BIOS freeze and other problems

localgod01 · 07-30-2008, 12:23 PM

After leaving my computer on for an extended period of time -- say overnight -- I come back to it and am greeted by a solid grayish/tannish screen. So I restart the thing and that's when the BIOS freezes.

Usually it freezes before the memory test, but not always. Sometimes it doesn't detect the CPU speed correctly, in which case it tells me to enter CMOS and set it correctly, even though none of those settings have been changed. And sometimes, when I'm really lucky, it makes it past the "detecting IDE drives" stage to say that there's a keyboard error or no keyboard present even though there is.

As if that's not bad enough, sometimes I don't get the BIOS freeze after the gray/tan screen. Occasionally I get the gray/tan screen flashing, other times it's rainbow-colored lines. If neither of those things come up, the text on the screen is all wonky and distorted, at which point the monitor attempts (successfully) to get it to appear correctly and in the right place. Then the BIOS freezes.

The weirdest thing of all is that, after multiple restarts, getting frustrated and just turning the damned thing off, I can come back to it and turn it on. And it works as if nothing had happened before.

Here's what I've done to maybe solve the problem to no avail:

I've run Memtest86 on my RAM, and it passes the test.

I've switched out my video card because of the weird colored lines and constant monitor re-calibration, but that hasn't changed anything.

I tried running with one hard drive disconnected, then the other one, but that doesn't seem to change anything at all.

What I haven't done (yet):

Flashed the BIOS - I don't have a working floppy drive and my version of the BIOS is the latest according to the ASUS website.

Changed the power supply - I'm thinking about this, but it doesn't make sense to change it if it's not the problem.

Specs:
Motherboard: ASUS a7n8x-X
512MB RAM
AMD Athlon 2800+ CPU
CHAINTECH LA-20FX-H GeForce 5200 FX video card

Sorry if that was an overlong explanation, but so much was going on I figured I would just include everything.

~~OMGmissinglink~~ · 07-30-2008, 01:42 PM

Sounds as if the bios is corrupted> >> or your mobo shorting, when was the last time you cleaned the inside of your PC?

localgod01 · 07-30-2008, 01:45 PM

I haven't cleaned it out in the two years I've had it.

~~OMGmissinglink~~ · 07-30-2008, 01:53 PM

PC cleaning should be preformed twice a year (suggested)) min. once a year. your processor fan probably is full of dust, overheating the processor that could explain the pc locking down in different stages on booting.

localgod01 · 07-30-2008, 02:08 PM

Sounds like a good idea, thanks.

07-30-2008, 12:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
localgod01 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP (SP2)	BIOS freeze and other problems After leaving my computer on for an extended period of time -- say overnight -- I come back to it and am greeted by a solid grayish/tannish screen. So I restart the thing and that's when the BIOS freezes. Usually it freezes before the memory test, but not always. Sometimes it doesn't detect the CPU speed correctly, in which case it tells me to enter CMOS and set it correctly, even though none of those settings have been changed. And sometimes, when I'm really lucky, it makes it past the "detecting IDE drives" stage to say that there's a keyboard error or no keyboard present even though there is. As if that's not bad enough, sometimes I don't get the BIOS freeze after the gray/tan screen. Occasionally I get the gray/tan screen flashing, other times it's rainbow-colored lines. If neither of those things come up, the text on the screen is all wonky and distorted, at which point the monitor attempts (successfully) to get it to appear correctly and in the right place. Then the BIOS freezes. The weirdest thing of all is that, after multiple restarts, getting frustrated and just turning the damned thing off, I can come back to it and turn it on. And it works as if nothing had happened before. Here's what I've done to maybe solve the problem to no avail: I've run Memtest86 on my RAM, and it passes the test. I've switched out my video card because of the weird colored lines and constant monitor re-calibration, but that hasn't changed anything. I tried running with one hard drive disconnected, then the other one, but that doesn't seem to change anything at all. What I haven't done (yet): Flashed the BIOS - I don't have a working floppy drive and my version of the BIOS is the latest according to the ASUS website. Changed the power supply - I'm thinking about this, but it doesn't make sense to change it if it's not the problem. Specs: Motherboard: ASUS a7n8x-X 512MB RAM AMD Athlon 2800+ CPU CHAINTECH LA-20FX-H GeForce 5200 FX video card Sorry if that was an overlong explanation, but so much was going on I figured I would just include everything.

07-30-2008, 01:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~OMGmissinglink~~ Troubled Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,535 OS: XP Pro sp2 My System	Re: BIOS freeze and other problems Sounds as if the bios is corrupted> >> or your mobo shorting, when was the last time you cleaned the inside of your PC?

07-30-2008, 01:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
localgod01 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP (SP2)	Re: BIOS freeze and other problems I haven't cleaned it out in the two years I've had it.

07-30-2008, 01:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
~~OMGmissinglink~~ Troubled Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,535 OS: XP Pro sp2 My System	Re: BIOS freeze and other problems PC cleaning should be preformed twice a year (suggested)) min. once a year. your processor fan probably is full of dust, overheating the processor that could explain the pc locking down in different stages on booting.

07-30-2008, 02:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
localgod01 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP (SP2)	Re: BIOS freeze and other problems Sounds like a good idea, thanks.