Help - PC Won't Boot Anymore!

[Guest]

Here is a little history. Recently, my HP Desktop PC was hung-up on the Boot
Screen (where the BIOS set-upcan be accessed). I manually powered the PC
down. From that point, no more power on, and the power light on the power
supply began to flash. Well, I figured the power supply had died. Got a new
one and installed it tonight. PC powered up just fine, but it gets on the
BIOS boot-up screen again and just stays there indefinitely. I power off,
and put in a boot CD, and it won't even go to that load (DVD drive light is
accessign it ok, it appears). I had some problems getting the power
connector back on the hard drive, but it appears to be secured. Why won't it
start loading Windows XP? Is this symptomatic of a hard drive failure or no
power to the hard drive? If so, why can't I even get a boot load off a CD?
Frustrated and needing help. Thanks in advance.

 

[JS]

Have you checked the BIOS settings?

JS

 

[Guest]

Can't even get into the BIOS. It is frozen and no function keys will work.
A thought. Could my CMOS battery be dead.? Is this the behavior manifest of
a dead CMOS battery?

 

[JS]

Look for a small jumper near the BIOS chip or the battery, there should be a
3 pin arrangement with the jumper
connecting two (* *+*) of the three pins.
Move the jumper to the other position (*+* *), this will reset the BIOS.

Another way to reset the BIOS is to remove the battery for about 30 to 60
seconds and then re-install the battery and boot the PC and see if you can
now enter the BIOS setup mode.

JS

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Can't even get into the BIOS. It is frozen and no function keys will work.
A thought. Could my CMOS battery be dead.? Is this the behavior manifest of
a dead CMOS battery?

Nope. If your CMOS battery IS dead, then powering up using AC would
merely result in your having to reset your BIOS.

That battery holds settings in memory so that you don't have to
continually reset your BIOS settings.

 

[w_tom]

Can't even get into the BIOS. It is frozen and no function keys will work.
A thought. Could my CMOS battery be dead.? Is this the behavior manifest of
a dead CMOS battery?

I have no idea if (or when) you fixed anything. Your post is that
vague. And if HP support removed it (and it still does not work),
then why are you not calling HP again?

Meanwhile, if you cherry pick solutions, then we all are wasting our
time. You did not know where to find system logs or Device Manager?
So you ignored the post? That is cherry picking. If you wanted the
problem solved, then your reply is, "How do I get that information".

You are here first to learn; second to fix the problem. If you only
wanted the problem fixed, then take it to a shop and don't post here.

Meanwhile, system (event) logs, Device Manager, and other things
(including those from Pegasus) are found also by clicking on Windows
Help - or by asking for help. Do everything. Don't cherry pick.
Long before anyone can be helpful, first, you must change how you are
approaching the problem AND appreciate the #1 reason why you are
asking for help - to learn.

 

[Guest]

Found the problem to be a memory module gone bad in bank 4. Thanks for the
moral support. Up and running again. May not replace the memory.

 

[Andy]

Have you tried clearing the CMOS memory?

Can't even get into the BIOS. It is frozen and no function keys will work.
A thought. Could my CMOS battery be dead.? Is this the behavior manifest of
a dead CMOS battery?

 

[WaIIy]

Meanwhile, system (event) logs, Device Manager, and other things
(including those from Pegasus) are found also by clicking on Windows
Help - or by asking for help. Do everything. Don't cherry pick.
Long before anyone can be helpful, first, you must change how you are
approaching the problem AND appreciate the #1 reason why you are
asking for help - to learn.

Shaddup, you pompous ass.

 

[w_tom]

Found the problem to be a memory module gone bad in bank 4.

Excellent. That defective memory is a perfect tool to learn a
powerful and often recommended diagnostic tool. Locate and download
the Memtst86 program. This is a third party memory tester. Execute
that test with and without defective memory should provide interesting
results. Memtst86 is a highly regarded tool to be kept in a box of
useful utilities. Now is a perfect time to learn that simple utility.