Dell Dimension 2400 (XP) just keeps rebooting, all card removed, pulled RAM CMOSclear

[orange]

How do I get it formatted and install fresh XP for now if I can't get it past the splash screen (Windows XP Home VGA opening)? It seems to have the small LCD screen it came with originally and the 60 GB HDD will suffice for now. Since I was given it a couple weeks ago it just reboots, can't find the right pair.

If it's not a Hardware Issue how do I know it won't open it's second jaw and have me and my 2350 as hors d'ouvres before finally getting Sigourney Weaver?

Or just toss it on and let AVG and Spybot work it over before formatting it to replace in the 2400? I've got larger drives that are OLDER than that one but I need all the drives I can get.

 

[BubbaH]

You could try formatting the drive in another rig...

 

[Web Police]

If you have an XP install disc boot from it. Then in the XP setup you can delete the partition, recreate the partition and format it.

 

[orange]

I can't boot from it, it just freezes up or if it ever gets to the splash screen it won't respond to the keyboard F commands and Safe Mode was useless too. YES, I've got BIOS set to boot from the drive and the drive is responding to the boot call from BIOS.

IF I take that 60 GB C: drive and put it on my other Dell I'm concerned that whatever was the matter with IT will then be the matter with THIS.

 

[BubbaH]

Install it as a slave drive and boot from the first hard drive. Then use windows to format the drive. Remove it replace jumpers to master then install it back into the computer it came from. Obviously set the boot to your rom drive so it can load windows from the CD. Use the install options to format the drive again.

 

[Northwinds]

If you have an XP install disc boot from it. Then in the XP setup you can delete the partition, recreate the partition and format it.

This

 

[Web Police]

There could be some corruption with your xp install cd as I have has some that load for awhile and then freeze. You could try booting from the xp install cd and then choose the repair current installation optoion, or go to the recovery console and try the fixboot command to see if that can fix your hosed install.

You are wise to not hook the drive up to your working Dell computer. Not that I think the hosed drive will infect your working computer, I am more wo0rried about you accidentally formatting you working hd or changing the registry settings to point to a different letter dirve.

Let me make and send you a copy of an XP install CD. Is the install you are trying to fix and XP home or pro and is it oem or retail?

 

[orange]

No, you misundertand. I'm trying to boot with my Home OEM disc you sent and it's quite okay, I've read it and taken the tour on it more than once.

The old 2400 had Pro I think.

I know very well how to use my disk management tools, done a number of formats this way.

 

[rtp_burnsville]

Hi,

It sounds like you are trying to install XP on a Dell with an install disk from a different Dell machine. Is this the case? If so, that is likely your problem. Most of the Dell PC's I had to use at work came with install disks tailored for a specific Dell PC series. In many cases if one tried to mix Dell PC's and Dell installation disks things would not work being some hardware drivers were missing on the installation disk. Sometimes you get lucky but most of the time not, very frustrating when the originals have be lost or tossed away by some idiot.

Robert

 

[Northwinds]

Hi,

It sounds like you are trying to install XP on a Dell with an install disk from a different Dell machine. Is this the case? If so, that is likely your problem. Most of the Dell PC's I had to use at work came with install disks tailored for a specific Dell PC series. In many cases if one tried to mix Dell PC's and Dell installation disks things would not work being some hardware drivers were missing on the installation disk. Sometimes you get lucky but most of the time not, very frustrating when the originals have be lost or tossed away by some idiot.

Robert

Having this problem right now on the PC I am using. Wife F disc'ed it and reformatted, loaded Windows XP Home Edition again and I am missing a bunch of drivers. Yahoo news freezes up constantly, many videos won't play and sometime links won't open and I get an error

My computer is a Dell Dimension 3000 and has served me well up until just a few months ago. It has crashed twice since. It's a Pentium 4 2.80GHz w/ 512 MB bytes of RAM. Prior to it crashing the first time, I was getting high virtual memory messages???

 

[Web Police]

No, you misundertand. I'm trying to boot with my Home OEM disc you sent and it's quite okay, I've read it and taken the tour on it more than once.

The old 2400 had Pro I think.

I know very well how to use my disk management tools, done a number of formats this way.

Your right I don't understand. If you want to format the drive on your non booting Dell 2400 then use the oem home xp disc you have. Boot like you are going to install windows and the first thing after loading a few generic drivers it will find your hard disk and any previous windows installations. You can then either keep or delete the partion the exsiting installation is on and format it. Of course if you install Win XP home it won't accept the COA for XP Pro, but atleast you can format the hard drive.

