seem to have good hardware detection. (Puppy also can boot from a USB drive too, that may help eliminating a possible HD problem)

What this will do is merely help you in troubleshooting, by being able to boot from a CD directly into an OS, you can eliminate possible HD or OS problems, if your PC runs from one of these, you have narrowed down he problem. Not just that, there are some very good diagnostic CDs you can boot from too, in that link, Ultimate Boot CD is one of the best:

http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/

It has a lot of power, so be careful. (can also boot from a USB thumb drive, although I haven't tried it)

One other excellent resource is BartPE:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/intro/

Although I personally haven't found this as good as the others, it boots to an XP like environment, great for those used to XP!!!

I use XP only when I have to, as it is far too restrictive for my systems work, barely lets me get anything done, it is [i]so protective[/i] of the user, I am the kind of guy that likes getting under the hood, not merely driving my flashy car *** grin ***

I hope these can help you, the objective here is to narrow down the problem, hopefully a mere BIOS change can help, however those are very useful tools to keep around, so check them out and download what you think is useful.

Edit: removed a link, others were better

by mdbradsh

Yes, I've burned a few boot CD's from another computer and tried them, including the Ultimate Boot CD(UBCD), and most have been able to boot to their programs or into DOS. UBCD does have many testing utilities/tools on it and I have ran a couple of them so far. But have not had a chance to run more. I'll keep you and everyone posted as I try your and the others sugggestions. Thank you again.

by mdbradsh

I guess I hit my limit for replies under one post so Thank you HAL. I've downloaded the BIOS upgrade and will give that a try. I was unaware of the ability to buy just the CMOS chipset. If the BIOS update or other things fail, I'll give that a try too, before buying a complete MOBO. Thanks again. I'll post results back here soon.

by gsquared

I've seen a very similar problem (semi-random files either "missing" or "corrupt") once before.

It was a problem with the HDD bus on the motherboard. It was corrupting data as it passed it from the HDD to the CPU.

Flashing the BIOS might fix it. If not, try a different connection to the HDD. If no good, it's almost certainly the motherboard.

Since you have almost enough hardware to build two PCs, from all the replacing you've been doing, you might want to get a pair of motherboards, a spare case, and a KVM switch and set up two machines.

by mdbradsh

Well, It is a SATA drive and I have tried it on a couple of other connection sockets on the MOBO, i.e. SATA 1, SATA 2, etc., and it hasn't cured the problem.
I've only bought a new HD and processor, (less than $275.00 for both), hardly enough to build a whole nother PC.
And, you couldn't pay me to use a KVM switch. Remote Desktop is much better.

by hal 9000

The Testing Utility for WD is listed here

http://tinyurl.com/4fd3

If the drive/s come up as OK then there is nothing wrong with anything but if it comes up as faulty in one machine try it on another M'Board with a known Good Data Lead and Power connector and test again. If it still faulty the drive needs replacing if it shows as working properly there is something wrong with the M'Board, Power Lead or Data Lead. If you have one of the adaptor cables from a IDE to SATA Drive I would try that and then if no difference try another Data Lead. If the unit still shows as faulty the M'Board is faulty and if it is now working you will know which of the 2 bits that you have changed where faulty.

Sometimes though not often the SATA Controllers do go bad on the M'Board and I've had a couple of ABIT SATA Data Leads that where less than perfect. I always try to use the ones with straight plugs on them as I've found that the ones that go through a 90 degree bend tend to pull off the connector and don't fit in properly if there is a second drive present as they are held off or part way out of the socket.

While it's not common I've seen one case where a Power Lead has been faulty as well and that was a real nightmare to track down as you just expect them to work without a second though and it's hard to track down when they don't work properly.

It might be worthwhile swapping the Power Supply with a Known Good One as well as it's always possible that the PS is at fault and breaking down when placed under load.

I hope some of that is useful to you.

Aren't computers [b]FUN?[/b] :D

Col

by why me worry?

