problems with computer!!!

[gnef]

Hey, guys, I am helping my friend with his comp.

I helped him select the components... so i am liable for how his comp runs... heh... and also troubleschooting, which i don't mind when i know what the problem is...

but here is his comp config:

amd 1700+ (old packaging, not green) retail with hsf
epox 8kha+ (not sure of bios date, but pretty recent)
256 MB of ram, crucial
radeon ve oem
80 GB western digital HDD (i believe it's western digital, he got it retail at B&M w/ rebates, so i am not entirely sure of brand, but know it's 80 GB)
lite-on 24x10x40x
lite-on 16x dvd
evercase case - forgot which one, but black with grey trim.
w2kpro

this is the error he is getting:

Stop: 0000218 c400218 [registry file failure]
The registry cannot load the HIV(file): \systemroot\system32\config\software\
Or its log or alternative.
It is corrupt or absent or not writable

Another four lines ? but unreadable because the computer restarts immediately.


do you guys have any idea what is causing this problem?

i am leaning towards the ram, and told him to do memtest overnight to see if that is the error, but is there anything else which could be causing this error? btw, it has happened about 4-5 times already, and we have had to reformat each time. ERD doesn't work.

TIA,

-Mel

 

[Night201]

It's not the RAM, it actually due to a corrupt file. All you have to do it recopy a file to that directory and you'll be all set. Does the computer usually automatically reboot after the message? My guess is yes. Let me look into the file you have to replace and you should be all set. If I recall, the file is actually in another directory on the hard drive and all you have to do is copy it to that ..\software directory.

Read this in the meantime

 

[gnef]

Oh, sweet. i will look through that.


But the thing is, why would it KEEP getting deleted? that's what i wonder.


-Mel

 

[yazz]

it is not getting deleted. it is getting corrupted/bloated. i replied to your question in GENERAL HARDWARE. check it out. i think your FRONT SIDE BUS on your motheboard may be sending a corrupted signal. before you replace the board try those links i gave you. or.... try this: take out that harddrive and see if it can boot on another system.

 

[gnef]

yea, thanks, yazz.

the thing is though, he tried ERD, last known config...

when i have time, i will try to help my friend with this.

thanks for the reply.

-Mel

 

[Escalade]

If you?ve been through the re-format/re-install 4-5 times already, then I?d suggest you?re looking at a hardware problem(s). Next time it occurs, and your faced with re-formatting, you might start with a low-level format of the hard-drive.

 

[gnef]

Hm. true. Perhaps i will try fdisking his partition. he needs the data on the other partitions.

just out of curiosity, is fdisk and format considered to do a low-level format? IIRC, it is, but i am not sure entirely.

-Mel

 

[Escalade]

<< is fdisk and format considered to do a low-level format? IIRC, it is, but i am not sure entirely. >>


No. Most manufacturers (Seagate and Maxtor come to mind) have low-level format programs for their IDE drives, that only work on the drives they were written for.

Last time I had to do a low-level format was ~1985, I remember using the 'debug' command to start the process, so I might not be the one to ask (or answer).



<< he needs the data on the other partitions. >>


Low-level format will wipe the *entire* drive clean.

 

[gnef]

Oh, that's no good.

the temporary solution would be just to reinstall the OS.

it works for a while usually, but then suddently just happens randomly to have that error.

it is spontaneous, and my friend tells me that he doesn't do anything unique to instigate the error.

we will try the various solutions.

-Mel

 

[GiGoLo]

to elaborate on escalade's notion, here's the debug script i always use to wipe out my drives. Just remember, doing this debug script will ERASE EVERYTHING!... all partitions, all data, everything. you will need to repartition and reformat when this is done, so use this as a last resort.

boot to a 98 floppy and get to the a:\> prompt. make sure debug.com (or is it debug.exe??) is on the disk.
the normal font is what the screen shows up, the bold letters are what you type:

a:\> debug

-F 200 L1000 0

-A CS:100

xxxx:0100 MOV AX,301

xxxx:0103 MOV BX,200

xxxx:0106 MOV CX,1

xxxx:0109 MOV DX,80 (use 80 if its Hdd-0, use 81 if its hdd-1)

xxxx:010C INT 13

xxxx:010E INT 20

xxxx:0110 (leave this blank and hit enter)

-G

program terminated normally - now reset the comp, repartition/reformat the drives and try the install again. lmk if you have any questions using it

 

[Escalade]

GiGoLo,

I was under the impression that the debug low-level format only worked on RLL and MFM drives. Will this also work on IDE/SCSI drives?

 

[GiGoLo]

for ide drives, yes i'm positive it works... i've been using it for years

i'm not sure if this applies to scsi drives, but it does work for my ide raid 0 config.

 

[gnef]

Hm. Sorry to sound stupid here, but could you tell me what each of the commands do?

I prefer to know what I am doing before I go into it blindly.

thanks.

-Mel

 

[GiGoLo]

you shouldn't feel stupid, this is a very advanced command that i'm sure 90% of atech users don't know. i doubt this will clear anything up, but here you go
<disclaimer: use at your own risk, i will not be held responsible for any damages to your system blah blah blah blah >


-F 200 L1000 0 FILL Length of 512 bytes at offset 1000 with value 0

-A CS:100 ASSEMBLE program at offset 100

xxxx:0100 MOV AX,301 AH=03 INT13 function 03 - Write Disk Sectors AL=01 specifies how many sectors to write (1)

xxxx:0103 MOV BX,200 BH=02 BL=00 points to buffer area at offset 200

xxxx:0106 MOV CX,1 CH=00 specifies cylinder 0 for INT13 function 03 CL=01 specifies sector 1 (first sector on drive)

xxxx:0109 MOV DX,80 (use 80 if its Hdd-0, use 81 if its hdd-1) DH=00 specifies head 0 (first head on drive) DL=80 specifies physical fixed disk drive 1
(81=2nd drive, 82=3rd drive, 83=4th drive)

xxxx:010C INT 13 call INT13 (BIOS Fixed Disk Device Service Routine)

xxxx:010E INT 20 return to DEBUG (after assembling program)

xxxx:0110 (leave this blank and hit enter)

-G GO

remember, this is a last resort. the only reason i use this is to be sure that nothing else is written in your mbr or the first sector of the hard drive by wiping it out clean. it may or may not help, but you're welcome to give it a shot. i've never had any problems come out of this, if it eases your mind any (and i've used this script many many many times). I would say that in my experience, this has helped maybe 25% of the time (its the most helpful when a virus is present on the master boot record or the boot sector... wipes it out clean)

 

[gnef]

Oh, Sweet!

yea, it clears up a bit, but not entirely...

I lost all my dos-ability when i moved to windows 3.1 many years ago... ah those were the days... dosshell... no hard drive... dual 5.25 drives... monochrome screen... dot matrix printers... (I still have an old epson, i think if i replace the ribbon it would still work, it is in my room and still has paper... haha!)

ah well...

yea, thanks for clearing up a bit of it.

at first i didn't understand that you were clearing the master boot record. Thanks for the command lines, but I am not sure the MBR is the problem, but like you said, it will be a last resort. Thanks a lot, do you have any more suggestions?

-Mel

 

[GiGoLo]

check out these links... has some useful information for your particular problem

eh, i couldn't get the link for the Microsoft Technet page to work. Go here and do a search for this article number Q303012


link2