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View Full Version : I'm about to re-format - any thoughts first?


Mini-Me
04-21-2006, 11:09 PM
Hi.

My latest build, consisting of an MSI K8N Neo3 mainboard, Sempron 2600+, 1GB DDR, DVD-RW drive, 80GB SATA2 HDD, MSI NX6800 PCI-e VGA is causing me pain.

It has started doing odd things.

Whenever you install ANY new software, and the software install asks to reboot, the system will not reboot. What happens is that once you click YES to the question asking to reboot, you simply get ploped back on the desktop.

If you try to START/SHUTDOWN/RESTART or SHUT DOWN, you get dropped back on the desktop again.

If you [CTRL] + [ALT] + [DEL], then select shutdown, you get dropped back at the desktop again.

At this point, you HAVE to press the reset button on the PC case, as the machine will not reboot or shut down in any of the normal ways.

Upon reboot, nothing appears to be effected - the system starts normally, with no warnings, etc...

My lastest problem, is installing my HP140 Photo-printer.
The install goes fine with no errors, and you can use the card-reader part, but you cannot print to the printer from any application EXCEPT the HP tools utility - you can send an HP test print from there, and it prints just fine, but if you try to print a standard Windows test page, it fails with the cryptic report of "Operation could not be completed".

The system was only clean-installed about 9 days ago, but I am getting so annoyed at this point, that I am about to flatten(format) and re-install XP.

Anyone got any suggestions first?

All temps appear normal according to Everest Home Edition, and also confirmed by touching the heatsinks(wearing anti-static grounding strap) - warm, but not egg-frying hot.

PSU is 450W twin-fan, so juice should not be a problem.

ZoneAlarm 5 with AntiVirus(all up to date)

Spybot and AdAware both run, and system is clean(according to them!)

Thanks!
:)

mjc
04-21-2006, 11:38 PM
Have you added all patches,service packs, security fixes, etc to XP?

Mini-Me
04-21-2006, 11:46 PM
All except SP2.

Currently running with SP1a.

Do not like some of the "Features" of SP2, so I don't install that SP unless I have to...

mjc
04-21-2006, 11:50 PM
Let's see...feature

1) Good chance of mucking up your video drivers so badly that stop errors are the order of the day?

2) DRM to choke a mule?

I'm sure I can come up with a few more....

Now it is hard to say if one of them is the source or if you just have a bad install. Or some sort of creeping disk or RAM error.

I remember a build that Whyzman did that had a drive that wasn't quite OK. It started out fine and went south fairly quickly.

So, give the drive and RAM the once over, too.

Sylvander
04-22-2006, 08:44 AM
I [almost] ALWAYS install new programs in safe mode or "msconfig->Diagnostic Startup->Normal restart" [with my broadband modem powered off].
[After (ideally) making an image backup of C: of course.]
Give that a try.

Perhaps some program running in the background is interfering with the [software] process that restarts the PC.
During restart there may be a "run-once" registry setting to complete VITAL changes needed for the proper operation of the newly installed program.
If Windows isn't shut down normally such changes may not be completed. :(

Any chance that your PC is infected?
No HJT scan completed and clean?