Baffling problem with Asus M2N32-SLI based machine

I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.

I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
went blank, with no futher activity.

Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
install windows.

A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
other files.

I've tried to install again and again, using:

1. Two different optical drives.
2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
3. Two different brand new hard drives.
4. Two different IDE cables.

No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
makes it to 57% before failing.

The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.

Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
replace the motherboard? What else could it be?


--- Windows Install Error Messages ---
first message:
ntdll.dll
The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP
system image. If you are installing from a CD, there may be a problem
with the Windows XP CD.

If I retry on this and continue to retry on succeeding error messages,
eventually I get this message:
Setup cannot copy file shell32.dll.

The file names vary but it always begins to happen within 50 to 57%
completion of the copy of the Windows system files to the hard drive.


--- History ---
10/18/06 - Computer built.
12/11/06 - System hard drive failure.
12/13/07 - Reinstall Windows on New WD 250 SATA hard drive. Installed
APC Back-UPS ES 550.
01/29/07 - Installed Electronic Specialists surge surpressor upstream
of UPS.
02/08/07 - System hard drive failure.
02/28/07 - rebuild computer with new Seagate SATA hard drive, new
motherboard, new Thermaltake PSU.
03/23/07 - unexplained failures; recovered after CHKDSK runs corrected
bad index entries.
04/07/07 - failure described above (slow executions, spontaneous
reboots, blank screen).

Please note that I've build over a dozen computer prior to this. None
of them gave me problems anything like this.

Also note that I've monitored the tempuratures via the Asus
motherboard monitoring program and the nVidia control panel. The
motherboard, CPU, and graphics card stay well below upper limits even
when run hard by a demanding racing sim. The LAN Boy case has two 120
mm fans and the Athlon has a large fan as well.

Also note that I've checked the wiring for the 110v outlet the
computer is using with a three-LED type outlet checker and it's fine.


--- System Configuration ---

Antec LAN Boy case
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W; replaced on 2/28/07 by:
Thermaltake PurePower 2.0 500W
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core
Corsair 1 GB PC2 6400 DDR2/800
eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCIe x16
system disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
replaced on 2/28/06 by:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s
backup disk:
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Lite-On 16X DVD+-RW+CD-R/RW
Sony 16X DVD ROM
on-board SoundMax
Rosewill USB Media reader
Windows XP Pro
case lighting & controller

In alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 alisonnic <> wrote:
> I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
> ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.
>
> After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
> fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
> hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
> extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
> closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
> extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
> spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.
>
> I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
> I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
> repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
> Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
> went blank, with no futher activity.
>
> Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
> another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
> my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
> brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
> in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
> new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
> install windows.
>
> A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
> the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
> that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
> to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
> other files.
>
> I've tried to install again and again, using:
>
> 1. Two different optical drives.
> 2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
> 3. Two different brand new hard drives.
> 4. Two different IDE cables.
>
> No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
> with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
> failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
> makes it to 57% before failing.
>
> The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
> have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
> fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
> drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.
>
> Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
> replace the motherboard? What else could it be?

I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
(when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios. After that
happens you need to reflash the bios. I would try that and see if
any of your problems go away.

>
> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.

I would love to see proof of this....

Dan

Check your RAM using Memtest86. In this case if your RAM comes out with no
errors then your PSU is probably to blame.

