This problem has now been resolved! :) Thank you to all who offered their advise and assistance! :)

 

Hi,

 

My PC crashed in a big way first thing this morning (it must have wanted another day off this week). Symptoms are as follows:

 

PC worked fine and shut down fine last night

 

This morning I went to turn it on and the booting process stops pretty much directly after turning the PC on. The only thing that is displayed is the Asus (ie, motherboard) splash screen with the message "press DEL to run setup or TAB to view POST messages". Unfortunately the PC is unresponsive to (wired)keyboard inputs so I can't even get to the BIOS. The MoBo seems to get power as the LED is on. The HDD very briefly spins and then goes silent. I'm thinking either PSU/CPU or HDD problem.

 

Configuration: ASUS MoBo, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU, 2GB RAM, 2x SATA HDD, AGP Graphics card, etc.

 

The system is about 5 years old but has run near enough flawlessly to date.

 

If any PC guru might have an incling as to what might be causing this problem please give me a call on either 0845 4744-382 or if there is no answer there please phone me on my mobile 07876 684-354 (I may be out and about buying new PC parts). I will be able to use my wife's laptop to gain access to the forums but this will only be sporadic so a phone call would be much appreciated.

 

Many thanks!

 

dan

Edited May 27, 200916 yr by DTA (UK)
Problem now resolved - thank you to all those who offered their advise and help!

Worth swapping the graphics card out for another if you have a spare PC.

Failing to get past the BIOS is either hard drive failure or graphics card.

Worth swapping the graphics card out for another if you have a spare PC.

Failing to get past the BIOS is either hard drive failure or graphics card.

 

you can get past the post screen and even into the bios with no hard drive. try resetting your comms, either use a jumper so short the clear CMOS pins on the motherboard or take the battery out (usualy a cr220) and leave for 15 mins and then try that

Try discharging the caps on the board.

 

Unplug the power lead, hold the power button down while its out for 30sec.

 

plug it back in :)

Most probably a motherboard issue... try dusting around capacitors... this is a common cause when MBs gets old and collects dust around capacitors. The dust then collects water vapour and discharges the current but when it is heated works OK.

Superb suggestions chaps! Will give it all a try later and report back.

 

In the event it is a corrupted HDD, are there any methods I can use to retrieve the data?

 

Also, a few more questions whilst I'm here:

 

1. What is the difference between SATA and SATA-II? I'm assuming the latter is the newer version. Question is whether the newer drives are compatible with the old MoBo and connectors?

2. RAID: if I want to ensure against data loss on one HDD I think that a RAID setup is the way forward. Can you suggest which setup is best (in respect of speed and security)?

3. Does anyone have a cheaper source for an official version of Win XP-pro other than say ebuyer or overclockers? I'd like an official version with which I can use the auto update function. The version of XP I've had on the PC was aparently "bootlegged" by the company that installed it as it refuses to validate when trying to download official MS patches, etc.

 

Many thanks for your feedback!

 

Dan

just in lieu of trying other suggestions - try unplugging your HDD altogether, then outside the base unit unplug everything except power, monitor, and keyboard, and see how far you get with that. if you still cant get into BIOS then make sure video card is seated firmly in the socket, its probably worth checking the RAM chips are seated too.

 

if you do manage to get it to start booting up but still suspect an HDD problem, then turn it off straight away and look for recovery options (such as plugging drive into another PC as a second drive and copying your files), as while booting up and through normal use, Windows will be writing stuff all over the shop and (if there's a disc problem) over your valuable files.

Easy bits first, disconnect from the mains and then remove the cmos battery for 30 mins to clear the cmos, refit and try a reboot, if all works and boots up go directly to the roll back feature and select a previous day when all was working ok and then restart.

 

If non of that works and all connections and cables look in good order you may need to use a serial port device ( on e-bay ) will help if you know your motherboard make and model, go to the relevant web site and see if you can download the cmos file and reinstall this, CAUTION cmos mistakes can kill motherboards so be careful.

 

Failing all of this and before writing any hardware off a virtual windows boot disc is the easiest way to go, allows you to look at the HD to see if all boot ini files in place and of course save any thing you do not want to loose. ( ebay again )

 

It is possible a courrupted boot file is all that is preventing the complete boot, reinstalling the file will most likely result in an admin password requirement and this sometimes becomes corrupted too ( seen this very recently) and then you need to find the password on the hd via the DOS prompt key (location is always the same) it will appear as asterisks but no worries just remove them and re-enter a new password that you know and then save / enter.

Return to admin request and now you have cracked the login full access should return.

 

The isssue you have may potentially be "fixed" by one of the above but been a windows issue also means it may not and requires more than what can be easily explained here.

 

Good Luck

 

Jeff TT

Edited May 26, 200916 yr by JeffTT

Hi Dan,

If you get stuck give me a call anytime and I should be able to help you out - 07702 333323.

Are there any beeps when you switch it on? Some faults give error codes as beep combinations.

