PC Hangs while attmpting to boot -- even in Safe Mode or BIOS

My PC has been working fine for nearly a year. Recently, it started not
booting at all. This is what happens:

I start it up, it POSTs OK, it goes through its inventory OK and then XP Pro
splash screen comes up and it just STAYS there forever!

I have a KVM switch which I use to switch back and forth between 4 PCs, and
when this happens, the KVM switch will take several minutes to switch from
this PC to another one (it is usually a 1-2 second affair). At first I
thought it was the XP HDD, so I shut it off (no keyboard entries affect the
"hang" state, not "ctrl-alt-del'" or anything else, so I just have to turn it
off). I set the W2K Pro HDD to start up with the same result. W98 SE HDD
won't start either and neither does the SCSI Win ME -- all of these hang
after a while as well. The same happens when attempting to go into Safe Mode
(it hangs and never gets there) as well as "Last Known Good Configuration";
all of these just hang up and don't go any further.

Here are the PC's specs: Dual P3 700 MHz with 1 GB RAM, ATI All-In-Wonder
Radeon 32 MB Video Card, Panda AV 6.0 Platinum, ASUS P2B-DS MoBo Rev 1.06,
LS-120 USB Drive, ZIP 100 USB Drive, "Mini-View" 4 port KVM switch, A-Open
DVD Dual layer, dual format (+/-) DVD Burner, Microtek Slim Scan 6 Paralell
port scanner, RomTec Trios HDD selector box with 3 bootable Hard Drives (1 20
GB HDD with Win 2000 PRO, 1 30 GB HDD with Win XP PRO, one 6 GB HDD with Win
98 SE -- can boot up to any one of these three depending on what switch is
selected), 1 SCSI 4 GB HDD with Win ME on it (can be bootable if selected as
boot device over IDE in BIOS), 120 GB HDD Back up drive accessible from
either of the boot drives, networked via NIC to an AMD Athlon 2600 XP running
Win XP PRO.

Here is what I have tried so far:

1. I tried to restore the image I created recently using Ghost 9.0. I
started the PC using the Ghost CD, but it too simply hangs after about 30
seconds or so -- it never gets to a point where I can do anything.

2. I tried going into BIOS to see if anything had changed. I have to hurry
to make one change at a time, save it and get out as after 30 seconds or so
it will ALSO hang in BIOS! So far everything looks OK in BIOS, but it seems
VERY weird that it should hang up in BIOS as well.

3. Next I suspected a virus, so I used the Panda "SafeDisk32" CD to check it
out (I had to boot using the CD), but it too simply hangs and doesn't go
anywhere. I tried this several times with no luck. I found an old McAfee
Virus Scan emergency floppy and tried it (this one actually ran through on
one occasion to report no virus found but would not do it on subsequent
attempts).

4. ONCE I got a BSOD (thank god for at least SOME feedback!!) that stated:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Technical information:
STOP:OXOOOOOOD1, AIC78U2.SYS -- address F78619E2, base at F785EOOO, Date
Stamp 3afaf8CD or something like that.

I went to the MS Knowledge base, but found little except for one that
referenced possibly a bad driver. The "solution" was to remove the driver
(which in this case AIC... refers to the on board SCSI adapter -- this
device was updated when I flashed the BIOS nearly a year ago with the latest
version from ASUS -- BIOS "bxds1013.awd"), but it didn't say HOW to remove
the driver if you can't get into Windows. Jsut the same, I booted into BIOS
and quickly disbaled the SCSI adapter and its deivses, but no joy.

5. I then disconnected all the peripheral deives but no joy.

6. I removed all the expansion cards except the video card (removed SB Live
sound card, NIC, Modem, USB 2.0) and attempted to re-boot but no joy -- still
hanging! (incidentally, I decided to remove the USB Card as several days
before this incident, I was attempting to connect the front panel USB
connectors to the connectors on the card. I tried the configuration
indicated by the card's documentation but no luck. I then tried all other
possible combos but none worked, so I tied u the leads and decided on no
front access USB ports).

