System boot failure

"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both sticks
in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it
is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine
would hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM
check then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot
option but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved on
to the next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy drive
and there it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I came
across mention of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So more
in hope than expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it to be
completely and I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a new one
but this has not changed matters. From what I read I ought to have got
some warning of a flat battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Update.

Having left the new CMOS battery out of the machine for an hour or so then
putting it back in the machine now boots as far as it did before (Mup.sys)
and we are back to the problem originally described. This looks as though it
could have been a red herring!

Graham.

"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both sticks
in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it
is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine
would hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM
check then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot
option but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved on
to the next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy drive
and there it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I came
across mention of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So more
in hope than expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it to be
completely and I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a new one
but this has not changed matters. From what I read I ought to have got
some warning of a flat battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Update.

Having left the new CMOS battery out of the machine for an hour or so then
putting it back in the machine now boots as far as it did before (Mup.sys)
and we are back to the problem originally described. This looks as though it
could have been a red herring!

Graham.

Try this:

http://www.aitechsolutions.net/mupdotsysXPhang.html





"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both
sticks in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it
is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine
would hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM
check then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot
option but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved
on to the next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy
drive and there it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I
came across mention of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So
more in hope than expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it
to be completely and I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a
new one but this has not changed matters. From what I read I ought to
have got some warning of a flat battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Update.

Having left the new CMOS battery out of the machine for an hour or so then
putting it back in the machine now boots as far as it did before (Mup.sys)
and we are back to the problem originally described. This looks as though
it could have been a red herring!

Graham.

Try this:

http://www.aitechsolutions.net/mupdotsysXPhang.html





"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both
sticks in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it
is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine
would hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM
check then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot
option but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved
on to the next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy
drive and there it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I
came across mention of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So
more in hope than expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it
to be completely and I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a
new one but this has not changed matters. From what I read I ought to
have got some warning of a flat battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Update.

Having left the new CMOS battery out of the machine for an hour or so then
putting it back in the machine now boots as far as it did before (Mup.sys)
and we are back to the problem originally described. This looks as though
it could have been a red herring!

Graham.

Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both
sticks in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it
is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine
would hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM
check then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot
option but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved
on to the next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy
drive and there it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I
came across mention of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So
more in hope than expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it
to be completely and I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a
new one but this has not changed matters. From what I read I ought to
have got some warning of a flat battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Update.

Having left the new CMOS battery out of the machine for an hour or so then
putting it back in the machine now boots as far as it did before (Mup.sys)
and we are back to the problem originally described. This looks as though
it could have been a red herring!

IMO you have hardware failure, probably the motherboard. You can test this
yourself or take the machine to a competent local professional (not a
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place). If the computer is under
warranty, contact its mftr.'s tech support.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both
sticks in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it
is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine
would hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM
check then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot
option but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved
on to the next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy
drive and there it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I
came across mention of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So
more in hope than expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it
to be completely and I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a
new one but this has not changed matters. From what I read I ought to
have got some warning of a flat battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Update.

Having left the new CMOS battery out of the machine for an hour or so then
putting it back in the machine now boots as far as it did before (Mup.sys)
and we are back to the problem originally described. This looks as though
it could have been a red herring!

IMO you have hardware failure, probably the motherboard. You can test this
yourself or take the machine to a competent local professional (not a
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place). If the computer is under
warranty, contact its mftr.'s tech support.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!

After replacing the CMOS battery with a new one and got myself back into
the BIOS set up I carried out another memory test with both memory sticks I
have that are the right spec for that machine. Same result as before (all
bad) with both sticks (sequentially) in the first RAM slot and no problems
what so ever with either in the second slot. Put the highest spec/sized RAM
stick in the second RAM slot, cleared the CMOS, reset the BIOS and rebooted.
The machine came up straight away and is now running normally. So a bad RAM
slot. How/why who knows?

Thanks again and to all you other guys who suggested things. I worked my way
through them as part of my process of elimination.

Graham.

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!

After replacing the CMOS battery with a new one and got myself back into
the BIOS set up I carried out another memory test with both memory sticks I
have that are the right spec for that machine. Same result as before (all
bad) with both sticks (sequentially) in the first RAM slot and no problems
what so ever with either in the second slot. Put the highest spec/sized RAM
stick in the second RAM slot, cleared the CMOS, reset the BIOS and rebooted.
The machine came up straight away and is now running normally. So a bad RAM
slot. How/why who knows?

Thanks again and to all you other guys who suggested things. I worked my way
through them as part of my process of elimination.

Graham.

On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:59:06 -0000, "Graham"
wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!


Thats Ma`am . :-)




After replacing the CMOS battery with a new one and got myself back into
the BIOS set up I carried out another memory test with both memory sticks I
have that are the right spec for that machine. Same result as before (all
bad) with both sticks (sequentially) in the first RAM slot and no problems
what so ever with either in the second slot. Put the highest spec/sized RAM
stick in the second RAM slot, cleared the CMOS, reset the BIOS and rebooted.
The machine came up straight away and is now running normally. So a bad RAM
slot. How/why who knows?

