PC won't boot past mobo screen

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AJZ

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Homebuilt
EVGA p55V
Intel i5
z3 4GB Ram (single stick)
nVidia geforce 8900
Ulta 750W ATX power supply
Memorex lightscribe cd drive

The first time i booted up the PC, I was unable to install an operating system for over a week. I would blue screen of death on the install of both x86 and x64 windows 7. Eventually, I persisted and successfully installed an OS. This was in January of fthis year. Since the successful install I've had numerous OS issues including theme failures, system error messages, freeze-ups, etc. Recently, the computer has been freezing every hour. When I try to restart, the PC locks on the windows shutting down screen.

At first, I thought it could be the processor because I started with the x64 OS, and figured the processor pins weren't set right (checked the same concept with the ram). But i checked the processor and ram and they were perfectly set. I tried to flash the mobo early on, but realized the updates for the p55v were lacking (mostly nonexistent actually).

Last week, the problem seemed to turbocharge. The OS (which was win7) seems to have corrupted. I went to EVGA for support. I stupidly forgot to write down my mobo serial key when i installed, so I had to tear apart the machine for the serial to get the EVGA support. The first think EVGA suggested was that i had a memory problem so they directed me to memtest. I have downloaded and burned memtest from my laptop, but now the PC won't boot at all. At first, windows was going into "save the os" mode, running a test of some sort. I tried to reinstall windows, but when I try to boot from cd, the entire pc turns off. It was only happening when i tried to boot from disc, so i thought i messed up my reinstall. But i've checked the disc drive and it seems to be connected properly. Where i stand now, the pc isnt only restarting when i try to boot. I removed all discs from the drive, and the PC boots to the mobo screen (where it shows the graphic and name of my mobo), then it shuts off. Over and over - 6 times.

So here I am. Basically, my pc won't turn on at all. Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
Solution
Proximon


This thread is getting a bit confused I think. Let me recap, you tell me if I'm wrong.

1. You had a lot of OS troubles and your RAM failed memtest in dimm1.
2. You switched your RAM to dimm2, and you can now pass memtest. You are having no more errors.

Allow me to quote myself:
On the RAM, people often think of RAM as working in one direction, but it's not like that. Whatever exists on your HDD passed through RAM on the way there ;)
So if your RAM is undervolted, OR if your RAM is being fed very dirty power from a bad PSU, it might...
Click to expand...
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Proximon

Proximon

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Ultra makes many bad PSUs these days. They were never terribly good but did have a few winners, and have sold some good PSUs lately. BUT, the good PSUs are almost always way overpriced. Much like Cooler Master and Thermaltake PSUs.

The LSX 750W failed at least one review due to excessive ripple on one of the power rails. Something like that could cause your issue. It might have also damaged other components by now.

You could also be failing to POST due to bad memory. What the heck is a z3? Is this OCZ Platinum z3? Some of those were 1.8V modules... did you use a module that required more than 1.65V? That would be the problem.


 
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AJZ

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Yeah, the ram is OCZ. Now I can't remember if its a 1.8v or not. I'll have to check. Thank you for the response.

You went straight to psu on the reply - i take that to mean that you aren't thinking mobo issue? Is there anyway to figure out if the psu is shite without replacing it?

Thanks again Prox

 
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americanbrian

americanbrian

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Could also be CPU overheating? did you carefully apply themal paste after reseating the CPU.

Weather has been warmer these last couple weeks, which might have been the proverbial straw.

I would test each component in a seperate machine to really discover the problem.
 
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lewza

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From what I have quoted in BOLD leads me to believe its a hard drive issue. It sounds as if from day 1 you have had issues with your hard drive. I GUARANTEE thats where your issue is.
 
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lewza

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Just to test its not your PSU which is faulty, id unplug power to the cd drive and graphics, use the onboard graphics and have power going to your mobo and Hard drive as this shouldnt use much resources from your PSU at all.

If it still fails id say its DEFINITELY hard drive.
 
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Guest

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My vote is on the hard drive as well, bios usually hangs when its unable to initialize the hdd
Put the hdd in another pc as secondary drive and scan for corruption, and backup your data asap if you have anything important on there although some might already be gone.
 
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AJZ

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Thanks ton guys. I'm gonna start with "Just to test its not your PSU which is faulty, id unplug power to the cd drive and graphics, use the onboard graphics and have power going to your mobo and Hard drive as this shouldnt use much resources from your PSU at all. "

Then i'll try to replacing the HDD. Full disclosure: the hdd is the only piece of the pc that was recycled from last build :-X. Very helpful.

Best,

 
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geekapproved

geekapproved

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If your memory voltage is set lower than the memory needs to run correctly, it would cause all the issues you mentioned.

Check the sticker on the ram, then set the bios to those settings.

