[garypenn]

i just installed a hard drive in my friend's computer... it's a compaq so i knew it was going to give me some guff... but anywho.... after installing it (western digital 120 gb)... and partitioning it into two different drives (two 60 gig drives)... and formatting it... windows boots up... then suddenly restarts without warning at what seems like random intervals... know what the problem is? here's the weird part... even when i take the new hard drive out completely, it still restarts itself.... this leads me to believe it's something that went wrong with the computer's software... think partiton magic may have done something to cuase this?

[13oots2]

If the drive was partitioned separately from the drive that Windows is on, I can see no reason why it won't start. I have never experienced problems with partitioning a second drive, so I would suggest checking all your IDE cables and jumpers on drives. You could also try booting in Safe Mode (Press F8), just before the Windows splash screen. It could be a problem with Partition magic, and you might be able to unintall it this way.

Also being a Compaq the BIOS can sometimes be located on the hardrive itself (I was shocked too). Installing the new drive may have caused problems as it may not have been supported by the BIOS.

If these suggestions don't work, could you post a little more information on the Compaq. The more we have the easier it becomes in finding the problem.

Make/Model No
BIOS
CPU
Drives
Memory and any other info you can give us will help

[garypenn]

thank you for considering the problem... i have gone into safe mode and uninstalled partition magic... also.. i have checked over all the IDE and jumper configurations.. and everything is just as it was before installation of the drive... but still the dirve restarts itself... do you think that maybe reinstalling win 98.... or upgrading to windows 2000 (which is what i'd like to do.. but it's not my comp, so i'd have to see what grant (the guy who owns the comptuer) would want)... would overwrite or replace the file that's corrupt or just... cuasing the computer to restart?... i'll get all that info for ya (the model of the pc... etc) next time i speak to grant... thanks again!!

[13oots2]

Have you considered heat as a problem?? You could have nudged the HS (Heatsink) whilst in the machine. If the Compaq supports temp readings it might be worth checking this out. Try MBM you can get it from Here.

Also check all your cards are seated correctly. Look at the hardware side of things carefully first. You may save yourself a bit of work and your friends data

[garypenn]

i did consider a heat problem.. but it looks unlikely... i checked with a my-bare-hand thermometer, and it all is pretty cool... but i didn't look over all the hareware in the system... it is quite possible i put something outta place... thanks.. i shall give that a try next time i'm working on it.

[garypenn]

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[13oots2]

You might want to brush up on the Forum rules and edit your post. These Forums do not condone the use or mention of pirated software. It has in the past got Forums closed down and we dcertainly do not want that to happen here. I would remove the reference to cracked software fast