HTPC dying - but which component is to blame?

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slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#77085 10-Feb-2011 19:33

Hi all,

I'd really appreciate some thoughts as to which part of my HTPC is dying / dead.

Background:

Intel Gigabyte Motherboard - with a Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz CPU

2GB RAM (single channel)

3 x WD Sata Hard Discs - 160GB (OS) / 500GB / 1 TB

Nvidia Graphics card

Hauppage Analog Dual TV tuner

Antec case

Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit using MCE

Earlier Symptoms / checks:

several weeks ago the computer was randomly freezing / powering off. Opening the case it felt like the CPU fan (Intel standard) had come unseated. I decided to buy a new higher quality fan and reseated it.

Rebooting problem stopped - but Video playback in MCE would all of a sudden pause (video frozen) and then resume. Considered hard drive problem.

Ran Western Digitals hard drive diagnostic tool - no problems

Ran memtest86+ - all sweet as.

Things have been pretty stable since then.

Current symptoms as of this morning:

Won't boot. "BOOT DISK FAILURE - INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND REBOOT"

BIOS takes a longer than normal to get through it's thing before telling me this

It detects the 160GB and 1TB disks during the BIOS startup.

Manage to get it to boot into the WD diagnostic tool re-ran on my primary OS hard drive - no problems.

Unable to boot Linux Ultimate Boot CD.

CPU temp is 32 degrees according to BIOS setup.

So, given I can't boot a LiveCD - and previous tests of the memory and hard disk have all gone well. I can only assume that it is my CPU or motherboard that is fried. Given the I/O issues - I'm leaning towards motherboard.

I have upgrade discs for Windows 7 ready to go - not sure how I can use this if I change motherboards on it. I'm sure there's a way

So - before I run out and buy a new Motherboard / CPU / Memory - is there anything else obvious I could try to narrow in on the issue?

Thanks in advance...

gumdigger

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#437954 10-Feb-2011 19:40

Any hdd could be faulty. Can you remove all hdd except the one containing os. Fire it up and run MP watch tv3 for a while. Observe temp and let us knw

slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#437974 10-Feb-2011 20:20

gumdigger: Any hdd could be faulty. Can you remove all hdd except the one containing os. Fire it up and run MP watch tv3 for a while. Observe temp and let us knw

Thanks for the suggestion.

I did as suggested and removed all HDD's except the OS drive - BIOS much faster, but still failure.

I've now worked out that my Live CD I created isn't working properly - as I couldn't boot into it with no HDD's attached. I just ran a burn of PartedMagic I had and have successfully booted into a LiveCD environment.

I'm starting to think my OS drive is dead.

I'm going to reconnect it, run the disk tools with PartedMagic and see where it takes me.

I'm also going to learn to test my boot CD's!!!

I'll update you all with what I find.

slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#438001 10-Feb-2011 21:19

Ok...I may have found a problem with the OS HDD.

I ran a disc diagnostic tool that appeared to show some issues (it wasn't particularly clear to be honest and I pressed a menu button which lost the results of my report so I couldn't go back).

However, given that a Linux Live CD ran lightening fast with no issues I'm feeling confident that the Hard drive is indeed the problem.

My cunning plan is to now upgrade to Windows 7 - doing a clean install onto a new Hard drive.

wish me luck.

gumdigger

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438015 10-Feb-2011 21:58

Remeber linux runs on faulty hardware aswel

slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#438019 10-Feb-2011 22:06

gumdigger: Remeber linux runs on faulty hardware aswel

I'll take that as a "good luck" :-)

I think it's the most likely option - and I need to get the HTPC back in action.

Worst case I install, and I still have issues with the new Hard drive. Then I know I'm spending $500 on new kit for a reason.

slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#438066 10-Feb-2011 23:35

slartibartfast:
gumdigger: Remeber linux runs on faulty hardware aswel

I'll take that as a "good luck" :-)

Well....bother.

Things were going fantastically - I installed Windows 7 upgrade on the new hard-drive. Even rebooted it successfully.

All was grand - but then, the same error.

I got the same INSERT SYSTEM DISK error. I ran the repair tools on the Windows 7 DVD and it said "the partition table does not have a valid system partition" and fixed it for me.

That has now got me to "BOOTMGR is missing."

Buggered if I know what to do now....I think it must be the motherboard - but not sure how I prove it...

It's a brand new harddrive - and the problem was the same on the old one too. Therefore, it must be the motherboard. I've tried different cables - but no joy.

I guess I could try it in another desktop but that wouldn't prove a lot I don't think.

slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#438069 10-Feb-2011 23:51

Things are on the up.

Looks like it is a known Windows 7 upgrade issue:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/104341-bootmgr-missing-fix.html

I'm booting!!

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slartibartfast

61 posts

Master Geek

#438131 11-Feb-2011 08:42

I'm booting!!

Just a final update in case anyone is curious...

Everything is running well now on Windows 7 after fixing the booting issues.

I think the root cause was indeed a hard drive issue with my old OS drive - and it ended up with some issues with the partitions as indicated by the hard drive test I ran.

Doing a clean install of Windows 7 to a new hard drive with upgrade media then triggered a known set of issues with the Boot manager / MBR on the new disc. Using the guidance found on the net about how to fix this issue it all worked.

In hindsight I could have probably done a similar fix on the old drive - but given I was all set to upgrade to Windows 7, it made sense to move forward with that.

Phew....

gumdigger

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438136 11-Feb-2011 08:49

slartibartfast:
I'm booting!!

Just a final update in case anyone is curious...

Everything is running well now on Windows 7 after fixing the booting issues.

I think the root cause was indeed a hard drive issue with my old OS drive - and it ended up with some issues with the partitions as indicated by the hard drive test I ran.

Doing a clean install of Windows 7 to a new hard drive with upgrade media then triggered a known set of issues with the Boot manager / MBR on the new disc. Using the guidance found on the net about how to fix this issue it all worked.

In hindsight I could have probably done a similar fix on the old drive - but given I was all set to upgrade to Windows 7, it made sense to move forward with that.

Phew....

Well Done!

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek

#438139 11-Feb-2011 08:56

You didn't list your power supply.
I had similar problems a couple of years ago and figured the motherboard was faulty. Turned out to be a faulty power supply with one of the 5v lines gone unstable.
Even though out of warantee the supplier replaced it free of charge and labour. i was impressed.
Also make sure the power supply is sufficient to handle the load. A standard 350w supply might struggle with 3 HDDs and any other add-ons. I've stepped up to a 600w Power Supply in my latest machine.