Computer crapped out, any help/ideas?

[RickJ]

When I went to my computer this evening it was all locked up.  Couldn't reset or get any response.  So I cycled power and when it came back up it hung just after the BIOS completed the memory test.   Attempts to enter setup during the post results in a message indicating that it is entering setup mode but it never does. 

AMD64+2Gmemory+IDE HD+SATAII HD+2 IDE CD
AMI BIOS 939 Dual-SATA BIOSP1.80

I would be very grateful for any ideas or suggestions as to what the problem may be or how I might proceed to isolate/identify the problem and replace whatever needs to be replaced.   

[abstauber]

The quick guess:
It could be a RAM problem. If you have access to another computer with your type of RAM, try to see if it works there.

The long way to get sure:
Usally the best thing to do, is to disconnect everything from your mainboard except graphic card and RAM. If it's still not booting, try some other RAM and try to switch the graphics adapter. If it still not booting, only your mainboard is left.
If by any step the system works again, reattach your hardware step-by-step to see if it's working.

[OneDollar]

Could be all sorts of things, and unfortunately the easiest way to find out is to either replace parts one at a time or take it to a repair shop. You can probably write off RAM issues by taking all but one stick out, trying to boot then swapping sticks if it doesn't start. Presumably you're not getting any beep codes or flashing/different coloured lights when you start it up? It sounds like a motherboard issue to me, but that's just a guess.

[BOYD1981]

i had a similar thing to the startup issue happen to me a while ago when i did something to mess up my registry, only it would just keep restarting just after it told me it was loading windows, and not even safemode helped.
in the end to save myself losing any data i bought a new hard drive and re-installed windows on to it, then used my old one as a secondary drive.
one slightly easier and cheaper way to see if it's a hardware or software error though would be to grab Ubuntu or some other linux distro that can run straight from the disc, if that works i'd suspect a software issue.
if not i'd probably agree with the bad RAM.

[voh]

Boyd, it's hanging way before an OS would even come into the mix - if it won't go into the BIOS, it's probably a motherboard issue. Though, of course, a faulty CPU might also cause a similar problem.

To make sure it is or isn't the memory modules, cycle them like OneDollar suggested - that helped me weed out a few wonky RAM modules in the past. If it isn't that, I suspect your motherboard may be fried.

And abstauber: Don't forget the CPU. If it isn't the graphics card or the memory, it's either the CPU or the motherboard.

OneDollar also posed a good question: do you get any beeps or any other signal you normally wouldn't get when you boot it up? If your motherboard is the Asrock 939Dual-SATA2 one, then it doesn't have lights, so that shouldn't matter.

[InCreator]

If you get SOS in morse code (beeping) when starting up, repair shop straight away.

Do you have motherboard manual still intact? Do you have motherboard error LED?

Somewhere on last pages, manual describes startup error codes and led shows the codes.
If you have no manual, I guess you could acquire it in digital form, from your motherboard manufacturer's website.

Since your motherboard isn't from previous century, I assume you might have the error LED. It's located somewhere on your motherboard, mine is quite big, easy to notice. Not all mobos have the LED, though.

If it's the case, decoding error code might give you some insights about problem.

The old - pull-BIOS-battery-out trick should work too for strange BIOS problems.

[BOYD1981]

Boyd, it's hanging way before an OS would even come into the mix

ah right, i misread that bit.
interestingly enough my motherboard (ASUS K8V-SE Deluxe) supposedly actually has voice recordings for errors aswell as beeps, although i'm guessing it's probably for more common errors.
also about the LED on the motherboard, i'm pretty sure that's the BIOS battery light (or something to that effect), and pretty much all motherboards have those and they remain on even when the pc is powered down (only exception to that is if the PSU is switched off/unplugged).

[InCreator]

To be more specific, you're looking for this:



I provided image, because I have this strange feeling that people are talking about different things here.
It's a two-digit display. Coded number shows what the failure/current step on booting is or if startup succeeded.

Most often used name is "Diagnostic LED" (helps to google for error codes!).
Three motherboards I've had (Asus, nForce and Intel) over last 5 years, all had one of those.

[RickJ]

Thanks for all the info everyone.   Here is what I have done so far...

o Identify Mother Board - ASRock Dual SATA2 Dual Core Socket 939 8X

o CMOS Battery - Pulled out for several minutes and replaced, no change

o RAM Sticks - Pulled out one of two 1G ram sticks,  POST reports 1G ram, swap sticks same, replace both 2G ram reported.

o Capacitors - Visual inspected electrolytic caps, no signs of overheating or burn out, same for voltage regulators

Increator thanks for taking the time to post the image.  I was definitely thinking blinky lights  .  Anyway there are no beeps on startup.

I don't have a manual for the mother board as I bought this thing off Craig's List  back in June.  I got the computer 22 in LCD monitor, 7.1 sound system and Sound Blaster card, an NVIDIA video card, 350G & 150G hard drives, 2G Ram, AMD64 Dual Core 2.2GHz, and a color printer,scanner, copier, fax  for $350.   

I've ordered a new mother board from EBAY for $60 so maybe I will end up with a manual this time.  Even with the new $60 mother board I think I still got a pretty good deal.

