Please help! Major PC problem!!

[Daudi]

Ok, I was playing a game and my computer locked up suddenly. Naturally I restarted my computer. Heres the problem - it just hangs when booting up, like when it's in dos still. It counts the ram and mhz and maybe a few seconds after that it will just hang. And what's even weirder it doesn't hang in the same spot every time. I'll leave my PC off for a few hours and it will get almost to the part where it asks me to choose OS's. I opened up my PC and it was kind of dusty I noticed...but could this be the problem? I blew off all the dust and it still does the same thing. It can't be a irq conflicting or anything because I didn't change anything..just restarted my computer after it locked up. Please help!!!

 

[altonb1]

It could be a piece of hardware that just failed suddenly. How old is your PC?

If you have the manual for your PC, or in some name brand cases, the motherboard diagram is somewhere on the lid/side panel of the case, try to find what you need to do to reset the BIOS. Some PCs require a jumper, others a switch on the system board. I've also heard of pressing certain keys on the ckeyboard as you hit the power switch, but can't thin of any off-hand at this moment. in any case, clear the CMOS, then reboot. You'll have to reset your memory, hard drives, time, date, etc in most cases, but if the CMOS just got "confused," this will solve your problem. Let us know if this helps. If you can't find the mobo specs to reset the BIOS, let us know your system specs and maybe someone else with the same system can help you futher.

 

[Daudi]

well i thought maybe the cpu was overheating so i tried to take it out and put it back on..i think i cracked the core cuz now it doesn't boot up at all..nothing on the screen. Oh well..time for an upgrade anyways..any suggestions? I'm thinking a athlonxp will do..do i have to have a special motherboard for those?

 

[minendo]

You need a socket a mobo that will support the XP's.

 

[Daudi]

i have an msi k7tpro2 mobo..does that support athlon xps?? if not what's a good cheap one (not interested in oc'ing)

 

[PowerYoga]

if you want a cheap board for athlon xp, try the epox 8kha+.... its cheap for sure. I heard 8k7a supports the xp chipset too, but the chipset is kind of old. (however its even cheaper, < $80 if you don't count shipping)

 

[altonb1]

Check out the Hot Deals forum on this site. someone is always posting a good deal on a mobo combo, bare bones system, etc.