PC boots straight to bios

[LarryWH]

Ok, so heres the rundown real quick. The computer will only boot to the bios settings screen. One screen is shown before that is loaded which asks me if I want to push TAB for details or DEL for settings, which TAB doesnt work if i click it. There are 2 short beeps followed by like 5 or 6 very fast and LOW beeps/clicking..

This has happened to me before, but all i did was reset the bios and click load fail-safe settings. Doesnt work this time...

I moved the computer to my parents house yesterday, so I'm getting something got rattled loose.. I have already tried removing/reseating everything except the CPU because i can't figure out the clips.

I have also tried a new battery


Specs:
Phoenix - Award BIOS
p4 1.6, 512mb
WinXP (was using at least)



Thanks in advance for any help you can offer



**added info**
I know 2 beeps on an award indicates memory failure...but I have checked it multiple times, it does work. Also, i have tried a different video card so that has nothing to do with it either.

 

[pol II]

The two beeps is something to consider. How many sticks of RAM are in there? Can you remove all but one and see if the computer will boot? If you have several sticks of RAM perhaps you can test them individually and see if the computer will boot. You may also consider unhooking other peripherals such as sound card, network card, CD ROM, floppy, etc. Try to boot into windows with the bare minimum: CPU, one stick of RAM, and HDD.

Does the BIOS recognize the hard drive? Can you try another hard drive in that system? One possibility could be a hard drive that is failing... We need to get that thing able to POST all the way though.

Also consider swapping the keyboard for another one, just in case it is malfunctioning (or try the keyboard on another computer).

 

[LarryWH]

there is only 1 stick of ram, and if i remove it, it just gives me one constant beep for like 5 seconds and the repeats...everything is onboard too.

also, yes it does recognize the hdd

I will try a new keyboard and hdd right now, ill reply when finished

 

[LarryWH]

i turned the computer on right as i grabbed the stuff (didnt put it in yet) and it just started working again...thats why i hate messing with things with latent failure because i can never find out what part is bad

are there any tests i can run while it is working to maybe help me figure out what is wrong next time it happens


and thanks for the reply i never thought about the suggestions you gave

 

[pol II]

How is Windows running for you? Can you do all the things that you used to do with the same efficiency and ease within Windows? Or does it seem "off?"

You can test your processor (and to a lesser extent, your RAM) within Windows using a program called "prime95." If you google this, it should be the first hit. For now, choose to run stress testing only, and under "options" choose mixed (or blended) mode. This program tests your CPU and RAM while calculation prime numbers; it checks the answers generated by the CPU against the actual answers. If there is an incorrect calculation, the program will signal this by telling you that there was an error. Ultimately, prime95 shoud be run for 24 hours to ensure stability. But in this case, running for an hour or two can give a temporary pass to the CPU and RAM. The focus will then be on the motherboard. You can also go to your HD manufacturer's website and download a HD diagnostics program that will check your HDD for bad sectors. That is all I can think of at the moment

 

[pkypkypky]

That beep sequence would point to bad memory. Do yourself a favor and test some other memory. If you don't have anything, go out and buy yourself 1gb of ram if you're going to run XP. Then turn off all visual effects for winxp. This is all optional, but your system must be sluggish with those specs