7. I also removed all 4 of the 256 MB RAM Sticks and tried each one
individually by itself, but no luck.

8. I bypassed the RomTec Trios selector and hooked up the XP HDD directly
but you guessed it, no joy!!

9. I then tried the W2K HDD and the W98 SE HDD by themselves but no luck
either!

10. I then decided to re-flash the BIOS, but was concerned that if it hung
while it was re-flashing I might really be in a tight place, so I booted up
to the Flash program to see if it would stay on or hang. Lo and behold, it
hung after 30 or 40 seconds, so I didn't attempt it.

11. I contemplated simply re-installing XP, but again the system hung after
booting up with the XP CD (it gets up to the point where it says it is
loading windows and just stays there. As an aside, I let this puppy hang for
several hours just to see if maybe it was just botting up really S-L-O-W-L-Y,
but it didn't move past the point where it usually hangs up.

12. I attempted going into the recovery console (not that I would know what
to do with it: it was more of an experiment to see if THAT would load, but it
didn't.

13. I again went into BIOS and selected "LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS" but all that
happened is that the PC didn't recognize ANY of the HDDs or the DVD drive at
all and then it hung again.

14. I then selected "LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS" and it again hung.

15. I haven't tried clearing the CMOS, mainly because I really don't know
WHEN one would do that or even if there is reason to expect that it would
make a difference. I downloaded the manual for this MoBo and it shows you HOW
to do this, but it doesn't say WHY you would do it and what you can expect it
will fix.

I don't really know what else to do. I have some knowledge of PCs and I am
very gutsy and able to follow directions, so if you have an idea what may be
up and how I can fix it, please tell me in step-by-step instructions (assume
I am totally clueless).

I have in the past sucessfully edited the registry from DOS with guidence,
so I am willing to try anything and any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Please let me know what is up with this PC!!!

Thanks,

Byl

PS: There have not been any hardware or software changes immediately
preceeding this incident. About 2 weeks prior to this, I did remove a 45 GB
HDD and replaced it with athe 120 GB back up HDD. That went smoothly and it
booted up with no problem (actually I started it with both HDDs in the PC and
transferred the files from the 45 GB to the 120 GB HDD and then re-formatted
the 45 GB one all with no problems).

Several days before this incident, I exchanged the existing 250 Watt A-Open
PS with a 400 Watt "Hercules" PS as I thought it would be better. I have
since replaced the 250 Watt one (thinking maybe that may have somehow caused
this, but it did no good).

The only place you didn't mention it hanging up was in the recovery
console. But I imagine it would there too. You might try disconnecting
EVERYTHING (hard drives and all), except your keyboard and video, of
course, and see if you can go into BIOS and stay there any length of
time. I'm just trying to think of things you haven't tried, and it looks
like you covered it all pretty good. Overheating comes to mind, but
surely you thought of that. Fans all running? Unfortunately, it mostly
sounds like "motherboard" to me... :-(
And I thought I had a lot of stuff hooked up to MY computer... :-)

Byl wrote in
:

My PC has been working fine for nearly a year. Recently, it started
not booting at all. This is what happens:

I start it up, it POSTs OK, it goes through its inventory OK and then
XP Pro splash screen comes up and it just STAYS there forever!

I have a KVM switch which I use to switch back and forth between 4
PCs, and when this happens, the KVM switch will take several minutes
to switch from this PC to another one (it is usually a 1-2 second
affair). At first I thought it was the XP HDD, so I shut it off (no
keyboard entries affect the "hang" state, not "ctrl-alt-del'" or
anything else, so I just have to turn it off). I set the W2K Pro HDD
to start up with the same result. W98 SE HDD won't start either and
neither does the SCSI Win ME -- all of these hang after a while as
well. The same happens when attempting to go into Safe Mode (it hangs
and never gets there) as well as "Last Known Good Configuration"; all
of these just hang up and don't go any further.

