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Need Help - Machine Fails to Boot



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 9th 04, 01:41 PM
Douglas R. Hortvet, Jr.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Need Help - Machine Fails to Boot

Hoping this is the correct NG for the post and that one of the MS MVP's for W98 can help.

Here are the specs: 1.33 mhz Pentium machine, running Win98 upgrade to Win95; 60 GB HDD
(just over 1 yr old - has the C: and D: partitions; Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI adapter card;
CDROM and Sony CD-RW.

Problem: Machine is used to run SETI data sets - has been running without problems 24x7;
the fan started making noise - observed it was loaded with dust - so shut down, pulled the
cover and vacuumed out the case and fan.

The machine started to boot normally, and gets to the point just before where the desktop
icons are displayed - and the following msg appears: "Error loading powrprof.dll One of
the library files needed to run this application cannot be found". After this - the
machine is essentially dead; ctl-alt-del brings up the close program dialog box (which
has been used numerous times).

What I have done so far: Check the MS site and found one msg that advise to extract a new
powrprof.dll file to the C:\windows\system directory - did this and the machine still
fails to boot.

I can start with the Startup disk - and select with CD support, however neither the CDROM
or CD-RW are recognized.

Also, just before the "Error loading powrprof.dll' msg is displayed - the icons in the
quick start tray briefly flash on and then disappear

This is where I am at - any and all suggestions are most welcome as my meager fixit
resources are exhausted.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Regards,

Doug
  #2  
Old November 9th 04, 01:49 PM
Bill Starbuck
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Posts: n/a
Default

I would open up the case again and check all of the cable connections.
Maybe you dislodged something or loosened a connection. Also, I would
pull out the plug-in cards and then reinsert them.

Then, if it doesn't boot, I would try reinstalling Windows on top of
the current installation.

Bill Starbuck (MVP)
  #3  
Old November 9th 04, 03:22 PM
Doug Hortvet
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Bill,

Thank you for your comments.

I failed to mention that I did remove the case and ensure all cards
and cable connections were seated.

I did not remove and reinstall them - will try that tonight.

How can I reinstall Windows if the CDROM drive is not recognized?

Can I do a fresh install from the Win98 Upgrade disk?

Thanks again for your assistance.

Regards,

Doug



On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 07:49:49 -0500, Bill Starbuck
wrote:

I would open up the case again and check all of the cable connections.
Maybe you dislodged something or loosened a connection. Also, I would
pull out the plug-in cards and then reinsert them.

Then, if it doesn't boot, I would try reinstalling Windows on top of
the current installation.

Bill Starbuck (MVP)


  #4  
Old November 9th 04, 09:57 PM
Brian A.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

If you have a Win98 boot disk that has CD support, your CD drive will =
be assigned a new DOS drive letter which normally is one higher than the =
letter assigned in Windows. Pay attention near the end of the boot where =
it will show what letter the drive is assigned.

--=20

Brian A.

Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Doug Hortvet" wrote in message =
...
Bill,
=20
Thank you for your comments.
=20
I failed to mention that I did remove the case and ensure all cards
and cable connections were seated.
=20
I did not remove and reinstall them - will try that tonight.
=20
How can I reinstall Windows if the CDROM drive is not recognized?
=20
Can I do a fresh install from the Win98 Upgrade disk?
=20
Thanks again for your assistance.
=20
Regards,
=20
Doug
=20
=20
=20
On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 07:49:49 -0500, Bill Starbuck
wrote:
=20
I would open up the case again and check all of the cable connections.
Maybe you dislodged something or loosened a connection. Also, I would
pull out the plug-in cards and then reinsert them.

Then, if it doesn't boot, I would try reinstalling Windows on top of
the current installation.

Bill Starbuck (MVP)


  #5  
Old November 9th 04, 11:22 PM
Doug Hortvet
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Brian,

I checked several drive letters higher than the Ramdisk drive letter -
and there were no drives present.

