# Computer shuts down, 2 Beeps...then nothingness.



## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

I`m new here, so let me first say, nice site! I`ve been having a lot of trouble with a computer I bought off my friend`s teacher awhile back, and I was wondering if anyone might have some suggestions.

The symtoms (these symtoms have occured when I`m running programs, as well as when I`m not):
Sometimes the computer screen will suddenly go black, and I hear 2 loud beeps (about 1 to 1.5 seconds long each), and then nothingness.:dead: The computer is still on, fans running, but that`s all. Restart the computer, and same 2 beeps, followed by nothingness. Unplug computer, check connections, unplug/replug power supply, HD`s, etc., and turn on computer...it starts without a hitch (sometimes). Othertimes, I have to repeat the process a few times before getting it running again.

Sometimes, when it would restart, it would say, "windows has recovered from a serious error" or "system crashed due to overclocking." I`ve never overclocked it, but I checked the heatsink and it had a lot of dust, which I cleaned out (could the CPU have gotten too hot due to the dust, and then thought it was overclocking?). Everything ran fine for about a month, when suddenly, the same thing happened again with the crash and 2 beeps. However, after cleaning the heatsink, I no longer get the overclocking message once I finally get it to bootup. Everything will be nice for a few days, and bam! It happens again.

Occasionally, when I turn on my computer, I hear the usual startup "beep!" and then nothing but a blank screen, with fans running. I have no idea what it is, but I`m suspicious of the power supply, cause when I turn off the computer, I always hear a loud high pitched whining noise coming from it (this is after the computer is completely turned off). When I unplug the supply from the wall, the high pitched noise dies out.

Some more info on this system:

Motherboard: Future Power FP-VA694+
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00 PGN
Power Supply: Hivision MAX-300P (300W)
(I couldn`t find any info on this one except for a post by a guy who said it blew up in his system one time!)
RAM: 128 MB SDRAM, 64 MB SDRAM
IDE Primary Master: WDC WD1200JB-00DUA3
IDE Primary Slave: Maxtor 33073H3
Soundcard: Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Video: Rage 128 (can`t find model #)

CPU temp: 30 C/86 F
System temp: 26 C/78 F
FAN 1 speed between: 3581-3723

I`m a bit of a beginner, but I want to learn more, so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, and sorry for the long post!


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

The power supply is certainly a main suspect at this time. Not only is the brand name one of the weaker ones, but the wattage is certainly not a great deal. In addition, the noise is also a warning factor after you have turned it off.

Why not run this free download and let us see what your power supply is doing: (if you have an onboard program for voltages, that would be fine also instead of the download)

Speedfan will tell you the temperatures and a whole lot more. It's free

http://www.sofotex.com/SpeedFan-download_L4655.html

or

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Post back and we will take a look at what might be causing your problem.


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*Thanks!*

Tumbleweed36, thanks for your reply! I downloaded and ran Speedfan and here`s what it told me:

When I first turned on the computer:

CPU: 1%

Core: 1.83V
+3.3V: 3.37V
+5V: 5.03V
+12V: 11.93V

Temp1: 25C
Temp2: 24C
Temp3: 19C
Temp: 11C

Fan1: 3629-3750 RPM
Fan2: 0 RPM

When running 1 audio program (ACID 5):

CPU: around 40%

Core: 1.79V
+3.3V: 3.34V
+5V: 4.9V-5V
+12V: 11.99V-12.17V

Temp1: 27C
Temp2: 25C
Temp3: 20C
Temp: 11C

When running 2 audio programs (ACID 5 and Reason 2.5):

CPU: around 60%-80%

Core: 1.79V-1.83V
+3.3V: 3.37V
+5V: 4.9V-5V
+12V: 11.99V-12.05V

Temp1: 30C
Temp2: 27C
Temp3: 20C
Temp: 11C

Let me know if I left out any information. Thanks again for your help!


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

It looks like you have two stick of ram according to what I read. Take one stick out and try it to see if it crashes. Make sure you check your MB manual to make sure which slot to leave only one stick in.

Post back with questions or concerns.


