problem about system reboot

Hi, all,

I got a problem about system reboot several days ago. Every time I turn on my pc (which i mean computer has been off for at least several hours), before i see the windows logo, system will automatically reboot. after the reboot, i will see a screen giving me several options, such as entering system normally, entering system by using last successful configuration. By choosing either one of them, windows will start up and i could use it without any problems, even i run it for a whole day. if i try to restart the computer during the day after system runs for a while, the reboot problem will not show up. As i say before, it only happens after my pc is off for several hours.

i have scanned my system and hard disk. No virus is found. file system doesn't corrupt. No bad disk sector appeared.

I don't think there is any software conflict, because i have been using them for a long time.

my system--
Intel celeron 1.2GHZ, 512 SDRAM, WD40G,
win xp pro with sp2 and all the patches, the file system in c: drive is NTFS.

Any ideas?

Best Regards,

shek

 

i think its caused by a BSOD, however since it doesnt always happen, im puzzled. try running memtest86+ overnight and see if theres any errors. also try running ccleaner or any registry cleaner.

 

I hate these kind of problems.

What is the maked and model of the PC? This is very important to know when diagnosing the problem. Also, how old is this system?

You say that you can reboot the system cleanly after it has been on for a while. When you are re-booting it, are you completely shutting it down and booting it back up (cold boot), or are you asking Windows to restart the computer (warm boot)?

If the system reboots cleanly under both of these circumstances, then I would recommend replacing the CMOS battery. CMOS batteries are cheap, a few dollars. A Maxell, Panasonic, Rayovac or Energizer CR2032 can be bought at just about any store. But this is just an educated guess, because I do not know the make and model of your board.

The CMOS battery helps your motherboard remember its settings while the computer is turned off. This battery weakens over time and the first symptoms are what you describe. Over a short period of time, the battery has enough power to maintain the CMOS settings. Over a longer time though, the settings get lost in the batterys weakened state.

Blue Screen of Death

 

gotta agree with closehauled on the cmos battery replacement. cost is cheap and easy to replace.

 

WSFuser, Close_Hauled and ravin---

Thanks for your help and i will try it later.

btw,The reason i didn't mentioned my hardware info is that i have been using them for a long time and they are working fine. therefore, i didn't realize that they might be the problem and i forgot to make them clear. Meanwhile the reboot i mentioned was warm boot.

Here are some info about the hardwares:
cpu-- Intel celeron tulatin 1.2GHZ(12*100)
motherboard---aopen AX3sp-u/intel 815ep/bios version--1.07 (12/23/2002)
memory---pny 512mb pc133 sdram
hard disk---WDC WD400BB
video card---aopen pa3000plus (nvida riva tnt2 m64/m64pro 32mb)
sound card---creative sb live! 5.1 (dell digital)

any other ideas or comments?

best regards,

shek

 

Thanks. That helps a lot.

http://global.aopen.com.tw/Products/mb/ax3sp-u.htm

I see in the photo of the motherboard that it does have a battery. Go ahead and replace it. The board is old.

You seem to have the latest BIOS. The chipset is old. I would download and install the INF update utility (Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility) from Intel for the 815EP chipset:

http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/cs-009232.htm

Go ahead and do this. No matter what, you need it. It will assure that you have the latest INF files for that chipset.

Did you ever re-install Windows? If so, after re-install, it is very important that you run this utility.

Go ahead and do these two things. Then let us know how it goes.

 

This morning I opened the box and replaced the battery( maxell, cr2032). But the computer could not boot up any more. there is no beep at all and only cpu fan keeping on running and two other red leds (standby power and boot) are on. And there is nothing shown on the screen. Meanwhile the power and reset buttons don't work and i have to turn off the surge protector in order to shut down the pc. another symptom is the three green lights on the keyborad flash every several seconds.

btw, i took the old battery with me and went out to buy a new one. it took me about one hour before i came back. Does the problem relate to it? AFAIK, usually the process of clearing cmos only takes several seconds.

Does anyone have any ideas how to fix it?

shek

 

Does it mean the motherboard breaks down?

Please!!!!! I need your help!

Thanks in advance.

shek

 

Sorry for the delay, I was away for the weekend.

Do you still have the old battery? What is the make and model of it? If the original is a 2032, then the replacement is correct.

In the meantime, I am reviewing your motherboard manual and specs.

 

Close_Hauled----

Thank you for your reply. I threw the old battery away as soon as I got the new one. But I did double check the model and manufacture, that was why i brought the old one with me. Moreover, I also used a third battery to make sure it's not the battery problem this time.

the green led ( for power) and the red led (for hard disk) in front of the box are always on, no flashing at all(the red one should blink in the normal case), as long as I turn on the computer. But actually the hard disk is idle, because i cannot hear any noise from it when i open the box.

so it seems that my motherboard breaks down.

btw, i also post my problem on aopen's forum. but there is no response so far.

shek

 

Make sure that you did not accidently loosen a cable (power, and drive). I have seen examples where a loose IDE cable causes the drive light to stay on continuously.

Usually when you replace the battery, the system will forget its settings and ask you to configure it at bootup. You will have to go into the BIOS and configure all of the settings. In most cases the default settings will suffice. You just need to exit and save the default settings.

 

thank you and i will try to check all the wire connection later.

But as i mentioned above, when i turn on the computer, there is no beeps and nothing shown on the screen, even the logo of energy star and the model and version of the bios. so i cannot enter the bios setup at all.

shek

 

do u have a spare monitor and/or video card to try?

 

WSFuser---

Thank you for the reply.

I just bought a brand new montior several days ago. And when I trun on the monitor, it shows "no signal" on the screen. moreover, there are some other symptoms not relating to video card, such as hard disk not running and no beeps during startup. so I don't think it might be a monitor or video card problem. Meanwhile, i don't have extra monitor or video card to test it.

shek

 

FYI:

BIOS for Beginners

 

thank you for your link.

But I don't have any chance to enter the bios setting.

shek

 

just a suggestion but a computer I worked on the other day had same problem. replaced cmos battery and nothing no display on screen etc. problem was the hard drive had totally failed. best chance at this point is to try another hard drive and see if everything functions.

 

ravin----

Thank you for your suggestion. I will try it later.

shek

 

I know this is a rather stupid question, but relevant none-the-less because I've heard of people doing it before, did you have the system off and unplugged when you replaced the battery? Did you ground yourself to prevent static electricity? (aka, touch an un-painted metal portion of the case or wore a anti-static strap?) - but either way try this: unplug the computer (both the monitor, all cables, everything.) make sure all the power conenctors are connected, make sure all the cables are firmly connected and that you did not accidentally knock something off, and then hook your system back up and try again, if that doesn't work, I've expierenced that on older boards sometimes when you replace the CMOS battery you have to reset the CMOS, there should be a jumper on the board (read the motherboard manual for information on how to do it ( Motherbaord manual download ) - If that doesn't work try disconnecting the IDE cable from the harddrive and try again, I doubt its harddrive but still worth a shot, if none of that works I think maybe your board is dead.

 

comp01---

thank you for your reply.

I did almost everything you mentioned except disconnecting the IDE cable. And i will try it later as soon as i get a spare hard disk from my friend.

shek

 

Hi, guys,

Thanks for your help. My motherboard did break down. So there was nothing i could do. Meanwhile the old motheboard is hard to find and I have to build a new computer.

shek