Error: Previous Overclock Had Failed

[warhammer3025]

I have recently begun having boot problems on my gaming PC. Sometimes the system will enter an infinite boot loop when starting, and sometimes I recieve an error message at POST that states "The Previous Overclock Has Failed, and system will restore to its default setting".

I have never overclocked my motherboard, nor any of the components of my computer.

This is causing me quite a bit of consternation, as I have not the money to buy any new hardware, if that's the cause of the issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Motherboard: MSI P43-C51 LGA775
CPU: E7200 Wolfram Core2 Duo
Video Card: ATI RadeonHD 4870

 

[hell_storm2004]

Did you reset to default settings and boot?

 

[warhammer3025]

It's been a persistent problem for a couple of days now.

I've tried setting the BIOS to both the "Optimized Default" and the "Fail-Safe Default" without noticeable effect.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Could be because of inadequate power supply... What is your PSU?

 

[warhammer3025]

I have an Antec earthwatts EA500 500 watt Power Supply. It's been fine since I bought it almost a year ago.

 

[warhammer3025]

The system doesn't seem to show any instability once it's actually booted up. The only problems seem to be during the startup process itself.

 

[warhammer3025]

I finally diagnosed the problem: one of the RAM slots on the motherboard has gone bad. Just one more reason to set money aside for a new rig.

Thanks much for the attempts to help!