$Mft

[jamiha]

Something in my system is causing windows to close before it saves all the information. E:\$Mft. Message "this data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. In running the CHKSCAN programs for the C (operating) D (audio) and F (raid sample) drives, all verify. The DVD disc says it is operating normally. There is no internet connection.

The effect is that on rebooting my system, and opening Giga3 with a .gsp,, a pop-up window lists a group of instruments (not always the same) that are missing and recommends I re-install those instruments before going on.

When checking the disks in My Computer the audio drive and the raid drive are not there.

After rebooting once or twice, one of the missing drives will come back. Again rebooting a few times, the other drive will also come back. This process takes a couple of hours, allowing the machine to idle between reboots.

In the BIOS the Raid configuration is enabled.

Another recurring message gives me this: BC1 code as - c0000218. BC2,3,4 are all hexidecimal 0s.

Can anyone decode this and suggest how to track down the casue of Windows being forced to shut down before it compoetes its saving task?

Jamiha

This is a dedicated DAW built by a TASCAM recommended dealer.
Pentium D2
Windows XP
2G ram
the five drives mentioned above
Cubase 3
WaveLab
Giga3 Orchestra
Sample libraries

[Haydn]

Both issues you are having are pointing to a failing hard drive. The first error is with the Master File Table. The C0000218 error is a corrupted registry file. This would point to either a failing hard drive or a bad hard drive controller.

Jim

[jamiha]

Haydn

Thank you for that input. How do I sniff out the offending hard drive? Could there be a problem with the DVD drive as well?

Agqain, thanks

jamiha

[jamiha]

Haydn

Thank you for that reply. Do you know how I can sniff out the offending drive?

Jamiha

[Haydn]

Many of the hard drive manufacturer's have diag disks available that boot from a floppy disk or CD. It's possible that a disk was included with your PC. Otherwise you'll need a working PC to download the diags and make a disk on.

Jim

[andyj]

Go to Start button>Control Panel>Performance and Maintenance>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer> look at >Application,Security ect to see what errors if any it shows.

I would also suggest keeping the task manager open (right click on bottom bar in windows and select task manager) and looking at processes running to see if you can spot it there.

You may also have a virus or spyware problem.
Could also be a registry problem. PCtools.com has a pretty sophisticated registry diagnostic program. I would not recommend altering your registry without some sort of software support from a registry diagnostic program. I believe they have a free trial.

From a command prompt you can run chkdsk/f and it will check your drive for errors and fix them..or you can do this from my computer..right click on my computer ..or disk management
Could also be a corrupt partition..which is where you boot config resides.
You could also google for a hexidecimal reader..if you have a spare computer to go online..

[jamiha]

Thanks to you both for taking the time to sort this out with me. Today's episode is that I cannot get the computer to open beyond the blue screen c0000218.

I will look into the diagnostics suggested.

Thank you again,
jamiha

[andyj]

You also might try using system restore to restore your computer to the last date it worked ok.
Power supply adequate? Two hard drives and a newer video card implies a 400 watt power supply.maybe 650 watts if you have an sli video card...Also your cpu could be hot..or your hard drive could be overheated..case fan working? cpu fan working?you can see what it is in bios usually under the power option in bios. Do you have a boot diskett to restart the computer? Can you see any leaking or bulging tops or sides on capacitors on the mother board..google for improper shutdown

[Richard Berg]

I agree with Haydn a failing disk is most likely. However, be aware it could also be failing RAM (or both).

[jamiha]

Thanks to all of you for your input.
I have installed a new OS hard drive. the result is : I can boot up to the DW5P2 Premium screen where the computer freezes. After allowing time between re-booting I can get the same thing. Rarely, I can get to the Windows desktop. Sometimes the Audio and Raid drives will show up in My Computer. Sometimes they will show one or the other. At NO time can I open Giga 3 without the computer freezing, which results in a manual re-boot. I think I tried opening Cubase separately as well with the same freezing results- but there's been so many reboots, I'm not sure. After that, I get back to the DW5P2 Premium screen, which can take hours or days of rebooting to allow me to see the Windows desktop one more time - which works the same way as above. It has settled down to just what I have described - nothing more.

I do not have a floppy disk drive. I am not connected to the internet.

Question - will a new motherboard solve my problem?

Second question - is the processor on the motherboard hard wired in or can it be changed separately to see if that is the problem?

Will appreciate any human flash memory insight that might apply,

tony

[Steve_Karl]

Before buying anything else, turning off disk caching on all drives.

Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea in my opinion to test your ram with memtest.
www.memtest.org (http://www.memtest.org)
You can burn an ISO CDR of it.

I can't imagine not having a floppy drive.

[andyj]

First you have to figure out what is wrong with the machine..so you can take it to an authorized hp,dell,gateway repair center where you know they have the tools to fix it..or you can buy what is called a Post Diagnostic Card and plug it into the motherboard and let it check the motherboard ,ram and cpu. You may have installed the operating system over an improperly formatted disk..or the disk may not yet be set up within windows..You need to go to Disk Management in windows and let it set up the format and set up the drive..or if the drive is already set up make sure it is properly configured as a raid drive ect..You can remove the cpu..but you may need to reapply thermal paste to the top of the cpu..AMD and Intel both provide instructions on how to do this..it is a zero force insertion socket..so it should come out and go back in..if the fan wont come off easy you might consider not removing the cpu because you may damage it..the cpu has about 100 tiny little pins that stick in the socket..dont bend them..there may not be any thing wrong with your computer hardware anyways..see if the top of the cpu is burnt..llok at google images of burnt cpus.make sure the fan works!.could be software only..open task manager and look at running processes..open accessories>system tools>administrative tools>Application Error logs..security logs ect and see what is not shutting down or what is wrong..could also try system restore to last known good restore point

[jamiha]

Thank you for hanging in there with me. My current problem which is probably not stated clearly is that I can't get the computer to boot up, so I won't be able to do any of the diagnostics that require entry from the desktop.

At this point I am in over my head and going to have to send it to a custom computer maker who is willing to give it a shot.

I will keep you posted and willingly share what the problem is, if it is found, and how it was solved, if it is solved.

Sincere thanks to all for caring enough put your time in on my behalf,

best,
tony

[Boydbob]

My main system had a partitioned EIDE boot/system HD and 2 SATA drives each configured as RAID 1 (basically 2 independent drives)

I was getting errors where the computer wouldn't boot at all or drives would be missing, crashes etc. It turned out that one of the SATA drives was going bad. When I removed it, the problems went away. It has been problem free for the last six months.

My second system has had 2 different EIDE main drives die and a 3rd is now showing signs of failure. So I keep irreplaceable files on an external USB drive which is powered off when not being used.

If you don't find the problem using the previous suggestions, try disconnecting everything but the system drive and test it. Then reconnect one drive at a time and see what combination causes problems.

Boyd