window xp constant errors

mov · #1 11-27-2004, 06:15 PM

hello all, ive been up the past 5 nights trying to get my new custom built pc to work, after installing windows xp home and pro i am able to play games, load software, and do well anything, until about half hour or an hour the monitor goes blank and nothing will work apart from an annoying beep after bashing the keys, so i turn pc off using power button when pc boots up again i hit rather 1 of 2 errors, with windows xp home i get rather c:\windows\system32\config\system corrupt or file missing, or c:\windows\system32\config\default corrupt or file On windows xp pro i was able to reboot sucessfully once or twice after screen black outs, but now im back to another error, when i boot i get a blue screen UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME , at this very second im following a guide on how to fix this from microsofts website, but i KNOW that once the system is up and running again its only a matter of time before it gets errors again,
also i must note that i cannot get the onboard sound to work after installing its drivers and messing with its settings and activating it in bios i still get no sound, so i have added a pci sound card and sound works on this one. also the errors occured while i was doing the following:
sharing files through network
playing music and opening cd rom drive (sound makes a crackling noise first)
Playing a game.

from formatting and reinstalling windows hopefully you can understand how frustrated and tired i am, and i really hope you guys can help me, heres what i hardware and system info i have to give you thankyou in advance:

AMD ATHLON 2800XP
MERCURY KT400a chipset on board sound ,lan 8x agp slot, ATX
2x 256mb ELIXER DDR 400
QTEC 300WATT PSU AMD AND P4 READY
FLOPPY
GEFORCE FX5500 256MB AGP4X8X
LITE-ON 16 SPEED DVD ROM
LITE-ON CD-RW
80GB EXCELSTOR/HITACHI HDD 7200RPM 2MB CACHE ATA100

mov · #2 11-27-2004, 06:21 PM

its 12:20am ive just finshed microsofts error fixing tutorial on UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME and windows xp pro is back up and running again, Although I KNOW for a fact it will only last another hour or so, so please please any info on how to fix this will be greatly appreciated.

mov · #3 11-27-2004, 06:37 PM

after further testing, ive just discovered another possible cause, i played 1 music track, and before it reached the end, the sound crackled and the monitor went off, causing me to reboot, although it let me reboot windows i dont want to push my luck and try it again. hope this will increase my chances of fixing the problem.

Yogi_b · #4 11-27-2004, 11:50 PM

could your hardware be at fault for the crashes? it sounds like its software but could your prossessor be overheating? or maybe bad ram...? just some suggestions

Viktoria · #5 11-28-2004, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mov
after further testing, ive just discovered another possible cause, i played 1 music track, and before it reached the end, the sound crackled and the monitor went off, causing me to reboot, although it let me reboot windows i dont want to push my luck and try it again. hope this will increase my chances of fixing the problem.

Mov, you say the monitor went off, but did the PC reboot by itself, or was the PC still on and the monitor was the only thing that shut off?

Gene K · #6 11-28-2004, 07:31 AM

I am easily confused; however, please clarify: 1. Did you attempt to set-up a dual boot system consisting of a. XP Home b. XP Professional? If so, why? They are exactly the same operating system with some enhancements built in to the Professional version, mainly networking and security stuff.
That question asked, check your boot path (s):
1. Start/Run [or any other Command Prompt]/type "msconfig" (minus quote marks), and click "OK".
2. When the "System Configuration Utility" opens, click the "Boot.ini" Tab.
3. Click the "Check all boot paths" button.

mov · #7 11-28-2004, 07:52 AM

Ok just to clear a few things up, i upgraded from home to pro, so their is no duel os, and when i say the monitor goes off the screen goes blank, the monitor does not go into standby or turn off compleatly, hdd led remains constantly on with a blank screen.
i dont really know if its hardware problems, all of it is brand new and perfectly compatible with the motherboard, so i wouldnt know where to start looking, i may have a problem but i dont know if its causing the crashes, i cannot get the onboard sound working when i leave music on the computer crashes, also it has crashed when i was sharing files on the onboard network port, im just wondering if its the motherboard itself.
PS Ill check the boot for you in just a minute i got to set the other computer up at the side of me.