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

There are 3 RAM slots on my motherboard. I had the 128MB in the left slot, and the 64MB in the middle slot. I took out the 64 MB stick of RAM, and left the 128MB in the left slot (that`s the slot it was in since I bought it). The problem is I don`t have a manual for this motherboard, and I can`t find much info on the net about it. It`s a *FP-VA694+* and from what I can find, *Future Power* no longer exists, but they were connected with Jetway. These are a couple forums I got this info in:

http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5726&

http://phorums.com.au/showthread.php?p=650700#post650700

I found some links in the wimsbios forum for a Jetway board that looks exactly like the one I have but there are 2 different ones:

http://www.j-mark.com/PRODUCT/mb/694as.html

http://www.j-mark.com/PRODUCT/mb/j694va4.html

I was looking for some physical way to identify the difference between these 2, other than one photo being more stretched out, so I`d know what to look for on my board. I noticed the *J694AS* has a VIA 82C694X/82C686B Chipset while the *J694VA4* has a VIA 82C694X/82C686A Chipset. Any suggestions on how I can discover which one could be the equivalent of the *FP-VA694+*?


Also, after I took the 64MB RAM out and turned the computer back on, it immediately died and did the 2 beeps. I turned everything off. Unplugged the power cord from the PSU, replugged it in, and turned it on...this time it almost got to the welcome screen, before dying and beeping twice. Repeated the whole unplug replug, jiggled the connection to the PSU a little, and bam, started without a problem. I got the "windows has recovered from a serious error" msg, and since that, no problems.:4-dontkno 

Did the voltage readings seem ok? That wierd sound coming from the PSU still has me a little worried. I`m thinking of buying a new one this weekend. Any suggestions? I`ve heard Antec is pretty reputable. Is there anything I should look for in a power supply (besides voltage), such as amperage, etc? I`m in Tokyo, Japan so I`m thinking of going to Akihabara (Electric Town) to see what they`ve got there.

Thanks for all the help!:smile:


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

cannot find any 2 beep code for award,use everest to get the details of your system
http://www.lavalys.com/
if you have onboard video chip,try a video card in it


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*nice!*

Thanks for the link to the Everest program. Thanks to you I could finally find that my motherboard is indeed a *Jetway 694AS* along with a ton of other info!

I downloaded the manual from their site, and found:

"This motherboard provides three 168-pin DUAL INLINE MEMORY MODULES (DIMM) sites for memory expansion available from minimum memory size of 32MB to maximum memory size of 1.5GB SDRAM."

Bank 0, 1 (DIMM1)	SDRAM 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB	X1	32MB-512MB
Bank 2, 3 (DIMM2)	SDRAM 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB	X1	32MB-512MB
Bank 4, 5 (DIMM3)	SDRAM 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB	X1	32MB-512MB
Total	System Memory (Max. 1.5GB) 32MB-1.5GB


The manual doesn`t mention a specific slot to put the RAM in, but I have the 128MB stick in DIMM1 and had the 64MB in DIMM2. Both are PC133, and my clockspeed is 133MHz on the motherboard. Before I removed the the 64MB stick, my computer was registering 192MB of RAM, now is registering 128MB. Do you think the RAM is the issue? I also checked all the capacitors on the motherboard, and they all look good...no bulging or leaking. Also, I didn`t understand what you said about trying a video card in the the onboard video chip.

Thanks again for the link, it was seriously helpful!


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*forgot to add...*

The manual mentions these beep codes for the BIOS for this motherboard:

*One short beep when displaying logo - No error during POST

Long beeps in an endless loop - No DRAM install or detected

One long beep followed by three short beeps - Video card not found or video card memory bad

High frequency beeps when system is working - CPU overheated System running at a lower frequency*

Nothing about 2 long beeps...very strange.


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*the endless loop.*

I re-inserted the 64MB stick of RAM, to see what would happen, and when I turned the computer on it immediately died, and this time the long beeps kept repeating, so, like Tumbleweed36 said, maybe it is a RAM issue:

*"Long beeps in an endless loop - No DRAM install or detected"*

According to the manual for the J694AS board this is how my RAM was plugged in:

DIMM1(left): 128MB RAM
DIMM2(middle): 64MB RAM
DIMM3(right)

After a couple more tries, it finally booted up, and I checked things out with Everest. In the clocking section it showed:

DIMM1: 64MB RAM
DIMM2
DIMM3: 128MB RAM 

A few minutes after seeing this, the system crashed again (with the endless long beeps) and never re-booted.

