John,
As soon as I encoutered this problem I tried safe mode - but I still get the
same problem, it says it is starting then hangs before I get a desktop up.
In fact I have tried starting in just about every mode available from the
'F8' menu - logged, command prompt, anything, and in every case the system
just hangs just at the point which I can best describe as 'really running
the operating system' as opposed to running in some sort of booting/loading
mode or version.
The bootlog file doesn't appear to be being written, so I think the point of
failure must be just before the bootlog is created. The MS articles just
don't seem to hit the point of failure I'm experiencing. In fact, judging by
the content of the MS knowledgebase articles and their newgroup, MS seem to
deny that a failuer can occur at this point - or at least that it is not a
problem in Windows as such.
If MS are to be believed, then I'm getting a hardware failure. I've tried
replacing just about every component in the system, in fact the only part I
haven't replaced is the processor - due to the cost. I was wondering whether
there was any way of making sure that this actually is a processor problem
before spending out on a replacement.
MS-DOS and DR-DOS both run fine, but they are only 16-bit real-mode. Windows
2000 hangs at some point in the boot sequence just before it 'gets
sophisticated' and brings up the desktop. I'm thinking that it is time to
try loading in something else - either some processor test software or
another op system.
Any further ideas along these lines - or do you think I'm chasing a 'red
herring' ?
Thanks for your help,
Kevn.

John7 wrote:
| Kevin,
|
| I installed such a m/board at a customer with Win2K, runs flawless.
| Try Safe Mode (with log file) and check 'ntbtlog.txt' for clues.
| It is described in the MS article I mentioned before.
|
| John7
|
| "Kevin Lawton" wrote in message
| ...
|| Thanks again John.
|| Top performance is off in the BIOS.
|| I have started with defalt BIOS settings and disabled hardware I
|| don't need to start with - sound, LAN, USB, RAID.
|| I have tried various combinations of DIMMs - one, two or three - all
|| branded Samsung, Crucial or Exact. Various memory test software has
|| passed them as okay.
|| Had a look at the MS knowledge base article, but mostly it discusses
|| situations where Windows 2000 has booted up sucessfully on the
|| machine once before.
|| Also looked at the MS 'Windows 2000 Startup' newsgroup. Similar
|| problems have cropped up occasionally before, but never been
|| properly explained or resolved.
|| I am gradually coming to the conclusion that Windows 2000 and the
|| GA-7VRXP m/board don't get along - but have seen no reports to
|| confirm or deny that as yet. If so, then it would suggest that there
|| is something on the m/board which the default Windows 2000 drivers
|| from the CD foul-up so badly wih that the op system hangs - seems
|| unlikely, but what else is left ? Other VIA chipset m/boards I use
|| are fine.
|| This would leave me with only two options - either buy a different
|| m/board which Windows 2000 will install and run on, or buy and
|| install Windows XP in the hope that it will work properly. I'm not
|| really happy with either of these options as I have two of these
|| m/boards - I'm upgrading both of my machines - and I don't really
|| want the bloat and expense of Windows XP compared to the relatively
|| fast and lean Windows 2000 which has been very reliable for about
|| four years.
|| Thanks for your help so far - have you any idea what I can do next ?
|| Cheers,
|| Kevin.
||
|| John7 wrote:
||| Hi Kevin,
|||
||| Indeed, Matrox G400 and G450 are not demanding.
||| 330W PSU seems sufficient.
||| If present in bios, Top Performance should be off.
||| (you may have to press CTRL+F1 in bios main menu first).
||| Have you tried running with one DIMM only (either one).
||| If DIMM's are OEM, try branded ones.
||| Create a MS WinDiag floppy (see MS KB) to have them checked
||| or try www.simmtester.com
||| Check out MS KB article 315396 (keeps you off the streets for a
||| while)
|||
||| HTH,
||| John7
|||
||| "Kevin Lawton" wrote in message
||| ...
|||| Thanks, John.
|||| BIOS virus protection is OFF.
|||| Have tried various BIOS settings for stability and not 'pushing my
|||| luck' with speed.
|||| The only graphics cards I have available at the moment are all
|||| Matrox ones - G400 and G450 - hardly the most demanding. I could
|||| buy
|||| a cheap one tomorrow if it would help (suggestions ?).
|||| 330w power supply. Only one HD is the system so far, no CDRW or DVD
|||| yet, SCSI card and drives not installed yet.
|||| Could go out and buy a 500w PSU tomorrow if that is the problem,
|||| but wouldn't have thought it was necessary.
|||| XP2400 + GA-7VRXP + 512 Mb DDR + G400 + 60 Gb HD + floppy. That's
|||| it so far. Anything else I could try before I have to throw money
|||| at
|||| this problem ? Thanks,
|||| Kevin.
||||
|||| John7 wrote:
||||| Hi Kevin,
|||||
||||| Turn virus / bootsector protection off in BIOS until install
||||| finished. It seems the lockup occurs when the videocard is about
||||| to go into graphics mode.
||||| First, try defensive settings in BIOS.
||||| Second, try swapping the card.
||||| When graphic mode turns on, the card draws more current.
||||| What is the wattage of your power supply?
||||| You'll need at least 300W, better 350W.
||||| Tell us more about your system.
|||||
||||| Installing windows on another mainboard, then swapping harddrive
||||| to other mainboard won't work.
|||||
||||| HTH,
||||| John7
|||||
|||||
||||| PS: to protect yourself from spam, don't post your email address
||||| here or insert something like REMOVE.
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||| "Kevin Lawton" wrote in message
||||| ...
|||||| Please, can somebody help me with this ?
|||||| Gigabyte GA-7VRXP + AMD XP2400 + 2 x 256 Mb DDR2700.
|||||| The above runs various versions of DOS, from either floppy or
|||||| hard drive (60 Gb Seagate), fine - no problem at all.
|||||| If I try to install Windows 2000 it all seems to be going well
|||||| until I get to the point where it should be 'Starting to run
|||||| Windows for the first time' - and it just hangs - forever :-)
|||||| I have tried building a fresh install on a Duron 1200 and then
|||||| swapping the hard drive over - same problem: hangs after the
|||||| 'starting Windows' progress stripe has completed.
|||||| I've tried swapping both memory and motherboard (both GA-7VRXP
|||||| Rev1.1) and still the same problem.
|||||| This is driving me crazy !
|||||| Does anyone have any ideas on what I should try next ?
|||||| Any help would be very gratefully appreciated.
|||||| TIA,
|||||| Kevin.