mov · #8 11-28-2004, 08:12 AM

Answer for gene k question
after running msconfig and boot.ini
i get this message:
"it appears that all BOOT.INI lines for microsoft operating systems are ok"

mov · #9 11-28-2004, 08:56 AM

once again ive come across another error, this time while i was sharing files from my other computer the monitor acted as though it wasnt plugged into the pc, and the pc beeped if i pressed any keys, when i rebooted i got this error c:windows\system32\config\system file is corrupt or missing, so i rebooted inserted windows cd and pressed r for recovery console just as i pressed r, i got a blue screen with this error message IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL ***STOP: 0X0000000A (0XF000E987 , 0X00000002 , 0X00000001 , 0X807FE4ED) im slowly coming to the conclusion that it is the motherboards onboard sound and lan that are causing the errors, im now gonna go and type this error message in google and see what comes up, it looks like i have no other alternative but to send this back to the shop.

Gene K · #10 11-28-2004, 09:45 AM

Do not give up just yet:
1. Run the System File Check Tool to determine if it finds a flaw in the XP system files. To do that: Start/Run/type "sfc /scannow" [less the quote markers AND BE CERTAIN that a space precedes the slash], and click "OK".
2. Go to the Device Manager [Control Panel/double click "System"/click "Hardware" Tab/click "Device Manager"] and check out all the devices that are giving trouble.

mov · #11 11-28-2004, 10:50 AM

To try that last thing from you gene k i will have to format the hard drive and reinstall windows because i cannot get windows up and running again due to the blue screen that appears during recovery console, although i have checked device manager for conflicts and troubleshooted both the audio and network and there seems to be no problems with them. if i can get round to reinstalling windows tonight i will try the first thing you said, also ive emailed the shop i bought it from and im waiting a reply from them, if i dont get it fixed its going back for sure. thankyou i will let you know if ive reinstalled windows and tried your solution. ive got just another quick question, if it is the motherboard what is faulty, would it even boot up or turn on at all?

Play_The_0dds · #12 11-28-2004, 11:16 AM

I had 2 computers this week with the same trouble..one i slaved the drive and saved the files, the other had severe partition damage and they were not worried about anything on it so i didnt bother recovery programs.
i tried every fix on the net on both...i had the same results you did. i did what i always do. zeroed the drive and reinstalled. both work fine now. i did scan the one i recovered the files from with several virus scan and found nothing, there was alot of spyware....what i think causes this, i probably sound like a broken record to the regs here, when you format with windows(quick formats really suck) and reinstall a few times you start to get errors because the old os is not completely erased...just makes the files unprotected and able to be written over again. if your drive has never been used and you did a quick format when you installed windows you get problems like this too... when i say zeroed the drive, this may be called many different things.packet write,zero write, low level format...you can find these utilities on the net, or they come with hard drives, partition magic makes the floppy disk set. a good packet write will take hours, but is is very much worth the time.

Gene K · #13 11-28-2004, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mov
To try that last thing from you gene k i will have to format the hard drive and reinstall windows because i cannot get windows up and running again due to the blue screen that appears during recovery console, although i have checked device manager for conflicts and troubleshooted both the audio and network and there seems to be no problems with them. if i can get round to reinstalling windows tonight i will try the first thing you said, also ive emailed the shop i bought it from and im waiting a reply from them, if i dont get it fixed its going back for sure. thankyou i will let you know if ive reinstalled windows and tried your solution. ive got just another quick question, if it is the motherboard what is faulty, would it even boot up or turn on at all?

I agree with the subsequent poster that a re-install seems to be indicated and also do not quick format if you do.
As to the motherboard, depends on which segment may be faulty. Remember if the builder pre-installed Windows and you subsequently re-stall that OS, your guarantee may be affected at least as to the OS. If you re-install the OS and there are still the significant problems you mention, back to the builder. Here is a site with good tutorials on XP repair and clean installs.