I tried a new configuration which looked, according to the manual, like this:

DIMM1(left): 128MB RAM
DIMM2(middle)
DIMM3(right): 64MB RAM

Now Everest shows:

DIMM1
DIMM2: 64MB RAM
DIMM3: 128MB RAM 

So according to Everest, my RAM slots seem to look like this:

DIMM3(left)
DIMM1(middle)
DIMM2(right)
:sad: ?

I should add that the 64MB RAM was a hand-me-down from a friend, so it could be damaged. Is it possible for damaged RAM to work sometimes, but othertimes cause problems? I want to get more RAM anyway, since 192MB is not enough for me. But not if I`m gonna have to get a whole new system (if this problem can`t be fixed). Then a a 512MB stick of PC133 SDRAM won`t be much use to me.:dead: 

Again, I appreciate all the replies, and thanks for reading my crazy long posts!


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

You seem to be doing a good job of troubleshooting. Why not give it one more shot and see if someone has a stick of ram other than what you have to try alone in the board. Just might work, so I would give that a try if a friend has a stick of pc133 you could at least try. I would try it in all slots to see what happens as you did this last time. A lot of computer configuration is trial and error when you have a difficult problem.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

try increasing the voltage a fraction to the ram in the bios by 0.1v and if still no good by 0.2v


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*update*

I picked up a new power supply cause I was nervous about the old Hivision with the electric whine it was making. I got a 500W with a 12cm fan from Ever Green (some Japanese company based out of Akihabara). I went to like 12 different shops, and PSU`s are not cheap out here. Finally, this one seemed ok, about US$50. 500W and the amperage seemed good, but I`m not an expert so if anyone wants to take a look, here`s their company site link to this PSU:

For anyone who can read Japanese: *http://www.everg.co.jp/?contents=evergreen/powersupply/silent_king_3*

Google English translation: *http://translate.google.com/transla...reen/powersupply/silent_king_3&hl=en&lr=&sa=G
*
Scroll down for the specs. The amperage for the +12V can only be seen on the Japanese page. Mine is the *LW-6500CH-3*. Let me know how it looks. Just installed it tonight, and it`s super quiet. We`ll see how it goes.

BTW, a few hours after installing this new PSU, the same crash happened...

A question about clockspeed: I noticed on Everest (in the overclock section) that my *CPU Clock* is running between: *1002.31 MHz - 1003.60 MHz* (original 1000 MHz)
When running an audio program it`s: *1001.94 MHz - 1004.13 MHz*
Also *CPU FSB* is: *133.81 MHz*
and *Memory Bus* is: *133.81 MHz* 

Everything is slighty over, but is it enough to cause a problem?

About the RAM, unfortunately I don`t know anyone who with some PC133 SDRAM I can borrow. But I ran that program, *memtest86* and after only 15 minutes, it found 21 errors! I`m going to try every possible configuration, to try and isolate which stick, or which slot, has a problem. I will post back with an update.

dai, sorry if this is a stupid question (I`m a beginner), but how do I increase the voltage to the RAM in BIOS. Which voltage: Core, +3.3V, +5V, +12V, goes to the RAM?

Thanks again for the help, dai and Tumbleweed36. It`s interesting to learn more about how the system works.:laugh:


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

look through your bios for a reference to ddr sdram voltage,i will ask someone who is more conversant with ram to have a look


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## whodat (Mar 13, 2005)

greetings
as dai mentions, the ram voltage is important, and as you can see here:

http://www.barebones-pc.com/memory/Jetway-694AS.html

this board is particular as to what ram is installed. -cl2 or cl3

you need to check the voltage and timings, and the voltage seems to be default at 3.3 volts with all the chips mentioned...a step up wouldnt hurt.

in your bios, perhaps under "advanced chipset options", or "dimm features" maybe something along those lines..check the manual you downloaded.

there are 2 things i remember about your board, it needs the latest bios update, whenever it might have been released....and there is a possibility that you have 1 faulty ram bank.


