where to start?

[Frasher]

Hey all,
I try to do pc repair for family and friends. I got a older pc running ME in recently. When trying to boot up I get an error message right after the ME screen. Only the one normal beep when starting. Error message reads: while initializing device VCACHE Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer. System halted.
I can restart in safe mode. I attempted to run scan disk and I got: Unable to write to disk in drive C. Data or files may be lost. Press any key to continue. Then I get: An error has occured. To continue press enter to return to Windows or restart. Error OE:0167:BFF8E64B.

More info: In the perfomance tab under system properties there is: Compatibility mode paging reduces overall perfomance. Under that is says Drive A and Drive C is using MS-DOS compatibilty mode file system. In the details it states, Windows ME is unable to identify real-mode driver or memory-resident program loaded in your config.sys or autoexec.bat file. .......Because ME couldn't identify the driver or program, it has switched to MS-DOS compatibilty mode to ensure the program will run. .....remove program or driver causing the problem.

So, where do I start? How do I go about finding the program or driver causing the problem, and is this the place to start? I'm thinking maybe there is more than one problem.
Frasher

[glc]

You have a hardware problem. Start with ram and hard drive diagnostics.

Have you made an Ultimate Boot CD yet? That is a mandatory item in any tech's toolbox.

[Frasher]

No. How do I go about making an Ultimate Boot Cd? And, forgive my ignorance, what does this do, or when would I use it?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Frasher

[shadowpr]

It has several diagnostic tools on it. You would use it to check memory, hadrd drives, and zero fill hard drives.

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/index.html Download the iso, and burn it.

[Frasher]

Okay, I made the ultimate boot CD. I cannot get ME to boot from CD. I went into BIOS and changed the boot sequence to ATAPI CD, which I thought was the correct choice. I just get a message telling me to insert disk and press enter.

[shadowpr]

Did you burn the iso as a image?

[Frasher]

I believe I did. How do I double check?

[Rev_pizzaguy]

Step one: get a .45 auto
Step two: take the Windows ME piece back behind your house and do what comes naturally
Step three: make a trip your pc store and get some decent components and load XP on it




P.S. I'm just kidding, except for step three :D

[Frasher]

LOL! Believe me, I've had visions of what I would love to do with this thing. But I view this as more of a learning experience. BTW, I burned the image again. This time it worked. So I have booted from the cd. Wow, there are so many options. I've decied to start with hard dirve. I guess I just go down the list???

[Frasher]

Okay, so I chose the Salvation scan and restoration program. I am at 12% and there is 6215 defects. This doesn't seem right to me. It stops scanning periodically. I can hear some clunks from the CPU. Since I've never run this before, are some defects normal? Or is this telling me the HD is junk?
Thanks so much for your help.

[shadowpr]

I would find out what brand hard drive I have, and then use that specific brand diagnostics to test it with.

Seagate = Seatools
WD = Lifeguard

Then use memtest86 to test the ram.

[glc]

Diagnostic Tool (Fujitsu) For Fujitsu
SeaTools for DOS (Seagate/Maxtor) For Seagate, Maxtor, Quantum
SHDIAG (Samsung) For Samsung
DLG Diagnostic (Western Digital) 5.04c if it runs, for WD, 4.15 if it doesn't run
ESTest (ExcelStor) For ExelStor
Drive Fitness Test (IBM/Hitachi) For all other brands

They all should have basic and extended tests. Run the basic, if it fails, toss the drive. If it passes, run the extended, if it fails, also toss the drive.

Memtest86+ is the recommended ram tester for all systems.

[Frasher]

The hard drive is a Fujitsu. So I ran that diagnostic. It was more confusing than some of the others. I ran the memory86 test, and it passed to my surprise. I think I have an old hard drive that I'll swap out and try.

[glc]

Did the Fujitsu diags pass or fail?

[Frasher]

I hate to admit this, but I can't figure out this test. It runs through a bunch of stuff. Then I get this Volkov commander. At the top of the screen is Q:\BIN with a bunch of individual files listed under that. It waits for me to tell it what to do. But I am at a loss. I never get a pass/fail statement, like I did with the memory86 test. This one is way over my head. Has anyone ever ran this before?
Frasher

[Frasher]

Wait! I tried again and finally hit the enter key at the right time. The test did run and it did not pass the quick test. I got an error of A131GO. Is there ever an instance where hard dirves can be repaired? Or is the "repair" to replace it?

