Joel <Joel@NoSpam.com> wrote
> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote

>>>> That sounds like the cmos battery going bad.

>>> Battery is what I have in mind to, and I have my fingers crossed
>>> hoping for the luck. I just went to local store to get a 500GB
>>> SATA drive, and will try to find a way to transfer the system
>>> (just reinstalled WinXP few weeks ago) to other drive, and trying
>>> to figure out what eating 46GB or turning 100GB into 56GB drive.

>> Bet that is due to the drive type getting changed behind
>> your back, or you managed to change it yourself when
>> you were doing the changes you list below.

> It seems like it but I still can't figure out what causes all
> these problems. Right now, even the system is running
> but still don't know what eats 45GB of the 100GB drive

Yeah, odd given the new detail provided below.

I guess its possible that the flakey motherboard is somehow
getting in the road of the interrogation of the drive on its details,
particularly the size it claims to be, but I have never seen that happen.

What does Everest have to say about the drive ?
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

>> Ideally the drive type should always be AUTO, but
>> you may have chosen to use the CHS values earlier.

> All of them have been set to AUTO and they were still AUTO
> when I checked the first time. Matter fact, it has been more/less
> a decade I never done any manually ever since the first mboard
> had the auto-detect and setting. Before I had to follow the
> manual to set the Heads, Cyls, Tracks/Sectors etc..

Stranger and stranger.

>>>>> - Then around an hour later it locked up again. I tried to
>>>>> reboot and it gave the same report saying that the booting
>>>>> device/option was changed, but didn't give the option to
>>>>> press F1 to continue like last time.

>>>>> - I checked the CMOS setting to find out that

>>>>> - Drive C: became Slave (100GB)

>>>>> - Drive D: became Master (250GB)

>>>>> I checked the jumper, changed cable, disabled Drive D: and
>>>>> changed Drive C: to single drive etc. but it still won't boot and
>>>>> still getting the same error message "Verifying DMI Pool Data"

>>>> That isnt an error message. Its an information message that is
>>>> there every time you boot. The reason you see it is because
>>>> normally it flashes by so fast you dont notice it unless you look
>>>> for it. In this situation it isnt managing to do what comes next,
>>>> so that stays on the screen and you can see it.

>>> The system froze and I can read the error right at the bottom of
>>> screen. IOW, it didn't continue to boot or rebooting so the error
>>> messages displayed on screen until I hit the RED or RESET button.

>> Yes, that's what I said, its an information message, not an error message.

> Could be as I never have any problem for so
> many years to learn any newer experience.

Yeah, that's usually the first time most actually notice that message,
when the system stalls after displaying it. It usually isnt shown for long.

> I only know that the mboard I have "Epox 8KDA3I" says it has built-in
> something to detect and report around 34 or 44 errors. Hmmm.. if I
> remember correctly the manual may say it reports Error #'s (LED) then
> I may have to check with manual to know more detail .... I forgot all about
> this and now can't find the manual (I still have the box but no manual <g>)

You can download it.
http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/download....5KSUZZeU1BPT1D

>>>> Its more likely that whatever changed the drives around
>>>> also change the drive type setting. It should be AUTO.

>>> I did change the drives around server times, changed the bootting order
>>> few times but none worked... because the system is on drive C: (it's the
>>> only bootable drive) and it was recognized as SLAVE of drive D:

>> Doesnt matter, any modern bios will boot a slave fine.

> This I do know newer windows have option to install
> and boot from different drive, but I never have more
> than one to have any experience with this option.

I was actually talking about the bios, not XP.

> About booting, I am still pretty much in DOS age <g> that
> format has option to copy the booting option (system file?)
> to make the drive bootable, and usually drive C:

Its much more complicated than that with XP.

> But like I said, I don't have much experience with the newer booting..
> don't even remember if FORMAT asks to transfer the system file or
> not (I can see that am falling behind now the current technology now ...
> even I started computing almost 30 years ago <g>)

A mere child, I started a full decade before that |-)

>>> All drives have been set to AUTO and the system was working
>>> fine for months. Also, I even have 2 power-case-fans (these
>>> set to around 1/5 or 1/4 of their power as each can suck around
>>> 105cfa/s (or minute?), and sound like vaccum or yet engines
>>> when running full speed) and 1 extra case fan.

>>> It's so weird that I have never seen nor expected this type of error,

>> Yeah, something is scrambling the cmos settings.

>>> and all the weird things going on right now.

>> I'd reset the cmos once you replace the battery and that may well fix it.

> CMOS! CMOS! CMOS! twenty some years ago I always trying to find
> something new to mess with the CMOS setting... but since the newer
> technology with everything AUTO .. first the newer technology made me
> lazy to look at the CMOS, after so many years falling behind I feel
> dizzy staring at so many newer stuffs (a jungle of strange
> options/features <g>), and now when I need to deal with it I start
> sweating <bg>

> Hahaha just few hours ago, I didn't even know what SATA is, didn't
> even know my mboard supports SATA until I got the 500GB SATA
> drive when I asked the saleman and learned about the SATA <g>

>>> Thanks for the advice, I will see how long this boot will last and
>>> will pay more attention to the battery, or even just replace the
>>> Mboard for good. I have an extra one laying around somewhere,
>>> it a brand new I got as a replacement for the defected one
>>> (ordered same time with the CPU), and I ordered the current
>>> cuz I worry it may take awhile for the replacement to arrive etc..

>> Yeah, it could easily be a flakey motherboard.

> The motherboard is running ok, but I don't like it much. Not because
> of the performace but it requires the specific NETWORK driver came
> with the motherboard to work, and sometime it takes few tries to get
> the network to work (internet connection). When all other mboards
> work fine with the network driver came with Windows.

> Well, I was about to order the Dual Core, but now
> I can wait to see how much luck I have on this one.