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#1
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System freezes during Boot
I recenly started experiencing a unique intemittent problem. My system
starts to boot but freezes just before it is supposed to test the memory. I am unable to give a keyboard command to enter CMOS, Control Alt Del does not work. I am unable to switch it off either. I have to switch off the power at the back. 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, 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. Thanks Please reply by remoing avoidspam from my email address. Hamid |
#2
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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. |
#3
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Thanks. I tried many of the tricks and was unable to figure out. I
eventually ended up buying a new MOBO with a pre-installed Duron 1.8 GHz, had to buy new PC 2100 memory (still on its way) and have replaced the entire case with power supply. I was afraid to use my old ATI AGP 1x video card 3.3 V since I was unsure if AGP 4 slot on the new MOBO will support AGP1 card. I am waiting for that card to arrive as well. I am keeping all drives with previously installed Windows ME. I will let you know if the problem was solved. In the meanwhile, I will keep fiddling with the old MOBO, just for the heck of it. Thank you so much for the useful suggestions. Hamid |
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