Can a keyboard crash a PC? - Page 2

grahamiam · 25-10-2005, 20:41

have you been messing with the cables or anything inside the box? Sorry, but I've never heard of a pc that just stopped seeing a HD unless the following occured:
1. bad cable or messed up HD jumpers
2. bad HD
3. boot sector fucked up (virus or accidental)

Win XP dosprompt utility that may help is FIXBOOT -> http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repa...Boot%20Sector:

and you can read about some others that have had similar problems http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hard..._21550445.html

you have a boot disk or cd? if not, go here and get one, then try again if that's what you need http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

Beam · 25-10-2005, 22:13

Thanks guys for the help!

Opened the case for the first time in months and just to make sure replugged the cable. Since the system was working OK this morning I don't suspect jumpers and since the BIOS does not see the HD I think the boot sector isn't the direct cause or involved at all. Which leaves either a bad HD or a bad MfB or maybe even a bad BIOS. The other HD is (E-IDE) seen by the BIOS btw.

Downloading a bootable Knoppix version to see if anything works at all. The only working diskette I have is in said broken desktop.

Beam · 25-10-2005, 22:57

OK, back we are on the desktop using a Knoppix bootable CD. First thing that comes to mind: why are we all still using Windoze??? Only reason I can think of are Civ and other games. This Knoppix even has Firefox!

Beam · 25-10-2005, 23:35

Took some time to familiarize with Knoppix and found access to available storage devices. Everything is there, even the primary master not recognized by the BIOS! 100% sure because it is the drive where Civ is installed.

To summarize:
- Comp does not boot XP from HD
- Primary master is not listed in BIOS
- Comp boots Knoppix from CD and recognizes the primary master

So at least data recovery is possible, but where to start getting the system back to normal??

akots · 25-10-2005, 23:54

If primary master does not have any OS to boot from the boot sector for whatever reason, it might be reported to BIOS as an error reading the drive. Seems you need to reinstall XP... But really, don't know. May be you have some bad sector still on HD

.

I've had a somewhat similar but somewhat opposite problem with incorreclty "deodorized" version of XP Pro back in Russia at work. It kept on recognizing two primary HD istead of one after each reboot. So after about 10 restarts I had 11 HD in Explorer and all were having letter C by the way. After running fdisk and reinstalling another different version of XP everything was OK.

Beam · 26-10-2005, 00:08

Thanks for the advice akots but when the BIOS is running does it know which OS is going to start? The BIOS does not even present the PM as an option at all! On the solution path I'd prefer to be able to see the PM in the BIOS before considering reinstalling XP for which I need the PM anyway because all fucking XP source is installed on the PM.

On a sidenote: DMIV runs on the laptop but solving this issue ate up all playing time tonight.

akots · 26-10-2005, 02:44

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/BIOS-...sk-t66251.html

In the end, it was apparently the somewhat (incompletely)corrupt boot sector on primary master to blame. Not fixable.

Beam · 26-10-2005, 22:04

Boot issue is solved, but cause unknown and therefore the solution still leaves grey areas. As I was typing this message sys crashed again as before but at least I hope I can run Civ IV.

After running Emergency Boot CD for some reason the primary serial ATA was visible in BIOS again, Windoze reported recovery from a serious problem although it never was started after the last normal shutdown and also reported new HW was installed.

Anyways, I plan to do some heavy keyboard testing under Knoppix to determine if the KB issue is HW related or not, I also strongly recommend everybody with a bootable CD drive to download a CD bootable Knoppix or other Linux distribution that does not need a HD. With the Knoppix thing you can you most if not all basic things except playing Civ.

akots · 27-10-2005, 18:06

Now. Your issue seems to be contagious. I'm having a boot problem under XP but I can boot from CD. That happened after auto-installing latest "security patch pack" from Microsoft two days ago. Nothing is working, I cannot even boot so safe mode.

25-10-2005, 22:13	#12
Beam c00l b33r Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Beat 'm up Scotty!. Lives in the Lands that are Nether. Posts: 5,094	Thanks guys for the help! Opened the case for the first time in months and just to make sure replugged the cable. Since the system was working OK this morning I don't suspect jumpers and since the BIOS does not see the HD I think the boot sector isn't the direct cause or involved at all. Which leaves either a bad HD or a bad MfB or maybe even a bad BIOS. The other HD is (E-IDE) seen by the BIOS btw. Downloading a bootable Knoppix version to see if anything works at all. The only working diskette I have is in said broken desktop. __________________ That was a pretty good gamble. -- Scotty, The Galileo Seven, stardate 2821.5, Episode 14 Linux never looked this good!

