Screen blanking after XP loading screen

[Tetsuo316]

Hi All,

The scenario:

I recently upgraded my computer hardware (Yay!), but it's behaving a little wonky (Boo!). I can't seem to resolve what's happening, so I thought I'd ask for some help. It pretty much comes down to two things.

1) When starting XP and the splash/loading screen finishes (in a normal amount of time), the screen then blanks. And I'm not talking about 'blanks for a second or two.' No, it goes blank for either about 20 seconds or it never loads the desktop at all and I have to hard
reboot (I've waited as long as 10 minutes before and no desktop).

I've tried a) using only one DVD drive, b) moving the RAM from channel A to channel B, c) using only one stick of RAM, d) flashing to latest BIOS, e) using only one graphics card (tried both cards) and finally, f) using only the OS HDD. None of these steps resolved the issue.

2) I can't install ubuntu 64-bit. The install screen comes up and I can move my cursor to any choice ('Start or Install ubuntu,' 'Check disc integrity,' etc.), but regardless of what I choose, as soon as the install screen with the progress bar comes up, it freezes (I've
waited about 30 min for the bar to move with no luck). It's sort of similar to this guy:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=224245

I've tried a) a different .iso from a different server, b) burning a different CD (with a different program and at different speeds) and c) about all the steps described above in order to reduce chance of a conflict.

My thoughts are that either the PS is not powerful enough (but I doubt this because I didn't really add anything that draws more power) or that the mobo doesn't like the RAM (more likely - this is the second time I've seen flakiness with using Corsair and the last
time, it was specifically because of the Corsair).

I previously had:

Abit KN8 SLI Socket 939 nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD A64 3500+
2x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC4000 DDR RAM

combined with the rest of my system:

SeaSonic S12-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply
2x Geforce 7800GT 256MB PCI Express x16 Video Card
Linksys WMP54G PCI Wireless Card
Samsung DVD Drive
Pioneer DVD R/RW Drive
2x 300Gig Seagate 7200.8 SATA HDD (one OS and one storage)
Floppy
2x Panaflo 120mm Fans

but now I have the following mobo/cpu/ram

ASUS M2N32-SLI DLX WIFI (Socket AM2)
AMD A64 X2 4200+
2x 1Gig Corsair XMS TWIN2X2048-6400C4

The problem with trying to diagnose this is that I can't swap parts out - I went from S939 to AM2, so I can't swap out the mobo, CPU or RAM

So, that's it. I think I've included all pertinent info. Any ideas from a giving soul?

Most Sincere Thanks,
Tetsuo316

 

[Tetsuo316]

TTT in hopes of someone lending a hand.

 

[Sniper82]

You did do a complete format and reinstall of Windows when you upgraded right? If so try different IDE/SATA cable and or slot. Sounds more like a driver/windows issue then hardware.

BTW there ain't anything in the optical drive is there? I've seen computers take forever to load if something was in the DVD/CD drive.

 

[Tetsuo316]

Hey Sniper82, thanks for replying.

Yes, I forgot to specify that I did format the drive and reinstall XP (twice, actually).

Also, I did already try a different SATA slot. Same cable though, as it worked fine with my previous mobo...

Nothing in the optical drives.

 

[bigstrickler]

Sorry not sure what your problem is but just wanted to say you have a sweet set up! Could it be overheating or a hard drive failure?

 

[darfur]

Do you have any external storge devices plugged in? This can cause windows to not load. A USB printer will also do this if it has a memory card slot (even if nothing is in the slot).

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: darfur
Do you have any external storge devices plugged in? This can cause windows to not load. A USB printer will also do this if it has a memory card slot (even if nothing is in the slot).

Yeah good suggestion. I would unplug any unneeded stuff and even try a different keyboard/mouse if you have it. I would also disable any onboard nic,video,ect that is or isn't being used just to see what happens. I'd even unhook everything except the main components(mobo,video,memory,CPU,HDD) to see what happens.

BTW does it do it on the very first bootup after redoing windows?

 

[Tetsuo316]

Hey guys, thanks again for the responses.

Ya know, it *didn't* do the blanking thing upon first installing XP. I thought it might have been one of the programs I installed, but I didn't install anything that I didn't have previously.

I'll try the disabling mobo features that I don't utilize and see what happens.

As for the external devices - this started occurring prior to hooking up the printer/ipod/etc. so I don't think that's the case.

I'll report back with any findings after the disabling fun.

 

[Sniper82]

If all else fails I would format reinstall windows and load it up completely. Then I would restart/shut down multiple times before installing anything at all. If it loads up fine everytime install drivers one at a time and reboot after you install them for each device that needs them. It could be a driver issue and am leaning toward video or motherboard drivers.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Sniper82
If all else fails I would format reinstall windows and load it up completely. Then I would restart/shut down multiple times before installing anything at all. If it loads up fine everytime install drivers one at a time and reboot after you install them for each device that needs them. It could be a driver issue and am leaning toward video or motherboard drivers.

I agree. I would uninstall your motherboard drivers, and install the latest ones from Asus. It actually could be a memory problem, though. Asus has been having total hell with that particular board, and memory working in it or not. Also, whenever there's a new socket, the board manufacturers sometimes have to release driver updates as often as they have to release BIOS updates.

 

[Tetsuo316]

So, disabling the onboard lans (both of them) didn't resolve the problem completely, but the 'blank' time seems to have gone down considerably. I've rebooted five or so times now and the max I've seen the screen go blank is ~5 seconds.

As for the motherboard drivers, I don't think that's it since Asus has *older* drivers than nvidia (9.16 from 5/29 as opposed to 9.35 from 6/29).

The graphics driver possibility. I'd previously run some version of the nvidia drivers in the 80s and now I've used the latest 91.31 drivers which also feature the updated interface and all that jazz.

I'll try the older graphics drivers and see what happens. By the way, if no one knows where to find old nvidia drivers, they seem to be here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp-2k_archive.html

I'll actually be out on a trip for the next week, so I'll post findings upon my return. Thanks again for the help so far.

 

[Tetsuo316]

Sucess!

It was the nvidia drivers. My suspicions increased upon first attempting to play an avi file. Everything was very, very dark. Couldn't see anything.

Uninstalled the 91.XX drivers and installed the 84.XX drivers and presto chango, things are normal again. *Sigh*

Now I just get to work on installing ubuntu and I'll be a happy camper.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!