Dan


"alisonnic" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
>I have a baffling problem with a computer I built about six months
> ago, based around an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.
>
> After a series of problems (see history, below), this computer ran
> fine for several weeks. Then, a couple of days ago, after several
> hours of heavy use, when I exited a game, it suddenly began to run
> extremely slowly. I patiently waited for it to work its way through
> closing programs, and then tried to reboot it, but it repeated the
> extremely slow behavior and then, when it finally got to Windows, it
> spontaneously rebooted and started the whole process again.
>
> I tried powering off and rebooting, I tried hitting the Reset button,
> I tried just letting it run. With minor variations, it continued to
> repeat this failure mode until finally it failed to even get to
> Windows. Finally it just displayed the Asus logo and then the screen
> went blank, with no futher activity.
>
> Ok, I thought, another hard drive failure (see below). Time for
> another new drive and Windows reinstall. I stuck in a new drive and
> my Windows XP Pro CD, and attempted to install Windows. This was on a
> brand new drive I'd previously partitioned and formatted while it was
> in an external SATA/USB case, but I deleted the partition, created two
> new partitions, and formatted the C: partition and attempted to
> install windows.
>
> A little over 50% of the way through copying files to the hard drive,
> the Windows installer (running from the CD) stopped and complained
> that the copy of a file to the hard drive had failed. I told Windows
> to to retry, and it did, but then it gave many more errors copying
> other files.
>
> I've tried to install again and again, using:
>
> 1. Two different optical drives.
> 2. Two different Windows XP CD's.
> 3. Two different brand new hard drives.
> 4. Two different IDE cables.
>
> No matter what the combination of hardware, I get identical behavior,
> with the only vairation being the point at which the disk copy
> failures begin. Sometimes it begins as early as 50%, other times it
> makes it to 57% before failing.
>
> The only logical thing I haven't changed yet is the motherboard, but I
> have a hard time understanding how the SATA controller could begin to
> fail copying files at the same point each time, no matter what optical
> drive, XP CD, hard drive, and cable I'm using.
>
> Does anyone have any idea what could be happening here? Should I
> replace the motherboard? What else could it be?
>
>
> --- Windows Install Error Messages ---
> first message:
> ntdll.dll
> The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP
> system image. If you are installing from a CD, there may be a problem
> with the Windows XP CD.
>
> If I retry on this and continue to retry on succeeding error messages,
> eventually I get this message:
> Setup cannot copy file shell32.dll.
>
> The file names vary but it always begins to happen within 50 to 57%
> completion of the copy of the Windows system files to the hard drive.
>
>
> --- History ---
> 10/18/06 - Computer built.
> 12/11/06 - System hard drive failure.
> 12/13/07 - Reinstall Windows on New WD 250 SATA hard drive. Installed
> APC Back-UPS ES 550.
> 01/29/07 - Installed Electronic Specialists surge surpressor upstream
> of UPS.
> 02/08/07 - System hard drive failure.
> 02/28/07 - rebuild computer with new Seagate SATA hard drive, new
> motherboard, new Thermaltake PSU.
> 03/23/07 - unexplained failures; recovered after CHKDSK runs corrected
> bad index entries.
> 04/07/07 - failure described above (slow executions, spontaneous
> reboots, blank screen).
>
> Please note that I've build over a dozen computer prior to this. None
> of them gave me problems anything like this.
>
> Also note that I've monitored the tempuratures via the Asus
> motherboard monitoring program and the nVidia control panel. The
> motherboard, CPU, and graphics card stay well below upper limits even
> when run hard by a demanding racing sim. The LAN Boy case has two 120
> mm fans and the Athlon has a large fan as well.
>
> Also note that I've checked the wiring for the 110v outlet the
> computer is using with a three-LED type outlet checker and it's fine.
>
>
> --- System Configuration ---
>
> Antec LAN Boy case
> Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W; replaced on 2/28/07 by:
> Thermaltake PurePower 2.0 500W
> Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
> Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core
> Corsair 1 GB PC2 6400 DDR2/800
> eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCIe x16
> system disk:
> WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
> replaced on 2/28/06 by:
> Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
> 3.0Gb/s
> backup disk:
> WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
> Lite-On 16X DVD+-RW+CD-R/RW
> Sony 16X DVD ROM
> on-board SoundMax
> Rosewill USB Media reader
> Windows XP Pro
> case lighting & controller
>

"Dan" <> wrote in message
news:4628e72c$0$30062$ ng.com...
>
>>
>> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
>> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
>> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
>> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
>> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
>> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.
>
> I would love to see proof of this....
>
> Dan

What proof do you need? Windows programs exist to re-flash the BIOS. If it
can run on Windows, someone can make a virus out of it. -Dave

In alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 Dan <> wrote:
>
>>
>> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
>> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
>> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
>> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
>> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
>> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.
>
> I would love to see proof of this....

When I was running Windows on multiple computers connected to the internet,
I found one of the computers crashed. Rebooting revealed that 4 scsi
disk drives had been reformatted to a (to Windows) unknown format.
So I attempted to boot the Windows install cd from the cdrom. But the
cdrom was not listed as a known device by the boot program. A quick
call to Dell Service resulted in a reflashed bios. At that point the
cdrom was again recognized and I reinstalled Windows. But shortly after
that I dumped all of my Windows OS software, all the windows apps, and
all the Windows books. I switched to and have been running OpenBSD
ever since. I see no possibility of ever switching back to Windows on
any internet-connected computer.

> Dan

--
http://RepublicBroadcasting.org - IF you can handle the truth
http://iceagenow.com - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.

