I am new at this site. I just want to ask my computer wont boot. I used my computer then suddenly the computer turn off. I check the power supply but it still working. Until now the computer is not booting. Could be my processor is malfunctioning or my board? Last December 2003 i tried to clear my cmos because i forget my password i need to clear it. After clearing it some message appear cmos battery low and cmos memory setup wrong. I change my battery but the message still appearing when i start the computer. How can u determine if your microprocessor is still functioning?

The Following spec of my computer
pentium 4 1.7 Ghz
ECS motherboard (built in sound)
VGA 32 Mb (SIS 360) AGP
internal modem

I hope u can help.

Once a BIOS is reset it will often say the configuration is wrong or checksum error.

Usually this is fixed by actually going into the BIOS and eiher manually restoring each settings or selecting to load one of the default options that may be available.

That fact that the screen will come up at all is an indicator that the processor is still alive.

But how did he access the Internet and post his message if his computer won't boot ? Maybe this is a stupid question, but hey ! one's gotta learn... (as they say)

Welcome aboard, shinsuwi.

Are you saying that you were using your comp like normal, and it suddenly shut itself off? That could be a heat related problem.

Also, did your computer work fine before it suddenly shut itself off, and since then it won't boot?

Hello shinsuwi.

You could use a copy of my Diagnostic Flowcharts.
Download them from here
www.erniek.eclipse.co.uk/downloads/sylvanderdiags.zip
and print them to leaf through.

Here’s one possible route through them:

START UP TEST
1. Is the PC dead? No. [You have fans, lights, etc]
2. Did POST appear to run? No.
3. Were there any audible beeps? No. [a single short beep indicates successful completion of POST]
4. The Power-On Self-Test failed to complete. [NO POST]
[The video card is only enabled if POST completes so there will be no display]

NO POST
1. Are the PSU voltages correct? Check them if you can. If they are not you may have a faulty PSU. Assuming they ARE ok then:
2. Disconnect all peripherals and system adaptor cards except the keyboard and video card/monitor.
3. Does the POST now run? If it doesn’t then your system board [or something on it (video card, CPU, memory, battery, BIOS settings)] is faulty. If it does run then:
4. Re-connect the floppy disk drive and run advanced diagnostic software from a floppy disk.
[Get “TuffTest-Lite” from http://www.tufftest.com/free.htm or better if you can. This is simple and basic.]
5. Does the system board pass? If not then it is faulty. If it does pass then:
6. Switch off and re-connect ONE peripheral/adaptor card.
7. Does POST now run? If it doesn’t this last device connected is faulty and should be disconnected. If it does run the device should be tested using the diagnostics and if it fails is faulty and should be disconnected. If it passes it's ok and should be included.
8. Repeat from step 6 until all devices are tested, all faulty are excluded and all working are included, then re-test the system.

If you want to simplify the test for a first attempt at a fix you could assume the PSU is ok and leave out the tests with diagnostic software.

But how did he access the Internet and post his message if his computer won't boot ?

I consider this inappropriate. We get a lot of people with computers that cannot boot, we don't usually worry about how they get online...usually by borrowing a computer from a friend or going to the library, and some have 2 computers.

But popping into a thread for something like this and not contributing to that thread is not a good thing. Your comment can easily be seen as smart-aleck, frivolous and give someone the impression they will be treated with disrespect here.

THINK twice...TYPE once...