Can't boot windows due to hardware?

ftd86 · Jun 7, 2009, 01:45 AM

Just within the last week, I've not been able to load into windows XP. It will make it halfway through the first bar of the Windows boot screen before instantly rebooting. At first I thought my hardrive went on me, but when I installed windows on a seperate HDD, the same story. Fortunately, I still had a lot of the components from before my system upgrade. Here are my current specs: Radeon HD 4850 512MB, AMD Opteron 185, 2GB Corsair XMS platinum, 580watt antec true power PSU, ASUS A8N Sli Deluxe MOBO. I was able to use older components for everything except the motherboard. How can I go about narrowing down the culprit? I've checked for loose connections, and all transistors seem to be fine. The only thing I'm worried about is the northbridge chipset fan I replaced last year. I replaced it will a zalman, fan-less cooler. My system reads in the bios that my system temp is at 35 celsius which from what I read is decent. The only overclocking that has been done is the graphics card, where the voltage was brought up by .1 volts. Any help is much appreciated.

ftd86 · Jun 7, 2009, 04:50 AM

UPDATE: Narrowed it down to my SATA ports. I used one of my old IDE drives and everything seems to be working fine at the moment.

**kris23** · Jun 7, 2009, 06:18 AM

so you are certain it is not the PSU? Antec's OC isnt very consistent

ftd86 · Jun 7, 2009, 07:50 AM

yeah, I tried my old coolmax as well, and the problem was still there. I don't know what would be causing only the SATA ports to be problematic, but I guess I'll revert to an older bios version? I checked the soldering, and there doesn't seem to be any loose connections.

Jun 7, 2009, 01:45 AM	#1
ftd86 HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 60 Rep Power: 0	Can't boot windows due to hardware? Just within the last week, I've not been able to load into windows XP. It will make it halfway through the first bar of the Windows boot screen before instantly rebooting. At first I thought my hardrive went on me, but when I installed windows on a seperate HDD, the same story. Fortunately, I still had a lot of the components from before my system upgrade. Here are my current specs: Radeon HD 4850 512MB, AMD Opteron 185, 2GB Corsair XMS platinum, 580watt antec true power PSU, ASUS A8N Sli Deluxe MOBO. I was able to use older components for everything except the motherboard. How can I go about narrowing down the culprit? I've checked for loose connections, and all transistors seem to be fine. The only thing I'm worried about is the northbridge chipset fan I replaced last year. I replaced it will a zalman, fan-less cooler. My system reads in the bios that my system temp is at 35 celsius which from what I read is decent. The only overclocking that has been done is the graphics card, where the voltage was brought up by .1 volts. Any help is much appreciated.

Jun 7, 2009, 04:50 AM	Thread Starter #2
ftd86 HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 60 Rep Power: 0	Re: Can't boot windows due to hardware? UPDATE: Narrowed it down to my SATA ports. I used one of my old IDE drives and everything seems to be working fine at the moment.

Jun 7, 2009, 06:18 AM	#3
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: Can't boot windows due to hardware? so you are certain it is not the PSU? Antec's OC isnt very consistent __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jun 7, 2009, 07:50 AM	Thread Starter #4
ftd86 HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 60 Rep Power: 0	Re: Can't boot windows due to hardware? yeah, I tried my old coolmax as well, and the problem was still there. I don't know what would be causing only the SATA ports to be problematic, but I guess I'll revert to an older bios version? I checked the soldering, and there doesn't seem to be any loose connections.