Another option as was mentioned is format the drive on another computer.

 

[Web Police]

Having this problem right now on the PC I am using. Wife F disc'ed it and reformatted, loaded Windows XP Home Edition again and I am missing a bunch of drivers. Yahoo news freezes up constantly, many videos won't play and sometime links won't open and I get an error

My computer is a Dell Dimension 3000 and has served me well up until just a few months ago. It has crashed twice since. It's a Pentium 4 2.80GHz w/ 512 MB bytes of RAM. Prior to it crashing the first time, I was getting high virtual memory messages???

If you haven't already google search for the drivers for this comptuer. You should be able to find any missing drivers online. From the sound of it you are probably missing or have the wrong video drivers installed. If videos wont play you probably need to update your flash player.

If you are getting high virtua;l memory errors you either have too many application open or the ones you closed are not properly releasing the memory they reserved when open. In todays internet world 512mb is way to little ram memory. I run 16 gb of ram memory in all my computers. Though before you think about more memory a p4 2.8 ghz is pretty bottled necked for a processor.

 

[orange]

Yahoo! is practically addicted to Flash. It practically sucks as well.

I saw some 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4 processors that will work on my two Dells 's a gfor just under $5 each on eBay, if your motherboard will take that it's a good option, and if you have the Intel 845 chipset 3.06 GHz is usually the largest P4 that will work-look it up. In your case 512MB RAM is choking your computer, DO go to at least 1 GB. A 2.8 P4 vs any compatible Celery is preferable as the Celery(on) has no L2 cache. So go ahead and up your RAMand increase your page memory (cache size) from that probable default setting of 50 to between 128-256 MB.

Most people don't realize the virtual memory size defaults that low and there is half of your problem...the other half is needing more RAM.

Do this and you'll have a much nicer time to start with.

Web, knowing Dell, he's probably not going to be able to put more than 1-2 GB of RAM on the board and yep...I was right. 2GB max and the 2.8 GHz P4 was probably the top processor available from Dell...these are c.2003 to my guess...they made a bazillion of the Dimension series in that grey-blue tower and every one of them was in need of Virtual Viagra, they don't have an AGP video port so the best you might find is something like an old ATi Radeon PCI card, which means you are left with just TWO PCI slots so pick carefully and try to live with the 6 USB ports you already have. Add audio and video if you wish, stick with the ethernet on board and if you are still on a 56k then no. 3 is your modem.

 

[Web Police]

Yeah I know most Dells have the slots for and can accept two ram meory sticks. It is just that buying two 1gb sticks is a little expensive for that old of a computer.

I good upgrade would be to find a 512mb stick to go with the original one in your computer.

 

[BubbaH]

Let me know what type of ram its currently using I may have some kicking around here.

 

[orange]

Yeah I know most Dells have the slots for and can accept two ram meory sticks. It is just that buying two 1gb sticks is a little expensive for that old of a computer.

I good upgrade would be to find a 512mb stick to go with the original one in your computer.

That's not the hugest problem but the difference in SPEEDS probably is.

From posts as far back as 2008 on at least one forums site I can see that the chipset will actually support TWO I GB PC 2700s (333 MHz) and will work with Windows 7 that way. I have seen 3.0 GHz Pentium 4s for under $5 on eBay in multiples from a computer retailer with several US stores.This board and that one will take a 3.0, a serious step up from 2.2 (even 2.8 was a big step up). I have an Asus P4PE-X that could take a 3.4 P4 800MHz FSB with better RAM (above 2700, probably 3200, I need to look) but I have to start in up first.

And I still need to sit down and finish figuring out the AMD quadcore from the start and without interruption. I've never seen so much wiring in a long while and simplifying the fan setup would seem to be the biggest help. Now that the Christmas mailings are all out and I'm done with the holidaze for another year I hope I can get back to work...I'll find out.

 

[orange]

While I have no idea WHY this occurred when I attached the Seagate Barracuda 60 GB HDD I do have a feeling as to why I'll probably skip it.

From the moment I turned the computer on I lost the keyboard-brief flicker of the LOCK lights and it was dead, whether USB or PS/2. No function keys at all, just straight to boot. I'll try another drive in the 2400 from my known good ones.

 

[orange]

Bubba/Ben, can you please get back to me?