something must be failing?

[JTHEWOLF]

ok so, a couple of weeks back the pc started to flash up error messages on boot. such as

- bootmgr is corrupt system cannot boot

-a disk read error occurred. press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

- (block of text) status: 0xc00000e9. info: an unexpected I/O error has occured

- BSOD - stop: 0x0000007B (0xfffff880009a9928,0xffffffffc0000034)

-the file is possibly corrupt. the file header checksum does not match the corrupt checksum

BSOD - stop: 0x00000050 wimfsf.sys



these have now STARTED APPEARING AGAIN :shock:

to try combat the 1st time. windows 7 64bit was reinstalled (100% clean) over 20 times. that failed.

so we bought:
a new hard drive
connectors
brand new version of windows 7 ultimate 64bit.
new CMOS battery

these have not helped.

but what i dont get is why. if i load up and do a memory diagnostic upon restart it works fine. once it is on a restart will work. a shutdown followed by IMMEDIATE turn on will work, but if its shut down and left for like an hour its back to the errors.

in my opinion, i think maybe the MOBO is failing in some way?

am i right? wrong? you have a fix?

please any help will be appreciated

 

[TVeblen]

A "Cold Boot" is when you start a computer from a dead stop - a complete power down, off condition, for at least 30 seconds or more.

A 'Warm Boot" , or restart, is when you start while the system is still running.

When a system shows issues on a cold boot, but does not show those issues on a warm boot it is usually hardware related and many times capacitor related. In these instances weak or leaking capacitors cannot hold a proper charge for very long so the component fails when the system has been powered down, but succeeds when the system has been running.

Capacitors play an important role in your power supply and motherboard. But a failing power supply would be a logical cause of your type of symptoms and is the cheaper and easier of the two to replace. If the power supply can't supply steady power to the hard drive or system during a cold boot then you would get intermittent read errors.

If you can use a multimeter you can connected it to any spare 12v connection and observe it while you cold boot and run the computer to see if there is any obvious drop off in voltage, and then switch it to amps to see if the current holds steady.

You can also try a different power connector to the hard drive to see if that has any effect.

Otherwise, try replacing the power supply.

Hope that helps

 

[fishnbanjo]

Thanks for filling out your Specs so well! DELL PC's generally have a built in diagnostics, I suggest you run these, I think it's available by hitting f8 prior to the Windows 7 screen coming on. Pay special attention to the RAM tests, you either have a stick of RAM going FUBAR or Windows 7 is not happy with where your RAM is on the mobo I'll do a little digging on your system.

 

[electrotune1200]

What motherboard are you using?

Is there by any chance a BIOS update available?

 

[fishnbanjo]

There are a few updated bios versions available ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

After a quick read there was a revision that fixes system stability.

On the page link I gave you, click on the download tab. Select your OS and the downloads will appear. I would try updating the BIOS to see if that stabilizes things.

Uh, the OP has a DELL not an Asus, the last BIOS update for his PC was in 2007, it shipped with an XP OS and he states he is loading Windows 7 64 Ultimate. His PC is Vista 64 capable so I think W7 64 is fine.

JTHEWOLF,
Your original spec's at DELL state the PC was shipped with 2Gb RAM and you show 4Gb, if this is correct did you simply add additional RAM or swap it all out? If you swapped it out do you have the original 2Gb so that it can be placed back in that configuration to test further?

 

[electrotune1200]

I read the wrong specs. I thought I was at the top of the page and read into TVeblen's specs.

TVeblen was on to it and informed me about it. My appologies.

 

[fishnbanjo]

No apologies required, your advice was sound, and applicable, if the OP had an Asus, just wanted to point out it wasn't in the off chance the OP saw BIOS was available etc.

 

[rauk]

JTHEWOLF, which did you run - Windows, Dell or a 3rd party memory diagnostic test? I seem to recall Dell system diag's are fairly comprehensive, but can't vouch for memory tests (this far on from owning one). I have absolutely no confidence in Windows mem' diag' so, if that's what you're relying on, may I suggest you try the free Memtest86 (or the + version) or Memscope so see whether your memory really is good.

 

[fishnbanjo]

JTHEWOLF, which did you run - Windows, Dell or a 3rd party memory diagnostic test? I seem to recall Dell system diag's are fairly comprehensive, but can't vouch for memory tests (this far on from owning one). I have absolutely no confidence in Windows mem' diag' so, if that's what you're relying on, may I suggest you try the free Memtest86 (or the + version) or Memscope so see whether your memory really is good.

