Boot Problems/Delayed Write Failed errors continue after many reformats

[silver777]

Well I guess the title says it all...

When I turn my computer on, it does one of four things:

1)Bios screen loads, and freezes on black screen
2)XP loading bar keeps going and going and going and randomly restarts
3)Bios screen loads, and continues to corrupt file screen/blue screen
4)If I'm lucky, everything loads perfectly to my desktop

Getting thorough boot up is just half the battle. Then comes the DELAYED WRITE FAIL messages. These piss me off with a passion. About 1 out of every 3 Battlefield2 map loads, I'll get the error. When I leave the computer running all night (downloading programs and what not) I'll often wake up to a black screen, which is the common result to the delayed write failed messages. It occasionally occurs when running high memory apps, but occurs the most when LOADING applications or DOWNLOADING programs. I have received the message when searching for files on the hard drive and copying large files to other folders. I think I’m leaning towards a hard drive problem.

I and others I know more knowledgeable of computers have reformatted it many times, and the symptoms I have just mentioned are all evident within the first few days of reformatting.

Hardware problem? Bios problem? I know it’s not a virus. If someone can just maybe point me in the right direction of getting help with this persistent annoyance, that would be just amazing. I've had it almost 9 months and saved a lot of paychecks many months before that to finally buy a decent PC.

Thanks for any input.

[odannyboy000]

It could possibly be the motherboard, but I am thinking more like the power supply.

[david eaton]

Also, check for leaking/bulging capacitors on the motherboard.

[Sylvander]

What's the EARLIEST stage in the following that Startup halts?
i.e. Which is the [earliest] last successful stage, and then which stage fails?

A typical and successful startup sequence
1. Start of Boot Troubleshooting Walkthrough
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/index.htm
2. Yes: The system power supply is functioning
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/power1.htm
------------------------------------------------------
You should hear a single short beep at about this point indicating the successful running/completion of the POST.
Some PC’s beep much later, possibly as late as just before step 12.
------------------------------------------------------
3. Yes: Something is being written to the screen during boot up [This may be only a flashing cursor]
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/video1.htm
4. The video BIOS message is displayed on the screen for a few seconds and then clears from the screen, or more messages display under it
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/vbios1.htm
5. Yes: The system BIOS startup screen is appearing
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/bios1.htm
6. The memory test completes successfully
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/ram1.htm
7. The BIOS accesses the floppy drives and the boot continues
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/seek1.htm
8. The system is able to autodetect IDE devices successfully
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/auto1.htm
9. The system is not Plug and Play compatible, has no Plug and Play devices, or has PnP devices but identifies them properly
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/pnp1.htm
10. Boot sequence is A: before C: (floppy disk first)
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/seqAC.htm
11. The floppy disk makes a noise and the light comes on
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/fd1.htm
12. The floppy disk light goes off and the hard disk light comes on as it starts booting
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/fd1hdd.htm
13. The hard disk boot process will continue here, if you want to follow it.
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/hd1.htm
14. The system continues booting from the hard disk and the message "Starting MS-DOS" or "Starting Windows 95" is displayed
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/hd1os.htm
15. Operating System Loaded From Hard Disk. The system has found a boot sector on the hard disk and is now starting the load of the operating system. The hard disk is working. You have successfully completed the hardware part of the boot process. Any problems encountered after this point should be diagnosed by looking for a more specific problem with a component, or under the section that contains run-time error messages.

[saphalline]

Try replacing the SATA cable to the hard drive. Then try running MemTest86+ and see if it comes up with any errors. If you're still having problems, download Maxtor's HDD diagnostic tool and see if the hard drive itself is bad.

On the plus side, if the hard drive is indeed bad, it's still under warranty and will be replaced for free.

[EnzoMatrix]

Do you have an integrated firewall program on the board itself or using one period? In regards to your BF2 problem, I had issues with my firewall program. I uninstalled it and it fixed the problem.

As far as your random loading/corruption problems. Have you tried a sector scan on the HD to see if there are any bad sectors hanging everything up?