Upgraded to XP, now system won't boot!?!

[mc137]

PIII 800MHz, 512 Ram, A-Trend ATA-V931-CX1 Mobo.

I was upgrading my friend to XP, but the install kept hanging at the same point when "15 minutes remain". The mouse would freeze and everything. So, I removed the HD and used it as the primary in one of my other computers and finished the installation. I configured the OS as instructed, rebooted, scaned for viruses/malware, performed a diskcheck and defragmented. Everything was fine.

When I returned the HD back to the original Mobo, BIOS would recognize it, but I kept getting the "windows did not start up properly last time... choose how you want to start" (with safe mode options, etc.). No matter what I choose, I see a brief "blue screen" flash with some error message, and the system restarts immediately. I have tried the "pause/break" key with no luck. I am not sure what the error is, but the system will NOT boot. I even tried to boot the system with my HD from another working computer.

The Mobo and HD worked fine with Win98.
The HD worked fine with XP on another Mobo.
Any XP loaded HD will NOT boot on the Mobo.

So, I thought to flash BIOS. Maybe it needs a newer version. However, it seems that A-Trend has gone out of business or something, because they have no website. I can't find a BIOS or Manual for the Mobo, despite my hours of searching.

I even tried disconnecting all PCI cards and drives except for the video card, and boot HD. I don't think there is a conflict there.

I don't know what else to try.

I am looking for ANY help right now! Either with identifying the problem, or finding a BIOS upgrade, or any way to get this system to boot an XP install.


Mobo specs:

A-Trend ATA-V931-CX1
Award BIOS v4.51PG
BIOS-2M 2K001214
12/14/200-393-686-2A6LGV3GC-00

I think it uses:
Via Apollo Pro Plus 692/596 Chipset

Thanks!

 

[cajun33]

http://www.bios-drivers.com/companies/129.htm has all of the BIOS driveres for atrend mobos. Here's another one:
http://www.wimsbios.com/index.htm?/HTML1/atrend.html

 

[mc137]

thank you for the links, but I have tried both of those sites already.

"V961-SX1 Apollo Pro 133 " is the closest that they have, however, mine is V931-CX1 Apollo Pro Plus.

I also found a bunch of drivers for A-Trend ATC motherboards, but none for an ATA-V931.

As sensitive as the BIOS is, I would hate to flash it with one for an incompatible chipset.

any other ideas/links?

 

[beedubaya]

Flashing BIOS is definately the answer, since many people with older BIOS versions have this problem because of compatability issues with XP. Try to get a hold of a BIOS flash, maybe from a P2P network. If you can afford it, I would get a new mobo even if its another P3 one. These mobos are very cheap these days and get one made by Asus or a company that still updates its BIOS.

 

[cajun33]

There is a pay site called www.esupport.com that might be able to help, otherwise I'll keep an eye out. I haven't been able to find anything on the V931-CX1, only the V931-CX0.

 

[mc137]

i appreciate it...
let me know if you have any other ideas!

 

[jayhawker01]

I had the similar problem with the OS hanging up on install and it was the damn cpu not seated right. Not sure if u tried that cp in another pc though, so I might just be rambling.

 

[zerozero]

Since you installed the OS on a different computer, it doesn't recognize the hardware when booting up causing it to crash. You may want to try and boot up with the XP CD and select repair. That might do the trick.

 

[mc137]

^ I tried that last night.

It booted from the XP CD without problem, then I selected "install". It recognized the previous XP installation, and said it would attempt to repair it. It went through the install process again, starting at "46 minutes", but by the time it got to about "15 minutes", the computer restarted, then began the installation again from the beginning at "46 minutes". (this is not counting a restart that the installation performs purposefully).

So, it no longer freezes at "15 minutes", it just shuts down, and restarts the installation at the beginning. I let it do this for a few hours, before just turning it off.

I tried the "repair console" also, from the XP CD. That allowed me to see the /Windows directory in MS-DOS mode, but when I treid to see the contents of the directory, it froze and I had to shut down. What could I do to repair the installation from the dos-based repair console?

 

[billzhills]

Believe your problem is the BIOS since system worked w/win98.
But I have some other suggestions that may help.

1) Do you have more than 1 ram chip?
To check for incompatable memory chips remove one.

2) Have you ran the XP hardware compatibilty wizard? I'm not sure that it can be done before install or only thur a windows interface.
This will tell you (or should) where your issue is.

3) A cheap board is like a cheap date,
no fun and nothing but trouble.

4) If case is open when install is attempted, heat may be another issue. Close case or increase air flow with a fan blowing into case.


I will not install XP on any system with less than 1 Ghz CPU/ 256MB memory. Most boards under 1 Ghz will need the bios flashed. You are already aware of that danger.

Luck, Bill, Zhills