I'd agree wholeheartedly with you if the OP could get his system into Windows 7, the error he's getting means his system is incapable of booting past the error which is why I suggested the DELL diagnostics.

His system is also out of warranty and if he does need something other than RAM to fix the issue the diagnostics codes should help pinpoint the problem.

 

[theog]

Check your ram.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/715-memory-diagnostics-tool.html?ltr=M
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Check your HD.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html?ltr=S
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html
Check with a hard drive diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.

You may need update you Sata controller drivers.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

 

[rauk]

fishnbanjo - Point taken: Dell diag is THE way to go (F8/windows diag option just not good enough) if JTW doesn't have means of creating diag boot disk from another PC. And the more I think about, the more I recall Dell diag (which F key is that again?) included some pretty intensive hardware tests. I remember tinkering with some just to see, but it is also coming back to me there were others that pushed the hardware pretty hard so I didn't play with those since my system actually ran pretty well - no point stressing a good component without real need. JTW might want to take the risk given issues, but I guess he should still start with memory test 1st.

 

[Carl Lawrence]

Are the connections all OK.

 

[JTHEWOLF]

ok wow lot of posts and suggestions since i last looked. il try my best answer them all.

first off i have made sure the BIOS is up t date, downloaded direct from the dell support page

we added an extra 2GB of RAM the original still inside the machine. (also have tried both sets on their own to no avail)

the tests i have run have been windows own tests, all came back A-OK, several 3rd party tests, again all A-OK. i have not done any tests by dell that i can remember. so ill do those and get back to you

yup the machine is out of warranty, had it 4 years so its getting close to the buy new time of what ever 5 years?

and finally again ill run the tests suggested and see if the sata controllers need an update



cheers everyone

 

[fishnbanjo]

Let us know ..........

 

[JTHEWOLF]

in response to theog


Check your ram.
Memory Diagnostics Tool
i do this every start up, as once its done and restarts it works fine.

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool
i could not find a spare disc, so will run asap


Check your HD.
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker
this takes forever lol - no violations found

Disk Check
no issues at all

Check with a hard drive diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
again no cd atm


You may need update you Sata controller drivers.
Advanced troubleshooting for "Stop 0x0000007B" errors in Windows XP
Error message when you start a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-based computer after you change the SATA mode of the boot drive: "STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE"

nope these did not change anything

 

[TVeblen]

Are you overclocking that computer in any way?

The one item common to all of the error codes you listed in your first post is the Hard Drive Controller. You could have issues with the controller because of:

• Incorrect or corrupted SATA drivers
• Incorrect or corrupted Chipset Drivers
• A Boot Sector virus
• Power Issues
• Incorrect motherboard voltages
• Overclocking

In addition to what the others have suggested (reinstall or update your SATA drivers, test your RAM) you may want to reinstall or update your chipset drivers and try resetting BIOS defaults.

Also, have you ever change the Storage Configuration SATA mode in your BIOS?

 

[JTHEWOLF]

nope no overclocking in any way shape or form.

of what you listed i have looked into a few and found nothing wrong.

all settings have been reset, re-updated etc and nope not changed those settings

 

[TVeblen]

Then I fall back to my original thought: you have a failing component.

The key, IMO, is the cold/warm boot bit. If what you describe is accurate, that the computer always fails to load windows without errors when booting cold, and always succeeds to load when booting warm, then that strongly points in that one direction.

If you were dealing with a bad driver I would think it would exhibit the behavior either all the time or completely random.

Did these symptoms begin right after you installed the extra 2G of memory, or was the new 2G playing happily for a while before these symptoms started?

 

[JTHEWOLF]

Then I fall back to my original thought: you have a failing component.

The key, IMO, is the cold/warm boot bit. If what you describe is accurate, that the computer always fails to load windows without errors when booting cold, and always succeeds to load when booting warm, then that strongly points in that one direction.

If you were dealing with a bad driver I would think it would exhibit the behavior either all the time or completely random.

Did these symptoms begin right after you installed the extra 2G of memory, or was the new 2G playing happily for a while before these symptoms started?

yup thats 100% accurate about the boot cold/warm

all drivers are up to date. i see if windows can find any and then run 3rd party software to find new ones.

the 2GB has worked flawlessly. this all started about a month ago. had the new RAM in erm i cant remember maybe about a year. and i have been running windows 7 with no other issues since after the 2nd month of UK release. i just turned it on one day and BANG errors galore