Computer Problem I Can't Get Resolved

LittleWingCA · #1 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009

Hi Everyone:

I have a computer issue at home who's solution is escaping me. Hopefully there are some computer experts on the forum who might be able to guide me in the right direction. I have exhausted my knowledge base in this area.

Past History:
- Home built system by me, done 6+ years ago.
- ABit IS7 motherboard, bios version 13
- Pentium 4 processor @ 2.0 GHz
- 512MB RAM
- 16 GB Hard Drive
- Windows XP Professional
- Radeon 9800 graphics card
- Has worked great for 6+ years

Recent History:
- Added second 120 GB Hard Drive as primary was at 75% full
- Primary HD at 16GB still used as boot disk with Win Xp and Office, etc.
- Upgraded RAM to 4 GB for some gaming. Pulled 2 256MB sticks and replaced with 4 1 GB sticks, 184 pin, PC3200 style
- Added LCD Display to replace CRT and loaded drivers.
- Updated BIOS to revision 24
- Updated Graphics card drivers
- Has worked great for 3 weeks.

Current Situation:
- 2 days ago wife was downloading emails and OS crashed with a blue screen message about some spooling problem and Win XP might need updates.
- Got home and turned machine on and got blue screen about IRQL issue.
- Rebooted machine, got Win Xp to start up, logged in, and found Virus protection files (McAfee) + Firewall, etc all corrupted.
- Tried to log onto internet to reload virus files and OS crashed with a blue screen message.
- Next reboot allowed me to get past log in screen, but as desktop was coming up, heard a beep, and then OS crashes with more blue screen messages.
- Looks like a virus.
- Disconnected Primary drive thinking maybe EOL issue though thinking virus.
- Added a new 1.5 Terabyte drive in order to retire 16 GB drive.
- Rebuilt HW with new drive and newer secondary drive.
- Tried to reinstall Win Xp.
- Formatted new 1.5 Terabyte drive
- Files installed from CD, and Xp startup / load screens come up with 29 minutes left to finish install, and get blue screen crash again with messages.
- Reboot, Setup on CD runs, asks if I want to repair SW load. I do, and then I start getting "didn't copy file xxx.xx correctly from CD" messages. I know CD is good. Keep repeating with 2 other known good XP CDs with same messages. Tried this like 5 times.
- Still thinking Virus.
- Disconnect newer secondary drive, so now I have a new system starting with just the 1.5 Terabyte HD.
- Reformat 1.5 Terabyte drive to kill any virus' that might have made it on to it.
- Try and load OS again, same issues. Loads files from CD, starts install, gives me blue screen messages, try repair installation, and get same "can't / didn't copy file xxx.xx correctly from CD" messages. Seams to be new file names every time.
- I have even tried back dating BIOS to 13 etc, and starting over with the same results.
- Have done full formats and reinstalls now about 8 times, with no luck.

Questions:
- Can a Virus pass from a secondary disk to a new primary disk during the format or initial SW load process?
- Can a Virus survive a complete HD format?
- Possible Motherboard failure with all the activity recently with adding new memory, adding SATA drives to SATA ports, moving IDE ribbon cables around to fit new drives, etc?
- BIOS issue after working fine for a few weeks?
- Motherboard supports 4 GB. I have 4 - 1 GB sticks, but SETUP screen shows only 3.6 GB total. Have I some how exceeded the Motherboard capacity or maybe some memory is not useable?
- What do the following messages mean:
PFN_LIST_CORRUPT: STOP: 0x00000043 (0x00000099, 0x00021F70, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: STOP: 0x0000000A (0x00000008, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x808138AB)

Blue screen messages seam to be new every time.

At a lost as to what to do next. Any thoughts??

sailingdog · #2 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009

Quote:

Questions:
- Can a Virus pass from a secondary disk to a new primary disk during the format or initial SW load process?
- Can a Virus survive a complete HD format?

Yes, some viruses can survive a hard drive format. This is particularly true of ones that infect the boot sector of the hard drive. They can easily pass from an infected disk to a new hard drive given the right conditions.

Quote:

- Possible Motherboard failure with all the activity recently with adding new memory, adding SATA drives to SATA ports, moving IDE ribbon cables around to fit new drives, etc?
-BIOS issue after working fine for a few weeks?

You said:

Quote:

Recent History:
- Added second 120 GB Hard Drive as primary was at 75% full
- Primary HD at 16GB still used as boot disk with Win Xp and Office, etc.
- Upgraded RAM to 4 GB for some gaming. Pulled 2 256MB sticks and replaced with 4 1 GB sticks, 184 pin, PC3200 style
- Added LCD Display to replace CRT and loaded drivers.
- Updated BIOS to revision 24
- Updated Graphics card drivers
- Has worked great for 3 weeks.

