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Thread: Windows XP Startup error

  1. #11
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    Now go grab a #1 point philips head screwdriver and get the side off that case.
    yeah, thing about that is that there is no screws on the case. It is a dell 8100. There was a button on the front, and when i pressed it, the front cover came off (my dad, who thinks he is tech whiz just started pushing things in, and now it won't close, but thats not the problem now). Even with the front cover off, i dont see any screws. I'll post some pictures of the case if you want. BTW, i have two sticks of RAM, figured that out in the BIOS. How do i tell where the RAM is? Ugh...this is just getting better and better.....



    slick
    \"Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, \"I\'m a grown man. I should know what goes on my head.\" And the more I thought about it... the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out... I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, ah-he, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life. \" -Roy Waller

  2. #12
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hmmm,

    Dell 8100, shipped with ME...............something like a P4 1.7GHz processor?. Two 128Mb sticks?...........probably PC800 RAMBUS memory.

    I will check back tomorrow, and if you still have problems I will dig out my 8100 and give you instructions on how to get it apart.

    Did you have a thunderstorm that day?

    Cheers

  3. #13
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    yeah, we did have a thunderstorm...BTW, got the case open, found the RAM, but when i take one piece out and try to boot with just one, like someone suggested before. however, when i turn the power on it makes a loud alarm noise until i turn it off. these noises make me nervous, so i turned it off. thats where i am right now. also i dont have 2 128 MB sticks. i have 2 64 MB sticks. there are also two small things that look like RAM, but don't say anything on them. any ideas?


    slick
    \"Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, \"I\'m a grown man. I should know what goes on my head.\" And the more I thought about it... the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out... I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, ah-he, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life. \" -Roy Waller

  4. #14
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hi slick,

    1. Are the small things the same size as your RAM sticks? and mounted parallel to them, or are they elsewhere on the board?

    2. What does it say on the two 64Mb RAM sticks? What sort of memory is it?

    3. How does it connect to the internet? does it have an internal modem? Was a modem connected at the time these problems started. It doesn't have to be turned on, just connected to your PC and the telephone line. Lightning might have fried it, and the system is looking for it?

    It certainly sounds like a hardware problem. Tomorrow is a public holiday over here so I will take my 8100 apart so we know we are talking about the same thing.

    I had that problem with the memory as well. You should have four slots 0,1,2, & 3.

    Mine shipped with 2 x 128Mb and I added 2 x 256 to give me 768Mb, which is too much for WinME and makes it unstable. I got all sorts of error messages when I tried to remove some RAM.

    Not sure about the noise, do you get any sort of message? some Dells have a "case opened" alarm, which you should be able to reset or disable in the BIOS.

    I will get back to you later when I have had a chance to check out my one.

    Cheers

  5. #15
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    nihil,

    1. no, they are smaller, mounted paralell to the RAM. I don't think they are RAM, because BIOS shows 128 MB of RAM, and the two sticks that are labled are 64 MB each.
    2. 64 MB DDRRAM
    3. external modem, conects through a router. i can get on the internet using my Suse Partition and Knoppix.
    \"Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, \"I\'m a grown man. I should know what goes on my head.\" And the more I thought about it... the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out... I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, ah-he, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life. \" -Roy Waller

  6. #16
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hi slick,

    Well it seems that the Dimension 8100 only has one basic layout [Better than the XPS series that must have around 30!]

    The "smaller" memory sticks are just blanks to keep the sockets clean, they have no other functionality. They are your two extra slots (actually your second bank)

    Memory
    Architecture RDRAM
    RIMM sockets four
    RIMM capacities 64-, 128-, 256-, and 512-MB RDRAM
    Standard RAM 128 MB (minimum)
    Maximum RAM 2 GB
    BIOS address F8000h
    They all appear to have RDRAM (RAMBUS) and your problem is that you have the minimum, so if you take a stick out that would be why the machine complains. The other thing is that AFAIK Rambus memory needs to be installed in matched pairs of equal size.

    Some more questions:

    1. Are you running Norton System Works?
    2. Does it have a separate sound card?
    3. Are you getting onto the net via a knoppix CD, or from your hard drive?
    4. Is the light on your surge strip steady, or does it flicker?
    5. Had you installed any Microsoft patches immediately before the problem?

    If it has a soundcard and an NIC card I would take them out and try to boot it like that.

    Another possibility is to clear the CMOS?

    Unfortunately there is no easy way to determine the problem, we just have to systematically eliminate the possibilities.

    Cheers

  7. #17
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    nihil,

    1. not running norton system works, but am running norton AV
    2. No separate sound card
    3. knoppix CD
    4. steady light
    5. no, most recent patch was 1-2 weeks ago.

    On another (slightly worse) note, now when i turn on my computer, the monitor doesnt register. The power is on, and from the sound of the machine it is booting fine, but nothing comes up on the screen. I dunno, i'm gonna take it down to a computer store near us, and see if they might know what is going on. **** **** ****...i really hope i dont need to reformat and reinstall, cuz i never got a chance to back up my most recent things...

    slick
    \"Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, \"I\'m a grown man. I should know what goes on my head.\" And the more I thought about it... the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out... I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, ah-he, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life. \" -Roy Waller

  8. #18
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hi, slick~

    I am sorry to say that it sounds as if your HDD is on the way out. Do you have access to another computer with as much spare space as the whole drive in that one?

    First move would be to try to load the drive as a slave in another computer, and try to recover your important files. If you cannot do this, the next step is to try to use roadkil's "unstoppable copier" to mirror the whole drive onto another one.

    I take it that you can still see the monitor if you boot knoppix?

    Cheers

    EDIT: You might try going to the HDD manufacturers website, and getting their diagnostic tools. You should be able to create a bootable floppy (caldera DOS or whatever) and run the diagnostics from that.

  9. #19
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    yeah, i think it is the HD. i brought it down, and backed up my stuff on to one of their "loaner" HDs. i'm going to buy a new one, hopefully today or tommorow. thanks for all your help.


    slick
    \"Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, \"I\'m a grown man. I should know what goes on my head.\" And the more I thought about it... the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out... I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, ah-he, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life. \" -Roy Waller

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