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[7imz]

my friend's computer went berserk all of sudden... I tried re-installing windows on it but whenever the installation reached 9 percent it just stopped saying that it couldn't copy a certain file (forgot which one)... i know it's not the of the harddisk or the cd-rom... any suggestions?

 

[Shogmaster]

Not enough background info on your puter and your problem. Please try again.

 

[gohepcat]

my friend's computer went berserk all of sudden... I tried re-installing windows on it but whenever the installation reached 9 percent it just stopped saying that it couldn't copy a certain file (forgot which one)... i know it's not the of the harddisk or the cd-rom... any suggestions?

Good gravey

Ok. Is it Windows XP Pro/Home? Is it a Pentium 4, or Athlon, etc? How much Ram Does it have. Where there any changes to the hardware latly? What exactly does "went berserk" ential?

Sounds like a hardware problem. Unfortunatly you no longer have access to the OS so it's gonna be very hard to pin it down.

 

[rc213]

If it's complaining about not being able to copy files from the cd during install and your certain it's not the dvd/cd-rom it's the memory. Download memtest86 and give the memory a go and see if it gives off any errors.

 

[NohWun]

Shot in the dark: check out the CPU heatsink. Make sure it's seated right and has enough goo and the fan works.

 

[7imz]

it's a pentium 4, 256 megs of ram.. and no there weren't any changes in hardware lately... i think he was using winxp professional

it was working fine and the next time he tried to turn it on, it just refused to go into windows

 

[Scrow]

my friend's computer went berserk all of sudden... I tried re-installing windows on it but whenever the installation reached 9 percent it just stopped saying that it couldn't copy a certain file (forgot which one)... i know it's not the of the harddisk or the cd-rom... any suggestions?

if he's reinstalling windows, just reformat that bitch

 

[Crow]

It's memory related. I've come across this before.

If the machine suddenly stopped working it could suggest that the RAM has got damaged. If there are two 128mb sticks in there, pull one out and try again, if that fails put back the one you pulled and stick in the other. (process of elimination)

When I came across it, underclocking the RAM worked throughout the installation and then could be clocked to its usual speed once installation was complete. However I feel that the RAM in your case may be damaged.

Aso someone suggested download memtest86 and see if its your RAM that is shonked, if so replace.

 

[Jonnyram]

How are you so sure it's not the HDD, though? If the disk is broken somehow, that would also cause problems like this.

 

[gohepcat]

How are you so sure it's not the HDD, though? If the disk is broken somehow, that would also cause problems like this.

That would probably show up in the formatting stage of an installation.

 

[Crow]

gohepcat knows the score. If the HD had FS problems it would be very much evident at the formatting part of the installation...and seeing how the installation got to 9%, files were managing to being written to the HD.

 

[7imz]

thanks a lot for the help people