 

Doesn't sound like a hard drive fault so your data should be OK but in the event of a proper disaster I can probably get your data back either myself or through a data recovery company I use for extreme cases.

Have you got any backups?

 

1. SATA 2 is a newer faster version but is backwards compatible so will work with any SATA 1 stuff you've got.

 

2. You can set up a cheap mirrored RAID system just by adding a second drive of the same or greater capacity and using windows software to do it. Any data copied to one drive is mirrored on the second so if one fails you have a copy. Cheaper than other RAID systems which need more drives.

 

3. You won't get a genuine copy of XP much cheaper but try lambdatech.co.uk and scan.co.uk

Another option is to download a copy of Windows 7 RC1 (Release Candidate / beta copy) and run that free until June 2010 and then buy a full licensed copy. Gets you the latest Windows software and it's free for a year. Seems reliable on my test systems at work but it's all down to the software you use. If your stuff will work with Vista it should work with Win7.

 

Chris.

Edited May 26, 200916 yr by ChrisC

ChrisC: Thanks for the feedback - I may give you a call if nothing else works ... There are no beeps to speak of.

 

JeffTT: Thanks for the info! Hope you're enjoying your days off!

 

SkylineDave: Thanks for the info! If a CMOS reset doesn't help then I'll try your method - seems very logical. By the way, your Eibachs arrived this afternoon, I'll try to get them out the door tomorrow but will let you know.

 

Thanks guys - much appreciate your help!

 

Dan

Im up north atm mate, might beable to drop in on friday night if you still need some help

Hi,

 

Just wanted to let everyone who has offered advice know that the problem seems to have been resolved.

 

As suggested, I cleared the CMOS by removing the battery overnight. Popped it back in this morning, was able to get into the BIOS to reset the boot sequence, etc, hit F10 to save & exit and apart from a random messages stating "new CPU installed" the PC started up without a problem. I've restarted it a number of times now and apart from it booting a little bit slower (the part before you get to the XP splash screen is significantly slower) everything seems fine. Have immediately backed up all vital data! ;)

 

So, a BIG thank you to everyone who kindly offered their advise! Much appreciated. I am soooooo relieved that all my data is still intact! Will be looking for an automated backup/imaging solution now.

 

I still don't know what caused the problem in the first place and it is making me nervous thinking it could go again at some point. Suppose it's like owning a 300ZX - you never quite know whether it will start up in the morning or what might go wrong with it during the trip ... ;)

 

Will need to save more pennies to build a new PC me thinks. This system is now 5 years old so could do with an upgrade. Still, it's been working just fine up till now.

 

Thanks again!

 

Dan

glad its sorted mate! thanks for the update too ;)

Hi,

 

Just wanted to let everyone who has offered advice know that the problem seems to have been resolved.

 

As suggested, I cleared the CMOS by removing the battery overnight. Popped it back in this morning, was able to get into the BIOS to reset the boot sequence, etc, hit F10 to save & exit and apart from a random messages stating "new CPU installed" the PC started up without a problem. I've restarted it a number of times now and apart from it booting a little bit slower (the part before you get to the XP splash screen is significantly slower) everything seems fine. Have immediately backed up all vital data! ;)

 

So, a BIG thank you to everyone who kindly offered their advise! Much appreciated. I am soooooo relieved that all my data is still intact! Will be looking for an automated backup/imaging solution now.

 

I still don't know what caused the problem in the first place and it is making me nervous thinking it could go again at some point. Suppose it's like owning a 300ZX - you never quite know whether it will start up in the morning or what might go wrong with it during the trip ... ;)

 

Will need to save more pennies to build a new PC me thinks. This system is now 5 years old so could do with an upgrade. Still, it's been working just fine up till now.

 

Thanks again!

 

Dan

 

Remember if you need anyhelp selecting the parts or have any issues about parts pm me mate :)

So, a BIG thank you to everyone who kindly offered their advise! Much appreciated. I am soooooo relieved that all my data is still intact! Will be looking for an automated backup/imaging solution now.

 

I still don't know what caused the problem in the first place and it is making me nervous thinking it could go again at some point. Suppose it's like owning a 300ZX - you never quite know whether it will start up in the morning or what might go wrong with it during the trip ... ;)

 

Will need to save more pennies to build a new PC me thinks. This system is now 5 years old so could do with an upgrade. Still, it's been working just fine up till now.

 

Thanks again!

 

Dan

 

Get yourself one of these or similar - press a button and it's backed up. Or schedule for a certain time of day.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/hard-drive-backup/external-drives/maxtor-onetouch-4.html

 

Chances are it was just the BIOS got corrupted and clearing it has cured the problem. It can happen from time to time from power surges, incorrect shutdown etc etc.

 

If the PC is 5 years old and your business is depending on it then I'd be replacing it as sooner or later it's bound to go wrong.

You can get a perfectly good business PC with monitor etc for £300+VAT or about £180 if you just want to swap the tower and keep your other stuff.