can't install W2K due to copy errors

[viverra]

hi everyone

I have an Asus P4G8X Deluxe motherboard, Intel Celeron 2,8 GHz processor and a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 (6E030L0 510201) 30 GB hard drive (connected with 80-pin IDE cable). I bought the mb, the processor and one 256 MB DIMM module about two months ago (so it's all new and presumably working). The entire configuration was running smoothly for about three weeks, then I started getting startup blue screens about registry corruption and soon afterwards the OS collapsed. To this day, I haven't managed to install it again.

The installation always halts on copy errors (lots of them - if I skip files, i get tens of them). I tried not just W2K, but also WXP and even W98, but none of that brought any success (which rules out the possibility of having faulty install disks). Then I suspected my hd, so I tried to install to another (8 GB WD 84AA), but with the same (negative) result. I checked both disks with W2K recovery console's chkdsk /r and in both cases I found that "the drive contains one or more unrecoverable errors", which I don't think is true. I updated BIOS to the latest version. Then I heard that my problem could be solved by using external hd controller driver during the installation. Not quite sure which one to choose, I tried two

http://www.asus.com/pub/asus/misc/ide/cmd648.zip

and

http://www.asus.com/pub/asus/misc/ide/iidewx.zip

but nothing changed. Today I tried to disable all of the advanced bios disk features - I disabled udma and set PIO to 0. No progress achieved...

The other day I even checked voltage. sadly, it was alright and yet again I had to look for a solution elsewhere. I have no clue about what to do next. Any help is highly appreciated, thanks a lot!

 

[Lucky]

Hi
I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the H/D. If chkdsk is saying you have unrecoverable errors then maybe it is correct.

 

[ag3]

The errors you are receiving are memory related. You can resolve this by lowering the frequencies (or raising the latencies) of the module(s).

You will only have to do this for the installation.

 

[viverra]

i tried modifying all the memory-related bios items i found:

SDRAM CAS latency: default 2T, changed to 2.5T
SDRAM RAS to CAS delay: default 2T, changed to 3T
SDRAM RAS precharge delay: default 2T, changed to 3T
SDRAM active precharge delay: default 5T, changed to 7T
SDRAM idle timer: default 16T, unchanged (the other possibility is "infinite" and i'm not really sure what the option means)

i also reduced Graphics Aperture Size to the minimum of 4 MB and elevated DDR voltage from 2,5 V to 2,7 V.

needless to say, none of that brought any success. i am afraid it's about time to try a different module, unfortunately it is quite complicated for me to get one at the moment. does anyone have some other suggestions?

thank you

 

[ag3]

Leave the latencies at their default and drop the frequency of the module to 133 Mhz (266 Mhz DDR).

 

[vance43211]

did you have xp install on it in the first place?

 

[viverra]

I introduced a hard disk number three (20 GB WD) into the story. I commenced the installation using Intel Ultra ATA Controller Driver and I got past the first restart, selected a partition to install to and during "checking disk" I learned that "drive C: is corrupted and cannot be repaired".

Now, what is the probability of three disks going bad, if they performed flawlessly a month ago and the third one was never a part of the system that ceased to function? I am pretty sure the disks are not the cause of my suffering.

 

[viverra]

yes i had xp on the hd quite a long time ago but it has been reformatted a million times since.

where the hell do i lower the module frequency? i can only find latency and voltage settings. help needed!

thank you

 

[viverra]

oh and i also obtained a new monitor and it didn't help either