Computer won't boot to windows

  • Thread starter Thread starter mmjmm
  • Start date Start date
M

mmjmm

I have removed all the PCI cards from my computer and connected the
monitor to the onboard video port on the CUSL2 MB and it still won't
get further than the BIOS. The HD boots immediately in another
computer. For about a year it has run ok with 3 SDRAM 256, 128, & 64,
but now the BIOS won't boot unless I have the 64 M stick in the
central slot.

When I boot from the W2k recovery floppies it gets to the message
"checking your computer's hardware configuration...." then hangs.

I assume the problem is most likely in the MB but would like to know
if there is anything else I could do to check before I try to get a
2nd hand board.

Thanks
Mike
 
I have removed all the PCI cards from my computer and connected the
monitor to the onboard video port on the CUSL2 MB and it still won't
get further than the BIOS. The HD boots immediately in another
computer. For about a year it has run ok with 3 SDRAM 256, 128, & 64,
but now the BIOS won't boot unless I have the 64 M stick in the
central slot.

When I boot from the W2k recovery floppies it gets to the message
"checking your computer's hardware configuration...." then hangs.

I assume the problem is most likely in the MB but would like to know
if there is anything else I could do to check before I try to get a
2nd hand board.
Click to expand...

What have you done in terms of testing the RAM? I've had sticks of sdram
simply go bad.
 
I ran RAMtest and found that at least 1 stick was ok. I used that
stick to reboot after unplugging each card.

Mike
 
I ran RAMtest and found that at least 1 stick was ok. I used that
stick to reboot after unplugging each card.
Click to expand...

Well, do that with the other sticks, having each stick being the only
stick in the motherboard. Troubleshooting can be a tedious process. I'm
not familiar with RAMtest, as I've used memtest86 n the past.
 
Sorry, must have been thinking about RAM when I typed. I meant
Memtest.

The problem persists when the stick given the ok by Memtest is the
only RAM on the MB.

Mike
 
Sorry, must have been thinking about RAM when I typed. I meant
Memtest.

The problem persists when the stick given the ok by Memtest is the
only RAM on the MB.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay, I didn't realise the problems were persisting with that single
stick of RAM installed. What precipitated all this, or was it just a
sudden malfunction with no hardware changes involved? When you say it
"still won't get further than the BIOS" could you be more specific? What
actually comes up on the screen? Does it finish POSTing and then try to
load the OS from the HDD? Are you able to boot with a win98 floppy drive?
 
The problem started when I switched it on after a brownout followed by
a blackout. The brownout turned into a blackout before it could be
switched off. The first problem when starting was a "floppy drive
failure". I replaced the damaged floppy and tried again.

The BIOS displays normally to the point where it would normally start
to load the OS.

It boots from a W98 floppy to the command prompt A:, then when I try
to run Setup from the W98 installation disk it gets to the message
"Checking t your computer's hardware configuration" then hangs.

I tried running this with a new blank formatted HDD. The HDD that was
in the comp at the time was NTFS, so I couldn't access it from DOS.

It does the same if I try to boot from the W98 installation disk.

I tried booting from the 4 W2k bootup disks and the origina HDD. When
I got an error message I used DOS to make another set of boot floppies
from the W2k installation CD.

Again, it got to the "checking hardware etc" and hung.
I tried booting directly from the W2k installation disk and it did the
same.

When it worked at all it never got past the chacking message.

I tried removing the PCI cards 1 at a time but it always did the same
thing until there were no cards and only 1 RAM stick left on the
board. I had connected the monitor to the onboard video by this time.

Mike
 
Brownout huh? Power fluctuations, in partcicular brownouts, are very
hard on computer hardware. The HDD is what usually gets killed, you're
lucky yours still works. I'm not sure where to direct you from here, but
in the future I'd HIGHLY recommend getting a uninterruptable power
supply (UPS) to use as a power conditioner. I use the more expensive APC
brand, but there are less expensive 'non-commercial' brands that will do
what you need perfectly well. It's a very small price to pay for the
safety of your hardware, your data, and in the end, isn't your time
valuable? These are the things that prompted me to purchase an UPS for
myself and one for my wife.
 
Thanks for trying. I used to think that I was safe because I had a
power board with a surge protector, apparently not. All I can do now
is take the MB to the computer shop I get my gear from and they say
they will test it out of the case but don't think there is much chance
it will work.

Thanks
Mike
 
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