I have a 2.4GB Celeron w/ 768 MB RAM. Been running fine, but then refused to even try starting XP, so I think my prime 80GB HD died. Removed 80GB HD. Changed jumper on xtra 10.6 GB drive to MSTR, reset BIOS to see it, formatted the partion on it and installed XP.

I've never done an install before. No errors on install, but when I try to re-boot, XP tried to start then died with the IRQ LESS OR NOT EQUAL... error. I then removed the slave HD - thinking that might be confusing- and restarted.

XP tries but again dies. Never gets past the Startup screen... How can I get past this ? Maybe my extra HD is bad, too ? I was able to read/write to it when it was the SLAVE. I'm not sure about configuring the disks, other boards, etc...

The BIOS shows
Primary MASTER = Primary HD 10.6GB
Primary Slave = none
Secondary Master = CD drive
Secondary Slave = DVD drive

Do I have something messed up there ?

Another Q: IS NTFS OK or should I use FAT32 format?

Another possible problem is that the XP disk I have MIGHT be actually for the Compaq sys I bought my daughter. I see no warn/ err messages like that but wonder if that makes a difference. Does anyone know?

Thanks!

JP

When you had the first setup with the 80G drive , how far into the boot process did it go?

What do you mean by 'then refused to even try starting XP'. when you turned the PC on did any lights come on the computer, could you hear a fan rotating inside .

Did you hear any beeps , could you see anything on the monitor maybe black and white text with an error message or did the monitor display the windows logo and then crash?
Was there an electrical storm near you recently or power cut?

What I would do is put back in the 80G set to Master on the primary IDE and an optical drive set to master on the secondary channel and try rebooting the computer and make a note of everything you see and hear.

Post back here and I'll try to help , the next step might be to try booting into Safe Mode or Booting from a CD .

Since the 80G drive setup used to work and has all your programs , settings and data on it , I think that the one you should troubleshoot.
++++++++++++++++++++=
NTFS is better to use with XP that FAT32 , XP can use NTFS partitioned drives more efficiently and with NTFS you get some features you don't get with FAT32 (mainly security related ones) .
+++++++++++++++++++++
What exactly is written on the Disk?
+++++++++++++++++++++
Rgds
Charlie

Charlie,

Thanks for your info!

I've een booting off the 80GB HD for 2 years. Then it quit booting XP! I get through the BIOS, then the screen froze - with no further display. Sure, lights are on - fan running, etc...

After installing XP to other disk, I get through the BIOS and the XP start screen comes up. But after 2-5 sec the sys REBOOTS again - and keeps on doing this I was getting the IRQ error the first time and now it reboots so fast I cannot see the error...

Booting in SAFE mode is no good either... and I do not have a Boot CD; only the install CD...

I could not reinstall XP to the 80GB - the install disk would not read it, as I recall... Howevr, I 'll try the 80GB again tomorrow, just to make sure. Then repost with that result...

Maybe ALL my HD are toast and all I need is a new one. But I didn't want to spend $$ unless I have to... Do you think I should??

Thanks!

Hello

Replacing your hard drive is a last resort , it sounds to me that some xp system files are corrupt , you can repair/replace them if you have an xp disk.

1st go into bios and check that bios can see both the Hard drive , the optical drive and check that the ram is present and correct. If you have not done so already set the PC to boot from the cd drive first.Then repair the xp installation.

XP Repair install



1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.
2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
3. Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.

To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER. Do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R".
4. Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.
5. Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list (you probably only have one) and press R to start the repair. If Repair is not one of the options, END setup.
6. Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.



Blaster worm warning: Do not immediately activate over the internet when asked, enable the XP firewall before connecting to the internet. You can activate after the firewall is enabled. Control Panel - Network Connections. Right click the connection you use, Properties and there is a check box on the Advanced page.


7. Reapply updates or service packs applied since initial Windows XP installation. Please note that a Repair Install using an Original pre service pack 1 or 2 XP CD used as the install media will remove SP1/SP2 respectively and service packs plus updates issued after the service packs will need to be reapplied.

Basically if this works and you can boot into xp reapply sp2 and turn on your firewall before connecting to the net.(do this first even if you have to reactivate xp )

Let me know how you get on.
Rgds
Charlie

Charlie,

Tnx for info !

I plugged in th OLD 80GB and tried a both a Recovery and a Re-install. The BIOS boot finally recognized the HD after 5-6 min. So I booted off CD and ran down to the REPAIR...

