Re-Install of XP problem

[Orange&White]

OK...I am at my wits end now. I think I know what I need to do, but I'd like to see what y'all think before I spend money on the problem.

I have a sony viao laptop thats about 3 years old (PCG-FXA47) . I've never really had any problems with it, I have used the recovery disks to do re-installs about 3 times in the past and never had any problems. The other day I decided to use them again just to keep things clean.

I ran the disks just like always and everything appeared to work just fine with one exception, my combo drive would no longer read burned cds. It read manufactured cds fine. So, I decided to run the program again.

On the second attempt, the process started normal through the first disk, and half way through the second disk, never made it to the third disk. Got a copy of XP Home SP2 and tried to boot from it and got an error saying " Couldn't find NTLDR File".

Here are the solutions I have tried:

1. Tried to run recovery disks on the C: drive only and also for the reinstall to factory specs.

2. Created boot disks (6) with the latest file from MS

3. Created a new BIOS disk to boot from

When running from the recovery disks now, it will get about half way through the second disk then shut down the entire computer

When running the boot disks, I get an error that says someting like " Could not load NTLDR file. This is error 7"

When booting from the BIOS disk, it gets a good way ino the setup and thenwhen it starts "checking" the memory, it just stops and shuts down computer.

I have researched everything there is to find on the internet about this. There are quite a few people who have experinced this, but those who do, rarely go back to thread they posted on and give the solution. The one thing that sticks out is about Bad Memory modules.

As I said, the computer is 3 years old, but it still suits my needs to an extent. So here are my questions:

What is causing this?
How can I fix it? Even if it just getting it to boot to a DOS prompt?
Could it be the memory?
Should I bother spending money to replace memory on a three year old laptop?

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Sounds like a hardware problem to me. If it is bad memory then replacing it would be worthwhile, new memory shouldn't cost more than $50 for 128mb. If you have 2 sticks in the system you could try removing them one at a time and seeing if the system gets further along.

The FDD may not be in your boot sequence and that's why you get that error message since Windows isn't loaded correctly. If you want to try a differently floppy image for booting you can use: Link. Run the CDENAB.exe file from your desktop and it will create the bootable floppy for you, then try booting from it. It's a Dell file so it's probably pretty safe, I never have trouble with it.

Editing: Reread your post, your boot sequence is obviously fine if it's booting from the BIOS floppy. I'd say most likely is memory, but I'd still give that file I linked a shot. If it boots you can try some other things from there.

 

[idigTexas]

I would not rule out the CD drive. I know the symptoms appear to indicate that something else is wrong, but I just had a similar experience with an old desktop. After swapping out the CD drive, everything installed fine. CD read errors during the installation can result in symptoms that point to other hardware. If you have access to an external CD drive, and can configure it to be bootable, I'd give that a shot before chasing down other possibilities.

 

[Orange&White]

Thanks to everyone so far.

I have ruled out the CD drive because I can run the recovery CDs just fine. The computer just shuts down half way through it. Plus, I get the same problem when booting from floppy boot disks.

I went out and bought a new memory chip today, and that didn't do it either.

I did notice however, that when the thing shuts down running the BIOS update floppy, the update is in the "checking flash memory" section when it shuts down. Maybe that will spark someones keen mind with a possible solution.

Again, thanks for reading and trying to help, if you can think of anything, or need more background, please let me know.

 

[TexasOwnzYou]

i remember the NTLDR msg, but it only came up whenever i tried to start the installation. i think it might've been cuz i was booting up with win98 boot disks cuz it wouldnt boot into cdrom

try to format a drive, copy the OS cd on to it, and run setup from there?

 

[Orange&White]

I cannont get to any place where I can format a drive. That is my whole problem. If I could get to that spot, I would just start from scratch. Do you know of a way to do that?

 

[TexasOwnzYou]

win98 boot disk? (i dont know if this will work with NTFS drives, though :/)