Help! My computer is fux0rzed once again :(

It's only been a couple of weeks since I had to buy a replacement power supply, but my PC has gone wrong AGAIN. This is rather annoying because until now, I've never had any major problems for something like four years.

Anyway, upon starting up my PC, I get past the memory test, device checks and hardware list okay, but after the 'checking IDE-0 for boot record... ok' (or something like that) message, it just completely hangs.

At first I thought it could be something to do with a number of cross-linked files that scandisk had recently fixed, but I've since tried disconnecting both my hard drives (and my CD drive and my DVD drive, just to make sure), with the intention of booting up from the floppy drive. However, exactly the same problem still occurs.

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure it isn't related, but before this problem occured, I was having another problem with Windows not detecting my CD and DVD drive (although they were detected in Safe mode, which is kind of strange). Once (or should that be 'if?') I get the computer working again, I plan to try removing the drivers in Safe mode and see what happens, although if anyone has any other suggestions, they'd be very welcome.

My specs:

- AMD Athlon 1800+
- 2x256 DDR RAM
- 40 GB hard drive (primary)
- 120 GB hard drive (secondary)
- CDRW drive
- DVD drive
- 3.5" floppy drive
- Connect 3D Radeon 9700
- SB Audigy

Do you have another pc you can put your hard drives in(to test them)?
Can you boot to the CDrom Windows disk?
If you boot to a floppy disk, when does it hang?(If you cannot boot to a dos bootdisk, then you have a hardware problem -- probably a motherboard or IDE controller or something...)
gl...

Unfortunately I don't have another computer right now, although I will probably be going back home for a short time in a few weeks, and I will then.

As I said, the computer hangs just after it prints the 'searching for boot record... ok' message, so boot disks won't do anything.

NiGHTMARE said:
with the intention of booting up from the floppy drive.

This may sound stupid but are you sure your bios is set up to boot on the floppy?

Yes, it is. I even tried setting it to only boot up by floppy, but still no effect. I don't think this problem is anything to do with the hard drive(s), it's more likely something else.

One thing I haven't tried yet is checking the connections for other hardware, so I'll do that and see what happens.

Fucking around with the cables usually does the trick for those kinds of errors. Are you sure the hard drive is properly mounted?

Damn you fred, your turning fish is toying with the stability of my stomach.

Yep, as I said in the original post, I've tried disconnecting (and reconnecting) all the drives.

I'd say your computer is messing up. A hammer to the casing usually solves this problem. Oh wait...

Seriously, I had a similar message last week when I put in another hd into my old computer. It said it couldn't find any bootable media. And actually, I think I've had this message before, too. I think that's when I had tried formatting my HD on my laptop to get rid of WinXP. In the end I had to use my restore disks. But, I would check the bios and such first. And also that one of your cables isn't like messed up or plugged in wrong (heh, I've done that, too...red goes on right...)

Master/slave/auto switch on the hard drive in the right position? On the CD/DVD? Tried rearranging the IDE connections?

TeamKill: I think you misread my post. It says it finds the boot record okay... Also, neither problems are the result of me messing around inside the computer... both just suddenly happened.

Fredrik: good suggestion, but that definitely isn't the cause of either problem (computer not booting and CD/DVD drives not being recognized by Windows); everything was fine before, so unless the jumpers magically changed position... ;) Although I suppose if the jumpers were magical, that would explain how them being in the wrong place could prevent the computer booting from a floppy disk when the hard drives, CD and DVD weren't even connected =P

You did remind me of something though. I forgot to mention that with the CD/DVD problem, when I tried un-REMing the DOS CD driver, it recognized both the CD and DVD drive (in Windows and DOS), although both was slow as a snail in mud (I guess the DOS driver limits them to something like double speed), and it thought the DVD drive was just a regular CD drive.

As I said, I'm definitely thinking the problem has nothing to do with any of the drives. The most promising lead I've found is that apparently memory, graphics cards, etc can sometimes expand and contract with heat, slightly moving them out of their slots. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'll try reconnecting them.

NiGHTMARE said:

TeamKill: I think you misread my post. It says it finds the boot record okay... Also, neither problems are the result of me messing around inside the computer... both just suddenly happened.

Yeah, I think I did...sorry 'bout that. Can't think of what else it could be.

im too lazy to read the posts, but heres a suggestion. . . reset ur bios via some jumper on ur mobo, and then get one of ur cd drives and one of ur hard drives, and reinstall windows if somethin still is fucked up. make sure ur cd drive and ur ahrd drive are both masters, and hook them up to mobo via separate ide cables. hope i know what im talking about