Need some help

Computer crashed as harddrive packed up, replaced the harddrive but the pc now does not complete the boot process.

I am wondering if there is a further problem say with the graphics. (on board). I have looked at the power supply and this seems oK.

any ideas

Some systems will not boot/POST if there is an incorrect configuration or a dead component. ie; drive jumpers incorrectly set, cables on backwards, etc. Double check all your connections and drive jumpers, especially any you have worked with to replace this disk. Other cables may have become partially dislodged if you've worked inside the system.

How far through the boot process does the system go? If it hangs during the hardware setup portion of the boot process it's most likely for the above reasons.

Does the new hard disk show up correctly in the POST screen? (If it gets that far.)

Originally Posted by Dan Penny

Some systems will not boot/POST if there is an incorrect configuration or a dead component. ie; drive jumpers incorrectly set, cables on backwards, etc. Double check all your connections and drive jumpers, especially any you have worked with to replace this disk. Other cables may have become partially dislodged if you've worked inside the system.

How far through the boot process does the system go? If it hangs during the hardware setup portion of the boot process it's most likely for the above reasons.

Does the new hard disk show up correctly in the POST screen? (If it gets that far.)

yes it shows the new drive on the screen. It basically goes through the boot process to the point of starting up and then reboots. I made sure that all the cables are seated ok

OK,
"... does not complete the boot process"

and

"... the point of starting up and then reboots"

are different symptoms.

If this system has a floppy drive, use a bootdisk (*) to start the system. Does it complete the boot process without rebooting itself?

If it doesn't, disconnect the data and power cables from the new hard disk and attempt again. Does it complete?


(*)
The above bootdisk image file is a self extracting file and has to be executed (run) from a running Windows machine in order to create the actual startup diskette. (This image file produces the same bootdisk which 98SE creates.) This downloaded image file will format the floppy disk, write the files to the disk, then verify the file write, so it'll take a minute or three to create the bootdisk.

When you boot a machine with this boot floppy, it creates a RAMDRIVE in system memory to contain DOS system tools. Thus it will move your "normal" CDROM device/drive letter "up" one level. (If your CDROM is normally E:, it will be F: when booting with this bootdisk.) Watch for the CDROM device letter which will be assigned near the end of the floppy boot process.