Ok, I was barely overclocking the other day.. and got tired.. so i cleared bois overclocking and shut down. ( Everything was functioning when i shut down)

I wake up the next morning and press the power button.. it turns on.. then directly off and stays off for about 5 seconds .. then powers up.

The screen is barley readable... it looks like a bad reception on the local tv.

So.. im stuck in the same pickle now.. im thinking it is a mobo problem.. because nothing else controls the power on and off..

( expect the power supply .. but i have already used another one.. and same outcomes )

so.. what to do.. I cant find anyone with a PCI/E graphics card to see if thats the problem..

Clear your CMOS data, making sure the PS is shut off and unplugged, and the backup batter is removed, while you do the clearing.

Cmos? If your referring to Bios.. ive cleared that..

Ok, this is the part that's unclear, because it doesn't seem possible to literally do that. If you would post exactly what you did, step by step, that would help clarify things a lot.

I cleared all of my overclocking settings.. and turned my computer off. at the time i turned my computer off... everything was functioning properly.

OK, since clearing the CMOS requires that the computer be off and the PS unplugged, that's where I'm getting confused. Perhaps you did something other than clearing the CMOS? Look in your MB manual, and it should have a section on clearing/resetting the CMOS data.

mmk.... i took the battery out... and have my power supply off and unplugged... this is like the 3rd time to do it.. but ill leave it out for the night.. is that what yall are talking about?

Then go ahead and short the appropriate jumper for 30 seconds or so, reinstall the battery, plug the power back in and see what happens.

im sorry if im kind of a neophyte to this.. but what do you mean by short a jumper?

Look at your motherboard manual -- it will describe the procedure for "clearing the CMOS data". This varies somewhat between MBs, but normally involves briefly (15-30 seconds) shorting two header pins by installing a tiny rectangular shorting plug onto them.

i just did that... no help =\

I suppose you reseated your video card?

Even reseated the ram?

How old is the system?

Can you list you system parts, and what were you OC'ing to?

im assuming by re seating you mean taking out and back in? if so.. then yes..

system was build around the new year..

I had my E6400 up to 3.1 for about 10 min.. then I lowered to 2.4 ish.. not sure EXACT settings.

It might be a pain, but take a real good look at your MB and video card for blown capacitors. They should be easy to spot. The top would be budging out, there even be brownish material on the bottom that shouldn't look normal.

Edit:

I did even see an article out today on toms:

Fixing Your Motherboard for $15

Although I'm not saying it cost $15 bucks to fix your MB.

definitely none blow out the top... two seem to be fairly bent.. but Im pretty sure that's just bent.. not anything i can see... ive checked everyone I could find.. but Ill check tomorrow when i get more light in my room... my ceiling light isn't too bright

Did you lock the pci ex frequency when you were overclocking? Might have damaged your gpu.

That was set at 100 when i was at 3.1. and auto when i was at 2.5/4

Well i'm not that experienced in overclocking still, but i think that maybe when you had it on auto it also increased the pci ex speed and may have damaged your gpu, as i think about a 400mhz increase in your cpu speed is about a 40mhz increase in fsb (is it?) which means that the pci ex speed would have increased in some proportion to that (i think), and i'm not sure if it can handle much of an overclock. I can't say for sure but just a thought.

Perhaps try getting another gpu from somewhere or buy a cheap one to test with.

Hopefully someone can sort out whether i'm right or not.

as retarded as it sounds check your vga/dvi cable.
Something messed on it.
Say your case is laying on it or a severe bend could degrade your signal.

Yes.. that did sound retarded... but it was within reason.. no bends .. all connections are tight

If I had to gues from what I read so far.. you video card might be a gonner

I would agree with you.. but then why would the power up problems occur.. and I got the screen to be clear for long enough to start vista one time.. then it went back.. so.. im still convinced its a mobo prob.