OCZ ram is crap and Ultra psu's are crap. Are you aware your only running in single channel mode with your memory? You need memory in pairs to run in dual channel mode for best performance.
 
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lewza

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Agree'd, however, if the issue was with the memory like you say he would of experienced that from the start. It seems like gradually with time the problems have gotten worse.
 
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Uberragen21

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You have many people agreeing that it could be the HDD, memory, or PSU, and while I agree with them, you have to rule out each of those in order to find the problem. If I were you, the first thing I'd check is the bios settings for the memory and boot device. If you can, reset the bios to the original settings if you messed around with them extensively when you first set up your system. Then set the boot device to HDD, and make sure your HDD is plugged into the #1 SATA port on the motherboard. Also, change out the SATA cable, sometimes those have been known to cause errors in data transmission if it's faulty. Let the motherboard auto detect the memory (this should be the factory setting), this should give you the default memory settings according to the memory's JEDEC.

If that's still not working, try a spare HDD.
 
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gsxrme

gsxrme

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and if you have an HP printer. Disconnect it.. The card reader on alot of the HP printers fight with the the computers and the motherboard thinks the card reader is a HD and trys to load into windows. Which isn't going to happen :D
 
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Proximon

Proximon

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On the PSU test suggested, that only tests for one type of PSU problem. It doesn't test for out-of-spec ripple or Vdroop (under any load). It's just testing for Vdroop under larger loads.
Since you have been having issues already under low load conditions I tend to think that would not show much.

On the RAM, people often think of RAM as working in one direction, but it's not like that. Whatever exists on your HDD passed through RAM on the way there ;)
So if your RAM is undervolted, OR if your RAM is being fed very dirty power from a bad PSU, it might corrupt your OS installation.

... but when I try to boot from cd, the entire pc turns off. It was only happening when i tried to boot from disc, so i thought i messed up my reinstall. But i've checked the disc drive and it seems to be connected properly. ....
Click to expand...

This is what made me think PSU. You seem to be saying you can't even boot from a DVD drive without the PC doing a full restart... that sounds like a power issue OR RAM voltage issue.
 
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AJZ

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Okay...

I started unplugging things one by one. I got the same result every single time. Machine just stays powered on for 45-60s then shuts down. Does this mean its the PSU? I even tried a couple different combos of hardware plugged in and same result. Couldn't get into bios.

Thanks
 
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Proximon

Proximon

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I wish you had gotten two sticks of RAM :)

You need to discover the exact model number of that RAM so that we can tell what voltage it's supposed to get. If you got RAM that was incompatible with your system, THAT is the issue.

Other than that you are down to swapping parts to test. As others have said it could be any number of things, I'm just giving you my best guess. I may be good at arguing my case but don't ignore other input.
 
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americanbrian

americanbrian

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I still feel like its pointing to CPU overheating. Maybe one of the heatsink clips is undone? or a big air bubble trapped in the space between h/s and cpu.

What thermal paste are you using? try some MX-3, it's pretty cheap.

Can you get into the BIOS and check PC health status and tell me what temps it reports?
 
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lewza

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Good shout Brian, didnt think of that!

AJZ is it shutting down or restarting?

If its shutting down then it could be due to overheating, do what Brian said, take off the HS and make sure there is sufficient thermal paste. If not, apply properly and test.
 
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AJZ

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The ram sticker says 1.65v. I'll have to get the model when i get home. And the machine is shutting off, not restarting. I'll dab some more paste on there and let you guys know what happens. Thanks much
 
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geekapproved

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Not true because bios settings can change themselves from improper computer shutdown caused by lightning, power outtage, etc.

I personally experienced this recently on a friends computer I built. She could not finish a backup, it would fail. Kept getting memory read fail error. I tried everything.

On re-boot I just happened to notice that her cpu was not overclocked, although I know I overclocked it. So I went in bios and sure enough all the settings were changed, including the memory voltage. Her memory was 2.0v and it had defaulted back to 1.8v. I changed it back to 2.0v and the backup completed first try.
 
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AJZ

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Alright... i5 is running at 93 degrees C for the short time it runs before it WTFs and turns off. I'm thinking i5 shouldn't exceed 75C. Just before I checked the temp, i smeared on fresh compound and the heatsink is secure. I guess this certainly accounts for the shut downs. Why would the CPU be running so hot if its properly lubed and heatsink is good? Feel like im sliding backwards here. Thanks again guys
 
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Proximon

Proximon

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Smeared on fresh compound? That does not sound good at all.

You need to start with both surfaces very clean and then apply a very small amount of thermal paste. Depending on the cooler you are using, the amount of paste used is around the size of a frozen pea or 2 cooked grains of white rice.

To clean your CPU and heatsink use something lint free. Coffee filters work well.
 
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