HELP! PC hangs, does not boot properly

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

I been desprately searching forums but haven't encountered anything
that helped.

I can't seem to figure this one out.
PC specs:
Asus P4S800 motherboard
Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
512MB DDR Memory
I don't think anything else is relevant.
It was a barebones kit. I put everything together back in april I
think and everything was working fine. I haven't experienced any
problems until recently.
Suddenly one day the computer would not boot. I would turn it on and
it would power up but nothing happened. No beep, it would just hang.
So, I opened it up and started disconecting parts(HD, CD drives, etc)
one by one. No change.
Then I started to check connections on everything else(video card,
memory, etc) and nothing. Now for the part that really confusses me. I
unlocked the CPU fan to try to take it off. I had difficulty getting
it off so I decided to give up, reattached the fan and just for kicks
turned it on. It booted and went straight to system BIOS with a
message next to CPU external frequency(i think). It said something
about the setting being too high. I think it was at something like
200/33. I could be wrong about that value. I have it written down
somewhere. Anyway there wasn't a lower setting. So I left it alone and
exited for the BIOS and let the PC boot.
After this, anytime I wanted to use my computer I would have to unlock
the CPU fan, lock it again then boot. Otherwise the system would just
hang without booting. Also, the computer would freeze if I had it on
for too long.
Now it will not boot no matter what I do.
Could this be a problem with the power supply unit?
I thought it might be the processor overheating maybe.
I am really lost here and hope someone might be able to help.

If there is any information I leftout that might be relavant please
ask.
Thank you.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

If processor overheats, then system simply slows down.
Press on top of fan while powering on. Does system then
work? If yes, you have identified a mechanical problem -
probably a bad connection. But heat is the last thing on your
list of possible problems. Since that is all so many
understand, they they are quick to blame heat.

It could also be a problem with many other things. But your
actions suggest a mechanical problem. A problem that might
even fix itself (temporarily) when system gets warmer.

spectralshadow wrote:
> I been desprately searching forums but haven't encountered anything
> that helped.
>
> I can't seem to figure this one out.
> PC specs:
> Asus P4S800 motherboard
> Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
> 512MB DDR Memory
> I don't think anything else is relevant.
> It was a barebones kit. I put everything together back in april I
> think and everything was working fine. I haven't experienced any
> problems until recently.
> Suddenly one day the computer would not boot. I would turn it on and
> it would power up but nothing happened. No beep, it would just hang.
> So, I opened it up and started disconecting parts(HD, CD drives, etc)
> one by one. No change.
> Then I started to check connections on everything else(video card,
> memory, etc) and nothing. Now for the part that really confusses me. I
> unlocked the CPU fan to try to take it off. I had difficulty getting
> it off so I decided to give up, reattached the fan and just for kicks
> turned it on. It booted and went straight to system BIOS with a
> message next to CPU external frequency(i think). It said something
> about the setting being too high. I think it was at something like
> 200/33. I could be wrong about that value. I have it written down
> somewhere. Anyway there wasn't a lower setting. So I left it alone and
> exited for the BIOS and let the PC boot.
> After this, anytime I wanted to use my computer I would have to unlock
> the CPU fan, lock it again then boot. Otherwise the system would just
> hang without booting. Also, the computer would freeze if I had it on
> for too long.
> Now it will not boot no matter what I do.
> Could this be a problem with the power supply unit?
> I thought it might be the processor overheating maybe.
> I am really lost here and hope someone might be able to help.
>
> If there is any information I leftout that might be relavant please
> ask.
> Thank you.

 

[ken]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

spectralshadow wrote:
> I been desprately searching forums but haven't encountered anything
> that helped.
>
> I can't seem to figure this one out.
> PC specs:
> Asus P4S800 motherboard
> Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
> 512MB DDR Memory
> I don't think anything else is relevant.
> It was a barebones kit. I put everything together back in april I
> think and everything was working fine. I haven't experienced any
> problems until recently.
> Suddenly one day the computer would not boot. I would turn it on and
> it would power up but nothing happened. No beep, it would just hang.
> So, I opened it up and started disconecting parts(HD, CD drives, etc)
> one by one. No change.
> Then I started to check connections on everything else(video card,
> memory, etc) and nothing. Now for the part that really confusses me. I
> unlocked the CPU fan to try to take it off. I had difficulty getting
> it off so I decided to give up, reattached the fan and just for kicks
> turned it on. It booted and went straight to system BIOS with a
> message next to CPU external frequency(i think). It said something
> about the setting being too high. I think it was at something like
> 200/33. I could be wrong about that value. I have it written down
> somewhere. Anyway there wasn't a lower setting. So I left it alone and
> exited for the BIOS and let the PC boot.
> After this, anytime I wanted to use my computer I would have to unlock
> the CPU fan, lock it again then boot. Otherwise the system would just
> hang without booting. Also, the computer would freeze if I had it on
> for too long.
> Now it will not boot no matter what I do.
> Could this be a problem with the power supply unit?
> I thought it might be the processor overheating maybe.
> I am really lost here and hope someone might be able to help.
>
> If there is any information I leftout that might be relavant please
> ask.
> Thank you.
>

If your computer booted when you messed with the heat sink, I would
think you disturbed an intermittent connection enough to make it work.
Your problem could be several things, but the first thing I would do is
remove the processor from the socket and re-install it. It could be
that a poor connection exists on one of its pins.

One needs to be careful however in that it could be some other
connector is being moved with your first action. Look closely in the
area of the processor for other connections such as power. If the RAM
has not also been reseated, you might do that as well. Failed RAM could
also cause your problem.

As a final action if the above do not work, I would remove the MB from
the case and see if it will boot up outside of the case. There could be
something on the underside or something you cannot see on the top of the
MB that is shorting out the circuitry. Most of the steps you have taken
are good first steps. All I would add to them is I hope you
disconnected your cables at the MB. If a cable were shorted, you might
still prevent the boot up of the computer even though the IDE cable had
been removed from the HD and CD.