# The only problem to have truly got me stumped with hardware!



## cleanboy (Apr 20, 2011)

Trust me this is a doozy and in all honesty id be surpised if anyone could help coz trust me ive searched and tried pretty much everything...and sorry if this is in the wrong section of the forum...this one just seemed the most appropriate...here goes...

So basically ive been building computers for quite a while...basically i would say that I have only every bought one computer and that was like 10 years ago and then its only been upgraded since and through upgrading im now on probably my fourth or fifth pc but then i came across this problem...a mate of mine was being generous and decided to give me a gfx card and decent processor for free...win! so i decided well might aswell get myself a new motherboard and some RAM (and ended up getting a new hard drive aswell...so yeah pretty much a whole new pc i guess haha) anyways...tried to install windows xp...didnt like it....just froze on install at exatly the same point everytime...ok not too sure wats goin on here...so i got a copy of vista and installed that...it gave me problems but during the setup allowed me to disable driver signature enforcement which let me continue and actually install it...win? not quite...after installing and regular use, every now and then when i boot it would say:

*Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause...*
*
File: \Windows\system32\ntkrnlpa.exe
Status: 0xc0000428
Info: Windows cannot verify the digital signature of this file

*although the file it had an error with will change frome time to time...sometimes its winload.exe sometimes something else...the way for me to get around it was again to disable driver signiature enforecement which worked for a while but after time the problem just gets worse and more frequent until i cant even get to the option to disable driver signiature enforcement end the error just repeats itself...if i miraculously do manage to get into windows i get about 20 seconds of usage before it freezes completely...

now the tricky part...some of you will say...just stick the windows cd in and choose the repair option...tried it and no doesnt work...

someone then suggested hmmm maybe its the motherboard...well ive replaced that still getting issues...

hard drive you say? nope...replaced and tried with several different hard drives doing a fresh install of vista...still get the same issue...

RAM perhaps? nope...replaced twice...

its not the gfx card coz ive just taken it out and run through motherboard graphics...still get the issue...

the only thing i havent replaced is power supply and processor...although i really dont see how any of these could be affecting it...if it is the processor somehow...surely it just wouldnt work at all? does a processor even need drivers?

ive also tried installing linux on it (and a couple different versions of it) to no avail...i mean, just like xp, it wont even get through the install process although that being said i can do a live cd (running the OS from the cd) and it works no problem...but obviously this is not good enough as i want the os actually installed...im all out of ideas now...somebody anybody please help! 

Much appreciated...if you know the answer you are an absolute genious! ive been dealing with this for a long long long time...


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

What are we working with?
PC Specs?
Pre-Built Brand & Model Number
Custom Built-Brand & Model of Mobo-CPU-RAM-Graphics-PSU.


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## cleanboy (Apr 20, 2011)

Its all pretty old now and far from pre built...anywhoo...

Pentium 4
RADEON X850 XT
Gigabyte G31M-ES2L
2046MB RAM dual channel (cant remember exact specs of this but can provide if really necessary...although where do i find it agen? lol)
530W PSU (Taurus brand)


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## KD5EEJ350 (Apr 19, 2011)

Got a spare PSU you can use to rule the PSU?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

have you tried doing a repair install; it wont touch your data or programs but will remove all windows drivers to give you a fresh start 

after which you will need to install drivers in this order

A) motherboard chipset drivers

B) lan drivers

C) sound drivers

D) windows updates & service pack revisions

E) latest net framework download from microsoft website

F) video card driver is always last

you can get all driver updates from the manufacturers websiites


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## cleanboy (Apr 20, 2011)

unfortunately not...not with the right connectors for my motherboard anyway...and i dont wanna spend more money unless im 100% sure it will work...


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

BTW; which version of win xp were you trying ? which service pack was in the install cd

vista does not like to be bullied into installing drivers it doesnt like; thats one of the big flops about vista and why Win 7 is the king


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

Repair Install For Vista - Vista Forums


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## cleanboy (Apr 20, 2011)

@linderman...yes...several times in several different ways...


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## Laxer (Dec 28, 2010)

Try stripping it down to just the needed hardware, (harddrive, disk drive, keyboard)

Install a single stick of ram that you know works.

Try a fresh install of XP.

From my experiences this looks like a ram problem. You say that you have switched the ram around but were you trying to do a fresh install each time?

Having a faulty stick of ram in while installing the OS can lead to corrupt system files.

If it is indeed not a ram problem i would suggest swapping around the PSUs, see if you can borrow one from a friend.

If you think the powersupply may not be an issue check out the thread linked in lindermans signature.


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