Computer wont boot.

[MarkWG]

Hello, I have a Pentium 233 mmx with a Matsonic MS-5120 motherboard.I removed the 4 72 pin memory totalling 64 mb. and installed a PC133 256 mb and a PC100 128mb sticks totalling 384 mb the max for this board. The computer has been running great until i needed the 256 mb stick for another computer so i removed both 168 pin sticks and put back the 72 pin sticks , at restart the computer started to beep.short continuous beeps . so i removed the sticks and rearranged them. no more beeps but the monitor goes from green light to yellow light.it wont boot up .I have a Award bios the only beep code they have is if it beeps short and long beeps its the video card any other beeping is memory . ive reseated the sticks still wont boot up . all the fans and lights come on .Its powered up right now but the monitor is in sleep mode . nothing was changed on the computer but the memory.When i power up, the cdrom light comes on but the floppy doesnt.like i said all the fans and front panel light comes on.i think i could hear the hd spin iam not sure so i installed another hd outside the case and touched it when i restarted the computer it did spin.Iam wondering if i screwed the motherboard by installing the wrong size 168 pin sticks should of been pc100 not pc133.Ive even reseated the video card and changed pci slots . I also installed the original video card same problem.I then removed all the devices except the video card . same problem. would the power supply be a problem.Anybody have any ideas. Thanks. :confused:

[Sylvander]

Be careful that you don't introduce problems by doing things that are inapproriate & unnecessary.

Your "Power-On Self-Test" [POST] is running [that's good], but it looks like your RAM is failing the test.

Here's a generic POST for a Phoenix BIOS.
It will give you some idea of the tests done by a BIOS POST.

PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.x.

Code_Beeps_POST Routine Description
02h Verify Real Mode
03h Disable Non-Maskable Interrupt (NMI)
04h Get CPU type
06h Initialize system hardware
07h Disable shadow and execute code from the ROM.
08h Initialize chipset with initial POST values
09h Set IN POST flag
0Ah Initialize CPU registers
0Bh Enable CPU cache
0Ch Initialize caches to initial POST values
0Eh Initialize I/O component
0Fh Initialize the local bus IDE
10h Initialize Power Management
11h Load alternate registers with initial POST values
12h Restore CPU control word during warm boot
13h Initialize PCI Bus Mastering devices
14h Initialize keyboard controller
16h 1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM checksum
17h Initialize cache before memory Auto size
18h 8254 timer initialization
1Ah 8237 DMA controller initialization
1Ch Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller
20h 1-3-1-1 Test DRAM refresh
22h 1-3-1-3 Test 8742 Keyboard Controller
24h Set ES segment register to 4 GB
28h Auto size DRAM
29h Initialize POST Memory Manager
2Ah Clear 512 kB base RAM
2Ch 1-3-4-1 RAM failure on address line xxxx*
2Eh 1-3-4-3 RAM failure on data bits xxxx* of low byte of memory bus
2Fh Enable cache before system BIOS shadow
32h Test CPU bus-clock frequency
33h Initialize Phoenix Dispatch Manager
36h Warm start shut down
38h Shadow system BIOS ROM
3Ah Auto size cache
3Ch Advanced configuration of chipset registers
3Dh Load alternate registers with CMOS values
41h Initialize extended memory for RomPilot
42h Initialize interrupt vectors
45h POST device initialization
46h 2-1-2-3 Check ROM copyright notice
47h Initialize I20 support
48h Check video configuration against CMOS
49h Initialize PCI bus and devices
4Ah Initialize all video adapters in system
4Bh QuietBoot start (optional)
4Ch Shadow video BIOS ROM
------------------------------
Your POST doesn't get this far.
4Eh Display BIOS copyright notice
----------------------------------
4Eh Display BIOS copyright notice
4Fh Initialize MultiBoot
50h Display CPU type and speed
51h Initialize EISA board
52h Test keyboard
54h Set key click if enabled
55h Enable USB devices
58h 2-2-3-1 Test for unexpected interrupts
59h Initialize POST display service
5Ah Display prompt "Press F2 to enter SETUP"
5Bh Disable CPU cache
5Ch Test RAM between 512 and 640 kB
60h Test extended memory
62h Test extended memory address lines
64h Jump to UserPatch1
66h Configure advanced cache registers
67h Initialize Multi Processor APIC
68h Enable external and CPU caches
69h Setup System Management Mode (SMM) area
6Ah Display external L2 cache size
6Bh Load custom defaults (optional)
6Ch Display shadow-area message
6Eh Display possible high address for UMB recovery
70h Display error messages
72h Check for configuration errors
76h Check for keyboard errors
7Ch Set up hardware interrupt vectors
7Dh Initialize Intelligent System Monitoring
7Eh Initialize coprocessor if present
80h Disable onboard Super I/O ports and IRQs
81h Late POST device initialization
82h Detect and install external RS232 ports
83h Configure non-MCD IDE controllers
84h Detect and install external parallel ports
85h Initialize PC-compatible PnP ISA devices
86h Re-initialize onboard I/O ports.
87h Configure Motherboard Configurable Devices
(optional)
88h Initialize BIOS Data Area
89h Enable Non-Maskable Interrupts (NMIs)
8Ah Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area
8Bh Test and initialize PS/2 mouse
8Ch Initialize floppy controller
8Fh Determine number of ATA drives (optional)
90h Initialize hard-disk controllers
91h Initialize local-bus hard-disk controllers
92h Jump to UserPatch2
93h Build MPTABLE for multi-processor boards
95h Install CD ROM for boot
96h Clear huge ES segment register
97h Fix up Multi Processor table
98h 1-2 Search for option ROMs. One long, two short
beeps on checksum failure
99h Check for SMART Drive (optional)
9Ah Shadow option ROMs
9Ch Set up Power Management
9Dh Initialize security engine (optional)
9Eh Enable hardware interrupts
9Fh Determine number of ATA and SCSI drives
A0h Set time of day
A2h Check key lock
A4h Initialize typematic rate
A8h Erase F2 prompt
AAh Scan for F2 key stroke
ACh Enter SETUP
AEh Clear Boot flag
B0h Check for errors
B1h Inform RomPilot about the end of POST.
B2h POST done - prepare to boot operating system
B4h 1 One short beep before boot

