PC Experts - I Need Some Help!

[Kelly Lee]

My father's PC went down after trying to reload the OP system. I tried the usual stuff to resolve the issue. I swapped memory, ATA cables, power supply, DVD drives, and even two different MB/CPU combos and keep hitting a wall. After a month of fighting it I have come to the conclusion that I need some help in figuring this one out!

Starting Setup:
HP Pavillion a720n
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ cpu 2.3 GHz
Factory ASUS A7V8X-LA Motherboard
200 Gb 7200rpm Ultra-DMA hard drive
2 Gb Crucial DDR PC2700 memory
Factory power supply
Factory DVD burner
Compaq DVD burner
Windows XP Pro SP1


PC got virused real bad so I decided to reload OP system. Partitioning looks good. Eveything was going fine until trying format the HD. It would show an error message saying that the HD was failing and to replace it. OK, I have two spare HD's and tried both with the exact same result.

Current Setup:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0 GHz (new)
ASUS K8V-MX Motherboard (new)
512 DDR PC3200 memory (new)
650 watt power supply (new)
Same DVD drives
ATA100 cable (new)
ATA66 cable (new)

Next I tried replacing the ATA cables. Same. Swapped in memory from my personal PC. Same. Hmm. Talked to some PC "experts" and they said the MB and/or processor was dead. Great. I ordered in a replacement MB w/processor and same result. Then I ordered a completely different MB/CPU combo and even bought a new power supply and new memory to go with it. Now I get a new error message. "Can't load \i386\biosinfo.inf - Error Code 4096"

When I turn on the system the first screen reads "Serial_Ch01 Master: No Device - Serial_Ch02 Master: No device" but when I actually manage to get in to the BIOS it does show the proper hard drive and the correct capacity. Then it will tell me to "Press any key to boot from CD". It will say that "setup is inspecting your harware configuration" and then pop up with the "Can't load \i386\biosinfo.inf - Error Code 4096" message.

OK, what gives? I just can['t figure this one out.

[MJ5150]

Where did you get the XP CD-Rom? If it is from HP, there is possibly a "hidden" partition on the factory config of the original HD that it may be looking for.

Where did you swap the cables from? Double check all your cables to be sure they are "seated" properly and in the right slots.

Pull apart the whole PC, discharge all components, and take out your CMOS battery for 30 minutes, and put in a new one.

-Mike

[Kelly Lee]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Where did you get the XP CD-Rom? If it is from HP, there is possibly a "hidden" partition on the factory config of the original HD that it may be looking for.

Retail XP Pro disc. He had XP Home and he wanted to upgrade.

Where did you swap the cables from? Double check all your cables to be sure they are "seated" properly and in the right slots.

Brand new cables from Best Buy. Replaced cable from MB to HD and MB to DVD.

Pull apart the whole PC, discharge all components, and take out your CMOS battery for 30 minutes, and put in a new one.

I'll give it a shot!

Thanks Mike!

[hbarcat]

Originally Posted by Kelly Lee

"Can't load \i386\biosinfo.inf - Error Code 4096"

When I turn on the system the first screen reads "Serial_Ch01 Master: No Device - Serial_Ch02 Master: No device" but when I actually manage to get in to the BIOS it does show the proper hard drive and the correct capacity. Then it will tell me to "Press any key to boot from CD". It will say that "setup is inspecting your harware configuration" and then pop up with the "Can't load \i386\biosinfo.inf - Error Code 4096" message.

OK, what gives? I just can['t figure this one out.

I had this same problem with the same error message and it turned out that the CDrom had errors on it and some data could not be read.

[Georynn]

From His description it doesn't sound like he's getting that far.

I know it sounds strange but have you unplugged the CD-Rom and moved it to a different IDE port or changed the jumper settings?
even though "autodetect" usually works as the IDE settings, I've seen a few that just don't work in conjunction with one another.


Is this a SATA drive? You may have to load the drivers for the SATA controller to be detected by XP setup. find out the make and model of your specific SATA controller. get the drivers on a floppy! when Setup starts loading, there will be a screen that says "press f6 to load third party drivers" press f6 and load the drivers from floppy. another option is to go into the BIOS and set the SATA drive for compatability or legacy mode, but just while XP is installing, after the installation is complete, you can switch it back to the performance setting.

Hope that helps...

[phxlbrmpf]

Have you tried downloading a Linux Live CD and checking if it runs okay?

I too think there's something wrong with the CD. I mean, you basically swapped everything out that you were able to.

[john turner]

Originally Posted by Georynn

Is this a SATA drive? You may have to load the drivers for the SATA controller to be detected by XP setup. find out the make and model of your specific SATA controller. get the drivers on a floppy! when Setup starts loading, there will be a screen that says "press f6 to load third party drivers" press f6 and load the drivers from floppy. another option is to go into the BIOS and set the SATA drive for compatability or legacy mode, but just while XP is installing, after the installation is complete, you can switch it back to the performance setting.

Hope that helps...

this is probably the issue. windows xp does not come with appropriate sata drivers on the install disk. you need to get the drivers for the sata drive and install them during the windows install process, or it won't recognize the hard drive.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by phxlbrmpf

Have you tried downloading a Linux Live CD and checking if it runs okay?

I too think there's something wrong with the CD. I mean, you basically swapped everything out that you were able to.

This is a very good idea. I am in the process of recovering from a virus disaster. Due to being curious about Linux, I had a Live CD from www.puppylinux.org

Basically, Linux saved the day for me. I am very close to giving up on Windows.

[Kelly Lee]

Well, it looks hbarcat got this one!

Tried everything including two different XP discs with the same result. I read hbarcat's post and swapped out my dad's DVD drive with mine and the %^$$* thing finally loaded! All this time, money, and frustration due to a bad DVD drive. I'm sorely disappointed with myself for not swapping it out earlier Well, I guess the money wasn't too bad as my dad wanted to build a backup PC and now he has the parts to do so!

Thanks to all of you gentlemen for taking the time to help me solve this hair pulling problem.