The REPAIR said it DELETED a number of files from the 80GB, and re-copied them down, but XP would NOT boot from the HD. I think ALL my HD are fried, so I'll get a new one tomorrow and try on that one...

This CD is for SP1, so I'll update asap - if it works... Let you know...

JP

Hi.
I'd be concerned about what damaged your harddrives , It could be power surges are you usind a good surge protector (one rated about 1200-2500 J)? if not I recommend getting one (radioshack have some about $40).
Good Luck.
C.

Charlie,

I have a protector, but not sure of the rating... I'll check it.

My daughter has the new Compac on a cheapo power connector block. And has no problems... I leave the Linksys router always on for her and was leaving my PC on so she could print antime through my printer. 'Course her PC might not have been turned on - if we did get a power spike...

What I can't understand is why MY box won't boot from the 10.6GB HD after re-installing XP! Is is possible I have the jumper placed wrong but BIOS still sees it as the Master ?

What does the IRQ LESS OR NOT EQUAL... error mean ?

I'm going to try Repair on the 10.6 HD, and if no good, then get a new one...

Aside: I hear the PC power transformer will still consume power when PC is not booted. Is this true ?

Tnx!

JMP

OK. I bought a NEW HD and installed XP on it in NTFS format. But XP will STILL not boot from the HD! Could this be a motherboard or CPU problem?

Then I removed the XP install disk and rebooted
Then I got these msgs:

"CMOS checksum, error - defaults loaded"
Then
"Verifying DMI Pool Data........................" -- as usual
Then
"Boot from CD: Boot from CD:" I did not press <enter>...
Then
"Disk Boot Failure. INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

And XP will NOT boot!! I'm really stuck here...


Note: I have a dual-core Celeron 2.4GB speed. CPU 1 is running at 40 deg. Celsius... Is this too hot ?

How can I determine the health of the motherboard and CPU?

Tnx,

JP

Hello , I looked into that "CMOS checksum, error - defaults loaded" error and it could mean that your Mobo is damaged or your cmos is corrupted.( A damaged Mobo out of warranty is cheaper to replace than repair)

There are a few things you can .

Remove the cmos battery for 1 min and replace it , try to boot, if no luck replace the battery , take the (maybe) dead battery to radioshack and get a new one , it has to be exactly the same voltage and size ($5), replace it and try again.

Removing the battery for a min resets the CMOS settings back to factory default

I'm looking into other solutions for you.

+++++++++++++

Replacing a cmos battery:

Take ESD precautions . Unplug the PC from the wall and frequently touch a bare metal part of the case.

On the mobo is a flat round shiny battery about the size of a nickel.This is the cmos battery.

They usually last for 5 years but this could be longer or shorter.

To remove it take a very small flat head screwdriver and look at the battery holder , there should be a little tab you can press against with the screwdriver (press very slowly) and the battery pops out.

Note which way the battery is facing first so you can replace it facing the same way.

Be careful with the screwdriver that you don't slip and touch the motherboard with the screwdriver or your hand.

To relace just put one edge in facing the correct way and push into place with your finger.
+++++++++++++++++++

See how this works out for you. Best of Luck.
Rgds
C.

OK, Charlie - I'll replace the battery and try again, but it is only 2 yr old I think (came with rebuilt PC... ). If that doesn't fix it, I guess a new mobo is next to try.

I'm still afraid of the 40 deg. Celsius temp on CPU 1. Does that mean CPU is dying?

So I may have to replace CPU, too. I wonder if just buying a cheap laptop is a better idea... I've seen 'em for $500 with a Pentium Dual-core...


BTW - What does the IRQ LESS OR NOT EQUAL... error mean ?

Thanks very much!

JP

Hello
40 deg is a good temp for a cpu , cpu's can go up to 55 deg playing games.


" IRQ not less ect " Here a quote from another post

"the IRQ not less or equal seems to be a generic all-purpose error message, because I've seen it in a few different cirumstances. I got that message when I tried to install XP Pro with an insufficient CPU fan....XP doesnt seem to want to install if the cpu is too hot (it was over 60C). Another time I got that error message was with random reboots caused by the motherboard being seated incorrectly on the metal standoffs in the tower, causing short circuits. Windows would bomb completely with that error message, so nothing to do with IRQs.
Could possibly be bad RAM, as advised by Microsoft, but I was getting the IRQ error when using good RAM (the stuff I'm using right now).
So I dont think the error message is that specific."

