PRoblem that can't seem to be fixed!

[BryanAU]

I'm sure alot of you get many posts like this, however I have searched the internet and i have no idea how to fix my problem.

When I turned on my computer(I built it myself) it displays the type of motherboard i have in my computer (LAN Party) then goes to a black screen and at the bottom "Verifiying cd-rom drives or something. Then immediately after that it's SUPPOSED to go to the Windows XP screen but instead it says the following files are missing or corrupted. WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG/SYSTEM. Then it says to put in the winodwsxp cd and when prompted to press 'R'.

Here's the kicker, when I put the Windows XP CD in, when the black screen comes up it says press any key to boot from disk...I try to press keys but then it goes right back to that error screen. I have no idea how to fix this. =(

[honvetops]

Hi BryanAU  Welcome.... 1st..

Please post as much information [highlight]about your computer[/highlight], operating system, and problem as possible, what happened prior to problems, etc. Too much info is OK, too little is pointless! Don't just say "My computer doesn't work. What's wrong?" We shouldn't have to drag the details out of you. It is YOUR problem, not ours.

It helps a lot!  

[BryanAU]

Hmm..fair enough. I didn't know if this problem really had muchto do with my specs.
Antec Mid-Tower
DFI Lanparty nF3 250Gb Mobo
Glacier Aluminum 500WATT Power Supply
ATI RadeonX800 Graphics Card
AMD Athlon2.6Gb Processor Chip
SeaGate 80Gb HardDrive
1Gb RAM card

[GX1_Man]

Have you tried a repair install?

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

[BryanAU]

When I press "any key" to enter the Windows XP CD setup nothing happens.

[GX1_Man]

Do you have a USB keyboard by chance?

[BryanAU]

Actually yes I do. But if it wasn't plugged in correctly the blue lights wouldn't light up on the keyboard?

[GX1_Man]

Humor me and try a real PS/2 keyboard and see if it makes a difference.

[BryanAU]

PS/2 keyboard? PS = Playstation? If so I don't have that.

[dl65]

BryanAU ...... PS2 = Personel System 2.
If you look on the back of your tower, you will probably see 2 ports that look like the one I have attached.......  one is purple ( keyboard) and the other green (Mouse)

A PS2 keyboard plugs into the purple port.

dl65  

[BryanAU]

ah okay thats what i thought you meant but i never heard it called PS2...now i have to find my old key board to try it...i'll let you know

[BryanAU]

Yes! I looked it up and i fixed it. Now I just have one question left. Why would a PS/2 keyboard make all the difference compared to a USB one?

[pcdoc4christ]

My guess: The motherboard has built-in support for the PS/2 keyboard but not for USB devices.  The USB keyboard likely will not function until you get to Windows and the operating system installs the drivers for it.  That's why it is a good idea to keep your old PS/2 keyboard around, even if it looks a little grungy.

 

[2k_dummy]

USB drivers load under windows. PS2 is readily recognized by the bios and works without windows drivers. Some bios have a setting that will allow use of "USB legacy devices", but these often require some sort of support under DOS. XP doesn't have DOS, it has a DOS emulator; therefore, no real DOS support.

[GX1_Man]

Another testimonial that newer is not always better. Thanks for humoring me.