System hangs before POST completes.

[sordid_state]

Hello everyone! I have recently begun expereiencing boot problems with my computer. Upon restart, my computer hangs directly after the memory is checked. The system hangs at the same point with each reboot. The dialogue present on the screen at the time of the freeze is:

Press F2 To Enter System Configuration
Press F11 For Boot Menu
Dual Channel Memory Mode


Then the system hangs. There are no beep codes to indicate particular device failure. I've tried accessing the BIOS, but the first line of dialogue just changes to indicate your selection, and then hangs at the same spot. If I start the system without memory installed, I get the predictable beep codes. If I start the system with the hard drive disconnected, the previously described behavior still occurs. This makes me think it is a bios or motherboard problem. I can't access bios settings or the o/s for troubleshooting, and I don't have a post card. If anyone could provide any insight into this situation, I would be greatly appreciative.

Some information about my hardware setup follows:

ASRock 775V88+ Motherboard
3ghz Pentium 4 Socket 775 Prescott Core Processor
PC3200 400mhz Corsair Value Ram 512MB x 2
Seagate ATA-5 120 GB Hard Drive
No floppy drive

Thanks in advance.

 

[IH8U]

Sounds like either the RAM, or the RAM slots on the MB, have you tried rinning the RAM in single channel mode? Or try 1 stick at a time to see if it is the RAM (then power off and try a different slot) repeat as nesecary.

 

[dokk2]

Hello everyone! I have recently begun expereiencing boot problems with my computer. Upon restart, my computer hangs directly after the memory is checked. The system hangs at the same point with each reboot. The dialogue present on the screen at the time of the freeze is:

Press F2 To Enter System Configuration
Press F11 For Boot Menu
Dual Channel Memory Mode


Then the system hangs. There are no beep codes to indicate particular device failure. I've tried accessing the BIOS, but the first line of dialogue just changes to indicate your selection, and then hangs at the same spot. If I start the system without memory installed, I get the predictable beep codes. If I start the system with the hard drive disconnected, the previously described behavior still occurs. This makes me think it is a bios or motherboard problem. I can't access bios settings or the o/s for troubleshooting, and I don't have a post card. If anyone could provide any insight into this situation, I would be greatly appreciative.

Some information about my hardware setup follows:

ASRock 775V88+ Motherboard
3ghz Pentium 4 Socket 775 Prescott Core Processor
PC3200 400mhz Corsair Value Ram 512MB x 2
Seagate ATA-5 120 GB Hard Drive
No floppy drive

Thanks in advance.

Now there's an argument for a floppy drive [or equvilent] if ever ,etc,etc,..
Now then: it doesn't seem that your ram is the problem.although you might try booting with one only just to eliminate that possibility,off hand without a floppy or a diagnostic cd/dvd i believe that you may be looking at a reformat etc,etc,.What i use to save my bacon from time to time is ,,1,,An ME floppy which XP makes ,,with ME's scandisk and ,,2."The Bigeee" Norton's ghost....One other note make absolutely certain/sure that all connections are coposetic and secure,,,because you are not getting an error message ??? it seems that you might have a hardware problem of some kind... good luck..

 

[hughyhunter]

Dude... it's your power supply... I gurantee it!

 

[sordid_state]

I have tried booting my PC in single channel mode, I even grabbed the ram out of my room mates computer and the issue persists. The PC has booted 3 times since the problem began. This came about through repeatedly hitting the reset switch, on the order of 30 - 50 times! One of the reasons I was thinking the motherboard/bios is due to being unable to enter the bios configuration. Does POST need to complete before you can access this? I'm going to test it with my room mates power supply as well.

Thanks for the replies!

P.S. I also completely dis and reassembled my PC to ensure everything was snug.

 

[hughyhunter]

Well... I wouldnt think that it's your motherboard because it's hanging!

Tell you what... if you take out your battery to your motherboard... wait about an hour and then try again. If you know how to clear CMOS do that too. If it doenst fix it check connections. Then change PSU... if you are still broke i'm sorry I am stupid!