computer components & hardware - System freezes during Boot

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 21:37:30 -0500, "hamidbm"
wrote:

I recenly started experiencing a unique intemittent problem. My system
starts to boot but freezes just before it is supposed to test the memory.

So you get the initial video output of the video card BIOS
(perhaps too fast to see if the monitor has a warm-up
interval), the bios logo and version number at the top,

I am unable to give a keyboard command to enter CMOS, Control Alt Del does
not work.

? ? ?
CTLALTDEL never works to get into a bios, not that I
recall. DEL alone usually does, or sometimes an F(key)
like F1 or (consult manual).

I am unable to switch it off either. I have to switch off the
power at the back.

That's usually seen when power supply is failing.

I am occasionally able to boot and all of a sudden
while running windows, the system automatically restarts and hangs up at
the same point. I tried changing the memory, I even formatted my hard
drive on one of the occasions that I was able to boot. ( I have two
partitions and formatted only the c: partition. I ddi not touch the slave
drive.
I am unable to figure out the cause of this problem.

My hardware is P III 450 MHz with PC100 256 MB RAM, 30 GB HDD + 15 GB
slave drive, Gigabyte motherboard with Intel chipset,

Which make/model of Gigabyte motherboard?
Several had bad caps (capacitors). Examine the caps around
the CPU socket, memory slots and AGP slot for signs of
failure- Vented tops, swelling, leaky residue around the
tops or bottoms, or even a spot where a capacitor "used" to
be but is now mysteriously missing, leaving a bit of paper
and tin-foil-like mess behind.

On a few Gigabyte boards I noted general instability even
prior to outward visual signs of capacitor failure. Most
often this was in conjunction with poor system power supply
which had insufficient 5V rail capacity... but ultimately
power supply still limped along but board failed. Back in
their day they were worthwhile to repair, as beyond the cap
issue(s) they were pretty good motherboards. Today it's
hard to justify unless you're accustomed to doing such work
yourself (IF that's even the problem, can't be certain of it
yet).

ATI all in wonder
pro 8 MB AGP video card, Soundblaster Live value sound card, US robotics
56 K ISA modem. I run windows ME. I built this system myself in Feb 2000.
Please help if you can. I don't want to trash my system.

How reproducible is this problem? Can you tie it to any
commonality? Perhaps it always does this when system is
cold, had been turned off? Perhaps room temp is lower?
When caps start going bad, heating them up can help some.
If you feel you can semi-reliably predict when it's going to
have this problem, note the rough rate at which it does.
Then compare that rate to results seen by (gently) heating
up the motherboard by pointing a hair-dryer (turned on
"low") in the generalized upper middle of the motherboard.
Just get it a little bit warmer, maybe 30 seconds of warm
air on it and see if it does any better getting past the
POST & memory test.

Also check power suppply voltages, preferribly with a
multimeter, or in bios and/or hardware monitor software if
necessary. IIRC, the Gigabyte utility to do that on older
boards was obscure, not readily apparent... was called
System Information Viewer, or "SIV", might be named
something like "sivversion-number.exe" as available from
Gigabyte, though it might be tailored to specific models of
board- I dont' remember... have one version here which
seems to correspond to Winbond 83781d chip based sensors.

If all else fails, strip system down to bare minimal parts
(as needed to complete POST), leaving only video, CPU,
heatsink-fan, 1 memory module. Also disconnect all drives
and keyboard/mouse/etc. If problem is resolved, note the
voltage levels. Add back parts as required (probably
keyboard and mouse first, then the HDD so you can boot the
operating system) and again note if/when it seems less
reliable. When the problem rate seems to increase, note
voltage levels and which components were added. Rarely the
video card can be failing but ATI's old 8MB cards were
relatively reliable and very energy conservative- really a
pity they never got all the bugs out of the drivers for
those as variants of the GPU are still used on server boards
today.

Also check card contacts, cables, and that memory is
well-seated. Had anything changed in the system just prior
to onset of the problem? Normally I'd put odds on it being
the power supply but having seen several Gigabyte boards of
that era with failing capacitors it seems more like the odds
are 50/50 motherboard/power supply.

Try clearing CMOS too and checking the battery voltage.
Probably not the problem but if it gets to the point where
you're about to toss the board out of the system it can't
hurt.