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AR15.COM
5/16/2004 10:19:35 PM EDT
Hey everyone.  I just got back home and saw my computer said "Press Ctrl, Alt and Delete to restart" So I did.  Now, it wont even get to the post screen.  It starts up with the proc info then says "Memory Te" and thats it.  I've removed all the drives, reset CMOS and tried other memory, all to no avail.  Any ideas?
5/16/2004 10:45:55 PM EDT
[#1]
Sounds like you may have had a cooling fan failure that fried something.  Did you have any vibrations or fan noise, or were you getting random lockups or anything like that before this happened?  Do you clean the dust out of the case/fans/heatsinks regularly?

-Troy
5/16/2004 11:12:07 PM EDT
[#2]
what OS
5/16/2004 11:17:36 PM EDT
[#3]
Does your motherboard (MoBo) have a troubleshooting LED? If so, find out the error codes of your particular  motherboard brand, and try to boot again. If there is an LED on the MoBo, this will allow you to determine at which stage of boot your PC is stopping, and which piece of hardware the MoBo is having trouble initializing.

Of course, there are also (some of) the obvious things to check first in no particular order:

Power supply

Memory slots--try memory sticks in all of your memory banks (one stick at a time) and not just the first slot.

Memory sticks--when these go bad, your PC may not POST, and some motherboards will beep signalling that you have a problem. If you had random crashes/strange behavior prior to this issue, bad memory could be the culprit. (of course, an overheating CPU/dead heatsink/fan combo can also cause this behavior.) Also, be careful to ground yourself before handling/swapping memory sticks--it only take a little static electricity to fry a stick sometimes, so be careful.

Heatsink/fan on your processor--the fan may have died (as Troy noted) and if so, your CPU may be toast.

CMOS battery--these die occasionally, and can be replaced for a few bucks.

Troubleshooting a PC can sometimes be so frustrating you forget how to spell your own name. Start with the basics first. Make no assumptions. Good luck.
5/17/2004 6:51:57 AM EDT
[#4]

Quoted:
what OS



XP Pro SP1
5/17/2004 7:55:47 AM EDT
[#5]
After you've tried all of the above, you may want to try unplugging & replugging in your memory and devices. Sometimes they just come lose and "could" affect you at boot up time. It's worth a try, and it's free.
5/18/2004 9:41:34 PM EDT
[#6]
Any updates? Did you locate and solve the problem?
5/19/2004 7:29:43 AM EDT
[#7]

Quoted:
Any updates? Did you locate and solve the problem?



Not yet, but I lost this post so I started a new one New Link
5/19/2004 7:39:36 AM EDT
[#8]
1) OS is irrelevant. This is a hardware problem.

2) You have either a dead proc or a dead motherboard. Since it works AT ALL, I'd guess dead board over dead proc.

3) To test, take your CPU out of your motherboard and plug it into a working PC. Since you're on XP, I'll assume you have a recent Athlon or Pentium4 series CPU, which means there will be no jumpers to set. If the other PC works with your CPU, it's the MB. If not, it's the CPU.

4) If the CPU fails (3), try the working PC's CPU in the dead box