I too initially thought that my M/B was fried until I discovered that my RAM modules were bad. Go to the system BIOS and disable the Fast Boot Option. This will cause all of the RAM modules to be thoroughly scanned during POST and will result in an NMI parity error, indicating a bad RAM module somewhere. I am almost 90% certain that it is bad memory. Flashing the BIOS won't fix bad RAM, so don't bother with that.

by why me worry?

Try removing all of the RAM and leaving at least one module to get the system booted. If the system is stable, then you have most likely fried some RAM modules with static discharge.

My problem was with 2 Bad modules from Corsair, which were DOA out of the box...go figure. Try my approach, as you will find it to be bad ram.

by kiltie

You have tried UBCD, you say, well in Mainboard Tools you have various tests including memory tests, but the main point is, if you can boot off a CD and use the computer normally, it narrows the problem down a lot, the hard drive becomes the main suspect then.
The linux CDs will enable you to "see" the main drives, even across a network, using Samba, but for Gods sake, whatever method you use, make sure you back up everything first. You can test the drives, as long as you can read them, that is all you need for now
DO NOT WRITE TO THEM

If you need help.... post back first., before doing anything drastic.

by mdbradsh

You might want to read through all the prior posts. The original HD and processor have been changed, so we're now dealing with the same problem/errors, but with a new HD and a new Processor. This is my Daughters PC, which only had a few pics and some music files on it. I'm sure she did not back it up and I certainly have not been able to, since it won't boot. At this point, I just want to get it back up and going for her. She doesn't really care about saving what little stuff was on it. As far as writing anything to it, I can't even get it to boot up or do a fresh OS install. So writing, erasing, or whatever, is irrelevantat at the moment. But thanks for your help and suggestions. I do appreciate any help I can get on this as it has me absolutely dumbfounded.

by mdbradsh

As far as static electricity goes, I always use a grounding strap and ground myself before getting into any PC. I know my daughter would not have opened it up and messed with anything either. So I don't think static charge was an issue here. Maybe a power surge possibly, but the unit was plugged into a surger protector. I did try removing the RAM and re-inserting it in the other two slots, but that didn't fix. I'm suspecting possible bad RAM myself but haven't had a chance to get back to this problem and test it yet. I'll certainly keep this in mind. Thank you very much for your help.

by hal 9000

I got hit with a problem last night on a ME Box and it started out with the owner ringing me and asking why his mouse was no longer working. When I got there the Keyboard wasn't working either and the Active Desktop was shot to hell I couldn't even get it to start in Safe Mode so I dropped in a Knoppix Boot CD and it ran perfectly which made the problem in the installed Windows OS. After I finish backing up his data I'm going to have to remember if you can do an In Place Install of ME as I never actually used that version of Windows I'm not overly sure.

Of course if he had all the install CD's it wouldn't be much of a problem but as they are not important he's lost them.

I would try a copy of Knoppix STD to attempt to boot off with the Original HDD installed as that can read NTFS Drives even the 64 Bit ones without any problems and best of all doesn't rely on the existing HDD to load. It creates a drive in RAM and runs everything off either the CD or RAM Drive. At least with this you know if you have a Hardware or software problem very quickly. Also if necessary you can read the installed HDD/s to perform a backup from as well as quite a few other things if necessary.

Col

by why me worry?

I got a small APC UPS (800VA) for my PC and it works great. Protected my PC during power outages and voltage fluctuations. Don't rely on those so called "surge protectors" which if you ask me, are nothing more than extension cords with multiple outlets because I have personally had one fry on me. Luckily, the PC was spared from being roasted because my home's circuit breaker tripped...thank GOD!

by mdbradsh

Well, the orginal WD HD I did remove and try in one of my PC's as a secondary HD (SATA 2) but it just locked up the PC. I think maybe because of the 64 bit OS. Before removing it, I had been able to see the files on it though, using other DOS based programs. I did replace this HD with a brand new 200 GB Maxtor. So, that is what is in this problem PC currently, and I am still getting the same errors as with the orginal HD. As such, I'm just not convinced it is a HD problem. But I'll certainly keep your suggestion at hand to try. Thank you HAL.