[Paleo Pete]

Here's the PCGuide section on Award BIOS Beep Codes (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/award.htm), it says continuous beeping is video or memory problem. Try reseating the RAM a few times. Be patient, it might take 5 oe 6 times before you get the contacts cleaned up. You can clean the contacts on the chips gently with a pencil eraser, the ones on the motherboard are a different story, reseating is about the best way to go. Easy with the eraser, the gold coating is very thin.

[MarkWG]

Hi back again , Still trying every possiblity, No luck. I purchased two pc100 64 mb 168 pin ram , the jumpers are all where their suppose to be . started it up ,again with the beeping. I moved those two sticks around, still beeping . I added the two 72 pin sticks with the 168 pin ram to the 1st and 2nd slots and the beeping continued. Changed the 72 pin to the 3rd and 4th slots , NO BEEPING but still wont boot ,monitor goes from green to yellow . Added the last two 72 pin sticks no beeps still wont boot . Is the MOBO screwed because i installed the wrong size ram? 1 PC100 128mb and 1 PC133 256 mb when it should of been no higher than 64 mb each stick.The computer ran fine ,even showed the the 384 mb at start up. Ive tried clearing the CMOS with the battery removed and also the jumper method . Ive removed all the devices except the video card Still wont get passed the monitor going green to yellow . Reseated the video card ,even in different slots . I even installed the original video card, no luck even moved around and reseated the ram sticks.Getting back to the CMOS jumper pins I noticed in the manual it shows Tthat the DEFAULT setting is OPEN meaning NO jumper pin . The pin has been their when i bought the computer in 1997. CLOSED position shows a pin to clear the CMOS . Which is correct ? Thanks .