PCI Parity Error on Boot-up.....please help !!

[jsfurball]

How lost it feels without my beloved PC !

Tried using it last night and some really strange stuff ocurred on boot-up.

Rather than the normal full screen Dell logo, I got information about my BIOS and processor with a "hit DEL to enter set up". Unfortunately, neither the mouse nor keyboard had been detected so all I could do was wait.

Low and behold, the screen went blank, followed by the following error :

PCI Parity error on BUS/Device/Function on 00080h (or sometimes ooooh).

The messages was randomly jumping accross the screen which worried me a tad.

I am no expert but guessed this may be a hardware fault, so re-seated my RAM and checked that the processor, fan (which is working fine)and all slots and leads were in properly.

On one of my trillion attempts, it did fully boot and load windows. Not wanting to count my chickens, I shut- down and tried again.

Since then, no joy though, just get the same message.

I am running a Dell Dimension XPS 500, with 384 MB ram (3 x PC 100 mhz 128 MB), and Intel PIII 500 processor.

Any ideas you nice people ?

[Psycho Logical]

How old is the power supply?

Can you boot from a startup floppy disk?

[jsfurball]

The whole system was new in November 1999.

I tried using a startup disk but the boot does not seem to go far enough to detect the floppy drive/Cd drive/mouse/keyboard etc

Thinking about it, a similar problem arose when I last move the PC. That time though, I didn't get any error messages the machine just hung on boot. After bout 10 attempts it then ran ok and no more problems.

I've checked all the things I know (and I am a novice to hardware) but something still tells me it's a loose connection. One "mate" of mine even suggested a cracked motherboard - cheers buddy !

PROGRESS :
After a lot of trial and error, I think the problem lies with my US Robotics modem.

If this is left disconnected, then everything boots ok. When you plug it it, the PCI error comes back. There are also 4 diagnostic lights on the back of the tower. Without the modem, theses are all green - no hardware error - but with it in, one of the lights turns orange - indicating a fault.

Also tried the modem in different PCI slots for good measure. Still got a fault and the only difference in the error message was the final four digits had changed from 0080h to 0078h - is it coincidence or is this some sort of address for the PCI slots.

All in all, I am fairly convinced it is time to buy a new modem. Can anyone out there recommend a good hardware modem (I don't want a winmodem) ?

One final question, why was my soundcard connected to the modem - is that normal ?

Thank guys for all your help.



[This message has been edited by jsfurball (edited 07-25-2001).]

[manwhore]

sounds like the BIOS is causing the issue PCI parity error means that it is having trouble detecting what interface onto the PCI bus compared to what it has stored in CMOS.

This will cause major issue with any device on the PCI level including IDE controllers soundcards etc.

See if you can remove the CMOS battery inside and reseat to clear it. If not then try removing any expansion cards on the PCI channel and reboot. You can always add it later which will either work or identify the device causing the issue

-M-

[manwhore]

sounds like your modem was voice capable. some modems will send voice from souncard(mic) to the modem using the pci bus and others connect onto your soundcard on the RTAD socket. doesnt really matter which way.

Keep the cable incase the new modem needs it.

Andy

[VERT]

I'm thinking maybe its your ram as some ram has parity checking. well just a guess anyway

[Azza]

I agree with vert!! Take out your ram and try just one stick. If it works you know you have a problem with a stick of ram!! If it doesn't work, try the same stick in a different dimm slot. With the price of ram at present, this will be a cheap problem!!