[HELP] PC freezes, sometimes no POST

[SnakeByte99]

Hi all! New on the forum and asking for some help!

I got back from my vacation and my PC stopped working. I had some problems before, but i thought it was just faulty RAM, which i RMA'd. After new RAM it got even worse. Could use some help! Thanks in advance.

The problems:

1. OS/PC freezes after a while of usage
2. No POST, No BEEP, Power ok, FAN ok, LEDs ok
3. POST ok, gets stuck on : Initializing USB Controllers ..

Workaround:

1. sometimes works - pulling out powercord for 5 mins - boots fine
but then after a while it freezes or restarts again and doesn't boot.

Tests i did: ( IF the pc worked, most of the time it did not )

1. tested memory with memtest 64+, no errors
2. swapped memory banks, no change
3. pulled out mem, got bios BEEPS, ok
4. pulled out GPU/VGA, got bios BEEPS, ok
5. reseated all cables, no change
6. reseated CPU, no change
7. tested with prime95, works ok for 10 mins, reboots, then no POST, etc.
8. checked temps, around 50-60 max, no prob
9. used no conductive underground and did a bare boot, no change, no beep
10. cleared CMOS ofcourse, used button and used battery-trick, no change
11. Used other PSU, no change
12. even changed other power outlet

-------------------

PC setup:

CPU - i7 950 ( currently not OC'ed - in the past i oc'ed it to 4 ghz )
+ venomous-X cooler
MOB - MSI X58 Pro-E ( new )
RAM - GeiL 8gb DDR3-1600 ( RMA'd - new and working ok - memtest)
GPU - Powercolor HD5870
PSU - Corsair 750w
OS - Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

 

[pete1229]

Did you check the usb configuration in your bios? I ran into the same problem where the boot splash screen would hang at "Initializing USB Controllers", I let it be and eventually the system booted after a few minutes. I went into the bios and it turned out to be a wrong setting in the USB configuration. There is a setting for "Legacy USB" which was disabled for some reason. Despite the fact that I have no USB 1 devices or ports, the "disabled" setting still caused boot delays. FYI Windows 7 64bit Home Premium.

 

[C1]

Ive seen in these forums a complaint about similar symptoms and someone suggested bad capacitor(s) on the MB. Check the MB carefully for any leaky/bulgy capacitors. This issue could easily just be a bad MB component. probably the only way to diagnose it yourself is to pull the whole unit apart and run it with minimum components connected - one stick memory, use onboard IGP, run Win98 DOS from a startup floppy. If it freezes then youre gonna have to replace the MB to be practical.

Let us know what you find.

 

[SnakeByte99]

@pete: ye i tried that before ( forgot to mention that one ), but it had no effect what so ever. Also starting up without USB devices or USB controller did not have any effect.

@c1: i'll try to check every capacitor on the board, did not notice anything strange though. Stupid thing is, that the board is only 2 weeks old and it worked ok the first few days. Oh, and i already tried running it as bare as possible. No change. ( i could not go without my VGA however since i do not have onboard graphics., could this also be the culprit? otherwise the cpu? )

My old mobo did die though, never found the culprit, it just didnt give any beeps whatsoever.

 

[DirkGently1]

Unless i'm going blind, i don't think anybody has mentioned your Mobo BIOS. Is the board using the latest version, or have you tried using a previous iteration?

 

[denis280]

My guest would be the hdd. try another one and see