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kefkarz · 05-08-2006, 02:17 PM

I posted this originally in the video card section, but as I believe I've eliminated it from the list of suspects, this would probably be a better place.

General Specs:
Intel BOXD945PSN motherboard
Intel P4 @ 2.9ghz
3x 512mb sticks of Corsair DDR667
Ultra V-Series 500W PSU
ATI Radeon X700 graphics card
WD 250GB HDD
other inconsequential hardware

Anyhow, I was using the computer a couple weeks ago, when it froze. So, I reset. This time, the computer powered up, but the monitor didn't come on (amber light). I reset a few more times, hoping this was temporary, but no dice; the same thing occurred. So, I unplugged the computer and went to bed.

The next morning I tried again. This time it came on! But.. about 20 seconds into boot, the system appeared to lock up. Lights were still flashing, fans were still spinning, the HD was still thinking, but the monitor's image was frozen in place. Reset, and we're back with the amber light again. Unplugged for 4 hours, tried again, monitor worked for 20 seconds again. This has been going on for two weeks and I'm reluctant to pay some exhorbitant sum to have a tech support dude diagnose the problem, so I've been trying (when I have time) to troubleshoot it myself. I tried a different monitor, and the problem stayed, so I ruled that out. I have no spare video cards (PCI-E, at least), so I've been unable to troubleshoot that. Not RAM, not HDD, not a peripheral. CPU still works, I'd know otherwise. So that brings it to two culprits: motherboard or PSU. Neither have given me any trouble in the past, and I'm not really sure how to troubleshoot either one -- I asked around and was unable to find anyone with extras I could borrow, so I'd like to figure it out before dropping money on replacements. So what I'm asking is: if any of you have had a similar problem, did you figure out what component was causing it? Thanks for any help.

EDIT: The machine (or monitor, rather) locked up wherever it was, whether in BIOS, in Safe Mode, or standard boot.

05-08-2006, 02:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
kefkarz Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP Pro SP2	Mobo or PSU? I posted this originally in the video card section, but as I believe I've eliminated it from the list of suspects, this would probably be a better place. General Specs: Intel BOXD945PSN motherboard Intel P4 @ 2.9ghz 3x 512mb sticks of Corsair DDR667 Ultra V-Series 500W PSU ATI Radeon X700 graphics card WD 250GB HDD other inconsequential hardware Anyhow, I was using the computer a couple weeks ago, when it froze. So, I reset. This time, the computer powered up, but the monitor didn't come on (amber light). I reset a few more times, hoping this was temporary, but no dice; the same thing occurred. So, I unplugged the computer and went to bed. The next morning I tried again. This time it came on! But.. about 20 seconds into boot, the system appeared to lock up. Lights were still flashing, fans were still spinning, the HD was still thinking, but the monitor's image was frozen in place. Reset, and we're back with the amber light again. Unplugged for 4 hours, tried again, monitor worked for 20 seconds again. This has been going on for two weeks and I'm reluctant to pay some exhorbitant sum to have a tech support dude diagnose the problem, so I've been trying (when I have time) to troubleshoot it myself. I tried a different monitor, and the problem stayed, so I ruled that out. I have no spare video cards (PCI-E, at least), so I've been unable to troubleshoot that. Not RAM, not HDD, not a peripheral. CPU still works, I'd know otherwise. So that brings it to two culprits: motherboard or PSU. Neither have given me any trouble in the past, and I'm not really sure how to troubleshoot either one -- I asked around and was unable to find anyone with extras I could borrow, so I'd like to figure it out before dropping money on replacements. So what I'm asking is: if any of you have had a similar problem, did you figure out what component was causing it? Thanks for any help. EDIT: The machine (or monitor, rather) locked up wherever it was, whether in BIOS, in Safe Mode, or standard boot. Last edited by kefkarz; 05-08-2006 at 02:18 PM.