OS restarts on startup

[Vorok]

I've just made the jump from my nF2 system with my DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D board. I also, of course, purchased a load of other new stuff for the board (to be more acurate, this all revolved around getting a new video card). At the moment, the only "old" parts inside my case are RAM (not enough $$ left), fans (with exception of the cpu fan and heatsink), and hard drive (still waiting on a Seagate to arrive).

 

The Problem

My situation is that I can only start up in Safe Mode. If I install the nF4 drivers (tried from both the CD that came with the board, and a download from DFI's site), even safe mode no longer works and I have to either repair install or re-install.

 

My Attempts

After gutting my case and putting in the new hardware, I found Windows XP (Home) was not starting up. I'd get a half second of blue screen and a restart. Figuring it was caused by driver issues, I proceeded to install the nF4 drivers via Safe Mode. Suddenly, I could no longer boot up even in safe mode!

 

I snuck in through Windows Setup (Shift-F10 console) and backed up all of my stuff onto CDs. I re-formatted the drive and installed a fresh copy of Windows XP Pro (which I purchased for about $10 from my university). There was no change, so I tried to install the drivers again in safe mode. Didn't work, so I reinstalled and gave it another go.

 

At this point I begin forum searching for similar problems.

 

I have turned off the restart-on-error checkbox in the error reporting section in Windows, but it seems to ignore this and reboots on the blue screen anyway.

 

At this point I wondered if I'd messed up connecting everything. I checked the IDE cables, reseated my RAM, loaded "Optomized Settings" in BIOS, reformatted again, and did a complete re-install. No change. I'm starting to memorize the CD key at this point.

 

At the moment I'm running MemTest-86 and have no errors at the 53 minute mark.

 

SUMMARY

- Get a very fast blue screen and then a reboot when starting Windows XP

- Can start Windows XP in Safe Mode

- Installing the nF4 drivers causes Safe Mode to cease functioning (instant reboot) like regular mode

 

I'd appreciate it if anyone had an idea of what's going on. It's tough to cross-test hardware to eliminate anything as the source of the problem because this is the first technology of this level in my home.

[cpuz]

did you test your memory for stability?

[Vorok]

If you mean MemTest, yes I continue to do that with no errors detected. Memtest is the only test of memory I've ever used. Is there another you think I should try?

 

I should add that everything is currently at stock.

[Vorok]

Update

I ran MemTest 86 overnight. After 17.5 hours and 75 passes, no error have been encountered.

 

I'm baffled as to why installing the drivers for the board makes the stuation WORSE. Could it be that I recieved a defective board?

[Vorok]

Update

 

I've had a CD in all this time. I remove it and I can start Windows XP normally!

 

However, the second I put a CD in, I got a "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION"

*** STOP: 0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x8064FF0, 0xB200000000, 0x00070F0F)

 

According to Microsoft, this indicates a hardware error caught by the CPU.

 

Edit

I downloaded the nForce drivers from DFI's website on my laptop and used my digital drive to transfer them over. It boots up properly with the new drivers. I then insert the CD for my video card, and a BSOD demonstrates that this problem is not related to not having the chipset drivers. Same as above.

 

Any ideas?

[Vorok]

Update/Conclusion

 

I inserted a cheap, blank CD into the CD-ROM drive (a Samsung combo drive). I wrote a random file onto it using the built in burning utilities in Windows XP. The burning was fine. It ejected the CD as expected, with a completion notice. I then put the CD back into the drive. BSOD.

 

My conclusion was that there must be a problem with the communication between the CD-ROM drive and my new motherboard. I pulled an old Creative 52X drive out from storage. After locking the system up for a few seconds, I was able to succefully read the drive.

 

Conclusion: My Samsung Combo drive is having issues when READING data with the new motherboard, but can write data without a problem. I suspect a compatibility issue because this drive worked absolutely fine before the upgrades.

 

My Question: Has anyone ever heard of such a compatibility issue?

[ccc29249]

If its a problem with your combo (could be the mobo) you could search Samsungs website for a firmware upgrade for the drive.

Ehhh btw did you try another ide cable ?

[Aurhinius]

is it running in PIO mode or UDMA, try switching off UDMA or UDMA on

[Sharp]

Hello,

 

Some CDRW drives require the ASPI drivers to work properly.

 

http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/d...=aspi_471a2.exe

 

See if that does anything. (I dont think it will)

[Vorok]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Here are the results:

 

I went to Samsung's websitge and upgraded the firmware with no change besides the drive bay suddenly being a bit quirky on opening all the way sometimes.

 

I set it to PIO mode and it worked. So I set it up a notch to Multi-word DMA 2. That worked. Wondering if it'll work suddenly, I set it to Ultra DMA. BSOD.

 

I installed the APSI drivers and gave it another go with UDMA. I got a BSOD.

 

So, the best I've got now is Multi-word DMA 2. How could I get back to UDMA? Why would I be having problems like this?

[red930]

If two different drives on the same cable give you the same error it's the cable.

[Vista]

If it's not the cable (the Creative 52x works), then it could be an IRQ sharing problem with the Samsung and the rest of your rig. If that is the case, it is possible you could manually assign IRQ addresses to devices and work past the problem. Or just plunk down $49.99 and get an NEC ND-3520 from NewEgg on special