The LCD display shouldn't be an issue. The updated BIOS should have caused problems prior to three weeks if it was going to be an issue, same with the video card drivers.

Just curious, about the hard drives and the optical drive, how are they hooked up. I am guessing that the 1.5 TB drive is a SATA drive. Did you change the boot priority in the BIOS to account for that change? Also, how did you partition the drive, and is the motherboard's SATA controller capable of using a 1.5TB drive. It may not be, given the age of the system.

If you didn't take the proper anti-static precautions, you may have zapped the motherboard or one of the components. However, I kind of doubt that since the system worked for three weeks without issues.

It could also be a RAM problem. Have you tried going back to the original RAM to see if the memory is the problem?

Quote:

- Motherboard supports 4 GB. I have 4 - 1 GB sticks, but SETUP screen shows only 3.6 GB total. Have I some how exceeded the Motherboard capacity or maybe some memory is not useable?

merc2dogs · #3 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009

With a 32 bit OS (assuming windows of some flavor) it will only use approximately 3-1/2 gigs of ram. Exact amount reported seems to vary a little due to the way different bios versions read it.

What type file system are you using? (NTFS or FAT32?) try breaking the drive up to smaller partitions with one approximately 132 to 200 gigs and install the OS to that parttition. That way if the bios has limits on useable drive capacity, you will be able to sidestep them and use the full drive size even if it is in smaller chunks.

Ken.

sailingdog · #4 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009

It's reading things like this that make me glad I use a Mac for all my personal work...

LittleWingCA · #5 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009

Sailingdog:
Secondary Drive was a 120 GB drive connected via IDE cable. No issues and has been working fine for 3+ weeks.

New 1.5 Terabyte Drive is connected to a previously unused SATA port. Drive has been formated as one whole partian as well as 3 500 GB partitions. I will try doing a smaller one just for the OS.

I used a static strap attached to my wrist and grounded to the PC chassis every time I touched the internals of the machine.

Merc2dogs:
RAM seen is 3.6 GBytes which is in line with your statement. I am using Win Xp Professional.

File system is NTFS

- Could heat be an issue? Now with extra drives and more memory, is it possible the CPU is being used at a higher rate and thus heating up more? I have one primary cooling fan blowing into the box, a CPU fan attached to the Pentium cooling block, and another on the video card and some other IC on the motherboard. All are working. SETUP shows the CPU settling out around 40 C.

sailingdog · #6 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009

I would guess that the memory may be the problem. Try swapping the ram out for the original stuff. The memory may have had a bad section and over the three weeks a fault developed due to the heat it generates. It may have passed the self-tests when cool, but starts to get flaky as it heats up. If that is the case, that might cause file copy errors as well as other blue screen faults.

SailingStNick · #7 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009

Get a Mac.

AllThumbs · #8 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009

I second the memory. All kinds of wierd stuff when you have a bad memory stick

sailingdog · #9 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by SailingStNick

Get a Mac.

I agree, but not real helpful to the OP.

hellosailor · #10 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009

Doesn't sound like a virus. Sounds like one hardware or driver issue (the leading cause of BSODs, not viruses) compounded by switching around too much stuff too rapidly in response to that.

And, I wouldn't know if your 6-year-old BIOS supports a 1.5TB drive, you might want to check expressly on that.

PFN_LIST_CORRUPT: STOP: 0x00000043 (0x00000099, 0x00021F70, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)
'This indicates that the memory management Page File Number list is corrupted. Can be caused by corrupt physical RAM, or by drivers passing bad memory descriptor lists."
from Microsoft: Windows XP Pro - PFN-list corrupt

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: STOP: 0x0000000A (0x00000008, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x808138AB)
" Typically, this error occurs when a driver uses an incorrect memory address. Other possible causes of this error include an incompatible device driver, a general hardware problem, or incompatible software. "
from You receive a "Stop 0x0000000A" error message in Windows XP

When you get a BSOD, the first place to check is at Microsoft Help and Support where you can search for it. If Bill Gates ever grows up, the descriptions will be in Windows on your computer, instead of squirrelled away at Microsoft Corporate.

At this point...so much stuff has been changed that you'll need to do a lot of legwork looking for the real problem. First, confirm with the vendor that you have the exact right RAM without any doubt. Double check that against a prime vendor like Micron or Crucial or Kingston online, if the vendor is a small shop. Take out 2 sticks, try starting up with just 2 for now, if one happens to be bad you've got a 50% chance of eliminating it.

Double check that the BIOS can take that 1.5TB drive, and that the drive cabling is right. And that all of your drivers are specifically for XP.

I'd bet on a hardware problem, but at this point you need to remove anything you don't need, start with the minimum of hardware, and test each piece as you install it. There's nothing to point to a virus problem.