GA-G31MF-S2 wont install XP - freezes

GA-G31MF-S2
Intel Core 2 DUO 3ghz
2gb Pc4200 DDR II RAM
CDROM on IDE0
120GB on SATA (new HDD)

In the bios I've turned everything off, but windows XP refuses to
install, no cards installed.

Installing windows 39mins left

Any ideas ? - Faulty motherboard ?

/Stu

Just changed to a 500GB new SATA drive and windows now gets to 13 mins
left before it hangs....

I'm thinking it might be SATA related. if I install to an IDE, would
that mean that I would get problems accessing my SATA drives ? - or is
it just XP being a bit funny ?


or a faulty motherboard ?

/Stu


stu collier wrote:
GA-G31MF-S2
Intel Core 2 DUO 3ghz
2gb Pc4200 DDR II RAM
CDROM on IDE0
120GB on SATA (new HDD)

In the bios I've turned everything off, but windows XP refuses to
install, no cards installed.

Installing windows 39mins left

Any ideas ? - Faulty motherboard ?

/Stu

I've swapped the power supply for a 450W, same problem.

I've now also tried installing windows to an IDE drive - same result.

Deperatation I've just tried installing Linux, which freezes too.

The only thinking I haven't changed over is the RAM.

Just tried booting with a single 1GB strip and the display is currupt :S


/Stu



lkboop wrote:
stu collier wrote:
GA-G31MF-S2
Intel Core 2 DUO 3ghz
2gb Pc4200 DDR II RAM
CDROM on IDE0
120GB on SATA (new HDD)

In the bios I've turned everything off, but windows XP refuses to
install, no cards installed.

Installing windows 39mins left

Any ideas ? - Faulty motherboard ?

/Stu
Most likely cause is power supply going bad-

stu collier wrote:
I've swapped the power supply for a 450W, same problem.

I've now also tried installing windows to an IDE drive - same result.

Deperatation I've just tried installing Linux, which freezes too.

The only thinking I haven't changed over is the RAM.

Just tried booting with a single 1GB strip and the display is currupt :S


/Stu

And what does memtest86+ from memtest.org say ? Allow it to run for a
couple passes. Must be error free, before you can consider installing
and/or booting an OS. I was only using this, just this morning (used
my Knoppix disc, which, if I type "memtest" at the boot prompt,
will load memtest86+ 1.65 and run it, instead of booting Knoppix).

If you download something from memtest.org, it will allow you to prepare
a floppy diskette, or a CD. The download time should be pretty short, and
it'll probably take a little longer to burn a CD.

Paul




lkboop wrote:
stu collier wrote:
GA-G31MF-S2
Intel Core 2 DUO 3ghz
2gb Pc4200 DDR II RAM
CDROM on IDE0
120GB on SATA (new HDD)

In the bios I've turned everything off, but windows XP refuses to
install, no cards installed.

Installing windows 39mins left

Any ideas ? - Faulty motherboard ?

/Stu
Most likely cause is power supply going bad-

memtest86+ ran for 8 mins, no error message but the system hung :S

I'll get some DDRII RAM just to rule it out.

Checking the chip temp and its only 40c, so I'm thinking memory or
motherboard needs replacing.....


/Stu

stu collier wrote:


memtest86+ ran for 8 mins, no error message but the system hung :S

I'll get some DDRII RAM just to rule it out.

Checking the chip temp and its only 40c, so I'm thinking memory or
motherboard needs replacing.....


/Stu


Depending on the voltage the memory and the CPU are running
at, they may not be enough for stable operation. Check the
voltage rating of the RAM (it may have a voltage at which the
timing is guaranteed, or the voltage may be an indication of
the absolute max it can take). For example, if the industry
standard is 1.8V, you might apply 2.0V or 2.1V or so. If the
RAM has a web page or a spec sheet, you may get the details there.

The CPU should be fine with nominal voltage, but you can
experiment with it a tiny bit, if fiddling with the RAM
is not making any difference to the situation.

I'm just a little surprised it would freeze, when there
are ample opportunities for a RAM problem to show as
an error count. That is what makes it a bit more
baffling.

You can press control F1 while in the BIOS, to expose more
settings.

Paul

I'm sorry to say it sounds like your mobo screw up or that bad ram...

Little update (as its now fixed)

firstly the testing the ram would always error on the probe tests......

So I installed the New ram Pc2-6400 which is working with no errors.

The "faulty" ram Elixir Pc2-4200 (m2y1g64tu8ha0b-37b) is working fine
on another M/B - so I'm presuming that it not compatible with the
GA-G31MF-S2.


Thanks for the input guys

/Stu


stu collier wrote:
GA-G31MF-S2
Intel Core 2 DUO 3ghz
2gb Pc4200 DDR II RAM
CDROM on IDE0
120GB on SATA (new HDD)

In the bios I've turned everything off, but windows XP refuses to
install, no cards installed.

Installing windows 39mins left

Any ideas ? - Faulty motherboard ?

/Stu