Computer freezes/no POST

[Frylock]

Just what the title says. I can't even reformat and reinstall Windows without it freezing. What happens is my computer will freeze up for no reason whatsoever (it could be idle) and then when I restart, it won't even display the first "mobo" display, my screen will be completely blank, even though my computer is on and you can hear the fans going (and even the HDD light flashing.) If I leave my computer off for a day or two, I'll be able to start it up with no problems until it completely freezes up again and it won't POST again.

So far I have tried to replace the video card with an older (working) card, but to no avail. I've inspected my motherboard and other components and they seem to be fine. I've unplugged all my peripherals (hard drives, cd-roms, fans, FDD) and ran with just the essentials, but it won't POST. I've tried everything short of replacing the mobo, since that is what I think is wrong with it. But I want to make sure it's not anything else first before I mail my mobo back to MSI and possibly shell out the money to buy a new one.

SPECS:

MSI 865PE NEO2 motherboard
Pentium 4 2.8C w/ Vantec AeroFlow 2 Heatsink
1 Gigabyte (2x512) Corsair TwinX 3200C2 Platinum RAM
PNY Geforce 6800 GT 256 MB
480 TruePower Antec PSU
CD-RW drive
DVD-Rom drive
40 GIG Maxtor HD
160 GIG Maxtor HD
Antec PLUSVIEW 1000AMG Case (Big with lots of circulation)
5 Antec fans - 2 back, 2 front, one side

 

[peartree]

From your post, I would say there are two main possibilities. First would be the video card. I would have included tha tpower supply in the list, but that PSU is a good one. Not that it can't be bad, but the chances of it being unable to power your system are slim to none.

I would try to get a reasonably new AGP or PCI video card and try that. Borrow one from a friend, if you don't have one.

If that doesn't work, the other possibility is system RAM. That's not very likely. Frankly, if it won't give you a clear post and there's nothing on the screen AT ALL, then it's the video card.

Or the CPU/motherboard/BIOS, of course, but we hope that it's not one of those! If you can take your current video card and pop it in another system, that should clear up that question.

Check things out and let us know what's going on.

<font color=green>****</font color=green> Never Assume <font color=red>ANYTHING</font color=red> <font color=green>****</font color=green>

 

[Frylock]

Well I tried replacing the video card with an older, working card, and it had the same result. I can now keep my computer on for like one hour intervals before it freezes up and I need to reboot. I'm thinking it's a motherboard problem, but upon inspection I couldn't find anything burnt out. I just want to make sure it's my mobo before I either buy a new one or send it back to MSI.

 

[peartree]

At least you're now running. That helps a lot. Just for kicks, get hold of a copy of Memtest86, burn the ISO to CD, and run the tester overnight. If there's any kind of problem with the RAM, it will show up. Windows won't be in control of your video and the pure text output of the program should be pretty stress-free for your video card, so maybe it will run long enough. If it freezes up overnight, then make note of the last screen output of the program. You can get the tester at http://www.memtest86.com/.

<font color=green>****</font color=green> Never Assume <font color=red>ANYTHING</font color=red> <font color=green>****</font color=green>