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Win2k freezes on bootup, even from CD during "repair". Changed m/b, cpu, ram, video card, power supply, kb, mouse; drives verify ok; using Adaptec SCSI RAID (AAA-131U2) - took everything else out of system. Freezes at "loading windows" as soon as it goes into graphic mode. How can I diagnose, or force repair? I'm pretty sure it's not hardware at this point..
You can't replace the m/b and expect OS to load. Different hardware HAL and drivers.
You need to do a repair install. You go past the first option of repair and head toward install. When you get the choice of new install or repair existing choose existing.
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To add to the above correct information I have found that Win2000 is less forgiving than WinXP when it comes to hardware changes. Especially with hardware that is much newer than Win2000.
In the case of graphics cards and Win2000 you need to install things in the correct order. For instance you should install IE6, the service packs and chip set drivers prior to installing graphics drivers.
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Thanks for your response..
there's no new hardware. System has been running excellently for years.. all of a sudden, not. Adaptec diags say the drives are fine. Talked to Adaptec, they say the OS is the problem. Would do repair, but can't get that far. How do I repair the MBR when it won't boot that far? Loads all drivers, including 3rd party RAID, then hangs. Interestingly, if I load the original RAID array driver, v. 4.20.29, it gets to "setup is starting Windows 2000" and hangs. If I load a slightly newer driver (4.20.32), it goes past that, to "setup.. repair.. quit.." - so I choose Repair, and it says "..hard disk is new or has been erased.." - not what I want to hear.. (and I don't believe it).. ideas?
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In trying to isolate the cause, I swapped out the RAM, power supply, NIC, motherboard, CPU. I disconnected everything else that wasn't needed for boot. No change. The swapped m/b was identical (I had two) to the original, but new and unused.
That left me thinking that it was not hardware. Currently the new m/b is in the system, but behaving exactly like the previous. All other hardware is back to original. I was hoping that a new power supply would fix it, but no such luck.
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that's the first thing I tried..
gets to loading agp440.sys and hangs.. which made me think it was the video card at first (so I tried a different video card, tried VGA mode etc.), but I now realize that's a common place for Win to hang.
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"but I now realize that's a common place for Win to hang"
I encountered that problem myself quite a while ago on an old system but don't recall what I did to fix it. But if I remember correctly, agp440.sys isn't the problem. The fact that it's displayed on the screen means that it's probably loaded & the next item on the list is what's causing it to hang.
One thing I saw mentioned when googling was to enter the BIOS & check the Plug n Play OS setting. If it's enabled, try disabling it.
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If I'm getting the story straight, this is an old installation. If so, probably time to start afresh. Sadly, that's just the way it is with winders.
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If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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Might try ubcd to repair the mbr. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ take a look.
WinXp Amd 64 3000 Msi Neo2 Platinuim 1 gig ddr 400. When we cast a pebble into a pond we should look past the first ripple.
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The saga continues. Most bizzare thing I have ever seen, in my 25 years of dealing with computers. Now both the old and brand new motherboards, (identical) will not load Win2K on a clean drive, with NOTHING else in the system. New drives (CD, floppy, HD) new RAM, new CPU, new video card. It hangs.
So I suspect that both CPUs have been affected by a bad power supply, or both m/b's. Which is more likely? Anyone seen anything like this?
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If the hardware is much newer than Win2000 I have experienced stalling when installing. You may need to slipstream drivers into the Win2000 CD. Especially if you are dealing with SATA controllers. You also need at least SP3 if dealing with 48 bit LBA. (drives over 127GB).
Win2000 can be quirky that way. Newer graphic cards can really be a pain. DirectX requirements, etc. The order of install is important.
Even if you have SP4 integrated you can still have issues with 48 bit LBA. Best to create a boot partition under 127GB.
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Nope. I finally solved the mystery. It was a bad power supply, that trashed some component of the m/b. Everything seemed normal, but Windoze would not go into graphic mode. I replaced the m/b.. same problem, cuz the errant p/s trashed that board too. So I changed the power supply, but the first two m/b's would not boot. A third m/b that had never been connected to the errant p/s booted fine with the new p/s. All is fine now, three m/b's later and new p/s. This was a new one on me, but we never stop learning, do we?
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Yeah something new every day.
WinXp Amd 64 3000 Msi Neo2 Platinuim 1 gig ddr 400. When we cast a pebble into a pond we should look past the first ripple.
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