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failures on boot



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 16th 17, 05:29 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John B. Smith
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 163
Default failures on boot

My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.
  #2  
Old December 16th 17, 06:36 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Rene Lamontagne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 187
Default failures on boot

On 12/16/2017 10:29 AM, John B. Smith wrote:
My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Just a couple guesses.

Failing power supply.
Leaking bad caps on motherboard.
Near dead CMOS battery.

Rene

  #3  
Old December 16th 17, 10:09 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Flasherly[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,407
Default failures on boot

On Sat, 16 Dec 2017 11:29:50 -0500, John B. Smith
wrote:

My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Similar error, two different scenarios -- of possible interest and
easiest test is your memory. The part about cleaning or a single
stick are easy;- I do it occasionally with an ink eraser, clean the
contacts before using parts cleaner on slots.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/297503-30-error

https://forums.hexus.net/help-quick-...r-code-c1.html
  #4  
Old December 16th 17, 10:45 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
VanguardLH[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,453
Default failures on boot

John B. Smith wrote:

My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Once warmed, it boots okay. When cold, it might fail on a memory error.
Well, likely the PSU is as old as when the box was originally built.
PSUs typically lose 5% load capacity per year. No idea how close you
loaded the PSU to the surge current from all loads when cold. You might
want to start monitoring voltages from the PSU, or replace it with a new
and much bigger capacity unit.

Don't know what C1 and FF codes would mean. Obviously you have a mobo
with a couple LED displays to show boot codes. Seems you'd have to know
the mobo maker and model (unidentified here) to see in their manual what
the codes mean. You're not getting any beep codes on cold power boot
(https://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm)?
  #5  
Old December 17th 17, 02:06 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Rene Lamontagne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 187
Default failures on boot

On 12/16/2017 3:45 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
John B. Smith wrote:

My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Once warmed, it boots okay. When cold, it might fail on a memory error.
Well, likely the PSU is as old as when the box was originally built.
PSUs typically lose 5% load capacity per year. No idea how close you
loaded the PSU to the surge current from all loads when cold. You might
want to start monitoring voltages from the PSU, or replace it with a new
and much bigger capacity unit.

Don't know what C1 and FF codes would mean. Obviously you have a mobo
with a couple LED displays to show boot codes. Seems you'd have to know
the mobo maker and model (unidentified here) to see in their manual what
the codes mean. You're not getting any beep codes on cold power boot
(https://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm)?



He mentioned ABIT so I assume that is what the MB is.

Rene


  #6  
Old December 17th 17, 12:20 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Paul[_28_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,467
Default failures on boot

John B. Smith wrote:
My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


And you know it shouldn't do that.

Once if hits FF or "--", it "hands off" to the OS. No more
codes should be produced after that point.

The codes are "progress codes" indicating the
subroutine the BIOS is about to enter as part
of the POST process. They're not error codes.

If you see a code sitting there, and the BIOS is
"stuck", it means the BIOS crashed or halted
just after entering that subroutine. The end result
is, the POST code is usually "almost useless" as
a debug tool. Because it isn't specific enough.
Since it's not an "error code", the value you
get leaves a lot to the imagination.

Maybe it is dying in a memory commissioning routine,
and maybe not.

*******

So then, how do we get a C1 code, after the BIOS has
done hand-off to the OS ? That's pretty strange.

I don't think the POST display is protected, and
I don't think it implements a trap door. If something
wants to write to that "I/O space" port later, there's
nothing to stop it. (Maybe you could do it if booting
MSDOS or something.) If a person wanted to hack this
for themselves, maybe they would get a copy of "giveio"
and try it with that. I don't think giveio works for
more modern situations, x64 OSes and so on. But there
have been attempts at "punch thru" drivers before, for
the purpose of accessing things where you're not
supposed to have access. By doing that, you may be able
to update the POST display from the OS level.

*******

If you're up for a new build, you can "buy anything you want"
if all you're going to run is Windows 10. If you want to
run Windows 7 or WinXP, then a lot more thought has to
go into the process. The poster "Nil" did a build a few weeks
ago, and settled for Skylake and matching motherboard, in order
to cover Windows 7 without quibbles (so Windows Update wouldn't
block, and there would be drivers for stuff). If you want to use
Kaby Lake or Ryzen, they're probably not a problem with
Windows 10.

Do I like Windows 10 ? No, not when it interferes
with my benchmarking efforts. I *hate* it when some idiotic
maintenance starts in the middle of a benchmark run. And even
if you leave the PC sitting there for a couple hours, so
it can "play with itself", it will *still* insist on running
some crap, as soon as I start a benchmark. And then I'm left
wondering why the results vary slightly from run to run, and
i can't trust the OS further than I can throw it!

