BIOS freezing on bootups

[transcend11]

My specs are in my signature. After I restart my computer, there are periods where my BIOS will freeze while it's loading immediately, where it's beginning to display processor, memory check, etc. Trying to get into the BIOS configurations doesn't prevent the freezing.

Once this freezing happens, I have to reset my CMOS jumper and remove the battery. This has happened about 3 times now, in the past 2 weeks, and seems to be increasing in frequency. This last time, even after removing the battery, it loaded with default settings and still froze-- except with a lot of weird characters all over the screen. A screenshot is viewableHere
These freezings are only when I am booting up. I haven't crashed once in Windows, only restarting the computer.

What hardware is affecting this? Is it the motherboard? Or maybe a hard drive?

Thanks for any help, I am planning on upgrading soon but I don't want to spend money when I need something replaced.

--
DFI Ultra Infinity NFII, Athlon XP 2500+ @ 2.15GHz, Kingston HyperX 1024MB PC3000, 128MB ATI Radeon 9700pro

 

[fire400]

this is the fun part, where you strip your sytem one by one until you find which peice of hardware is causing the problem. until you've tried everything, you know the mobo isn't doing it's job the right way.

 

[Jiggz]

Nice link but I'm not a member. Anyways, you are OC'ing so you would want to go back to default speed first and then try again. If the system still freezes at boot up then it is something else. What else is there, well it could be the PSU (most likely) or the mobo. To find out which, either switch PSU of at least the same rating or higher. Or you can try reducing the power load by disconnecting the non basic periperals. Basic peripherals are video card, stick of ram, and one hdd. Now try again, if the problem is still there it's more likely the mobo. But I will try another PSU first before replacing the mobo. Take note: It is during boot up times that the system uses the most power. Nowhere or at any other times is power demand higher than boot up times. So this could be more likely a PSU issue.

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, No need to remove the battery if you are MOVING the jumper to RESET. Moving the jumper disconnects the batt and discharges the circuit capacitors. Only a moment is needed. Remember to remove all AC power at the back of the PS or the Wall Outlet. Luck, Jim

 

[jdkick]

Indeed, good luck. Resetting the CMOS is a good call. If the issue persists then you'll want to strip the machine down to the absolute basics and continue testing. Disconnect/remove any unecessary devices, including HDD's, CD/DVD's and floppies. If possible, test your CPU, memory and video card in another machine. You can also disable any integrated peripherals like ethernet, audio, usb, etc. It's also possible that BIOS is corrupt - flashing again, even with the same version, may help... tho flashing on an unstable system could be problematic.

I had the same thing happening with on of my machines recently. I replaced the power supply and swapped out the memory, video card and hard drive with known good units. Same problem. I called it quits and just bought a new machine... it was an older Athlon XP-based system anyway so I was due for an upgrade.

Something else... inspect the board closely for any blown/leaking capacitors.