XP SR2 dies (literally) in middle of use - now "AWDFLASH.EXE" notfound

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ch33zst34k
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C

Ch33zst34k

I was enjoying my favorite MMORPG on line this morning when I found
myself continually disconnecting, forcing me to reboot 2-3 times in
an hour. Finally upon about the 4th reboot, Windows failed to POST
and I could not get it into safe mode. I pulled out my trusty XP disc
(a real, licensed version - no crack here) and upon start-up, I get a
message stating it wants to boot from the dvd drive (a good thing
since my cd is in there) then suddenly I get an error line stating
"AWDFLSH.EXE not found.... insert correct disc." Well, I have
reinstalled and booted from this disc many times so I am concerned
this is a BIOS issue.

I don't have a problem reinstalling Windows but I cannot even get the
thing to read the disc. Any help here guys ?

This is a custom built rig with all high-end parts - I doubt we have a
mobo or ram failure yet.

Any help would be great. TIA.
 
Ch33zst34k said:
I was enjoying my favorite MMORPG on line this morning when I found
myself continually disconnecting, forcing me to reboot 2-3 times in
an hour. Finally upon about the 4th reboot, Windows failed to POST
and I could not get it into safe mode. I pulled out my trusty XP disc
(a real, licensed version - no crack here) and upon start-up, I get a
message stating it wants to boot from the dvd drive (a good thing
since my cd is in there) then suddenly I get an error line stating
"AWDFLSH.EXE not found.... insert correct disc." Well, I have
reinstalled and booted from this disc many times so I am concerned
this is a BIOS issue.

I don't have a problem reinstalling Windows but I cannot even get the
thing to read the disc. Any help here guys ?

This is a custom built rig with all high-end parts - I doubt we have a
mobo or ram failure yet.
Click to expand...
What makes you think that high-end parts don't fail? They do and not a
lot less frequently that cheaper parts. I've had several top end server
boards go within a few weeks or months of purchase. One board was
replaced with another board which turned out to be DOA!

This *does* seem like a hardware fault - I'd guess disk, but it might be
RAM.

Cheers,

Cliff
 
Comments at end:

Ch33zst34k said:
I was enjoying my favorite MMORPG on line this morning when I found
myself continually disconnecting, forcing me to reboot 2-3 times in
an hour. Finally upon about the 4th reboot, Windows failed to POST
and I could not get it into safe mode. I pulled out my trusty XP disc
(a real, licensed version - no crack here) and upon start-up, I get a
message stating it wants to boot from the dvd drive (a good thing
since my cd is in there) then suddenly I get an error line stating
"AWDFLSH.EXE not found.... insert correct disc." Well, I have
reinstalled and booted from this disc many times so I am concerned
this is a BIOS issue.

I don't have a problem reinstalling Windows but I cannot even get the
thing to read the disc. Any help here guys ?

This is a custom built rig with all high-end parts - I doubt we have a
mobo or ram failure yet.

Any help would be great. TIA.
Click to expand...

Not a windows issue --
[a computer can *not* begin loading *any* Operating System until *after*
the MoBo finishes its POST.]
Failure to POST = motherboard failure.
P.S.
"AWDFLSH.EXE" is the utility used to flash an AWARD BIOS to a newer version.
(or return to an earlier version.)
Steve
 
Ch33zst34k said:
I was enjoying my favorite MMORPG on line this morning when I found
myself continually disconnecting, forcing me to reboot 2-3 times in
an hour. Finally upon about the 4th reboot, Windows failed to POST
and I could not get it into safe mode. I pulled out my trusty XP
disc (a real, licensed version - no crack here) and upon start-up,
I get a message stating it wants to boot from the dvd drive (a good
thing since my cd is in there) then suddenly I get an error line
stating "AWDFLSH.EXE not found.... insert correct disc." Well, I
have reinstalled and booted from this disc many times so I am
concerned this is a BIOS issue.

I don't have a problem reinstalling Windows but I cannot even get
the thing to read the disc. Any help here guys ?

This is a custom built rig with all high-end parts - I doubt we
have a mobo or ram failure yet.
Click to expand...

Sounds like hardware failure.
High-end, low-end - all things fail.
 