I let you guys know how it turns out when it arives in a couple days.  Again, I really appreciate the help. 

[OneDollar]

interestingly enough my motherboard (ASUS K8V-SE Deluxe) supposedly actually has voice recordings for errors aswell as beeps, although i'm guessing it's probably for more common errors.

The system battery went on my parents computer and after I replaced it the computer started coming out with things like "Now booting operating system" in some low quality female voice whenever you turned it on. It got annoying very quickly...

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

When one of my crucial ram sticks went bad I started having all sorts of weird system trouble.  Have you tried running memtest+ overnight?  I think you use linux, right?
http://www.memtest.org/

Try swapping these sticks into a machine you can test them on, or swapping them for another set entirely and trying to get it to boot.  My experience lately has been that if you buy ram in pairs, one failing is a sign of a bad batch and both will fail. 

A few things that seem safe to consider as not part of the problem are:

1.  Your video card.  I've never seen a motherboard fail to boot with a bad video card, even when the card was completely toast.  Granted, you'd get no picture .

2.  CPU.  If the system starts up at all, your cpu is at least functioning.  If it locks up right away after being off for awhile, overheating cannot be the cause unless the warning parameters have been set way down.

3.  CPU Fan.  I'm guessing you've checked to make sure the fans are all working as they should, which is the most obvious thing.  If the cpu fan fails, sometimes motherboards will shut down to prevent the cpu from burning up.

4.  Hard drive.  Your hard drive will in no way cause a lock up when accessing the BIOS unless the motherboard is just bad.

5.  Peripherals/other storage.  These should never cause a lock when accessing the BIOS either.

I know many of these are obvious, but like Conan Doyle once wrote, 'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.' 

With the bios locking up, the most obvious problems to me are bad ram, bad bios cache, or bad bios.  The latter two you can't really fix without hassle, so the first one would be the best to rule out right away.

[RickJ]

Thanks Progz. 

Not to worry about mentioning obvious things in this kind of situation.  I have been working with industrial controls systems for 20 years and it's amazing how many times I've either gotten or given an obvious piece of advice that eventually lead to the identification of an intractable bug.   Sometimes just hearing someone else tell you something you already know helps find a problem.

[RickJ]

I have made some progress but still some problems remain.  I installed a new mother board and have gotten into BIOS setup.  I am now able to access the Primary IDE disk. 

I have a MAXTOR (6V300F0) 300GB SATA II hard disk connected to the motherboard SATA II interface.   The BIOS does not detect this drive.  I have tried several different BIOS settings but with no luck.   So if anyone has any ideas about how to setup an SATA II drive then please sgare them with me.  Tnaks.

[dasjoe]

Set the SATA controller to Compatibility instead of AHCI mode.
Try plugging the disk into a working PC?

[InCreator]

Modern HDD-s are out of my area of knowledge, but I recall my machine coming with a floppy (!) with SATA driver stuff on it. I was quite amazed about that - hard drives never came with driver disk in past. Then again, I never needed the disk and I usually disconnect floppy drive to save a bit on startup time, because I haven't used floppies for ages.

[voh]

I was quite amazed about that - hard drives never came with driver disk in past.

Usually they're not needed, but stock Windows XP installation disks don't know most (or any) SATA controllers and it'll tell you quite happily that your SATA 300GB disk definitely isn't in your computer. You can then use that floppy disk (or download it from the mobo manufacturer's site and place it on a USB disk) to load it in during XP setup's initialization phase.

It's simply a case of newer technology not being known by older software

[Mantra of Doom]

Try every setting on the BIOS that even mentions SATA or controllers. Every mobo manufacture hides these settings as something else. Also, check the jumper on the back of the drive. Some SATAs have a jumper that will set backwards compatibility (I know Samsung drives won't pick up if this is set wrong).

If all else fails, you could probably try to get a pci SATA controller card just to test to see if it is the board or the drive.

[JuggernautGames]

Hey, I just had a very similar problem. After the first screen would show up, everything became black and it would just hang there. I took it to the IT guys at my school. They ran a bunch of tests on it throughout the day, and then came to the conclusion that the hard drive had died. They said that it happens pretty often, and all that's needed is to by a new hard drive.

If you do use this solution, check out a Circut City. Everything's cheap as dirt. I just bought 4 GB of ram for $60.00, as opposed to 1 GB at Staples for the same price.

Ps. If you do use Circut City, make sure you're talking to someone who actualy knows the field of computers. They sold me laptop ram and told me it was for a desktop. Thankfully, they allowed me to exchange it.

[RickJ]

Thanks Juggernaut and everyone else.  I replaced the drive just after thanks giving but it also crapped out although with a different symptom.   I assume that electronics crapped out on the first one and so in  a few months when old 300G maxtor drivers are dirt cheap I may try to replace the electronics to retrrieve the data. 

The second drive was a 500G Western Digital that didn't have anything noteworthy one it.   I got it from Staples and anyone buying stuff from Staples should take note of their shitty 14 day return policy.   Fortunately I was just barely able to get my money back.  Anyway a pox on both their houses Staples and Western Digital.