Trouble Isolating Problem

[videogames101]

Sorta long story, plz ignore spelling errors...

Well i was playing oblivion on the below rig, and it crashed. The computer didn't reset or anything, but it was just a blank black screen. I thought at the time, it's a windows compupter! nothing to worry about, so i reboot and oddly enough, i can't get past the initial boot screen. It displays everything correctly, then gets to hard drives and correctly identifies them, but then the entire boot process just stops. I tried switching out vid cards, hard drives, and all PCI devices, but nothing seemed to change.

Then I unplug my on-baord ethernet port.

It boots!

Tried with it plugged back in, it doesn't. Even plugging it in after the comp is botted, it goes back to black screen. And even when i unplug my ethernet port, after about 10 min of running it returns to the initial boot screen and runs back to the hard drives and stops like before.

I'm really quite lost, as it would almost seem something is wrong with the motherboard, which from what i know of doesn't just happen in the middle of playing oblivion.

Any suggestions?

 

[JustaGeek]

Reset the CMOS, load setup defaults, exit and save.

Go back into BIOS and set all the parameters back to where they were before.

If that doesn't work... perhaps your PCIe bus, or chipset died...?

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
Reset the CMOS, load setup defaults, exit and save.

Go back into BIOS and set all the parameters back to where they were before.

If that doesn't work... perhaps your PCIe bus, or chipset died...?

I'll try the cmos/bios reset, but i not only tried another PCIe card, but also tried a AGP (Thank you Asrock for agp/pcie mobo!)

And if the chipset did die, i guess i just have to pick-up a new mobo?

 

[JustaGeek]

I'm afraid so... You can RMA to Asrock - if the MB is still under warranty.

I have 775Dual-VSTA too, working fine for about a year, in my wife's computer.

 

[videogames101]

The plot thickens...

Reset CMOS and defaults for BIOS, now i can get it to OS selection screen with the ethernet cable in, which i guess is better, but once i either one of the windwos installations try to start then i get a black screen. and the nothing changed about the process without it plugged in.

Since it goes blank once i start OS boot, it may be a windows problem? But it's errors all over the place once if i try to do a clean install (tried earlier)

And the fact it's an ethernet port still points to the motherboard.

Is it worth trying to complete a clean install? It's just that before it stopped before OS even started booting.

All suggestions appreciated!

 

[JustaGeek]

Try repair install... This way you won't loose any applications/games.

But... if both AGP and PCIe Video Cards don't work properly, it is probably the chipset.

Yoy said you can get to Windows load screen, but when all the drivers load it goes black, correct?

 

[videogames101]

I get to the select OS screen (2 windows installations) and after i select one the moment it starts to boot it blanks.

And, it may not be the video card, as without the ethernet port plugged in, i can boot fine.... for 10 minutes.

Trying repair install now to.


EDIT: Windows Setup stuck loading files (windows executable) wtf.... this just keeps getting more fun

 

[JustaGeek]

Do you have an option "Enable LAN boot" or something to this effect in BIOS?

Try to disable it...

 

[videogames101]

No, but i did try disabling onboard LAN, didn't work

 

[JustaGeek]

Try booting with only one stick of memory...

And maybe remove that sound card - enable on-board sound.

 

[videogames101]

Sry for the wait in response, taking out the memory did the trick, i only took out 1 at a time when i was checking if the problem was memory. SO right now i'm attempting a clean install, i'll give results when it's done.

 

[JustaGeek]

Cool!