When booting from the startup disk - msgs were displayed indicating
that no drives were found.

I suspect this is the result of the Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI adapter
card being installed.

Regards,

Doug



On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 14:57:04 -0600, "Brian A." gonefis'n@afarawaylake
wrote:

If you have a Win98 boot disk that has CD support, your CD drive will be assigned a new DOS drive letter which normally is one higher than the letter assigned in Windows. Pay attention near the end of the boot where it will show what letter the drive is assigned.


  #6  
Old November 10th 04, 12:40 AM
Brian A.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The ATA/133 prolly is the reason. Can't you move the CD drive to a mobo =
IDE?
I use a Promise Ultra ATA 133 TX2 in 2 machines.
The HD's are connected to it while the DVD's and CD-RW's are connected =
to the mobo.

--=20

Brian A.

Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Doug Hortvet" wrote in message =
...
Brian,
=20
I checked several drive letters higher than the Ramdisk drive letter -
and there were no drives present.
=20
When booting from the startup disk - msgs were displayed indicating
that no drives were found.
=20
I suspect this is the result of the Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI adapter
card being installed.
=20
Regards,
=20
Doug
=20
=20
=20
On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 14:57:04 -0600, "Brian A." gonefis'n@afarawaylake
wrote:
=20
If you have a Win98 boot disk that has CD support, your CD drive will =

be assigned a new DOS drive letter which normally is one higher than the =
letter assigned in Windows. Pay attention near the end of the boot where =
it will show what letter the drive is assigned.

  #7  
Old November 10th 04, 04:20 AM
Douglas R. Hortvet, Jr.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Brian,

Did the unplug / plug all drive connectors - no change, get same error.

Confirmed all other connectors are properly seated.

Had to dig up my old notes at home - current config is:

- primary master: HDD C, D
- primary slave: CD-ROM
- secondary master: HDD E, F, G
- secondary slave: CD-RW

I recall the tech assistance from Maxtor was to ensure all drives were connected to their
card.

Is it possible to have only the primary master connected to the PCI card and the primary
slave connected to the motherboard via a separate cable?

I also recall the Maxtor folks advising something to the effect that the system checks
devices closest to the motherboard first when booting - and since the primary master is a
60 GB HDD, to get full use of the device it must be connected to the PCI card.

I ran scandisk - which reported the directory entry c:\windows\system\(unreadable
characters) had invalid attributes and scandisk deleted the directory entry.

No problems indicated with the file allocation table..

The scandisk file system check reported 179 lost clusters in 16 chains, which were saved
as files.

At this point I am in over my head here - are there any utilities that will run from DOS
that can be used to assist in diagnosing which file or files are either missing,
corrupted, or causing the problem?

Thanks again,

Regards,

Doug


"Brian A." gonefis'n@afarawaylake wrote:

The ATA/133 prolly is the reason. Can't you move the CD drive to a mobo IDE?
I use a Promise Ultra ATA 133 TX2 in 2 machines.
The HD's are connected to it while the DVD's and CD-RW's are connected to the mobo.


  #8  
Old November 10th 04, 06:19 AM
Hugh Candlin
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Douglas R. Hortvet, Jr. wrote in message ...
Brian,

Did the unplug / plug all drive connectors - no change, get same error.

Confirmed all other connectors are properly seated.

Had to dig up my old notes at home - current config is:

- primary master: HDD C, D
- primary slave: CD-ROM
- secondary master: HDD E, F, G
- secondary slave: CD-RW

I recall the tech assistance from Maxtor was to ensure all drives were connected to their
card.

Is it possible to have only the primary master connected to the PCI card and the primary
slave connected to the motherboard via a separate cable?

I also recall the Maxtor folks advising something to the effect that the system checks
devices closest to the motherboard first when booting - and since the primary master is a
60 GB HDD, to get full use of the device it must be connected to the PCI card.

