Another spooky freeze and "Update ESCD" mess

[kashak]

In hopes that I won't be pelt with dead video cards, motherboards and keyboards, I dear to post this my very first thread here. I am newbie, so hi to all who happens to bypass and perhaps even help me. In few words, I am self-taught 3D animation enthusiast and my hobby brings me to computer veeeeeeerrry close and tight. But only lately I realized that I had just about enough and have to start learning this 'other' side of PC errors and horrors.


I dear to rise once again this horrible topic although I know it's not new.
Here's the picture.

I encountered this horrible situation and can't get away of it. My good-old "Rocket", Pentium III machine on which I listen music everyday and keep a lot of stuff very valuable to me, now freezes in BIOS POST all the time. It was very friendly, worked with awesome glitches and had some processor pathology, it's an assembled monster with a once very dusty processor taken out of "unemployment state" and put into heart of this machinery. This machine was concrete iron, it easily survived shock-shut downs, heavy drinking parties, and overally - it could get things done.

But, but....

Situation in short is like this. Few days ago one friend of mine bring his computer and asked to look what's wrong with it. While messing with it, at one moment I had idea of checking if it's motherboard's battery hasn't gone death. So I took battery from my "Rocket" and plugged it into friends computer. Nope, that wasn't the case. Let's leave the story of friends computer. I than plugged back my battery back into my motherboard.

And here it started.
After BIOS start up memory check and other stuff, when first screen changes, in POST I get this message "Update ESCD successfully" and than computer hangs. Sometimes if I unplug my USB mouse, this message doesn't appear but system hangs anyway.

I did Google research. It gave a lot of info and instructions. I understood that this message usually appears when hardware is added. I didn't add ANY hardware recently. The only thing I did was this battery switch.

From Google research I get that once battery goes dead BIOS can't work. Just in case I purchased new battery, now it's plugged. No changes - still system hangs.

So, to sum up, here's things I tried:

1)battery change to new(now it's there, tightly plugged);
2)reseting all BIOS settings to defaults;
3)one per one taking out as first sound card, than network, than USB expansion and finally video card, leaving system only with RAM,HDD and CD-ROM and Floppy drive (I just leave it there just for fun);

I have no progress so far. "Rocket" just won't start and play good music and allow me to do other nice stuff.

I decided to give it a try here, maybe you peop can give some fresh ideas, some new tricks I can try. I just don't want to do format and total re-install of all. Want to tackle down this problem, I have a feeling solution is possible and it's easy.

Here I post photos I took from screens. BIOS settings are shown as they are now. If there's need for more details or other BIOS settings, I will show them

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7055/dsc00960me.th.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/i/dsc00960me.jpg/)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/641/dsc00961x.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/dsc00961x.jpg/)
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7202/dsc00963o.th.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/i/dsc00963o.jpg/)
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2568/dsc00964e.th.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/i/dsc00964e.jpg/)
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/4435/dsc00965i.th.jpg (http://img39.imageshack.us/i/dsc00965i.jpg/)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8505/dsc00966tu.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/dsc00966tu.jpg/)

If I could describe in words, how I want to get back my "Rocket" to function :(
Please, help

[Fruss Tray Ted]

It appears that you are getting a successful BIOS POST (Power On, Self Test) screen, and that you are also able to go into the BIOS to view and make changes if needed.

It appears though that your floppy drive is dead by the message “floppy disk(s) fail (40)“. It could be the power to it or the data cable as well.

You need to disconnect it and do a “barebones boot“. Remove the CD-ROM (power and data leads) as well from the picture. I would also try a ps2 mouse instead of the USB. Also do that for keyboard if you are using a USB one.

You should try to boot with just one stick of RAM, mobo, monitor (use onboard video if so equipped, use video card if no onboard available), key and mouse, plus your hard drive. Remove all add-on cards such as 10/100 ethernet, modems etc. See if it will boot.

What operating system?
Is 500mhz correct for the processor? Adjust that in BIOS if needed.

[kashak]

Yes, you are correct, it's 500mhz Pentium III.

I did as you suggested, a "barebones boot". Since I don't need floppy, I took cables out and switched in BIOS too. But because of I didn'y have ps2 mouse and keybord I am left with USB.