by mdbradsh

Finally! Just as "Why Me Worry" was certain of! I believe the problem was probably one of the 2-1GB RAM modules being bad. I say believe because I did go ahead and flash the BIOS with the most recent upgrade and pulled one of the RAM modules at the same time when I had to reset the CMOS, so, it may have been a combination of both, but I really think probably just the RAM. I tried re-introducing the RAM module I pulled after getting the OS loaded and got another failed boot and "missing file" error. Then I pulled it back out again and it rebooted just fine. Whewww! I also re-installed the original HD back in.
What an ordeal. Learn something new all the time from this group. That's why I joined this site and always search here for help and guidance.

Thank you all for your wonderful help! You all are great!

by mdbradsh

Well, I couldn't get any Windows OS's CD's to boot, not even Win 98. But could get booted into dos with a MS DOS boot disk. I really didn't try anything else. I've never used ME myself either. Microsoft has stopped support of it, as of 7/06. Maybe upgrade the OS?

But, as you can read in my last post, the problem has finally been resolved. Thank you HAL, for all your help. You have been great!

by kiltie

Which you seemed to have missed.

I suggested a method by which you could narrow down to the problem very quickly, without having to replace HD, RAM, Processor blindly/at random - in the hope it may work.

As it seems to have been shown that it was the RAM as the problem, you could have gotten there very quickly, and saved a lot of hassle.

That is why you troubleshoot in the first place, to define your problem, narrow down the possibilities, so at the end, you are left with only a few prime suspects.

Saves a lot of work.

UBCD would have found the memory problem too.

BTW, I did read the prior posts, [b]ALL OF THEM - I always do,[/b] not only to see if anyone has provided an answer, but to see if anything will give me hints when I eventually dive in, with suggestions.

by mdbradsh

Well, for sure, I am not an IT pro and I do not do this every day. I have NO formal training. I'm totally self taught. This is just a field of interest and hobby for me. The field I do work in is very troubleshooting oriented though. When it comes to that field, I am a very good troubleshooter. However admittedly I am very ignorant when it comes to internal behavioral problems that I have never seen before like this in PC's, (in 30+ years) and some of the tools you use to diagnose them. I have had many PC troubles before, both software and hardware. I have always been able to "Troubleshoot" and resolve the problem before replacing anything or reloading the software. I have built 3 servers and 4 PC's and never had this problem with any of them. I searched the internet regarding these errors and found few and vastly varied fixes for this problem. Anything from reloading the OS, which I could not do, erasing the HD, which I also could not do, to replacing the HD, MOBO, RAM, to flashing the BIOS. Everyone that I found and read that had this or a very similar problem, had a different resolution to fix it. So, as I had also been asked to build another PC, I was liberal in purchasing the items mentioned and trying them to see if they fixed the problem as they are pretty quick & simple to remove/install. If not, I knew I can use them in this new PC.
I felt your point was late as I had already replaced the items mentioned and pretty much ruled out the HD & processor.
And BTW, I did use UBCD to test the memory and it PASSED! I also tested the motherboard and it came back with a BIOS error, which is why I doubted and flashed the BIOS with the most recent upgrade.

by mdbradsh

I also use a small UPS, as I built my own web server and host my own websites. Thanks for all your help. Appreciate it.

by mdbradsh

Well, I celebrated a litte too soon. After geting WinXP Pro 32 bit loaded, and the rest of the software, After restarting I just got the missing system32 file error again and it is failing to boot, even in safe mode. It had been acting a little unstable too, sometimes wanting to only boot in safe mode. However, this time is a little different in that it is letting me reload the OS. So, I'm wondering if the other RAM module is bad too? Any more ideas folks?

by hal 9000

I would replica them completely.