Ch33zst34k said:
I was enjoying my favorite MMORPG on line this morning when I found
myself continually disconnecting, forcing me to reboot 2-3 times in
an hour. Finally upon about the 4th reboot, Windows failed to POST
and I could not get it into safe mode. I pulled out my trusty XP disc
(a real, licensed version - no crack here) and upon start-up, I get a
message stating it wants to boot from the dvd drive (a good thing
since my cd is in there) then suddenly I get an error line stating
"AWDFLSH.EXE not found.... insert correct disc." Well, I have
reinstalled and booted from this disc many times so I am concerned
this is a BIOS issue.

I don't have a problem reinstalling Windows but I cannot even get the
thing to read the disc. Any help here guys ?

This is a custom built rig with all high-end parts - I doubt we have a
mobo or ram failure yet.

Any help would be great. TIA.
Click to expand...


have a look here

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
 
Thank you all for the feedback - I will revise my statement to say
that I DOUBT I have a hardware failure to I HOPE I don't have a a
hardware failure.

I will run the windiag utility then look to any recourse I might have
with either the builder (Ibuypower) or the manufacturers (ASUS mobo
and Mushkin RAM). I guess the sad presumption I made was that
investing in better quality parts would ensure a smoother experience -
apparently not so.

Thanks again. Any additional comments or ideas are welcome.
 
Ch33zst34k said:
Thank you all for the feedback - I will revise my statement to say
that I DOUBT I have a hardware failure to I HOPE I don't have a a
hardware failure.

I will run the windiag utility then look to any recourse I might have
with either the builder (Ibuypower) or the manufacturers (ASUS mobo
and Mushkin RAM). I guess the sad presumption I made was that
investing in better quality parts would ensure a smoother experience -
apparently not so.

Thanks again. Any additional comments or ideas are welcome.
Click to expand...

I've had stuff fail in as little as 4 weeks...
and it was good "name brand" stuff too.

that's what warranties are for
 
Yeah - that's the good news - the machine is well within warranty and
for that I am happy, but the prospect of shipping it off for 6 weeks
is not a good one, as is losing all the progress and saved games on
the machine. I am hoping there is a change to replace the bad part
without a reformat.

We'll see I guess.

Thanks all.
 
Ch33zst34k said:
I was enjoying my favorite MMORPG on line this morning when I found
myself continually disconnecting, forcing me to reboot 2-3 times in
an hour. Finally upon about the 4th reboot, Windows failed to POST
Click to expand...

Hardware failure.

and I could not get it into safe mode. I pulled out my trusty XP disc
(a real, licensed version - no crack here) and upon start-up, I get a
message stating it wants to boot from the dvd drive (a good thing
since my cd is in there) then suddenly I get an error line stating
"AWDFLSH.EXE not found.... insert correct disc." Well, I have
reinstalled and booted from this disc many times so I am concerned
this is a BIOS issue.
Click to expand...

Or a more fundamental motherboard failure.
I don't have a problem reinstalling Windows but I cannot even get the
thing to read the disc. Any help here guys ?
Click to expand...

Hardware failure. It's going to need some hands-on diagnosis and parts
swaps to determine the failed components.

Unfortunately, this can get expensive.

Try removing all cables from all the drives - power and data - and see if it
still fails POST.
This is a custom built rig with all high-end parts - I doubt we have a
mobo or ram failure yet.
Click to expand...

You can certainly doubt that, but alas, it won't make it true.

If you can't get the system to boot from the CD at all, and if the system
fails the POST, this does not point to any kind of software issue.

HTH
-pk
 
Ch33zst34k said:
Yeah - that's the good news - the machine is well within warranty and
for that I am happy, but the prospect of shipping it off for 6 weeks
Click to expand...

That is an unreasonably long time.
is not a good one, as is losing all the progress and saved games on
the machine. I am hoping there is a change to replace the bad part
without a reformat.
Click to expand...

The drive isn't likely to be the failed part. Pop in another drive and
send it with that, and/or image yours first. Do not make an assumption
that the repair shop will respect your data.

HTH
-pk
 
That is an unreasonably long time.


The drive isn't likely to be the failed part. Pop in another drive and
send it with that, and/or image yours first. Do not make an assumption
that the repair shop will respect your data.

HTH
-pk
Click to expand...

Thats a very good suggestion - thanks.
G
 
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