Data corruption somewhere in local hardware chain

I'm trying to fix my bro's Win2k computer and for some reason it cannot copy files, from/to anywhere, without crc errors or MD5 Sums' being different. I transferred the mobo, ram and CPU to one of my systems and got the same problems.

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I have tried~

Checked all connections
New CMOS battery
Different BIOS Settings
Different brand, new dvd/rw drives
Different brand, new disc brands
Different brand, new ide80 cables
Different brand, new burning software
Different brand, new 550W PSU
Different brand, new P4 Motherboard
Different brand, new 512Mb RAM
Different Windows O/S: Win2k SP4 & WinXP SP2
Enabled UDMA on all channels, BIOS and Win
Hardware, software & O/S updates
No hardware conflicts
BIOS Updates
Firmware updates
Minimal fresh installs
Ran MemTest86
Intel Processor Identification Utility
Extensive Googling etc
Full Virus & Spyware Sweeps
Cleaned Mobo, heatsinks, fans, connectors, etc.

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Errors~

TEST01
Tried, 12 times, to burn Backup DVD, in Win, with Nero 6.6 with write verification on - of these discs; 75% write fails and 100% verification fails. Nero disc tool reports these discs at a quality rating of 90.

TEST02
Ran test in WinRAR on 221 "known solid" Archives from dvd;
Total errors: 31
Ran same test in WinRAR on the same 221 Archives again;
Total errors: 68
Ran same test in WinRAR on the same 221 Archives again;
Total errors: 38
WinRar errors ranging from;
CRC failed - The file is corrupt.
Operation failed.
Read error in the file.
The archive is corrupt.

TEST03
MD5 summed archives, copied archives to dvd with write OK, copied them back, MD5 sum mismatch...

TEST04
Newly corrupted files, in Win, to and or from local files "C HHD", "D HDD", "E HDD", "F DVD-RW", "G DVD-RW" whether hooked in on LAN or not.

TEST05
Downloaded Nvidia Driver in Linux for Win, no CRC's, no probs. Copied it to Win desktop over LAN; it failed to extract. Copied it over from Linux again; Corrupt. Copied it over from Linux again; Update extracted and installed OK.

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It's definately down to the motherboard, CPU and/or RAM as an i/o issue. The CPU is the only component I have not swapped out. Is it possible, from the symptoms, that it may have a damaged core? Or some sort of combo?

Has anyone else encountered this or got any ideas on how to find the problem?

 

Appol's here are the specs;

System Overview ~

LAN Client ~
O/S - Win2K Pro 5.00.2195 + SP4
CPU - Intel P4 3.0Ghz HT (512Kb-L2-Cache 478 pin)
RAM - 2 x 512Mb DDR400 PC3200 SDRAM
M/B - ASUS P4S800 (SiS 648FX Chipset)
HDD - Maxtor 160Gb ATA133 IDE (DiamondMax 10 6L160P0)
HDD - Maxtor 80Gb ATA133 IDE (DiamondMax 10 6Y080L0)
DVD - Philips DVPB1640P DL DVD/RW
DVD - Philips DVDR1628P1 DL DVD/RW
PSU - Q-Tec 550W Dual Fan 24P
NIC - Realtek RTL8139 PCI
GRA - Nvidia GeForce FX5200 AGP 128Mb
SCR - Iiyama A102GT
S/S - Async N-51HS 5.1 Surround Sound System
S/C - C-Media 8738 5.1ch PCI Sound Card
BOX - ATX Full Tower Case
K/B - Logitech Keyboard (Y-BC9)
P/D - Acer Wheel Mouse USB/PS2

Internet & LAN Server ~
O/S - Linux Mandriva 2006 + Updates
CPU - Intel P3 733Mhz
RAM - 640Mb
M/B - Gigabyte
HDD - Maxtor ATA133 160Gb IDE (DiamondMax 10 6L160P0)
HDD - Maxtor ATA133 120Gb IDE (DiamondMax 10 6Y120L0)
DVD - NEC ND4550A DL DVD/RW
DVD - LG DVD/R GDR8162B
PSU - 350W
NIC - Realtek RTL8139 PCI
NIC - Realtek RTL8139 PCI
USB - OHCI 1394/USB 2.0 PCI
GRA - Nvidia GeForce MX4000 128Mb AGP
SCR - LiteOn K17AN TFT
S/C - C-Media 8738 4ch PCI Sound Card
S/S - MS USB 2.1 Digital Sound System 80
BOX - ATX Full Tower Case
K/B - Zippy WK620 USB 85key Compact Keyboard
P/D - MS Optical Wheel Mouse USB/PS2

HUB - Linksys 10/100 5 port switch.
PRT - Samsung ML-2250 Mono Laser Printer.
SCN - Primax One Touch 4800 Direct Scanner.
HDD - Maxtor 200Gb Ext USB One-Touch
DVD - Icy Box USB 2.0 Ext DVD/RW

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This sounds like a hard drive issue to me. Maybe you swapped that out as well, but you didn't say. I would suggest taking a known working hard drive and install linux on it, or boot knoppix from CD and work from there.

 

Thanks for your time Pyrate~

I did swap hdd. But here's the rub;

Took out one 160Gb HDD and replaced with another 160Gb HDD.

Currently this primary master HDD is 2 x 80Gb NTFS partitions. The primary slave is 80Gb FAT32.

Win2k has a 137Gb limit on HDD, so I formated and patitioned it with Maxtors "Maxblast 4" to overcome this issue. Win2k install on top, SP4 and then Maxtors "Big drive Enabler".

I set this system up the same way, with my PII motherboard in, and it flew no wozzers.

I will try it however, with a linux 60Gb HDD, and post the results for future use or further debate.