I’ve just spent 7 hours trying to do a fresh install of Windows 2000 on a new hard drive in a new computer.
Five times now, Windows has installed perfectly. Then I install the motherboard drivers from the installation disc, and when it reboots from that process, all I get is the Win2K splash screen, and the progress bar for Starting Up goes to 99% loaded and stays there. I am at a complete loss to figure out why this is happening. I need the drivers for it to work, and after I load them, it doesn’t work.
Before I install the drivers, I get a desktop with icons and everything. Now I can’t even get to the desktop. I can get into Safe Mode and see the desktop, but I don’t know what’s broken. I did a Windows Repair from the boot disks, and when it started back up - same thing. Hangs at 99%.
Does anyone have any idea what is (or isn’t) going on here?
Instead of Safe mode, go into logged mode. This tries to start up Windows, but keeps a detailed log of what happens while starting. You probably will stop at the same place when starting up Windows, but then you can figure out where it is having the problem.
To do so, restart in Safe mode and look at the log file (should be in C:\bootlog.txt). You will see a whole bunch of messages saying things are starting up, and then messages saying Succeeded or Failed. Look toward the very bottom of this file, and you will see where it stopped. Most likely there is a message saying it is starting something, but either a message that it Failed or no message at all. That’s most likely the problem that is preventing Windows from booting.
Sometimes the info here will be enought to show you how to fix it. Otherwise, research it online. Or post the info here, and some expert may be able to help you.
Are you sure you’re using the right motherboard drivers? Perhaps they require a specific BIOS level and you have a later one? Best thing to do is go direct to the manufacturer’s website and download a new set.
Getting the latest drivers is a good idea. You should also consider testing the RAM (Windows Memory Diagnostic and Memtest86+ are both good free tools). Remove any unnecessary expansion cards. If the video is not onboard, swap the video card for one you know is good. Hardware problems can cause all sorts of strange behaviors.
I know the memory is good. I know the video card is good - it was working yesterday before I took it out of the old computer. It makes a picture on the monitor. The only PCI cards I’ve added are the video and sound cards. I haven’t even been able to get far enough into Windows to load their drivers from their OEM CDs, because as soon as I’ve loaded the MB drivers from the supplied setup CD, and it reboots, I don’t get to the desktop. So there is no connection to the net yet; the LAN drivers, while loaded from the CD, aren’t operational because the working environment doesn’t come up.
I e-mailed the company and asked them to check to see whether they sent me the wrong installation CD, because the two other computers I’ve bought from them worked like a charm, with me having done exactly the same things I stayed up until 4:45 AM last night to do. I don’t get what the problem is here. And I’m really tired.