[SOLVED] New bulid PC does not boot every time.

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

what are you running
video card
cpu
m/board
ram
power supply
brand
model
wattage
check the listings in the bios for voltages and temperatures and post them

was windows reinstalled after changing the m/board and the m/b setup disk run

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

Hi,

Thanks for your replies

lcollins, yes I have the first boot device set to HDD, the second boot device is CD ROM.

dai,

My video card is ASUS Geforce 210 512mb. About six months old.

CPU 1.95 gigahertz Intel Core Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
RAM: Crucial ddrII 2x 1024

Power Supply Allied Power Supply Model: AL-8400BTX ATX 400W.

BIOS SETTINGS Not sure if I got this right as I wasn't sure where to look.
But under the PC Health status in my BIOS it said:
V.Core 1.412v
DDR18V 2.128V
+3.3 V 3.296V
+12 V 12.39V
CPU Temp 40 Celsius

One thing I didn't mention is that when my mate shipped my PC back after the upgrade it didn't boot at all, it seemed to be the case that XP was not installed but he said he had done this for me, I put in the XP set up disc and installed again.

Then it booted ok, but just after BIOS it asks me which OS I want to use, XP pro is listed twice so I always use the first one which is highlighted. My friend said this does not matter but I though it worth mentioning.

He did not provide me with a disk with motherboard drivers as he said it was an OEM build but sent me the links to the gigabyte website where I got the chipset driver, the audio driver, and the realtex driver, downloaded and installed them all.

Cheers,

Neill

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

your psu is junk does not have enough amps on the 12v line for the system

upgrade

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

this ones better value

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

Hey Tyree and dai,

Ok I will upgrade, I left my mate select the parts based on my somewhat limited budget, I didn't realise my PSU was so bad.

Tyree, I will wipe my HD, and reinstall, I don't know how to wipe the HDD but I will look around the forum as there is probably a sticky on this or something.

Thanks for the help!

Neill

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

Just thinking out loud here...

You don't mention what your HDD is, but even though it's new, you could have gotten a bad one right off the shelf. Many have 2-3 year warranties tho. I second the suggestion that you download disk testing software from the HDD manufacturers web site.

I've run into several 'hard to boot past POST' mobos in the last 6 months, in Dell machines 4-5 yo, to brand new. MSI & Gigibyte are two that I have with the problem, both new. The fix can be just to upgrade the BIOS, but that carries it's own dangers. The work around in one of my problem computers is to just let it sit for several minutes and do a reset. In the other, I moved the mobo to a different computer with different PSU, HDD, etc. and it's worked fine since. In the original build it was always hard starting.

Last but not least, the mobo could be bad.

First step in the process would be to upgrade that PSU. Or borrow a better one for testing.

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

@ Jim

there is alot of "cloudy" info on that exact topic and I applaud you for remembering it.

what I have found from personal expereince is this"

A win XP can only be succesffully repaired with the "version" from which it was installed"

to clarify

lets say we have a black box with win xp which has sp-2 on it / over the last year though we added sp-3 and a boat load of windows updates

if we want a successful run of repair install we want and need to go back to the original disk we used at install! I have now learned to write this info with a sharpie marker on the inside of the box even though it has drawn me a tongue lashing every now and then from the owner!

the repair install will obliterate any updates that have been done since day #1 of the OS install. But you cant trick the install by using a more update or slipstreamed OS disk which may now have Sp-3 on it!

most of the time you will get a message that says this version of windows is not comptatible with your rapair or something like that

alternative

I have learned sometimes the above mess just isnt worth the time investment

use a 30 day trial prog like Drivesnapshot
Drive Snapshot - Disk Image Backup for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/X64

and create a drive "image" of your current boot drive / but you must store the image on a diff drive to keep it intact for what I am about to advise you

an owner can buy a used hard drive on ebay cheaply if you dont have an extra slave drive; if your data is not worth some ebay hunting; then procced to the killdisk step.

then

A) make a back-up image of your current boot drive saving it to the alternate drive

B) wipe your current drive with killdisk

C) clean install win xp with an updated win xp disk with sp-3 or better yet / visit Ryans VM intergrator website and make an even newer "post SP-3" update to intergrate; BUT if you dont have or dont want to have the little propeller coming out of your fav baseball cap; simply install win xp any way you can; update the service pack and windows updates until someday you finally reach that " you have them all" place of nirvana

D) its at this time you can view and import any files you want from your old snapshot image / you will however need to reinstall any programs you were using; programs are written to the windows registry therefore simply dragging the folder for "your favorite anti-virus program" is not going to work / BUT you wont lose anything you had either!

ok; do I have your eyes glazed over yet? this is unfortunately deeper than most users care to venture!

Re: New bulid PC does not boot every time.

Well I did indeed have two versions of XP Pro installed, so reformatted my HDD and did a clean install.
Prior to that I ran the disc check software from Western Digital as recommended yesterday and my HDD passed fine. That's a relief.

I had all my software backed up on an external HD so have not lost any data. I guess automatic updates will kick in later and do it's thing.

The next step will be for me to get that new PSU.

Again thanks for all the help.

Neill