You have built a computer by following all of the instructions and it won't boot

August 9, 2005. - BartPE (Bart's Preinstalled Environment) is a free utility that allows you to create a bootable Windows XP CD that loads its essential files into RAM memory and operates from the CD completely independently of an installed version of Windows, allowing you to troubleshoot and repair an ailing installation of Windows.

BartPE is a wizard-style utility that runs on Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003. It automates most of the creation of a bootable copy of Windows on a recordable CD or DVD. The utility assembles the correct files and settings. You must provide a Windows XP (SP1 or later) installation/setup CD, because the files are copied from it.

The utility's creator, Bart Lagerweij, says that it is possible to use a preinstalled version of Windows XP (without a CD) as a source for building a copy of BartPE.

Bart says, it's "... a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface (800x600) and FAT/NTFS/CDFS file system support. Very handy for burn-in testing systems with no OS, rescuing files to a network share, virus scan and so on. This will replace any DOS bootdisk in no time!"

Instruction 2. on the page provided below reads as follows: "Start PE Builder (pebuilder.exe). At the main PE Builder dialog, enter the source path to your original Windows XP/2003 Installation/Setup CD. You can use the "..." button to navigate. If your Windows XP is not integrated with service pack 1 or 2, you must slipstream your files first. Please read Slipstreaming files from the help files to do this."

Clicking that last link leads to some confusing information. Click here! to go to information on this site on how to slipsteam Windows XP.

For more information on the utility and how to use it to create the bootable CD visit Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD. - http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

When I followed the instructions, the utility created an ISO file called pebuilder.iso and installed it in the folder it created for itself during its installation. But after the ISO file was created, the CD writer's drawer opened and then closed before I could take the Windows CD out and replace it with a CD-R disc. The utility tried to burn the ISO file to the Windows CD, but couldn't because it is a CD-ROM disc. The utility left a message saying that the burning had failed. At the bottom of the list of what it had done there was another message saying that there was one error, press the << and >> to go to it. The message warned that the file name for an ISO file should not exceed 31 characters or a buffer overrun could result. There was no option to enter a file name, it used its own name for the ISO file, so it made no sense to me. To burn the ISO file to a CD-R disc, I opened Nero Express, chose the option to burn a Disk Image, chose the file type that had iso in it, and the ISO burned to the CD-R disk, which could be run from within Windows, or be used as a boot CD if the CD-ROM drive was set as the first boot device in the BIOS.

If you boot the system with the BartPE CD, you can run the programs installed on the hard drive, but you have to enter the registration details for those programs that require them, because the boot CD hasn't loaded Windows, just its own files and its collection of Windows files into RAM memory, not on to the hard drive. Therefore, the programs behave as if they haven't been registered. By loading its files into RAM, the boot CD allows you to test the hard drive. You'll also know soon enough if the RAM is at fault if the BIOS can be accessed, but the boot process fails.

I built a computer by following all of the instructions properly but it won't boot

Having calculated the benefits and savings to be made by building my own computer, I bought the following components that meet my computing requirements:

I installed the components in the case (and connected the video card to the monitor) by following the instructions in the motherboard's manual, but when I switched the power on, nothing came to the screen. However, sounds were issued by the processor's cooling unit and the case fan, and the RAM LED on the motherboard lit up. I checked the settings and reseated all of the components, but the computer remained in the same state.

Remove everything that is not needed to make the system function. In other words, just have the motherboard, video card, RAM, and hard disk drive installed. You should be able to boot to the BIOS setup program with only the motherboard, RAM, and video card installed, so do that if the system won't boot with the hard disk drive installed.

In case they are plugged in the wrong way round, make sure that any USB devices are unplugged. If you have a PS/2 mouse, use it instead of a USB mouse, which you should leave unconnected to begin with, just to make sure that it's not the source of the problem.

