pc start up hell !!!

Two weeks ago i installed a TP-Link PCI Lan card, the idea was for me to go wireless and move the pc to a kid free zone. As soon as it was installed i had a few problems getting it to connect and link with the BT Hub (d-732) but i reformatted my pc (it was due for one),switched off windows zero config and then it started working perfectly and continued all day without crashing or hanging. The next day i installed the XP sp2 and everything went to hell, the pc wouldnt start up, it would literally 'flash' through memory check and ide detection and wouldnt let me enter BIOS or safe mode. I have to keep hitting the reset until whatever is being a pain decided to give me a break.
I've uninstalled sp2, ran checks for spyware/adaware/viruses, installed updated drivers for my motherboard chipset, Pci lan card and video adapter. Reset BIOS by using the jumper and removing the CMOS battery. Upgraded my power supply, changed the CMOS battery, cleaned out all the fans, checked all the connections. Reset to 'last known good configuration', system restore, restored BIOS to default settings.
Even uninstalling the driver and removing the card doesnt change the way it starts up.
If i have to restart while in Windows, ie installing a prog that requires restart, it does it with no problem. Shutting down the pc and restarting sometimes works but more often than not it doesnt.
I'm at a loss what to do now. Can someone please help me???

This is the system i've got (courtesy of Everest):

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Service Pack 1

Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Duron, 650 MHz (6.5 x 100)
Motherboard Name Biostar M7VKB (1 ISA, 5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 3 DIMM)
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8363 Apollo KT133
System Memory 256 MB (PC133 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award Modular (10/02/00)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce2 Ti (32 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce2 Ti
Storage:
IDE Controller VIA Bus Master IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive ExcelStor Technology CT215 (14 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive DVDRW IDE 16X
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 14401 MB (11195 MB free)

BIOS Properties:
Vendor Award Software International, Inc.
Version 6.00 PG
Release Date 10/02/2000
Size 256 KB
Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, ATAPI ZIP, LS-120
Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD
Supported Standards DMI, APM, ACPI, ESCD, PnP
Expansion Capabilities ISA, PCI, AGP, USB

 

Welcome to the forum ecayers The problems you are describing sound like two seperate problems,whatever you change in windows has no effect on your ability to enter bios or the memory checks,this can only be caused by incompatible hardware,damaged hardware or a bios setting

So you have removed the card,ran the pc and sometimes you are unable to enter the bios,have you concluded that the problem your having with the bios has no relation to the new card?

Download and run this program prime95,it will push your memory hard to see how stable your ram and system is,go to options,torture test,blend test see if you can run the program without error for 30 mins,after that run the small fft's test,this will test your cpu- see if you can run this test for half an hour also without any errors,while running the small fft's test have speedfan running and monitor the temperature of your cpu,the temperature that climbs fastest is your cpu temp,post the max temp

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=337

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4363

I see your bios file is 6 years old have you checked for the latest bios file readme's for fixes related to your problem they may not be any updates though due to the age of the motherboard?

 

There is only one update I can find that isnt related to the problem your having but may come in handy as a LAST resort

http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/bios/bios.php3?model=M7VKB

 

Thanks Rikky.
I havent exactly ruled anything out yet, for all i know it could just be a loose pin somewhere so i'm just going through the pc piece by piece, although the problems started after the day after the card had been installed. I've even reformatted the hdd and not installed the card or drivers and the problem was still there. I've had a look for a BIOS update but it'll cost me $30 which isnt really worth it when all i want is for it to hang in for about a week or two while i finish building my new pc, obviously this pc thinks thats too much too ask for lol.
I'll do those tests and post the results.
Thanks again
Th

 

I'm not talking about a hardware rom,just the software thats loaded into the rom,you simply have to follow these instructions and install the bios file I linked to previously,this is strictly a last resort though,the bios file I linked to only fixed a problem with an nvidia card,unfortunetly they havnt listed the bios file history So this fix maybe the fix from the previous bios file only and there may be other fixes in previous versions

http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/bios/index.php3

Again this is a 'when all else fails',as flashing the bios of an unstable system can go wrong and will kill the comp perminentley,the tests are just to rule out overheating of the cpu and memory failure,I have a hunch your ram maybe faulty,we'll see

 

well i didnt get a chance to kill anything, it killed itself ! I DID manage to find out what the problem is though......my Hansol H750 lcd monitor.
When pc#1 died i switched my monitor and hard drive over to the kids comp and i'll be damned but that one had problems booting as pc#1. I d/c the monitor and put the kids crt back on and lo and behold it booted just fine, switched back to the lcd and booting hell started again.
Do i need to buy a new monitor or is there something that isnt quite right that can be fixed? I d/l the newest drivers and that may be the problem but as i'm on my kids comp i dont have any previous ones to roll back to.

 

Hmmm The monitor who'da thunk it,Sorry I aint been of any help so far,I'm still here for moral support

So your tryna get the lcd to work on your kids pc,the monitor looks like the culprit then,I'v downloaded the manual for your monitor see if theres anything I can spot heres the link

http://www.hansol-us.com/products/pdf-brochures/H750_eng.pdf

There are few things you can change on an lcd monitor everythings plug and play these days,one thing to try is the Auto config, disconnect the monitor from any computer,use the front panel controls to execute it

You'v installed the latest drivers for your monitor on your kids computer,if so when you enter video card properties,right click desktop\properties\advanced the name of your hansol lcd is displayed indicating correct installation of the driver?

Have you tried a different video signal cable,a faulty cable or connection can cause all sorts of problems?

Hmmm I'm tapped

 

Thanks Rikky, I was just as surprised to discover it was the monitor ! Not exactly the prime candidate you think of for booting problems. I was just about to go to the store and buy a new video card and see if that was the problem.

I'm using the same cables for the crt as i used for the lcd, so at least i can rule that out. The lcd is showing up properly in device manager and connected with the video. The kids comp i'm current on has a built in card and the now dead pc had a seperate card, i'd have thought the monitor would have at least liked one ;0)

I'm gonna read the manual and see if theres anything to help. I'll let you know what if anything, i find.
Thanks again

 

The manual wasnt a great help, and i cant get the menu to work on the monitor whether its plugged in to the pc or not.
Looks like the credit card is gonna take a hit lol