Thanks again and to all you other guys who suggested things. I worked my way
through them as part of my process of elimination.

Graham.

On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:59:06 -0000, "Graham"
wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!


Thats Ma`am . :-)




After replacing the CMOS battery with a new one and got myself back into
the BIOS set up I carried out another memory test with both memory sticks I
have that are the right spec for that machine. Same result as before (all
bad) with both sticks (sequentially) in the first RAM slot and no problems
what so ever with either in the second slot. Put the highest spec/sized RAM
stick in the second RAM slot, cleared the CMOS, reset the BIOS and rebooted.
The machine came up straight away and is now running normally. So a bad RAM
slot. How/why who knows?

Thanks again and to all you other guys who suggested things. I worked my way
through them as part of my process of elimination.

Graham.

Graham wrote:
"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then
the RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are
bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!

After replacing the CMOS battery with a new one and got myself back
into the BIOS set up I carried out another memory test with both
memory sticks I have that are the right spec for that machine. Same
result as before (all bad) with both sticks (sequentially) in the
first RAM slot and no problems what so ever with either in the second
slot. Put the highest spec/sized RAM stick in the second RAM slot,
cleared the CMOS, reset the BIOS and rebooted. The machine came up
straight away and is now running normally. So a bad RAM slot. How/why
who knows?
Thanks again and to all you other guys who suggested things. I worked
my way through them as part of my process of elimination.

Graham.

Bad slot? maybe, if so probably either a dirty contact or a dry solder
joint. The former may be fixable with contact cleaner and a vigourous
insertion/release cycle, the latter there is no recommended user
service, professioinals might try to clutch at straws and attack with a
soldering iron but rarely successfully, usually something else gets
wrecked in the process. More likely though is the other half of the
slot, the RAM stick. Although it is working elsewhere, how reliably?
Careful cleaning of the contact strip may remove the offending
oxidisation/crud and improve the reliability, otherwise you're just
waiting for it to fail again.
No guarantee offered/implied YMMV!! BEWARE STATIC WHILE CLEANING!

--

Geoff
ExploitEd

Wisdom and experience come with age, they say, but I do wish I could
remember the darn question

Graham wrote:
"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then
the RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are
bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!

After replacing the CMOS battery with a new one and got myself back
into the BIOS set up I carried out another memory test with both
memory sticks I have that are the right spec for that machine. Same
result as before (all bad) with both sticks (sequentially) in the
first RAM slot and no problems what so ever with either in the second
slot. Put the highest spec/sized RAM stick in the second RAM slot,
cleared the CMOS, reset the BIOS and rebooted. The machine came up
straight away and is now running normally. So a bad RAM slot. How/why
who knows?
Thanks again and to all you other guys who suggested things. I worked
my way through them as part of my process of elimination.

Graham.

Bad slot? maybe, if so probably either a dirty contact or a dry solder
joint. The former may be fixable with contact cleaner and a vigourous
insertion/release cycle, the latter there is no recommended user
service, professioinals might try to clutch at straws and attack with a
soldering iron but rarely successfully, usually something else gets
wrecked in the process. More likely though is the other half of the
slot, the RAM stick. Although it is working elsewhere, how reliably?
Careful cleaning of the contact strip may remove the offending
oxidisation/crud and improve the reliability, otherwise you're just
waiting for it to fail again.
No guarantee offered/implied YMMV!! BEWARE STATIC WHILE CLEANING!

--

Geoff
ExploitEd

Wisdom and experience come with age, they say, but I do wish I could
remember the darn question

"Jim" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:59:06 -0000, "Graham"
wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!


Thats Ma`am . :-)

Whoops sorry!!!!!!! :-(

Just Googled the name Malke (royalty!) and visited the Elephant Boy site.
Hopefully I can be forgiven. The name is not common (never heard it) here in
the UK and the site did have Boy in its name.

Graham.

"Jim" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:59:06 -0000, "Graham"
wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Graham" wrote in message
...

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.

WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!


Thats Ma`am . :-)

Whoops sorry!!!!!!! :-(

Just Googled the name Malke (royalty!) and visited the Elephant Boy site.
Hopefully I can be forgiven. The name is not common (never heard it) here in
the UK and the site did have Boy in its name.

Graham.

Jim wrote:
On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:59:06 -0000, "Graham"
wrote:

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

"Graham" wrote in message
...
"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the
RAM.
[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad.
WELL DONE SIR AND THANKS VERY MUCH!


Thats Ma`am . :-)

Well when you see the name Jim in the from line, most people wouldn't
expect it to be a woman... ;-) Kinda like the boy named Sue, eh? I
once knew this guy who was a manager at a Eal-Mart Tire & Lube Express.
First time I met him I said to him after seeing his name tag, "Boy you
must have had an interesting childhood." His reply was "Yeah don't know
why my parents decided to call me April..."


--

Roy Smith
Windows XP Pro SP3