Make sure that the disk drive cables are connected the correct way round. I've seen several cases where a disk-drive cable that was plugged in the wrong way round prevented the computer from booting. This is easy to do with many floppy disk drives because they often don't come with keyed cables that can only be installed one way round.

Make sure that the motherboard is mounted in the case properly. I have come across people who have mounted the motherboard directly into the case without using stand-off screws (mounting posts) that separate it from the case. Of course, the case shorted out the circuits on the underside of the motherboard where it came into contact with the metal case, rendering the computer unbootable. In any case, check to make sure that there is nothing apart from valid stand-off screws between the case and the motherboard that is shorting it. I have come across cases where an unused stand-off screw has been left screwed into the case and was touching and therefore shorting the circuitry on the underside of the motherboard.

Remove the processor's heatsink and fan cooling unit (never power up the system without a cooling unit fitted properly to the processor or you will fry it), and remove the processor. Check to make sure that the processor was installed the correct way round and that none of the pins on its underside are bent. Two corners of the Athlon processor have a missing pin, and one of the corners will be clearly marked with a triangle (an AMD Duron processor has a square dot on one corner). The marked corner on the processor must fit into the marked corner on the motherboard's processor socket. There is only one way the processor can fit properly into its socket. I have come across several cases in which this was not done, and pins on the corners of processor were bent, and this made the system fail to boot.

You've checked the motherboard's settings, but that doesn't mean that you've got them right. This motherboard uses DIP Switches to set the Front Side Bus (FSB) settings, but other motherboards can have all of the settings set via the BIOS setup program, or by using a mixture of BIOS settings and jumper settings and DIP Switch settings on the motherboard. Users often misinterpret the X used to indicate an "On" setting in the manual as meaning "Off". Another common mistake is to misread the diagram in the manual that illustrates how to connect the LED and Power-On plugs to the motherboard. I have come across several cases where the On-Off switch was connected to the wrong pins on the motherboard.

If none of the above options cures the problem, the next step would be to swap the components with ones that are known to work - if you have them available. This would include the power supply unit. The motherboard will run with any AMD Athlon or Duron processor. A PCI video card can be used if you don't have an AGP card. A repair shop would probably install a POST diagnostic card that displays codes that the computer produces as it goes through the obligatory Power-On-Self-Test (POST) tests. If any of these tests fails, then it would be considered as at least one cause, and hopefully the only cause of the problem.

You probably won't have such a diagnostic card, but you could remove the video card and RAM module to find out if the BIOS gives off the correct beep codes when it discovers that they're not installed. Enter a search phrase such as bios + beep + codes in Google search box at the top of this page to find out what the beep codes are for the type of BIOS - usually an Award or AMI BIOS - that is built into the motherboard.

If nothing works, you'll have take the computer to a reputable local repair shop. You'll probably have to return one or more components, so hopeful you'll have had the good sense to purchase all of them from one supplier.

An AMD Athlon XP processor with an Intel Pentium 4 PSU

You've built a computer around an Epox EP-8RDA3 motherboard, but, having read the manual and double-checked all of the settings, nothing happened when you switched it on for the first time. The AMD Athlon XP 2600+ processor's fan worked, and the motherboard's onboard diagnostic LED showed the letters FF. There were no beeping noises and the LED lights on the front of the case didn't work. You noticed that the PSU in the case has "Designed for Pentium 4" printed on it. Your processor is an Athlon XP 2600+, so you want to know if installing the wrong motherboard and processor is the cause of the failure of the computer to boot.

Intel asked manufacturer's to add an extra four-pin connector to the PSUs used for its Pentium 4 processors in order to improve the stability when motherboards draw large amounts of power. Pentium-4-compatible PSUs are often known as ATX12V, because the extra connector supplies an additional 12V to the motherboard.

But, in every other respect, these PSUs comply fully with the ATX 2.0 specifications, and can be used with other makes of processor. The extra connector is not used with them, that's all.