I ran scandisk - which reported the directory entry c:\windows\system\(unreadable
characters) had invalid attributes and scandisk deleted the directory entry.

No problems indicated with the file allocation table..

The scandisk file system check reported 179 lost clusters in 16 chains, which were saved
as files.

At this point I am in over my head here - are there any utilities that will run from DOS
that can be used to assist in diagnosing which file or files are either missing,
corrupted, or causing the problem?


You may have a bad drive. Maxtor has been having issues the last couple of years...

http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/maxtor-h...k-recovery.htm


  #9  
Old November 10th 04, 06:42 AM
Brian A.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Douglas R. Hortvet, Jr." wrote in message =
...
Brian,
=20
Did the unplug / plug all drive connectors - no change, get same =

error.
=20
Confirmed all other connectors are properly seated.
=20
Had to dig up my old notes at home - current config is:
=20
- primary master: HDD C, D
- primary slave: CD-ROM
- secondary master: HDD E, F, G
- secondary slave: CD-RW
=20
I recall the tech assistance from Maxtor was to ensure all drives were =

connected to their
card.


If you want, leave the Primary Master HD and Secondary Master HD as is =
on the Maxtor card.
Move the CD-RW to the mobo Primary IDE and set as Master.
Move the CD-ROM to the same mobo Primary IDE and set as Slave.
There are jumpers on the back of the drives to set them to Master/Slave.
The Master gets connected to end connector on the ribbon cable and the =
Slave to the middle connection on the ribbon cable.

They do not all have to be on the card.
You also should not need the card at all with a 60 GB HD if your BIOS =
supports it.

Also see:
Fdisk Does Not Recognize Full Size of Hard Disks Larger than 64 GB
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;263044

Windows Support for Large IDE Hard Disks
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;126855
=20
=20
Is it possible to have only the primary master connected to the PCI =

card and the primary
slave connected to the motherboard via a separate cable?


See above.

=20
I also recall the Maxtor folks advising something to the effect that =

the system checks
devices closest to the motherboard first when booting - and since the =

primary master is a
60 GB HDD, to get full use of the device it must be connected to the =

PCI card.

Again see above. You may/may not need to go into the BIOS and set the =
drive order but I doubt it.

=20
I ran scandisk - which reported the directory entry =

c:\windows\system\(unreadable
characters) had invalid attributes and scandisk deleted the directory =

entry.
=20
No problems indicated with the file allocation table..
=20
The scandisk file system check reported 179 lost clusters in 16 =

chains, which were saved
as files.


You may want to run the diagnostic software on the drives provided by =
the manufacturer of the drive/s to check their integrity. It would be on =
a disk that came with the drive/s or you can download it from the =
manufacturers support site.
Follow the manufacturers instructions for download/use as it will =
probably need to be copied to a floppy disk.

=20
At this point I am in over my head here - are there any utilities that =

will run from DOS
that can be used to assist in diagnosing which file or files are =

either missing,
corrupted, or causing the problem?
=20
Thanks again,
=20
Regards,
=20
Doug
=20
=20
"Brian A." gonefis'n@afarawaylake wrote:
=20
The ATA/133 prolly is the reason. Can't you move the CD drive to a =

mobo IDE?
I use a Promise Ultra ATA 133 TX2 in 2 machines.
The HD's are connected to it while the DVD's and CD-RW's are connected =

to the mobo.

  #10  
Old November 10th 04, 07:26 PM
Doug Hortvet
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hugh,

Thanks for your comment.

I downloaded Maxtor's current Powermax diagnostic utility and the
drive checked out OK.

I need to find a way to diagnose what is wrong with Win98 and fix it -
preferably from DOS - as I have been unable to get the CD-ROM active
when booting with the Startup disk.

Doug

On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 21:19:07 -0800, "Hugh Candlin" wrote:



You may have a bad drive. Maxtor has been having issues the last couple of years...

http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/maxtor-h...k-recovery.htm


 




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