"Mike T." <> wrote in message
news:4628e7a8$0$97223$ reenews.net...
>
> "Dan" <> wrote in message
> news:4628e72c$0$30062$ ng.com...
>>
>>>
>>> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
>>> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
>>> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
>>> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
>>> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
>>> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.
>>
>> I would love to see proof of this....
>>
>> Dan
>
> What proof do you need? Windows programs exist to re-flash the BIOS. If
> it can run on Windows, someone can make a virus out of it. -Dave

The fact that its possible and the fact that a known virus has been found
are two different things. I agree that flashing from Windows is a terrible
idea, but as of yet there is no malware that takes advantage of this hole.

Dan

"dave" <> wrote in message
news:. ..
> In alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 Dan <> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
>>> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
>>> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
>>> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
>>> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
>>> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.
>>
>> I would love to see proof of this....
>
> When I was running Windows on multiple computers connected to the
> internet,
> I found one of the computers crashed. Rebooting revealed that 4 scsi
> disk drives had been reformatted to a (to Windows) unknown format.
> So I attempted to boot the Windows install cd from the cdrom. But the
> cdrom was not listed as a known device by the boot program. A quick
> call to Dell Service resulted in a reflashed bios. At that point the
> cdrom was again recognized and I reinstalled Windows. But shortly after
> that I dumped all of my Windows OS software, all the windows apps, and
> all the Windows books. I switched to and have been running OpenBSD
> ever since. I see no possibility of ever switching back to Windows on
> any internet-connected computer.


If the four SCSI devices had been in a RAID array and that array failed,
then windows would not recognize the format, neither would any nix os. Just
because a BIOS became corrupted (it does happen) does not mean it was caused
by an outside influence such as malware. Anything from the original BIOS
being badly written, a magnetic event, or a under/over voltage situation
could cause those same symptoms.

Dan

In alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 Dan <> wrote:
>
> "Mike T." <> wrote in message
> news:4628e7a8$0$97223$ reenews.net...
>>
>> "Dan" <> wrote in message
>> news:4628e72c$0$30062$ ng.com...
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
>>>> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
>>>> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
>>>> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
>>>> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
>>>> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.
>>>
>>> I would love to see proof of this....
>>>
>>> Dan
>>
>> What proof do you need? Windows programs exist to re-flash the BIOS. If
>> it can run on Windows, someone can make a virus out of it. -Dave
>
> The fact that its possible and the fact that a known virus has been found
> are two different things. I agree that flashing from Windows is a terrible
> idea, but as of yet there is no malware that takes advantage of this hole.
>
> Dan
>
Au contraire. You can find it documented on the web via Google. Unfortunately
I have forgotten the search terms I used to locate it.

--
http://RepublicBroadcasting.org - IF you can handle the truth
http://iceagenow.com - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.

In alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 Dan <> wrote:
>
> "dave" <> wrote in message
> news:. ..
>> In alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 Dan <> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I am very familiar with the problem of windows install locking up
>>>> while copying files from the cdrom. My solution to that problem
>>>> (when I was still running Windows) was to copy the entire cdrom to
>>>> a hard disk and then install from the hard disk. I don't know what
>>>> is causing your other problems, but I suspect malware. I know from
>>>> personal experience that malware can corrupt the bios.
>>>
>>> I would love to see proof of this....
>>
>> When I was running Windows on multiple computers connected to the
>> internet,
>> I found one of the computers crashed. Rebooting revealed that 4 scsi
>> disk drives had been reformatted to a (to Windows) unknown format.
>> So I attempted to boot the Windows install cd from the cdrom. But the
>> cdrom was not listed as a known device by the boot program. A quick
>> call to Dell Service resulted in a reflashed bios. At that point the
>> cdrom was again recognized and I reinstalled Windows. But shortly after
>> that I dumped all of my Windows OS software, all the windows apps, and
>> all the Windows books. I switched to and have been running OpenBSD
>> ever since. I see no possibility of ever switching back to Windows on
>> any internet-connected computer.
>
>
> If the four SCSI devices had been in a RAID array and that array failed,

They weren't.

> then windows would not recognize the format, neither would any nix os. Just
> because a BIOS became corrupted (it does happen) does not mean it was caused
> by an outside influence such as malware. Anything from the original BIOS
> being badly written, a magnetic event, or a under/over voltage situation
> could cause those same symptoms.
>
> Dan
>

--
http://RepublicBroadcasting.org - IF you can handle the truth
http://iceagenow.com - because global warming is a SCAM

Every U.S. citizen is by act of Congress a ward of the U.S. Government
with no rights whatsoever other than that of living in the U.S.