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*Thanks for the replies!*

The 128MB stick of RAM came up with tons of errors in a variety of tests with memtest86 (128MB alone in DIMM1), so I tested the 64MB alone in DIMM1. The test ran for about 3 hours with no problems, and I let program run when I went to sleep. When I woke up, I found 126,070 errors all in test#6 (the program ran for over 8 hours)! So I`m now testing the 64MB stick in DIMM2. The test`s been going over 5.5 hours now with no errors. Unfortunately, I started the test before I read both of your post`s about how to up the voltage. I`ll give it a try tomorrow, after I let this test run all night. 

whosdat, thanks for that link, it was really helpful. I never even knew about CL. I read up about it on the net, and it`s good to know. Also about having the latest BIOS update, I checked here:

http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/download/bios/index-1.htm#694

It had this .bin for the same board *694TAS15.bin* dated 08/01/02. I`ve never updated BIOS before, and I`m a little nervous to try it cause I`ve heard if you do it wrong, you can screw up the motherboard, bigtime. I downloaded the .bin file, and I found a file: *Awdflash.exe*, but I`m not really sure where I should go from there. I`m gonna wait on that until I can find out more.

Also, this update is from 2002, and I got this computer in 2004. The guy I bought it from builds computers, and teaches a class about it. I`m guessing he would have put the latest BIOS on it, but no way to be sure, as I have no way to contact him. Is there a way to check on the BIOS, other than updating?


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## whodat (Mar 13, 2005)

greetings

control panel - system-hardware-device manager-system devices-system management bios driver

on some systems you can hit the pause key as she boots to freeze a post screen which might show the bios version. then hit enter to continue to boot


bios info here:

http://www.i-legend.com/qdi/faq/faq_bios.htm

good luck and be carefull


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*the memtest86 results...*

I haven`t posted back in awhile, cause I`ve been running nightlong memtests of every RAM stick/bank for the last couple of days. Here`s what I found:

The *Hyundai 128MB PC133 RAM* stick got errors in *DIMM1*, *DIMM2*, and *DIMM3*.

The *Infineon 64MB PC133* RAM stick tests were different:

*DIMM1 test* 64MB: 2 hours 54 min - Pass 22 Errors 0, but stopped with *"Unexpected Interrupt-Halting"*
*DIMM1 test #2* 64MB: 7 min 14 sec, the screen just froze and even the esc button wouldn`t reboot. Had to restart the computer, and it wouldn`t even boot...just a plain black screen. Took the 64MB stick out of DIMM1 and put it in DIMM2, and the computer started again.
*DIMM2 test* 64MB: 14 hours 34 min - Pass 144 Errors 0
*DIMM3 test* 64MB: 9 hours 33 min - Pass 74 Errors 0

I also ran tests with memtest86+, but it always freezes up after a couple of minutes (that was with either RAM stick in any slot). But I read somewhere that memtest86+ sometimes freezes when the board has a VIA chipset, which mine does.

Anyway, I`ve retested a few times with memtest86 and am getting the same consistent results as before:

*-64MB stick has no errors in DIMM2 or DIMM3.
-64MB stick in DIMM1, memtest86 freezes or stops with: "Unexpected Interrupt-Halting"
-128MB stick has errors in every DIMM slot, 1,2, and 3.*


whosdat said:


> there are 2 things i remember about your board, it needs the latest bios update, whenever it might have been released....and there is a possibility that you have 1 faulty ram bank.


So I`m guessing from these tests that the faulty RAM bank is DIMM1. Not only that, but my 128MB stick is bad, too.