You don't mention the make and model of the PSU, which is as important as the makes of the motherboard and RAM, because many cheap PSUs do not give an adequate supply of power on all of the output circuits. For instance, some cheap PSUs labelled as being 400W can provide lower combined outputs than quality 300W PSUs.

By studying the detailed specifications of the PSU (if you can find them), you can often discover that although the +12V and +5V circuits are adequate individually, the combined output of the two circuits often has an upper limit that is inadequate. That is why it's always best to make sure that the PSU is made by a well known manufacturer such as Antec, Enermax, and Sparkle - and that it is recommended for use with a particular processor.

Most inadequate PSUs will at least boot successfully. That is, they will complete the Power-On-Self-Test (POST) procedure, but will tend to cause system crashes when the system is running and stressed.

The motherboard's diagnostic LED is working and therefore indicates that the 5V supply is good, and the processor's fan is run by the 12V supply.

A floppy disk drive's ribbon cable connected the wrong way round can prevent a computer from booting, but RAM installed improperly will usually result in beeps being emitted if the case speaker is connected to the motherboard. The motherboard's diagnostic LED should also provide an indication of what's wrong. The translation of the codes will be provided in the motherboard's manual.

In case it's being shorted by something, you should remove the motherboard from the case. With the LED cables still connected, place it on a non-conductive material, such as the packet it came sealed in, and try powering it up with just the processor, RAM, and heatsink and fan unit installed. [Never power up a computer unless the cooling unit is properly fitted to the processor.] Don't connect the hard disk, CD/DVD, or floppy drives.

If taking the above actions don't show you what's wrong, you could try clearing the BIOS/CMOS memory. There is usually a jumper on the motherboard that you set to clear it. Click here! to go to relevant information about doing so on the BIOS page of this site.

If none of the above solves the problem, a home user can do further testing by installing the components in another computer on by one, or by swapping them with known good ones one by one, starting with the PSU. If you purchased all of the components from one supplier, you could ask for permission to send them all back so that the supplier can find out where the fault lies.

Windows 95, 98 and XP won't install on a self-built computer

A computer enthusiast has built a computer from the parts left over from several upgrades, all of which were working when last used. However, he cannot install Windows. He has tried installing Windows 95, 98, and XP. When trying to install Windows 95, some of the files - msjstick.drv, vjoyd.vxd, msmpu401.drv, msmpu401.vxd, etc. - could not be found by the installer program. Windows 95 did install eventually, but could only boot into Safe mode, and, even then, after a few seconds error messages came up such as, "A fatal error has occurred in VXD VMM (01) + 00003AF. The current application will be terminated."

Failures to install Windows from its CD are almost always caused by problems with the RAM, or other hardware problems.

The first action you should take is to make sure that the settings for the RAM on the motherboard match the type and speed of RAM installed on it. The motherboard's manual should supply that information. If you don't have a manual, identify the motherboard and download a manual from its manufacturers site. If necessary, visit the RAM page on this site for links to hardware and software identification utilities, which can identify the motherboard.

The following free utilities can test your system's RAM, which must be operating 100% all of the time or serious data corruption and/or system failures (that can be very difficult to track down) will occur.

If necessary, buy new RAM. Crucial sells the best memory directly with free shipping from its site on a system and motherboard basis. There are US and UK Crucial Memory Selectors on the RAM page of this site.

Other less likely causes are: a faulty power supply unit, a faulty motherboard, or read errors produced by an elderly CD-ROM drive.

BartPE - Bart's Preinstalled Environment - an essential recovery and repair utility

"I built a computer by following all of the instructions properly but it won't boot"

Windows 95, 98 and XP won't install on a self-built computer

BartPE - Bart's Preinstalled Environment - an essential recovery and repair utility

I built a computer by following all of the instructions properly but it won't boot

An AMD Athlon XP processor with an Intel Pentium 4 PSU

Windows 95, 98 and XP won't install on a self-built computer