PC Freezing

  • Thread starter Thread starter David Barratt
  • Start date Start date
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David Barratt

Hi all,

I just got myself a used IPEX PC, Pentium III 866, 256mb RAM, 20gb HDD.
It came with no operating system. I have tried installing XP, '98 & ME on
this box.
Each time, the installation almost finishes & asks for my login & password,
which I provide, usually no problems there, but when I get to the stage
where it
detects new devices, I get the choice to install automatically or select
from a list.
Once I have clicked on ok to continue, the PC just freezes.
No mouse movement, can't Alt, Ctrl & Del. I have to press the reset button
on the box. Once reset, it goes through the motions of finishing
installation again,
then freezes again.

Any ideas? This is really frustrating. I'm guessing it's a hardware problem,
but what?

Thanks, Dave.
 
David said:
Hi all,

I just got myself a used IPEX PC, Pentium III 866, 256mb RAM, 20gb HDD.
It came with no operating system. I have tried installing XP, '98 & ME on
this box.
Each time, the installation almost finishes & asks for my login & password,
Click to expand...

I assume you mean it is asking you to create one?? If you have not
already created a password, and you are loading the OS from scratch, it
should not be asking you for a password to proceed. That is unless
there is something already on the HD asking for it?
which I provide, usually no problems there, but when I get to the stage
where it
detects new devices, I get the choice to install automatically or select
from a list.
Click to expand...
It sounds like there is some piece of hardware that Windows cannot
handle. You can try removing all unnecessary devices and later attach
the device causing the problems once your OS is loaded. Sometimes sound
cards, modems, etc can be installed by downloading the drivers BEFORE
they are inserted into the MB and loading the necessary drivers in Safe
Mode. Once you boot up in the normal mode you can then point Windows to
the drivers you have loaded in Safe Mode. If you do this, install one
device at a time so you know which device is causing your problem.

You could also have a bad piece of hardware, such as a HD, but try the
removal procedure first.
 
David Barratt:
the PC just freezes
Click to expand...

I also believe you have a bad piece of hardware. It doesn't sound like a
hard drive problem but you can go to to the manufacturer's homepage and
download a utility that boots from a floppy or cd to test the drive.
Remove any cards you can live without (NIC, sound) and try again. If that
doesn't do it, swap the video card. If you get installed, add one piece of
hardware at a time.

You can also download and burn a Knoppix CD and attempt boot with it.
 
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