Here are the PC's specs: Dual P3 700 MHz with 1 GB RAM, ATI
All-In-Wonder Radeon 32 MB Video Card, Panda AV 6.0 Platinum, ASUS
P2B-DS MoBo Rev 1.06, LS-120 USB Drive, ZIP 100 USB Drive, "Mini-View"
4 port KVM switch, A-Open DVD Dual layer, dual format (+/-) DVD
Burner, Microtek Slim Scan 6 Paralell port scanner, RomTec Trios HDD
selector box with 3 bootable Hard Drives (1 20 GB HDD with Win 2000
PRO, 1 30 GB HDD with Win XP PRO, one 6 GB HDD with Win 98 SE -- can
boot up to any one of these three depending on what switch is
selected), 1 SCSI 4 GB HDD with Win ME on it (can be bootable if
selected as boot device over IDE in BIOS), 120 GB HDD Back up drive
accessible from either of the boot drives, networked via NIC to an AMD
Athlon 2600 XP running Win XP PRO.

Here is what I have tried so far:

1. I tried to restore the image I created recently using Ghost 9.0. I
started the PC using the Ghost CD, but it too simply hangs after about
30 seconds or so -- it never gets to a point where I can do anything.

2. I tried going into BIOS to see if anything had changed. I have to
hurry to make one change at a time, save it and get out as after 30
seconds or so it will ALSO hang in BIOS! So far everything looks OK in
BIOS, but it seems VERY weird that it should hang up in BIOS as well.

3. Next I suspected a virus, so I used the Panda "SafeDisk32" CD to
check it out (I had to boot using the CD), but it too simply hangs
and doesn't go anywhere. I tried this several times with no luck. I
found an old McAfee Virus Scan emergency floppy and tried it (this one
actually ran through on one occasion to report no virus found but
would not do it on subsequent attempts).

4. ONCE I got a BSOD (thank god for at least SOME feedback!!) that
stated:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Technical information:
STOP:OXOOOOOOD1, AIC78U2.SYS -- address F78619E2, base at F785EOOO,
Date Stamp 3afaf8CD or something like that.

I went to the MS Knowledge base, but found little except for one that
referenced possibly a bad driver. The "solution" was to remove the
driver (which in this case AIC... refers to the on board SCSI adapter
-- this device was updated when I flashed the BIOS nearly a year ago
with the latest version from ASUS -- BIOS "bxds1013.awd"), but it
didn't say HOW to remove the driver if you can't get into Windows.
Jsut the same, I booted into BIOS and quickly disbaled the SCSI
adapter and its deivses, but no joy.

5. I then disconnected all the peripheral deives but no joy.

6. I removed all the expansion cards except the video card (removed SB
Live sound card, NIC, Modem, USB 2.0) and attempted to re-boot but no
joy -- still hanging! (incidentally, I decided to remove the USB Card
as several days before this incident, I was attempting to connect the
front panel USB connectors to the connectors on the card. I tried the
configuration indicated by the card's documentation but no luck. I
then tried all other possible combos but none worked, so I tied u the
leads and decided on no front access USB ports).

7. I also removed all 4 of the 256 MB RAM Sticks and tried each one
individually by itself, but no luck.

8. I bypassed the RomTec Trios selector and hooked up the XP HDD
directly but you guessed it, no joy!!

9. I then tried the W2K HDD and the W98 SE HDD by themselves but no
luck either!

10. I then decided to re-flash the BIOS, but was concerned that if it
hung while it was re-flashing I might really be in a tight place, so I
booted up to the Flash program to see if it would stay on or hang. Lo
and behold, it hung after 30 or 40 seconds, so I didn't attempt it.

11. I contemplated simply re-installing XP, but again the system hung
after booting up with the XP CD (it gets up to the point where it says
it is loading windows and just stays there. As an aside, I let this
puppy hang for several hours just to see if maybe it was just botting
up really S-L-O-W-L-Y, but it didn't move past the point where it
usually hangs up.

12. I attempted going into the recovery console (not that I would know
what to do with it: it was more of an experiment to see if THAT would
load, but it didn't.

13. I again went into BIOS and selected "LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS" but all
that happened is that the PC didn't recognize ANY of the HDDs or the
DVD drive at all and then it hung again.