About my BIOS, I tried checking it in windows, but once I get to system management, there is no option for BIOS driver. However, I did hit pause during boot, and was able to see that it is from 04/19/2001. I haven`t updated the BIOS yet, as I wanted to finish all the memtests first. What do you think? Should I update it, or should I get some new SDRAM, and see how that goes for awhile? I was looking at this SDRAM for my board and they ship internationally:
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=CT64M64S4D7E

I read the informative post by crazyjoe about the difference between High Density(ex. 64Meg x 4) and Low Density(64Meg x 8) RAM. I read something about making sure if the slots on your motherboard are double-rank or single-rank. I have 3 dual inline memory modules, is DIMM the same as double-rank? The RAM that I`m looking at is a 64Meg x 64 configuration. It`s what Crucial`s Memory Advisor tool recomended for my board. Maybe a stupid question :laugh:, but what would the 64Meg x 64 configuration be...is this ultra-low density? Double-rank?


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*bad scene*

First off let me ask a question about voltage. I read my whole manual, and can find nothing about an option to change the RAM voltage which is at 3.3V. I read all through "Advanced Chipset Features" several times as well. The only thing I can find related to voltage adjustment is this in "Miscellaneous Control":

*CPU Vcore Select *
This item allows you to select Vcore of the CPU. 
The choice are: Default, -0.05V, +0.05V, +0.10V, +0.15V, +0.20V, +0.30V.

Raising the voltage here will affect the CPU, not the RAM, right?


Basically, I`m getting the urge to take a baseball bat to this computer :deveous: ! Now, I know you guys are busy, and I totally appreciate the help I have recieved so far, so only read the rest of this post if you have the spare time, cause it`s pretty long...

I took out the old RAM, and installed two brand new sticks of Crucial 512MB PC133 RAM Unbuffered ECC CL-2 64Meg x 72 which were recomended by the Crucial Advisor for my board, and it started to boot. The RAM is ECC (my board supposedly accepts both ECC and non-parity), so I went into BIOS to enable the ECC checking. Saved and exited, before reboot, the screen went blank, and that was it. Power still on, fans running, but nothing else, not even any error beeps. I tried restarting many times, with nothing, no start beep, etc...also tried every possible variety of banks to sticks of RAM. Even tried putting in the old RAM. I called up the Crucial tech and he had me basically redo everything I already did, to no avail.

He told me to reset the BIOS with the jumper. First time I tried, the computer did the startup beep, and then froze. Upon further retries, nothing but blank screens. After my 3rd reset, I was finally able to get into BIOS. I tried disabling the ECC, to see if it would make a difference. Saved, and got a blank screen, wouldn`t boot. Took out one of the 512MB sticks, and it started up, even got in Windows, ran some programs, and the computer showed 512MB of RAM in it. Shut down, tried again with the the 2nd stick of 512MB for a total of 1024MB, but...no boot. Took out the 2nd stick, restarted again, and this time...no boot! I can`t seem to find a patten to the problem. 

Last night, the computer finally started booting everytime I tried, but before Windows loaded I got a message saying that Windows was shut down improperly, and do I want to start in Safe Mode, Normal, etc...no matter which mode I chose, Windows would start loading, and suddenly, a blue screen with some words flashed for like a millisecond, and the computer would reboot. It`s impossible to read what the blue screen says, cause it flashes in too quickly. This happened in an endless cycle until finally, I got the same Windows message as before followed by the dreaded:

*"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"*

I don`t have the XP Pro CD to repair the file, but luckily a friend does, so I`ll give it a try. But I don`t feel this is the only problem. Again, there is no pattern. I turned on my computer again today, and am getting the blank screen, no startup beep. After many tries, it starts, but then the screen freezes. It even froze when I was in BIOS.

If I can, I`ll try repairing that corrupt Windows file. If that doesn`t work, I`ll try updating the BIOS. One more question. Updating the BIOS will not affect Windows, right? Meaning, I won`t have to reinstall the OS? Thanks for reading!


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3546


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*access denied*

Thanks for the link dai. The easy way didn`t work so I tried the hard way...

Typed: *md tmp*

but got: "access denied"

Typed: *copy C:\windows\system32\config\system C:\windows\tmp\system.bak*

but got: "access denied" :sayno: 

any ideas on this?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

read this no.7 is the one you will see your access denied
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

The #7 you mentioned was this, right:

_7.	Open the System Volume Information folder. This folder is unavailable and appears dimmed because it is set as a super-hidden folder.

Note This folder contains one or more _restore {GUID} folders such as "_restore{87BD3667-3246-476B-923F-F86E30B3E7F8}".

