I am at a loss on this.

About two years ago I got a bunch of parts to build a PC from an employee accommodation at Best Buy.

The deal was an intel board and compatible dual core processor. I bought all of the other components at cost at best buy. I got the video card from Newegg, the memory off another TWWr.

I put it all together and it booted up fine, installed windows Vista (part of the bundle), it was working fine, (installed and would startup and boot to windows vista) sometime in the next 24 hours something got screwed up, the machine would not boot it just kept cycling it would start to boot, freeze, self reboot...over and over.

I messed with it for a few minutes and then unhooked it and set it in the floor, hooked my old PC back up.............then two years went by.


For the last 24 hours I have been trying different boot CDs (a windows disk, linux disk, etc)

With the boot CDs it starts to load, then abruptly reboots, over and over.

If I try to boot the hard disk it will start the "previous startup error screen" I can click safe mode but it will hang up in the process and never move.

I do not have any other computers here to test the hard disk on, all my other computers take IDE drives.

I have tried changing the memory sticks around and get the same result so I do not think the memory is bad.

I have tried reseating all connections to the board and same results.

The processor is installed properly.

I am at a loss.......anyone have ideas what to check? I can throw some cash or a case of beer or two at whoever can help me fix this. I need to get it working as my PC from 2003 is starting to get a bit slooow on some things I need to use it for.

3/29/2011 11:35:01 PM

well first off, we need more information than some random dual core cpu, other components, and some memory off a tdubber... Need specs, manufacturers, serial numbers, whatever.

During post, does it make any noise? Does it hang up on anything? Can you enter the BIOS? Check to see the boot order and change it to CD first and HDD second so you can boot from the disc. It doesn't matter if the HDD doesn't work, it should load the OS install screen in DOS.

Also, abruptly reboots could mean the PSU, but honestly, if a PSU goes wonkey, it can mimic a number of hardware failures. Do you know what PSU you have?

3/30/2011 1:56:17 AM

if you are just changing the memory around but still using all of the same memory, and one or more of the sticks is bad, then you haven't really narrowed anything down.

My first guess is memory. I would suggest trying some new memory, either bought or from a working computer that has the same type of memory.

If it's not memory, I would guess PSU, Mobo, processor probably in that order.

If you don't want to buy new parts to test, you should probably take it to a place like intrex so they can swap out and test various parts to tell you what needs to be replaced. The trade off is you either pay for hardware you don't need till you find the broken component, or you pay for the service to find the broken part so you can buy just that part.

3/30/2011 10:02:24 AM

The ubuntu boot disk has a memory tester, or you can use http://www.memtest86.com/ - the gold standard.

And that would be my guess. Either something is not seated correctly or is malfunctioning. And I'm guessing it's broke 4th party RAM doing it.

3/30/2011 10:47:46 AM

Thirded on memory.

3/30/2011 11:07:25 AM

Fourthed (?) on the memory.

you can try using one stick of memory in DIMM slot 1 and if that doesn't work, try the other stick (test one stick at a time). if you're lucky only one DIMM module went bad. at worst you'll need to replace all the memory.

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 11:17 AM. Reason : .]

3/30/2011 11:17:36 AM

yep bad memory makes it turn off asap

3/30/2011 11:53:01 AM

It's most likely bad memory. Especially since it actually DID work for a short period of time before freezing. Get brand new memory, moving a bad chip around won't solve a damn thing.

Your next option is a bad video card, or the video card is overheating due to improper cooling.

Your third option is an overheating processor due to improper cooling..

3/30/2011 12:21:10 PM

^he doesn't know which one or if both are bad though, just giving him the option of trying each separately to see if one works, if one works he can at least get it up and running until he gets new ram or maybe 1/2 the memory will be sufficient for him. you don't know that both DIMMs are bad. if you read my post again i wasn't suggesting that he just 'move' them around, but to try each separately.

also if the memory settings are wrong, one DIMM will work whereas two DIMMs won't. trust me i've seen my share of memory issues and it's not always "bad" memory, a lot of times it's improper voltage or timings. it's a quick and dirty way to test each DIMM without going through the lengthy memtest

if your voltage and timings are wrong, memtest will come up with errors. that doesn't "necessarily" mean it's bad memory. make sure the voltage and timings are correct first, then run memtest.

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 12:46 PM. Reason : .]

3/30/2011 12:41:04 PM

What is the best intrex computers location in Raleigh? (I see there are 3)

I have 4 1-gb memory sticks..all no name sticks. They are also the only part in this machine that was not brand new..so I could see them being the problem.

3/30/2011 1:08:51 PM

post your motherboard model number.

Memory was so cheap last time i looked. i'd suggest just getting new memory if it is still really cheap.

3/31/2011 9:37:06 AM

my 2 cents, make sure the stand offs under the board are lined up with the screw holes on the board. Also make sure no left over stand offs are just touching underneath the board, which will cause grounding issues.

3/31/2011 9:50:52 AM

my best guess would be mobo or PSU

3/31/2011 10:38:29 AM

Quote :

"I have 4 1-gb memory sticks..all no name sticks. They are also the only part in this machine that was not brand new..so I could see them being the problem."

Did you try it one (or two if it requires paired memory) dimms at a time so you could rotate out any defective memory?

What type of video card slot does the mobo have? I may have an AGP card I could loan you just to swap it out and test it if it'll fit.

[Edited on March 31, 2011 at 12:51 PM. Reason : s]

3/31/2011 12:50:26 PM

Which board is this from the intel deal?

One of them was a PITA to get working.

4/27/2011 3:38:09 PM

Sounds like a bad power supply, or the processor heat sink isn't seated right/has enough grease and is overheating shortly after boot.

5/6/2011 6:48:02 PM

Quote :

"the memory off another TWWr"

Well there's your problem

5/7/2011 8:19:50 AM