14. I then selected "LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS" and it again hung.

15. I haven't tried clearing the CMOS, mainly because I really don't
know WHEN one would do that or even if there is reason to expect that
it would make a difference. I downloaded the manual for this MoBo and
it shows you HOW to do this, but it doesn't say WHY you would do it
and what you can expect it will fix.

I don't really know what else to do. I have some knowledge of PCs and
I am very gutsy and able to follow directions, so if you have an idea
what may be up and how I can fix it, please tell me in step-by-step
instructions (assume I am totally clueless).

I have in the past sucessfully edited the registry from DOS with
guidence, so I am willing to try anything and any help would be
greatly appreciated!!

Please let me know what is up with this PC!!!

Thanks,

Byl

PS: There have not been any hardware or software changes immediately
preceeding this incident. About 2 weeks prior to this, I did remove a
45 GB HDD and replaced it with athe 120 GB back up HDD. That went
smoothly and it booted up with no problem (actually I started it with
both HDDs in the PC and transferred the files from the 45 GB to the
120 GB HDD and then re-formatted the 45 GB one all with no problems).

Several days before this incident, I exchanged the existing 250 Watt
A-Open PS with a 400 Watt "Hercules" PS as I thought it would be
better. I have since replaced the 250 Watt one (thinking maybe that
may have somehow caused this, but it did no good).







--
--- A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother. ---

There are Windows XP specific newsgroups where you'll be in touch with folks
who specialize in Windows XP and troubleshooting for it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User]
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Byl" wrote in message
...
My PC has been working fine for nearly a year. Recently, it started not
booting at all. This is what happens:

I start it up, it POSTs OK, it goes through its inventory OK and then XP
Pro
splash screen comes up and it just STAYS there forever!

I believe you may have mobo probs.
Time to call in someone or take pc somewhere; you are
going to need someone with diagnostic tools and
capabilities.
Good luck.

...Rex..

Byl wrote:
My PC has been working fine for nearly a year. Recently, it started not
booting at all. This is what happens:

I start it up, it POSTs OK, it goes through its inventory OK and then XP Pro
splash screen comes up and it just STAYS there forever!

I have a KVM switch which I use to switch back and forth between 4 PCs, and
when this happens, the KVM switch will take several minutes to switch from
this PC to another one (it is usually a 1-2 second affair). At first I
thought it was the XP HDD, so I shut it off (no keyboard entries affect the
"hang" state, not "ctrl-alt-del'" or anything else, so I just have to turn it
off). I set the W2K Pro HDD to start up with the same result. W98 SE HDD
won't start either and neither does the SCSI Win ME -- all of these hang
after a while as well. The same happens when attempting to go into Safe Mode
(it hangs and never gets there) as well as "Last Known Good Configuration";
all of these just hang up and don't go any further.

Here are the PC's specs: Dual P3 700 MHz with 1 GB RAM, ATI All-In-Wonder
Radeon 32 MB Video Card, Panda AV 6.0 Platinum, ASUS P2B-DS MoBo Rev 1.06,
LS-120 USB Drive, ZIP 100 USB Drive, "Mini-View" 4 port KVM switch, A-Open
DVD Dual layer, dual format (+/-) DVD Burner, Microtek Slim Scan 6 Paralell
port scanner, RomTec Trios HDD selector box with 3 bootable Hard Drives (1 20
GB HDD with Win 2000 PRO, 1 30 GB HDD with Win XP PRO, one 6 GB HDD with Win
98 SE -- can boot up to any one of these three depending on what switch is
selected), 1 SCSI 4 GB HDD with Win ME on it (can be bootable if selected as
boot device over IDE in BIOS), 120 GB HDD Back up drive accessible from
either of the boot drives, networked via NIC to an AMD Athlon 2600 XP running
Win XP PRO.

Here is what I have tried so far:

1. I tried to restore the image I created recently using Ghost 9.0. I
started the PC using the Ghost CD, but it too simply hangs after about 30
seconds or so -- it never gets to a point where I can do anything.

2. I tried going into BIOS to see if anything had changed. I have to hurry
to make one change at a time, save it and get out as after 30 seconds or so
it will ALSO hang in BIOS! So far everything looks OK in BIOS, but it seems
VERY weird that it should hang up in BIOS as well.

