Stumped - Can't Figure it Out!

[HoodedMan]

Hi all, first time here so bare with me http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I am having REAL problems with booting and general stability of my PC. I built it myself about 7 months ago and it has been PERFECT all this time. It all started when I took the CPU fan off to re-align it as it was being REALLY noisy. Aftrer that I got a whole load of 'Blue Screens of Death' .. so I decided an O/S reinstall was a good plan (Win ME). No good. Formatted the HDD. Still no good. Formatted again, reinstalled O/S again. Limited sucess .. but still hangs and crashes (no blue screens, everything just stops and the HDD light just stays on). At first I thought it was overheating .. but the temp is about 65degrees constant .. which is fine. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

If I go to the BIOS and load 'Optimised Defaults' .. the PC will crash within 10 mins. If I load 'Failsafe Defaults' it is usually okay for a bit longer (few hours). I then decided to update the BIOS to see if that would help ... then all hell broke loose. After flashing it (I got a message that BIOS Update Sucessful etc etc) the machine would not start. Well, to be more precise, the power came on, the DVD-ROM lights flash, the CPU and System fans all spin .. but the monitor does not turn on at all. The only way to get it to start is to take the MoBo Battery out for 5 mins and pull the power cord out. Then it will work until the PC is next restarted or rebooted ... when the monitor goes off and the battery needs to be removed again. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

I have tried to flash the BIOS with old revisions now ... but the same problem is still there. When I start the PC up .. it does the memory test and the IDE checks, and then says 'CMOS Checksum error. Defaults Loaded' and I have to press F1 to continue.

Here are the system specs:-
GIGABYTE GA-7DXR (AMD 761+686B AGPset) Dual BIOS - Current BIOS revision is F7 (F8 was the one I loaded when all this started - F6 was the original one I had when I started)
1.4ghz AMD K7 Chip
256MB DDR RAM
30GB MAXTOR HDD (says it is a MAXTOR 6L040J2 when it detects IDE on boot?)
Windows ME
LG GCC4120B CD-RW, DVD Drive

I have been trying EVERYTHING for the last few days .. and I can't figure it out. I am tending towards a screwed motherboard now .. but I really hope not. Anyone out there got any ideas .. I'm tearing my hair out here! I apologise for the long mail .. I wanted to try to explain the problem in as much detail as I could! Any help would be great,
Cheers, James.

[mjc]

Ok..when you flash the BIOS you need to go in and exit saving the changes. This will update it and should take care of the "Checksum error".

Also make sure that the "clear CMOS" jumper is in the normal/run position, and that the battery is fully seated (may not be a bad idea to replace it).

Make sure that the heatsink and fan are properly aligned and firmly locked down, unfortunately AMD chips are prone to cracking if the heatsink is not properly attached, and a cracked die may work, just not very well, and some of the symptoms you list could be that. Also the thermal paste leaking onto the bridges of the CPU can cause errors, so you may want to remove everything and scrub the CPU clean and try reseating the heatsink again.....

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[HoodedMan]

Cheers, MJC.
I have tried 3 different batteries ... same thing each time - so that rules that one out. There is very little heat transfer paste left on the chip, and most of it has dried off - so that one is ruled out too I guess. When you say exit and save changes, do you mean exit and save changes from teh 'Flash Utility program' or from the Bios itself. To exit the Flash program there is simply an EXIT command. I will have a look through the manual and see if I can find this Clear CMOS jumper. But it has worked fine for this long and I certainly haven't touched any jumpers. The fan is straight and well seated, but as with all fans, a certain 'pressure' is needed to get tehm on .. is there any way that I can tell if it is cracked?
It's just a pain having to remove the battery each time before the monitor will even turn on .. and then rushing through everything as fast as I can before the system halts again (anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 mins).
Manythinks for the help, much appreciated. I'm going back in .... (although it is 11.30pm here and I got work tomorrow!)
Cheers, J http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[andyswork@beci.net]

Welcome to the PC Guide. Try this http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000237.htm
or this http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterr-i.htm
or http://www.phoenix.com/pcuser/awardbios/award_error_codes.html
or http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterrGBER08-c.html
And do all mjc said to do.
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One day I will be a pro, Thanks Andy

[This message has been edited by andyswork@beci.net (edited 03-24-2002).]