Paul
  #7  
Old December 17th 17, 07:54 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John B. Smith
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 163
Default failures on boot

On Sat, 16 Dec 2017 15:45:01 -0600, VanguardLH wrote:

John B. Smith wrote:

My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Once warmed, it boots okay. When cold, it might fail on a memory error.
Well, likely the PSU is as old as when the box was originally built.
PSUs typically lose 5% load capacity per year. No idea how close you
loaded the PSU to the surge current from all loads when cold. You might
want to start monitoring voltages from the PSU, or replace it with a new
and much bigger capacity unit.


Yes, PSU was installed in 2008. It's a PC Power And Cooling 610watt.
The ABIT mb has an application called Guru that supposedly allows me
to monitor the voltages. They all look ok. But that's when Windows has
booted and everything is running good. Yes, sounds like a flaky psu to
me too but hate to buy a new one on suspicion. I did define C1 in
original post.

Don't know what C1 and FF codes would mean. Obviously you have a mobo
with a couple LED displays to show boot codes. Seems you'd have to know
the mobo maker and model (unidentified here) to see in their manual what
the codes mean. You're not getting any beep codes on cold power boot
(https://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm)?

  #8  
Old December 17th 17, 07:59 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John B. Smith
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 163
Default failures on boot

On Sat, 16 Dec 2017 16:09:55 -0500, Flasherly
wrote:

On Sat, 16 Dec 2017 11:29:50 -0500, John B. Smith
wrote:

My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Similar error, two different scenarios -- of possible interest and
easiest test is your memory. The part about cleaning or a single
stick are easy;- I do it occasionally with an ink eraser, clean the
contacts before using parts cleaner on slots.

Sounds like the easiest thing to try, but it's still a chore to move
stuff on the desk to pull the memory boards with the tower upright.
I'll get to it. The pc booted flawlessly this morning, kinda puts my
desperation on hold.


http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/297503-30-error

https://forums.hexus.net/help-quick-...r-code-c1.html

  #9  
Old December 17th 17, 08:01 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John B. Smith
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 163
Default failures on boot

On Sat, 16 Dec 2017 11:36:16 -0600, Rene Lamontagne
wrote:

On 12/16/2017 10:29 AM, John B. Smith wrote:
My aging 2008 home built is acting up again. I'm afraid it may be
headed for the morgue. It will stop with a 'C1' code during the boot
on the BIOS display. This is defined as:
Auto detect of dram size type & ECC
Auto detect of L2 cache (socket 7 or below

That is, it will run the BIOS to completion, 'FF', and start booting
before falling out with the C1 and an audible alarm.

I've taken to booting mem86 of a diskette and running it a while
before attempting Windows when the machine is cold. Once booted, mem86
usuallly runs forever without errors. I did see it drop out once but
didn't catch the code that time. Once booted, XP runs flawlessly. Once
warmed up, reboots on XP never fail.

The 'C1' is also the first code I see when I turn the machine on.

If I had space to work on one I'd start a new build but it would be
very difficult the way I've jammed myself into this apartment. Also
I'm way behind the curve on planning a build with all the new chips
and mbs since 2008. I built this one with a ton of advice off the Abit
web site and here.


Just a couple guesses.

Failing power supply.
Leaking bad caps on motherboard.
Near dead CMOS battery.

changed that CMOS battery a few months ago, though the voltage was
still pretty good after all that time. I'm second-guessing my install
now though. Seems like it should have been idiot proof.
Rene

  #10  
Old December 17th 17, 08:07 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Rodney Pont[_6_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 20
Default failures on boot

On Sun, 17 Dec 2017 13:54:50 -0500, John B. Smith wrote:

Yes, PSU was installed in 2008. It's a PC Power And Cooling 610watt.
The ABIT mb has an application called Guru that supposedly allows me
to monitor the voltages. They all look ok. But that's when Windows has
booted and everything is running good. Yes, sounds like a flaky psu to
me too but hate to buy a new one on suspicion.


Doesn't the BIOS have a health tab and if so can you get into that when
you first switch on and see the power supply voltages?

Providing the on cmos battery is good and I removed and reseated
everything I can a power supply problem would be my next favourite
choice. You have to start somewhere and a power supply is the most
likely item to be able to use in the future. If you change motherboard,
for example, you may have to change cpu and ram as well.

--
Faster, cheaper, quieter than HS2
and built in 5 years;
UKUltraspeed http://www.500kmh.com/


 




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