3. Next I suspected a virus, so I used the Panda "SafeDisk32" CD to check it
out (I had to boot using the CD), but it too simply hangs and doesn't go
anywhere. I tried this several times with no luck. I found an old McAfee
Virus Scan emergency floppy and tried it (this one actually ran through on
one occasion to report no virus found but would not do it on subsequent
attempts).

4. ONCE I got a BSOD (thank god for at least SOME feedback!!) that stated:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Technical information:
STOP:OXOOOOOOD1, AIC78U2.SYS -- address F78619E2, base at F785EOOO, Date
Stamp 3afaf8CD or something like that.

I went to the MS Knowledge base, but found little except for one that
referenced possibly a bad driver. The "solution" was to remove the driver
(which in this case AIC... refers to the on board SCSI adapter -- this
device was updated when I flashed the BIOS nearly a year ago with the latest
version from ASUS -- BIOS "bxds1013.awd"), but it didn't say HOW to remove
the driver if you can't get into Windows. Jsut the same, I booted into BIOS
and quickly disbaled the SCSI adapter and its deivses, but no joy.

5. I then disconnected all the peripheral deives but no joy.

6. I removed all the expansion cards except the video card (removed SB Live
sound card, NIC, Modem, USB 2.0) and attempted to re-boot but no joy -- still
hanging! (incidentally, I decided to remove the USB Card as several days
before this incident, I was attempting to connect the front panel USB
connectors to the connectors on the card. I tried the configuration
indicated by the card's documentation but no luck. I then tried all other
possible combos but none worked, so I tied u the leads and decided on no
front access USB ports).

7. I also removed all 4 of the 256 MB RAM Sticks and tried each one
individually by itself, but no luck.

8. I bypassed the RomTec Trios selector and hooked up the XP HDD directly
but you guessed it, no joy!!

9. I then tried the W2K HDD and the W98 SE HDD by themselves but no luck
either!

10. I then decided to re-flash the BIOS, but was concerned that if it hung
while it was re-flashing I might really be in a tight place, so I booted up
to the Flash program to see if it would stay on or hang. Lo and behold, it
hung after 30 or 40 seconds, so I didn't attempt it.

11. I contemplated simply re-installing XP, but again the system hung after
booting up with the XP CD (it gets up to the point where it says it is
loading windows and just stays there. As an aside, I let this puppy hang for
several hours just to see if maybe it was just botting up really S-L-O-W-L-Y,
but it didn't move past the point where it usually hangs up.

12. I attempted going into the recovery console (not that I would know what
to do with it: it was more of an experiment to see if THAT would load, but it
didn't.

13. I again went into BIOS and selected "LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS" but all that
happened is that the PC didn't recognize ANY of the HDDs or the DVD drive at
all and then it hung again.

14. I then selected "LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS" and it again hung.

15. I haven't tried clearing the CMOS, mainly because I really don't know
WHEN one would do that or even if there is reason to expect that it would
make a difference. I downloaded the manual for this MoBo and it shows you HOW
to do this, but it doesn't say WHY you would do it and what you can expect it
will fix.

I don't really know what else to do. I have some knowledge of PCs and I am
very gutsy and able to follow directions, so if you have an idea what may be
up and how I can fix it, please tell me in step-by-step instructions (assume
I am totally clueless).

I have in the past sucessfully edited the registry from DOS with guidence,
so I am willing to try anything and any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Please let me know what is up with this PC!!!

Thanks,

Byl

PS: There have not been any hardware or software changes immediately
preceeding this incident. About 2 weeks prior to this, I did remove a 45 GB
HDD and replaced it with athe 120 GB back up HDD. That went smoothly and it
booted up with no problem (actually I started it with both HDDs in the PC and
transferred the files from the 45 GB to the 120 GB HDD and then re-formatted
the 45 GB one all with no problems).

Several days before this incident, I exchanged the existing 250 Watt A-Open
PS with a 400 Watt "Hercules" PS as I thought it would be better. I have
since replaced the 250 Watt one (thinking maybe that may have somehow caused
this, but it did no good).




