HD death?

[LSANTHRAX]

Ok, i was playin painkiller today when my system decides to bsod. OK, i figure clear cmos and reboot, even though i was running at stock speeds on everything. SO i cleared the cmos and proceeded to boot up the computer, windows gave me the option of safe mode, last working configuration, and start normally, so i tried normal, didn't boot. Reboot and try safe mode, no go, reboot and try last working config, still no boot, by now i'm starting to get worried that something may be seriously wrong.

So i put in the xp cd and try using the repair feature there, it goes about repairing and then start installing again, i figure oh well i could prolly use a reformat anyway. So after that finishes it tries to boot into windows but hangs at the xp splash screen and the bar just keeps moving accros to no end. I look down and see that my HD activity light is not on at all, which i thought was odd. I the powered off the system and disconnected the hd from the mobo to see if perhaps the cables were shot or if dust or something had gotten on the connectors and a signal wasn't getting through. Changed the sata connector from 1-2-3-4 on the board and still hung at the xp load screen. Do you think that my hard drive may have just died or could it be something more serious/something else?

I'm installing xp on a ide drive now to see what happens and i'll report back here as to what it does. Also when i would try and install windows on my sata hard drive windows gave me this message saying that it couldn't detect any floppy connected to my computer to install the 3rd party raid drivers, could it also be that my floppy has shot :banana::banana::banana::banana:?

sys specs are as follows:
DFI nf3 250gb
a64 3000+ (stock speeds)
xfx 6600gt (also stock speeds)
gig of mushkin pc3200
TT 480w purepower

[LSANTHRAX]

Ok just finished set up on the ide drive at it let me into windows, i'll run some diagnostics and see whats up, looks as if i may have been right about the hard drive failing.

[Tirlista]

So when it hung on the windows splash screen - had you installed the SATA/Raid drivers before installing windows?

Does your floppy detect in bios? Can you use a bootable floppy? Ensure that is working and then prob try installing windows again and load the RAID drivers.

[LSANTHRAX]

it let me get into windows from the ide 2 times, i installed me vid drivers and chipset drivers and now its doing the same thing.

I've not looked in the bios to see if the floppy is being detected there, i will shortly, i will also try reinstalling the raid drivers but after having seen this new hard drive not work either i don't think it is hard drive related after all i mean two brand new drivers wouldn't both be dead.

Anyone else have any ideas?

*EDIT* OK this thing seems to be really hit or miss, it just let me into windows on the ide drive using the last stable configuration, i'm afraid to restart the damn thing now though.....I'm gonna switch my internet connection back over to that computer and we'll see how it goes from there.

[LSANTHRAX]

OK, ide drive does seem to be working now, but as would be my luck i've run into another problem, the onboard ethernet isn't working. Is this a common problem with dif mobos? As i seem to remember reading where a few other people on this message board had the same thing happen to them.

*edit* Yes the on board ethernet is indeed dead. I still need to figure out what happened to my floppy....

[jjcom]

maybe you should RMA the board...you seem to be having servial problems with it. But yeah keep messing with it...drivers and such

jjcom

[LSANTHRAX]

I give up, this board has got to be the most picky board i've ever used, i managed to get the chipset drivers all reinstlled for the 5th time and ethernet sorta works now, but i think i'll stick to me pci card.

Well since that all is working now i guess the next thing to do would be try the hard drive again and see if that really was the problem or if some fluke just wouldn't let it load. Then again why do that when i have a hard drive that is working fine, i think i'll just send it back and get me a brand new one just in case.

[LSANTHRAX]

I seem to have gotten everything else sorted out except the floppy, tried different floppy drives so its either down to the cable is bad or the connector is bad, but if the connector on the board was bad wouldn't it give me some kind of error?

[Steelx]

why clear the cmos? unless you have too? just reboot if you bsod