I've looked around and that error message pops up for just about everything.

One useful way to trouble shoot is to take your system back to 'bare bones'

With just the video card , the hard drive , one stick of ram , and cpu , remove or disable antyhing else (like sound card , network card etc ) , the more possible suspects you eliminate the better.

If you have two sticks of ram try them each on their own. Remember to only try one thing at a time and retry booting so you can find the root cause.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you give up on your current system , getting a laptop is what I'd do instead of spending anymore money on it.

Rgds
C.

Charlie,

I got a new battery as the old was weak. But I still have the SAME problem : CMOS checksum error...

Does 40 deg. Celsius mean CPU 1 is fried? Should I replace mobo or CPU ?

JP

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JPtheWiz

I have a 2.4GB Celeron w/ 768 MB RAM. Been running fine, but then refused to even try starting XP, so I think my prime 80GB HD died. Removed 80GB HD. Changed jumper on xtra 10.6 GB drive to MSTR, reset BIOS to see it, formatted the partion on it and installed XP.

I've never done an install before. No errors on install, but when I try to re-boot, XP tried to start then died with the IRQ LESS OR NOT EQUAL.... error. I then removed the slave HD - thinking that might be confusing- and restarted.

XP tries but again dies. Never gets past the Startup screen... How can I get past this ? Maybe my extra HD is bad, too ? I was able to read/write to it when it was the SLAVE. I'm not sure about configuring the disks, other boards, etc...

The BIOS shows
Primary MASTER = Primary HD 10.6GB
Primary Slave = none
Secondary Master = CD drive
Secondary Slave = DVD drive

Do I have something messed up there ?

Another Q: IS NTFS ok or should I use FAT32 format?

Another possible problem is that the XP disk I have MIGHT be actually for the Compaq sys I bought my daughter. I see no warn/ err msgs like that but wonder if that makes a difference. Does anyone know ??

Thanks !!

JP

---

Hello, it can be a few things. I have ran into this problem a lot in the past being a Computer / Network Engineer. 60 - 80% of the time it's the RAM. Try taking one of the sticks out and if it still does it try taking the other stick out. Let me know if this helps.

Klint T. (A+, Network+, Security+, MCP, MCSA, MCSE)
Computer / Network Engineer

Thanks, Klint. It looks like the 256MB mem is bad, as I now do not get CMOS err. I only have 512MB now. Thinking of getting a 1GB mem, but don't want to waste $$ if this PC is dead weight...

ALL - I can install/ reinstall XP on my new HD and it TRIES to boot off the HD, but will NOT! Iget message :

DISK BOOT FAILURE - INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

What the devil is going on now? The install appeared to be OK. What else do I need to do ? I've seen nothing about setting up a BOOT. Do I need to create a boot partition? How?

JP

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JPtheWiz

Thanks, Klint. It looks like the 256MB mem is bad, as I now do not get CMOS err. I only have 512MB now. thinking of getting a 1GB mem, but don't want to waste $$ if this PC is dead weight....

ALL - I can install/ reinstall XP on my new HD and it TRIES to boot off the HD, but will NOT !! Iget message :

DISK BOOT FAILURE - INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

What the devil is going on now? The install appeared to be OK. What else do I need to do ? I've seen nothing about setting up a BOOT. Do I need to create a boot partition? How ??

JP

---

Check in the bios and make sure that the new 2nd hard drive is selected in the boot order.

Hmmmm - I only have the ONE disk in right now...

I thought HDD-0 is the Master. If not, how do I determine what the BIOS calls it?

Tnx , Snow_death!

JP

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JPtheWiz

Hmmmm - I only have the ONE disk in right now...

I thought HDD-0 is the Master. If not, how do I determine what the BIOS calls it ??

Tnx , Snow_death !!

JP

---

In the BIOS summery it should tell you what the name is. (HDD-0) - Maxtor 40gb or whatever.. maybe Hard drive 1 - MAxtor 40 etc...

Try disabling everything other than the "hard disk" in the boot order.

Snow,

I tried disabling others, booting from HDD0 and HDD1 (the old drive). Installed XP, re-installed XP, etc... and the install goes with NO err.

But all I EVER get is the XP start page for 5 - 6 sec and then get the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH... reboot and same thing... over and over...

Is it the CPU or BIOS or what??

JP