25-10-2005, 22:57	#13
Beam c00l b33r Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Beat 'm up Scotty!. Lives in the Lands that are Nether. Posts: 5,094	OK, back we are on the desktop using a Knoppix bootable CD. First thing that comes to mind: why are we all still using Windoze??? Only reason I can think of are Civ and other games. This Knoppix even has Firefox! __________________ That was a pretty good gamble. -- Scotty, The Galileo Seven, stardate 2821.5, Episode 14 Linux never looked this good!

25-10-2005, 23:35	#14
Beam c00l b33r Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Beat 'm up Scotty!. Lives in the Lands that are Nether. Posts: 5,094	Took some time to familiarize with Knoppix and found access to available storage devices. Everything is there, even the primary master not recognized by the BIOS! 100% sure because it is the drive where Civ is installed. To summarize: - Comp does not boot XP from HD - Primary master is not listed in BIOS - Comp boots Knoppix from CD and recognizes the primary master So at least data recovery is possible, but where to start getting the system back to normal?? __________________ That was a pretty good gamble. -- Scotty, The Galileo Seven, stardate 2821.5, Episode 14 Linux never looked this good!

25-10-2005, 23:54	#15
akots Nebuchadnezzar II Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Glover Park Posts: 4,459	If primary master does not have any OS to boot from the boot sector for whatever reason, it might be reported to BIOS as an error reading the drive. Seems you need to reinstall XP... But really, don't know. May be you have some bad sector still on HD . I've had a somewhat similar but somewhat opposite problem with incorreclty "deodorized" version of XP Pro back in Russia at work. It kept on recognizing two primary HD istead of one after each reboot. So after about 10 restarts I had 11 HD in Explorer and all were having letter C by the way. After running fdisk and reinstalling another different version of XP everything was OK. __________________ Cujusvis hominis est errare; nullius, nisi insipientis in errore perseverare Ciceron (Marcus Tullius)

26-10-2005, 00:08	#16
Beam c00l b33r Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Beat 'm up Scotty!. Lives in the Lands that are Nether. Posts: 5,094	Thanks for the advice akots but when the BIOS is running does it know which OS is going to start? The BIOS does not even present the PM as an option at all! On the solution path I'd prefer to be able to see the PM in the BIOS before considering reinstalling XP for which I need the PM anyway because all fucking XP source is installed on the PM. On a sidenote: DMIV runs on the laptop but solving this issue ate up all playing time tonight. __________________ That was a pretty good gamble. -- Scotty, The Galileo Seven, stardate 2821.5, Episode 14 Linux never looked this good!

25-10-2005, 20:41	#11
grahamiam Emperor Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA, East Coast. Posts: 2,673	have you been messing with the cables or anything inside the box? Sorry, but I've never heard of a pc that just stopped seeing a HD unless the following occured: 1. bad cable or messed up HD jumpers 2. bad HD 3. boot sector fucked up (virus or accidental) Win XP dosprompt utility that may help is FIXBOOT -> http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repa...Boot%20Sector: and you can read about some others that have had similar problems http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hard..._21550445.html you have a boot disk or cd? if not, go here and get one, then try again if that's what you need http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

26-10-2005, 02:44	#17
akots Nebuchadnezzar II Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Glover Park Posts: 4,459	http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/BIOS-...sk-t66251.html In the end, it was apparently the somewhat (incompletely)corrupt boot sector on primary master to blame. Not fixable. __________________ Cujusvis hominis est errare; nullius, nisi insipientis in errore perseverare Ciceron (Marcus Tullius)

26-10-2005, 22:04	#18
Beam c00l b33r Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Beat 'm up Scotty!. Lives in the Lands that are Nether. Posts: 5,094	Boot issue is solved, but cause unknown and therefore the solution still leaves grey areas. As I was typing this message sys crashed again as before but at least I hope I can run Civ IV. After running Emergency Boot CD for some reason the primary serial ATA was visible in BIOS again, Windoze reported recovery from a serious problem although it never was started after the last normal shutdown and also reported new HW was installed. Anyways, I plan to do some heavy keyboard testing under Knoppix to determine if the KB issue is HW related or not, I also strongly recommend everybody with a bootable CD drive to download a CD bootable Knoppix or other Linux distribution that does not need a HD. With the Knoppix thing you can you most if not all basic things except playing Civ. __________________ That was a pretty good gamble. -- Scotty, The Galileo Seven, stardate 2821.5, Episode 14 Linux never looked this good!

27-10-2005, 18:06	#19
akots Nebuchadnezzar II Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Glover Park Posts: 4,459	Now. Your issue seems to be contagious. I'm having a boot problem under XP but I can boot from CD. That happened after auto-installing latest "security patch pack" from Microsoft two days ago. Nothing is working, I cannot even boot so safe mode. __________________ Cujusvis hominis est errare; nullius, nisi insipientis in errore perseverare Ciceron (Marcus Tullius)