Note You may receive the following error message:
C:\System Volume Information is not accessible. Access is denied.
If you receive this message, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to gain access to this folder and continue with the procedure:
*309531* (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309531/) How to gain access to the System Volume Information folder 
_

I clicked the link *309531* but all help is fixing it from withing Windows, or in Safe Mode. I can`t even get into safe mode. 
Also, on the Windows fix page for the corrupt file:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545
it says:
_4.	When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER._

However, I am not prompted to enter a password. When I boot with the CD it goes straight to 3 options...
1. Install
2. Repair
3. Exit

I hit r to repair, and go straight to the Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console. Type: *md tmp* but access is always denied. I have no idea why. Again, there is nothing about an Admin password, when I boot from the CD, and I have no way to get into Windows.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

do a repair install
boot from the xp cd and choose install
ignore the first repair option and continue with install
when it finds the previous installtion
then do the repair


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## whodat (Mar 13, 2005)

> Took out one of the 512MB sticks, and it started up, even got in Windows, ran some programs, and the computer showed 512MB of RAM in it. Shut down, tried again with the the 2nd stick of 512MB for a total of 1024MB, but...no boot. Took out the 2nd stick, restarted again, and this time...no boot! I can`t seem to find a patten to the problem


leave that second stick out and reset your cmos


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

dai said:


> do a repair install
> boot from the xp cd and choose install
> ignore the first repair option and continue with install
> when it finds the previous installtion
> then do the repair


I did this, and it went to asking me which partition I want to setup on. I chose C: and then it went straight to asking me to reformat the drive. Is there a way to repair without reformatting the drive? Also, I might add that after about 5 minutes in the setup mode, the screen froze up. Had no choice but to manually shutdown.


whosdat said:


> leave that second stick out and reset your cmos


I did as you said, and am unfortunately getting the same results. Sometimes the computer boots up to the Windows error message, sometimes I just get a blank screen with fans running. I also tried it with the 2nd stick alone...same results. :sad:


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

if your xp disk is original and does not include sp1 or 2 and you have it installed by updating it will not offer the repair option.
to get around this you need to slipstream sp2 into the xp disk and then use the slipstreamed disk to run the repair
you can use nlite to do the slipstream
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4324.html


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*Got back into Windows*

Thanks for the link dai. But I remembered that I already had all my files saved on a separate partition, so I just reformatted and reinstalled XP on drive C:

Everything went great. Got Windows going again. All my files were still ok on drive D:
but when I shutdown the computer, and restarted later, it wouldn`t boot again...just the same black screen, fans running.:dead: 

I wanted to try everything else before updating the BIOS, but I guess I`ll try giving that a shot now. Wish me luck! I`ll repost with the results.


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## skinnybones (Nov 30, 2005)

*Bunk capacitors.*

As I posted before, I had already taken a look at the capacitors on my motherboard. But before I updated my BIOS, someone suggested I take another look, because he had suffered the same symtoms as me. Anyway, I took a much closer look with the flashlight, and sure enough, 5 of the capacitors are slightly bulging. I never noticed before, cause the bulging is not too dramatic, but after looking at many pictures of bad capacitors all over the net, I realized my caps fit the profile 100%.

I`ve been spending the last few days reading up on it, and there are some scandalous stories about stolen electrolyte formulas from Japan to Taiwan, and how a bunch of crappy capacitors made it onto mobos around 2001. There`s tons of info all over the net, but here`s a cool website devoted to it which may be useful for others:

http://www.badcaps.net

the symtoms of bad caps as quoted from the above site:


> Motherboard fails to POST.
> Memory Test Fails.
> System randomly and/or constantly reboots itself.
> Fails to fully boot (or even install) Operating System.
> ...


Anyone who`s not sure what bad caps look like should check out some of the pics in the forum at that site. 

I`ve never replaced a mobo, and I`m wondering what I need to look for. Is it good enough of a match if it`s:

ATX form factor, Socket 370 and takes 168-pin SDRAM PC133? Or does it need to have the same chipset?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

as long as it has the same cpu socket,the chipsets will very unless you use the same m/b


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