Sounds like a memory or a heat problem.
Here are some of the things I've seen after messing around with the
hardware.
1)Heat sink got jostled on the processor and is not making intimate
contact.
2)Dirt got between the processor and heat sink.
3)Paper Label on the processor between the heat sink, but this was after
new processor install and probably not related.
4)Fan left disconnected, hooked up backwards, or fan wire broken.
stuck fan, screw fell in it, wire poked into the blades, coincidence.
5)memory got bumped and is no longer fully seated.
6)static zap killed something.

Make sure you've not tweeked something in the bios to overclock the
processor or memory or bus or anything.

If it crashes in the BIOS it can't be operating system related.
First thing I'd try is a memory test program like memtest32.
Try turning off the cache to see if that's the problem.
But you've tried all the memory modules individually;
even if you find something wrong on the motherboard, you won't
be able to fix it anyway. I have seen mismatched ram to work or not
work depending on which order they're installed. Have no idea why
unless the bios is testing one for speed and applying that to all.
If it fails with one RAM, that's not the issue.

You have learned (the hard way) the first rule of computing,
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
mike

--
Return address is VALID but some sites block emails
with links. Delete this sig when replying.
..
Wanted, PCMCIA SCSI Card for HP m820 CDRW.
FS 500MHz Tek DSOscilloscope TDS540 Make Offer
Wanted 12" LCD for Compaq Armada 7770MT.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
MAKE THE OBVIOUS CHANGES TO THE LINK
htremovethistp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

Don't see the obvious trial solution. Remove the KVM switch, and try the
keyboard by itself on each PC.

"Byl" wrote in message
...
My PC has been working fine for nearly a year. Recently, it started not
booting at all. This is what happens:

I start it up, it POSTs OK, it goes through its inventory OK and then XP
Pro
splash screen comes up and it just STAYS there forever!

I have a KVM switch which I use to switch back and forth between 4 PCs,
and
when this happens, the KVM switch will take several minutes to switch from
this PC to another one (it is usually a 1-2 second affair). At first I
thought it was the XP HDD, so I shut it off (no keyboard entries affect
the
"hang" state, not "ctrl-alt-del'" or anything else, so I just have to turn
it
off). I set the W2K Pro HDD to start up with the same result. W98 SE HDD
won't start either and neither does the SCSI Win ME -- all of these hang
after a while as well. The same happens when attempting to go into Safe
Mode
(it hangs and never gets there) as well as "Last Known Good
Configuration";
all of these just hang up and don't go any further.

Here are the PC's specs: Dual P3 700 MHz with 1 GB RAM, ATI All-In-Wonder
Radeon 32 MB Video Card, Panda AV 6.0 Platinum, ASUS P2B-DS MoBo Rev 1.06,
LS-120 USB Drive, ZIP 100 USB Drive, "Mini-View" 4 port KVM switch, A-Open
DVD Dual layer, dual format (+/-) DVD Burner, Microtek Slim Scan 6
Paralell
port scanner, RomTec Trios HDD selector box with 3 bootable Hard Drives (1
20
GB HDD with Win 2000 PRO, 1 30 GB HDD with Win XP PRO, one 6 GB HDD with
Win
98 SE -- can boot up to any one of these three depending on what switch is
selected), 1 SCSI 4 GB HDD with Win ME on it (can be bootable if selected
as
boot device over IDE in BIOS), 120 GB HDD Back up drive accessible from
either of the boot drives, networked via NIC to an AMD Athlon 2600 XP
running
Win XP PRO.

Here is what I have tried so far:

1. I tried to restore the image I created recently using Ghost 9.0. I
started the PC using the Ghost CD, but it too simply hangs after about 30
seconds or so -- it never gets to a point where I can do anything.

2. I tried going into BIOS to see if anything had changed. I have to hurry
to make one change at a time, save it and get out as after 30 seconds or
so
it will ALSO hang in BIOS! So far everything looks OK in BIOS, but it
seems
VERY weird that it should hang up in BIOS as well.