Booting system without any add-on cards gives this error anyway. I start to become even more suspicious towards my HDD. By the way, in my Rocket it's the only one, Maxtor 250GB who is splitted into two partitions. One 30GB for Windows and soft and rest for all other stuff.

I payed more closer attention to HDD and approved of what I feared for quite a time and what I forgot to mention - shortly after launch my HDD produce weird sounds. Sounds like, I don't know how to best describe,it's like something is struggling. There's two three sounds in a row each approx. 3 seconds, sounds like a sort of quick robot hand, head movement or something like that and it's quite loud. I know how HDD sounds usually but that's not the case. Really weird sound

OS is Windows XP 32-bit. 500mhz is adjusted

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Take it out from your PC and slave it in a friend`s PC now. Copy any and all files you want to save. Use an external enclosure, whatever. Make a back-up.

I realize you said Maxtor but around when the WDD drives around that time frame and size there was a few issues. They are also old by now so do a back-up ASAP.

[kashak]

Believe it or not - at first I need to find friend who will be courageous enough to let me mess around with their computers. Two failed computers in two days - one total death (as suspected) and one Blue Death Screen. People are quite scared :d
Machine upraise

Okay, ok, I dramatise a bit. But yes, looks like I'll have to follow Fruss Tray Ted to your solution.

By the way, a thought - once my BIOS settings are reset, does my additional sound card may cause some conflict. BIOS reset, so computer will try to use integrated sound card, right?

[kashak]

Here's the latest news. I visited my local service today and a guy there did a quick run test of my HDD on other computer. It started to work, Windows started to boot, logo appeared. Just seconds later Blue Screen appeared which is normal since we did a boot on different system.

So, HDD is not the case, I guess? I just returned now and while walking back home I imagined to check and change power and connection wires to HDD. I "borrowed" them from CD-ROM wires and connectors, reconnected also on motherboard in HDD slot, they fit perfectly. NOTHING, the same freeze. Guess not a wires either.

Looks like I am faced with having to say a good-bye to my Rocket after all. Quite a sad moment.
It seems now that either motheboard or CPU/BIOS is out of line
Feel free to leave , if any, thoughts, ideas, final advice with this situation

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Try a live Linux CD such as Knoppix, Ubuntu or one of the Puppy distros.

I assume you have tons of music you could burn to disk and one of those may be able to help you in doing so.

I`m not so sure you motherboard is at fault. It could be your CM(OS battery, or other hardware but the boot sector on the hard drive seems to be the focal point in my eyes, so try to boot to another os for now without using your 250gig.

[kashak]

What if this - if I get new/other HDD, install Windows on it and later attach this mine HDD with current Windows XP installed as a slave? There wouldn't be a problem to see it from this new/other HDD so I could backup all info and than format it for good?

You are right about music, Fruss Tray Ted. I invested a lot of time in deleting files and leaving music I really like, sort of ultimate music collection. But that's not the main concern, not only music.

Looks like maybe I really could give a try to another HDD. Just searched local shops and service sites and even ebay, and found some low cost old IDE HDD. I think I will give it a tray. In upcoming days get a HDD and than will see

[kashak]

Okay, people. I'm back with fresh news.

Rocket lives! Work is done. I purchased new HDD and installed Windows on it and it works. All drivers and soft installed, it works perfectly. I'm happy. Sad thing is that I had to format my previous Maxtor 250GB drive with all info, which fortunately is backed up on CD's. I changed my Maxtor to slave disk. At first windows found it unreadable. But things are done now.

So, to summarize this all, I can say with quite a big certainty that my Maxtor HDD was the cause. It failed as bootable system disk and he was responsible for troubles since with new HDD as primary system disk everything is just great now(for an old computer what a Rocket actually is). New HDD solved this situation. Maxtor HDD now I will keep just for music and many other files with hopes that it will serve for quite a time as simple storage.

To those who runs in the same situation like mine I hope this thread and many posts in it will help to solve it. I really thank all of you who responded and shared hints. I saved many suggestions, so in future if that "thing" ever again will dear to show up on any other computer I happen to work on, I would be more prepared of what to do. So thanks, appreciate!