Win98se stuck at logo screen on home-assembled computer

[msing]

Ok so I started collecting old computer parts a while ago and mix-n-matching them for fun. Eventually I came up with a few that worked reasonably well. As you can imagine, since I have no formal training in this kind of work besides what I learned myself and what I learned in Cisco networking acadamy (the computer in question is on a home network), I ran into a few problems along the way that were way over my head.
At any rate, I had one working for the longest time with no problems. I don't remember what mobo it has, it's not that new, and the drives are from everywhere. But the problem is, that one day, after working perfectly before, it all of the sudden gets stuck at the logo screen. The little moving bar at the bottom still moves, but it goes no further.
To the best of my memory I did absolutely nothing different to it than I always do. But ever since the first time it got stuck it's never gotten past the logo screen.
Please help

[GaryRouth]

Hi Matt

. . . and welcome to the PC Mechanic forums.

Try holding down F8 while the computer is trying to start = see if it will boot into Safe Mode. If so, try looking in on things in Device Manager (Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager). Are there any yellow exclamation points or red x's?. If so, post what you find here.

Next, - did you install anything just prior to the system hang? (hardware or software) If so, if you can do without it for now, uninstall it & see if you can boot normally.

Next - if you have an antivirus program like Norton 2003, which will run an Emergency scan from a bootable CD - then do that. If not, try a virus scan as soon as possible with whatever you have. If you get the system to boot & have Internet access, you can try a run of HouseCall over at http://www.trendmicro.com -- this is a free download & is extremely up-to-date. Then get some other virus protection when you can. (HouseCall only detects and fixes what it finds, it doesn't run constantly and protect your PC from infection).

If you can boot into Safe Mode, you can also try using the System Configuration Tool to isolate the trouble. Go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information. . . and from the "Tools" menu select "System Configuration" -->or, you can type msconfig in the Start/Run box. Once in that program, proceed to the Startup tab, and uncheck everything except the system tray, regcheck, and your antivirus(if any). If you boot Ok after this, go back after each successful boot and uncheck only one more item. Continue this until the system hangs up again= you've found the troublemaker.

There are other things to try, but this should get you started.
Best of luck
. . . Gary

[If nothing gets you into Safe Mode, you can also try booting from a bootable floppy and restoring your Registry to an earlier date by typing scanreg/restore from the A: prompt]

[msing]

Well, I tried booting it in safe mode by holding f8 while starting up and the same exact thing happens. It never gets past the logo screen. There was a bunch of other options besides safe mode. Should I try any of these?

[Markoman01027]

Remove one PCI card at a time, and see if you are able to boot up.

[Cricket]

If you have extra RAM that will work with that motherboard, try swapping them to test with.

You should also go to the hard drive manufacturer's website and download the diagnostic utilities and test the hard drive out. It might be developing bad sectors right where Windows is installed.

Cricket

[Chrisk]

Try to boot to c:\ prompt only. You can check drive from there.

[mike breck]

All good advice. I'll just throw in a few ideas.

Will it boot with a Windows Bootdisk?

At the A:\> type SCANDISK C: and press Enter.

Next check out the Registry.

Type C: at the A:\> and press Enter.

At the C:\> type SCANREG.EXE

Let Scanreg run and fix any errors if found.

Alternatively type SCANREG /RESTORE and select the most recent Registry backup to restore it.

You could also try typing SYS C: from the A:\> to restore any missing or corrupt system files.


HTH

[msing]

Ok guys. First I tried running running scandisk from the A:> prompt but the computer didn't recognize the A: drive. I noticed however that the light on the A: drive wasnt coming on so I replaced it. The "new" drive's light comes on but the computer apparently doesn't recognize it either. So i tried running scanreg.exe from C:> prompt and that worked and it found an error too and fixed it. But it didn't change anything, it still got stuck at the logo screen and still didn't recognize the A: drive. I ran scanreg.exe a second time but everything was fine that time, and still nothing changed. I have it set to boot from A; and then C; in BIOS, but still it bypasses the A: drive, presumedly because it's not recognized. And when I use F8, and get the command prompt, it won't even give the A:> prompt. It says the drive isn't ready or something. I also tried messing with the RAM. I pulled it out one by one (there's four sticks, and I think each one is eight MB), and put a few back in in different combinations. None of that worked.

Damn this is messed up.

[mike breck]

Is the Floppy drive recognised during POST?

If not, make sure the Floppy Drive Controller is enabled in CMOS setup. Make sure the Floppy drive is deteced properly as a 1.44M 3.5 in and not 5.5 in or 720kb - unless it IS an older type of Floppy drive.

Is the floppy cable oriented properly? Red stripe to pin 1 on motherboard and floppy drive connectors (check the floppy drive carefully for pin 1), end with the twist on floppy drive.

PIN 1 on the Floppy Drive is USUALLY closest to the power connector on the floppy drive - but not always.

Make sure the Floppy connector is not connected upside down to the floppy drive. Usually when the connector is connected to the floppy drive, the ribbon cable is on the top and the black connector underneath. There may be exceptions to this, but that's my experience.

Try a new floppy cable.

Power connected? Try using a lead that is not connected to the HD.

Try your Floppy drives in another PC, to make sure they are working.

If nothing works, then the Floppy controller on the mobo might be faulty. Try disconnecting the Floppy Drive completely, setting the Boot sequence in BIOS to C: first. See if that will allow Windows to boot.