Bizarre problem, any help would be much appreciated.

[wheeler99]

Here's the situation, along with my specs:

Today, I was happily surfing the Internet, then the power to my house went out. It was down for approximately 2 hours (along with my entire neighborhood.)

This has happened before, no big deal.

When the power came back on, my computer immediately started, but only got as far as my hard drive light being on, and I can hear it going. The fan is working properly, as well. However, it never gets to POST, and my monitor doesn't recognize my computer as being on.

All connections are tight, all cards are seated properly, and I use a surge protector, of course.

Any ideas of a possible explanation for what's happened & a fix?

Athlon XP1800
KT266a mobo
Windows XP
786 DDR pc2100

TIA for any responses...

Tom

 

[CloroxCowboy]

Clear your BIOS. sometimes it can get abit scrambled when a power failure occurs. Hopefully you do not have damage. If a clear does not work it could be a real hassle.

Good Luck

 

[wheeler99]

*Embarrassed look*

How do I clear my BIOS when my system won't post? I suppose I've been a lucky tech to never have experienced this before, and it WOULD happen on my system, wouldn't it?

The most fundamental work I've ever had to do is holding down the delete key on startup.

Again, I sincerely appreciate your help.

Tom

 

[wheeler99]

*bump* Jeez, this forum moves fast!

 

[SonicTron]

Try unplugging the computer from the wall socket for a few minutes.

 

[wheeler99]

I tried unplugging it for a few seconds.... would that be any different?

I've never had anythin like this happen before.....

 

[EdipisReks]

there should be a jumper by the board's battery. switch the jumpers position for 10 seconds and then put it back. this is called "clearing the CMOS".

--jacob

 

[wheeler99]

Well, I looked on my Mobo, and there's something I forgot to mention: My Mobo is a Gigabyte "Dual BIOS" Mobo with the KT266a chipset.

I looked near the battery, and I didn't see any jumpers. I have two chips for my BIOS... one standard, and one labeled backup.

The plot thickens.

 

[EdipisReks]

well, then you are going to have to remove the battery and wait for a while. take it out, wait 15 minutes, and put it back in. that should work to clear the bios (15 minutes is probably way more than it needs, but better safe than sorry).

--jacob

 

[wheeler99]

Well, I did that, same result.

Given the evidence ..... all of it..... what do you guys think? It has to be something hardware related, and I'm pretty sure it's either the Mobo or the power supply. Which is the most likely candidate? My machine gets power, but displays the above-mentioned symptoms.

I'm thinking it's probably the mobo. (My WORST fear.)

 

[jar5tyle]

I have practically the same mobo, and I earlier this week I had to clear my CMOS

Just making sure, was your PSU unplugged from the wall socket while the battery was out? And how long did you have your battery out?

 

[EdipisReks]

just to make sure, you should unplug the PSU, hit the power button after the plug is pulled, and then yank out the battery. however, it looks to me like something is screwed up. is the motherboard still under warranty?

--jacob

 

[Insane3D]

Gigabyte had the bright idea to omit the clear CMOS jumper on their boards. You need to take out the battery for awhile like someone already mentioned, but if you still have the PC plugged in you will not be clearing the CMOS. The battery is in there to keep all the bios' settings in the event of a no power situation, and if you leave it plugged in while you take out the battery it still has power, so nothing will be cleared. Unplug the PC and remove the battery for around 15 minutes or so...or better yet a 1/2 hour to be sure. Pop it back in and fire her up...CMOS should be cleared.

 

[wheeler99]

I only had the battery out for about 10 minutes when I tried that last night. I will try again, leaving it out much longer this time.

The unit was unplugged then, and is again. I'll let you guys know, but.... I'm not very hopeful. Bear in mind, everything else that was plugged into the surge protector is A-OK..... monitor, DSL modem, FF wheel, everything.

 

[Arrgghh]

Some motherboards allow you to clear the bios when booting by holding a key at power on. On my Abit VP6 I have to hold the insert key when I get a bit overzealous with my overclocking and need to reset the multipliers. I agree with the other posters that it does sound like your bios needs to be reset.