3. Next I suspected a virus, so I used the Panda "SafeDisk32" CD to check
it
out (I had to boot using the CD), but it too simply hangs and doesn't go
anywhere. I tried this several times with no luck. I found an old McAfee
Virus Scan emergency floppy and tried it (this one actually ran through on
one occasion to report no virus found but would not do it on subsequent
attempts).

4. ONCE I got a BSOD (thank god for at least SOME feedback!!) that stated:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Technical information:
STOP:OXOOOOOOD1, AIC78U2.SYS -- address F78619E2, base at F785EOOO, Date
Stamp 3afaf8CD or something like that.

I went to the MS Knowledge base, but found little except for one that
referenced possibly a bad driver. The "solution" was to remove the driver
(which in this case AIC... refers to the on board SCSI adapter -- this
device was updated when I flashed the BIOS nearly a year ago with the
latest
version from ASUS -- BIOS "bxds1013.awd"), but it didn't say HOW to remove
the driver if you can't get into Windows. Jsut the same, I booted into
BIOS
and quickly disbaled the SCSI adapter and its deivses, but no joy.

5. I then disconnected all the peripheral deives but no joy.

6. I removed all the expansion cards except the video card (removed SB
Live
sound card, NIC, Modem, USB 2.0) and attempted to re-boot but no joy --
still
hanging! (incidentally, I decided to remove the USB Card as several days
before this incident, I was attempting to connect the front panel USB
connectors to the connectors on the card. I tried the configuration
indicated by the card's documentation but no luck. I then tried all other
possible combos but none worked, so I tied u the leads and decided on no
front access USB ports).

7. I also removed all 4 of the 256 MB RAM Sticks and tried each one
individually by itself, but no luck.

8. I bypassed the RomTec Trios selector and hooked up the XP HDD directly
but you guessed it, no joy!!

9. I then tried the W2K HDD and the W98 SE HDD by themselves but no luck
either!

10. I then decided to re-flash the BIOS, but was concerned that if it hung
while it was re-flashing I might really be in a tight place, so I booted
up
to the Flash program to see if it would stay on or hang. Lo and behold, it
hung after 30 or 40 seconds, so I didn't attempt it.

11. I contemplated simply re-installing XP, but again the system hung
after
booting up with the XP CD (it gets up to the point where it says it is
loading windows and just stays there. As an aside, I let this puppy hang
for
several hours just to see if maybe it was just botting up really
S-L-O-W-L-Y,
but it didn't move past the point where it usually hangs up.

12. I attempted going into the recovery console (not that I would know
what
to do with it: it was more of an experiment to see if THAT would load, but
it
didn't.

13. I again went into BIOS and selected "LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS" but all that
happened is that the PC didn't recognize ANY of the HDDs or the DVD drive
at
all and then it hung again.

14. I then selected "LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS" and it again hung.

15. I haven't tried clearing the CMOS, mainly because I really don't know
WHEN one would do that or even if there is reason to expect that it would
make a difference. I downloaded the manual for this MoBo and it shows you
HOW
to do this, but it doesn't say WHY you would do it and what you can expect
it
will fix.

I don't really know what else to do. I have some knowledge of PCs and I am
very gutsy and able to follow directions, so if you have an idea what may
be
up and how I can fix it, please tell me in step-by-step instructions
(assume
I am totally clueless).

I have in the past sucessfully edited the registry from DOS with
guidence,
so I am willing to try anything and any help would be greatly
appreciated!!

Please let me know what is up with this PC!!!

Thanks,

Byl

PS: There have not been any hardware or software changes immediately
preceeding this incident. About 2 weeks prior to this, I did remove a 45
GB
HDD and replaced it with athe 120 GB back up HDD. That went smoothly and
it
booted up with no problem (actually I started it with both HDDs in the PC
and
transferred the files from the 45 GB to the 120 GB HDD and then
re-formatted
the 45 GB one all with no problems).

Several days before this incident, I exchanged the existing 250 Watt
A-Open
PS with a 400 Watt "Hercules" PS as I thought it would be better. I have
since replaced the 250 Watt one (thinking maybe that may have somehow
caused
this, but it did no good).