startup problem

[lxu]

I have a system which has been built up for a month. Most of the time it works fine. Only sometimes, it has startup problem. I have 2 buttons on the front(power and reset buttons) and 1 button on the back(I/O button). Usually, I leave back I/O button on. At the time it failed to startup after I turned on the power button, I can see the light for power is on and the light for hard drive is on also. And I can see the CDROM light turn on for few second. But no signal is sent to monitor. My monitor has an onscreen display saying "monitor is in power save mode". And the light of the monitor is in orange color(normal color is green). If I press reset button, then it always starts up.
I wrote to motherboard's manufactory techsupport about this question. The answer I got is that checking my memory first. If the memory works fine then it is motherboard problem. I don't think this is really a memory problem because if it is then how can the computer works fine once it starts up. I don't know if there is a way I can really know if it is motherboard problem. If it is the motherboard problem, how bad it could be if I keep use that instead of sending back for exchange or fix? Becuase startup problem doesn't show up very often. The board itself has 3 years warrante.
I appreciate for any suggestions. Thanks ahead.

[herbert]

My guess is it's the power supply. There is a much larger power requirement at switch-on from cold (disks spinning up etc.) than at reset.

It may be faulty or marginal. Try replacing it. Perhaps with a higher rated unit.

I confess ignorance regarding the I/O button so I don't know if this bears upon the problem.

[bassvax]

Just throwing out some more obvious things to check: The advanced power management sometimes exists in multiple locations. Enter setup while booting and disable power management there. Then right-click on an open area of the desktop and select properties/screensaver (win 98) then at the bottom of that box there should be something like "Energy Saving Features of Monitor" go into there and disable the power management settings also. Although it still seems odd that the rest of the system would "awake' and not the monitor, this may help curb that problem. Keep in mind that you will have to use the normal shutdown procedures and be cognitive of your energy consumption during idle periods. I have always believed it better to turn off the pc when not in use anyway. One other thing is that the screensaver may be what is still active when the rest of the system is booting. Sounds weird, but I think the monitor acting on it's own is weird also. Maybe a temporary fix until a resolution is found. Good Luck

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Jerry

[Paleo Pete]

Not much I can add, except an explanation...bass and herbert have covered it pretty well...

The I/O button is a standard On/Off power switch. I=On O=Off. The power on button on front is the one normally used, the I/O switch for occasions when you need to shut down for a week's vacation, open the case, etc.

And for future reference, if you hold the power switch on front for about 5 seconds, it should shut down completely, instead of going into suspend mode.



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Soon as I come up with all the answers...they change the questions!!

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[lxu]

Thanks for all the replies.

May be I didn't say it clearly. It definitely not the power management problem. I checked my setting. It really has something to do with "COLD START". It looks like the power supply is all right since I saw all the light on at beginning. If it likes what the tech people said that either memories are bad or a bad board, How can I tell? Does memories really have something to do with "COLD START"? I don't have any problem with "soft start". I don't think my memories are bad since my computer never crushed. Is there any way to confirm that my memories are good?

My board is tyan s2056 and memories are two 128MB Corsair value selected.

[herbert]

The only way you can find the cause of the problem is by exchanging components. If you change the memory, for example, and still get the problem, then you know it wasn't the memory. This can be an expensive business if you don't already have spare components to exchange.

As you say in your first post, the system works after hitting the reset button. This tells me that your system is good. That the lights come on and disks spin on does not necessarily mean that the voltages from the power supply are correct.

Here is a quote from Upgrading & Repairing PCs Eighth Edition by Scott Mueller:

"If you find that a system does not boot up properly the first time you turn on the switch but subsequently boots up if you press the reset or Ctrl+Alt+Delete warm boot command, you likely have a problem with Power_Good. This happens because the Power_Good signal is tied to the timer chip that generates the reset signal to the processor. What you must do in these cases is find a new high-quality power supply and see whether it solves the problem."

Sounds like your problem to me.