Quite a lot of the unnamed RAM is not very well made and causes quite a lot of problems even though it seems to work perfectly OK in another machine and passes every test that you throw at it.

I personally only use Corsair RAM in every build because I just don;t have any problems with it and it makes me look better in not having to run out On Site and scratch my head wondering why this isn't working. Something quite common with Dell's though so I don't feel too bad about the entire incident.

If this is anything to go by my main wholesale supplier no longer stocks anything but Corsair RAM as they where having far too many problems with the other stuff.

Col

by mdbradsh

Yes, I have Corsair in a couple of my other PC's and a server. I also have Kinston in a couple other servers and have had no problems. I purchased PNY for this Particular PC as I was trying to stay in my daughters alotted budget. Oh well, I will just replace both modules with Corsair and hopefully that will fix completely. I'll let you all know. Thanks again for all your help.

by --loki--

Look at the voltage regulator caps, near the cpu socket on the motherboard... if any of the tall cylinder shaped thingys sticking up from the board look like the top is bulging instead of flat, or if they have any sort of rusty looking stuff leaking from the top, then they are blown and are causing cpu instability.... you can double check this even by trying to use the cpu burn in tests on the Ultimate Boot CD... if they make the computer reboot or hang or show errors, then you've confirmed it.... I had this happen on a motherboard recently, and no matter what OS I tried to load, it would get part way into setup and then give an error, usually when trying something intensive, like configuration files...

Other than that, I would do as suggested by others and swap out the RAM with a known good chip and try again, and using a boot cd or floppy, do an fdisk, delete all partitions, reboot, in dos, do fdisk/mbr to clear the master boot record, and then fdisk to create new partitions and then after rebooting again, reformat the new partitions.
then do a scan using one of the hard disk utilities on the UBCD to make sure the drive is good... if possible, do the hard drive scanning and formatting in a different computer, to eliminate errors being introduced by faulty components...

That's all I can think of at the moment... Hope this helps!

by mdbradsh

Ok all! Sorry to take so long to post back here, but I just this evening had time to work on this problem PC again. I checked all the Caps on the MOBO and found none to be bad. All ok. I bought two new 1GB modules of Corsair RAM over last weekend and replaced both of the PNY modules. I also went ahead and re-installed the original processor back and fired it up, reloaded the OS and other software and it is working beautifully! In fact, I'm using this PC to post this final notice regarding this problem. It was the RAM and I thank all of you again for all your help! You all are great! Thanks.

by cincinnerdi

Installing WinServer 2003 (trial) on older IBM 300GL PCs I consistently receive:
"Line 17157 of the INF file \I386\txtsetup.sif is invalid." And setup stops.
I'm able to install WinXP (trial) and Linux distros just fine.
If I switch CDs, same problem.
If I switch to other 300GL's, same problem.
Microsoft KB has little on this topic.
Any ideas?

by now left tr

Why did you not start by replacing the RAM first?

RAM is the most common place to start (and the cheapest)

by mdbradsh

This is just a hobby for me. I'm not a pro IT person. I mainly subscribe to this forum to learn for my own personal network and systems. I have little experience with component troubleshooting in PC'c. Did not know to try RAM first. Actually, considering what I paid for everything when I built this PC, the hard drive was the cheaper thing to try to replace first, costing less than the pair of 1Gb RAM modules.

by Former member

I am frankly surprised that you bought a new processor as soon as it looked freaky...

I dunno about things there... but in India we put all our wits to solve comp probs... Buying a new proc or hdd esp. during warranty period.

Anyway, if you're sure about using the NEW components, there's nothing else to do than call the company for warranty...

And it probably looks like the mobo has a prob too...

by charliespencer

"...in India we put all our wits to solve comp probs."

Do you also check the date on post before you waste your time trying to solve a two year old problem? That warranty advice is good; I'm sure the mobo is still covered; NOT.

by gsg

You beat me to the smack down.

Apparently this guy doesn't make sure he's not being a fool before calling someone else a fool.

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