If it's not one thing it's another

[therealmccoy]

A few days ago my 6 year old pc turned off never to turn on again, making me think it was a motherboard issue, and since that was indeed the only original part of the computer, it made sense. I immediately got on TigerDirect and started ordering a new larger case, (2x) 1gig ddr2 800Mhz ram, an MSI K9MM-V motherboard along with the AMD Athlon 64 processor. The reason for purchasing an older mobo is my video card was just purchased a few months ago and it is AGP instead of PCI or PCIe. After assembling everything and an issue with one of the sticks of ram being defective (beep beep beep) i have just 1gig stick of ram, the video card, and my master hard drive connected.

I have a version of windows from my old hp along with nearly 60gigs of memory on this particular hard drive that would be devastating to lose, considering many of my recent video projects are on it as well as videos, pictures, and other saved documents. I had hoped to just use the OS on the drive (i have a 120gig storage drive i also use that is not hooked up) rather than having to go and buy another copy of windows.

Basically my issue is that I can boot into my BIOS just fine but once i try and boot into windows just half a second later i get a blue screen flash up and the system reboots
any ideas?

[therealmccoy]

here's the motherboard i purchased, which seems to be working properly:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...y=MSI%20K9MM-V

and the ram i purchased:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0245600

the case:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=2337814

power supply:

[Katreat]

Is your windows version a full retail copy, or just something you got with the HP?

Most retail computers come with just a windows recovery disk and you can not install windows on a new computer. Once you change the MB the computer is new so that may be your problem. So if you have just a disk that came with your HP it is probably not re-useable on the new board.

If you have a full copy then you might be able to do a repair install but I have never tried that so will have to wait for others to post. When building new or chaning MB I always start fresh.

Kat

[therealmccoy]

shortly after i got the computer in 2002 the cd vanished, as i was a soph. in highschool i probably threw it away accidentally or something, i was working at best buy at the time o i got a free pirated copy of windows xp professional from another employee heh

i have it updated with sp2 and everything tho, and like i said, i'd rather not have to reformat that hard drive or anything because of all the data i would lose

[shadowpr]

We can't help you install pirated software.

[therealmccoy]

i dont need help installing it, it was installed like 5 years ago only because i lost the recovery windows disc

and i just tried to boot the computer with the hard drive from my secondary pc (the one i'm on now) with the same results, but when i put it back over here it worked fine again. this makes me think it's not really a hard drive issue perhaps

[Alaron]

The only way you can boot from the hard drive of a different machine would be to perform a Repair install. It rewrites your Windows files and doesn't require a reformat.

Boot to a Windows CD and choose the Repair option when you see it. Of course you'll be booting to a new legal copy of Windows for this, because as you read in the rules, we do not discuss pirated software of any kind.

http://forum.pcmech.com/rules.php

_Moderator_

[therealmccoy]

yes i'm totally fine with buying a copy of windows, as i said this hunk of junk is from a long long time ago and has been more trouble than helpful lol

so my question would be then, if i booted from a legal copy of windows that i buy, and do a repair install, would that work without losing any of my data? theoretically

[Alaron]

Yes. The issue is that when you install Windows it configures itself to recognize your current hardware. Now that it is in a new machine, it freaks out trying to boot with unknown hardware. The repair option overcomes this problem. It should not cause any data loss.

[flanzig1]

Your data should be OK, but you will need to install the new motherboard drivers and probably drivers for the video card and such.

[therealmccoy]

appreciate the help
i have a project due sunday for a graduation that is hopefully paying about $200 so that should at least pay for the windows xp pro at microcenter i'll need to go get

why do these things always get cut so damn close? heh

[Alaron]

Here is XP Pro for $140: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116515

[therealmccoy]

do i want that version or the retail version for just a repair boot?

plus retail comes with microsoft tech support i think

[wendt270]

With Windows XP, use this method:


I have had the same issue, IF you get a copy of windows, run the windows setup by booting from the CD. It will detect the old windows program
When it asks if you want to repair or reinstall, and this is the important part, hit enter to install a new copy
Anew screen will appear to ask you to agree to the user agreement, hit yes.

The next screen will ask again if you want to repair or install THIS TIME hit repair.

It will look like it is installing a new copy, just follow the on screen prompts.

I have used this method several times and I assure you, all your stuff on the hard drive will still be there.

The comp I am using to post this has actually been salvaged in the same way.

[therealmccoy]

i'll definitely give that a try

had to borrow a friends computer with adobe on it, i have a job due sunday that is now on the supercharger lol. a kids graduation video that i would have had done in like half an hour but now his adobe is rendering half my images into just blank green
i must jsut have this computer breaking aura

[therealmccoy]

ok so i got my cd finally and im trying to get the computer to boot from the disc
in my BIOS i have it set to boot from cd-rom first then hard drive second, but its not booting from the disc
am i missing something here?

[>:() - Tiki Man]

lol, if its *ahem* made properly (as the boys down at microsoft would ensure), it should work; make sure your cd drive is detected in the bios, and press the right key or whatever when prompted. if it still doesnt work, try having the cd drive as the only boot device (but be sure to put the hd back in the boot list when windows calls for a restart).

[therealmccoy]

i got this software for $54 at http://www.cdsfu.com/ its some kind of discount software site

[Alaron]

Everything about that site screams scam. Not only is that price way too low, they have no records on ResellerRatings. If you can get your money back, I would do it.

[therealmccoy]

a very computer-savy friend recommended it
it came with no box or anything, looks like they printed the disc decal off themselves too
he says his works fine, and actually when i put the cd into my other pc it looks pretty legit

[therealmccoy]

ok

somehow it worked....
im updating all my drivers now for my new hardware
thanks all for contributing and ill be sure to pop in here with any more questions
huge help!

[Dave21]

Originally Posted by therealmccoy ok somehow it worked.... im updating all my drivers now for my new hardware thanks all for contributing and ill be sure to pop in here with any more questions huge help!

Glad everything worked out for you. Good luck with the drivers !

[Ethdios]

Originally Posted by Alaron Everything about that site screams scam. Not only is that price way too low, they have no records on ResellerRatings. If you can get your money back, I would do it.

Good thing they have a 30 day money back "gaurantee", as it says at the bottom of the main page. lol.

It almost makes me wonder if someone did try to get their money back, they'd say "well we don't have any money back 'guarantees'..."