[glc]

Replace it.

[Frasher]

Replace it, it is. Thank you guys so much for all your help. I learn so much on this forum. You have never let me down. I only hope someday I will know enough to be able to pass on info like you all do!
Frasher

[Frasher]

Hey, I'm back. So I put in an old hard drive that had 98 on it. It works, except for the fact that it is incompatible with the rest of the hardware that was previously working with ME.

So, my next question, can I reformat this old hard drive and install xp? Would that work better with the hardware that was installed to work with ME? Remember, this is not my primary pc. If it was I would get a new hard drive etc. etc. It was given to me because it didn't work. It is basically a challenge and practice for me in troubleshooting and repairing. It is kinda fun!

[shadowpr]

You can reformat it and install xp on it. Is it big enough?

You can instal ME if you want. It's up to you. Just format it first.

[glc]

What's the specs on the system? If it's that old it may be too slow for XP to work well.

You can keep 98 - research needed drivers, and do the ENUM trick, it's in Tips and Tricks.

http://www.pcmech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9254

[Frasher]

Well, I tried putting in the xp cd to reformat. I get the screen where it states "to boot from cd press any key", which I did. Then I get a general protection fault, TRAP 0000000D. It is a 12.7GB hard drive, 128mb memory. Processor is P4 1800mhz.

[glc]

Not enough ram and barely enough hard drive to run XP well. I'd ENUM it and get 98 working right.

[Frasher]

Okay, so I did the enum trick (thanks). I was able to get the drivers for everything but....
I get the following:
"Windows could not load the driver for this device because the computer is reporting two ACPI.SYS bus types (code 2)
Contact your manufacturer to get an updated BIOS for your computer. "

I also get 3 messages at start up saying:
"cannot find a device file that may be needed to run windows or a windows application.
vnetsup.vxd
vredir.vxd
dfs.vxd
Then I get unable to load dynamic link library msnp32.dll

Is this all related to needing to update the BIOS? Something, btw, I've never done.
Otherwise it is working. It got rid of all the duplicates in device manager. There were a lot.
I will do a search on updating BIOS. But I will wait for you guys to reply before actually starting.

[glc]

Turn off ACPI in the bios. 98 and ACPI don't play well together. If you have a 98 CD, I'd do an "over the top" reinstall, procedures for that are also in Tips and Tricks.

What is the brand and model of the motherboard, or if it's a name brand computer, the brand and model of the computer?

[Frasher]

It is a HP Pavillion 7960. So, according to
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph06628&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=58462
it is a ASUS, WMT-LX (sonic) ??

I'll check out the "over the top" reinstall.
As usual, thanks.

[Frasher]

Okay, I did the "over the top" install as described in the tips and tricks. All went well. I still have the "cannot find a device file" message that I listed in an earlier post. It no longer asks for the vnetsup.vxd, so that is an improvement. It still cannot find vredir.vxd or dfs.vxd. It is also still unable to load dynamic link library msnp32.dll.
Once I keep hitting enter it does eventually boot up and seem to run okay.

[Frasher]

OMG! I'm excited. I did the following and it got rid of all my error messages!

. To get rid of the "msnp32.dll" message goto Control Panel open the "Network Applet"
>and find the "Client for Microsoft Networks" component and remove it. Then close
>the "Network Applet" but do not restart.
>
>6. Reopen the "Network Applet" then selct "Add" then "Client" then "Microsoft" then
>"Client for Microsoft Networks"

I think we did it guys! It seems to be working pretty well. Thanks to all of you who helped.
Yeah! I deserve a beer!

[glc]

I don't think you can turn off ACPI on that board. Too bad RAMBUS memory is so expensive - I'd recommend more ram, a bigger hard drive, and XP for that thing.

[Frasher]

You're right. You can't turn off ACPI on that board. I tried. I would love to add more memory, larger hard drive and xp, but no one is paying me to do that. Basically, the person using this just likes to play solitare and such. So it should be fine for that.

[toomyg]

I had the same exact problem Win98 SE it was mismatched ram I was trying to use, two 64 MB sticks removed the one that I put in and all was well. Maybe this will help you in future fixes