Solved Weird erratic boot up..No Boot screen..what have I done!?

[tonewheelkev]

With a 50" HDMI Plasma TV connected, yes.

While very grateful for the help/intervention,....would really appreciate some logic to support the assertion!!!

.....would a 42" be OK?
.....does the length of the HDMI lead matter?
.....why would the problem only arise after 3 months usage?
.....? (etc)

Seems to be a little like saying that if a new car developed a starting problem, then the fix could well be to check the tyre pressure!!

 

[tonewheelkev]

Unplug the plasma display from the HDMI and see if you then get your BIOS post screen on your monitor. Or turn the TV on and see if the BIOS POST screen shows up there. I don't think you can get into your BIOS using a wireless keyboard. You'll have to use a wired USB or PS2 keyboard.

Have now established that unplugging the HDMI (to plasma) makes no difference.

Isn't this a boot problem that has just arisen....as opposed to a display prob??
(relating to drivers and resolution??)

Perhaps I'm not describing the situation very accurately??

....But yet again....many thanks for the attention!!!

 

[alphanumeric]

On my system I have a Nvidia GT220, it has a VGA and a DVI connector. If I connect two monitors the BIOS POST screen only displays on the monitor connected to the DVI connector. If I unplug that monitor it defaults back to the monitor on the VGA connector. It has a pecking order as far as the connectors go. Thats why I asked the questions I asked. Asking questions gets answers and more info. Your answers seem obvious to you because you know more about the problem than we do. What we think might be wrong is often based on personal experience, which can vary quit considerably from member to member. In the end though we are all trying to help. Sometimes its a quick fix, sometimes its not.

 

[tonewheelkev]

......... In the end though we are all trying to help. Sometimes its a quick fix, sometimes its not.

Thanks alphanumeric et al., I do appreciate this!

Current situation.....monitor only connected via DVI.
On switch on.....NO disc activity, monitor seeks an input, and cycles around HDMI1, HDMI2, Analogue.....then switches off (led now blinks).

.....still no disc activity

2,3 or 4 minutes later, disc activity starts, and machine boots without showing BIOS post screen....or offerring any ways of interrupting the boot process.
Once 'booted' in this way....all works fine (or appears to!)

 

[alphanumeric]

I would re-seat my Video Card, RAM modules and any other add-in cards. My best guess is power supply or motherboard fault. If you have or can borrow a spare power supply I'd swap that out and see what happens.

 

[tonewheelkev]

I would re-seat my Video Card, RAM modules and any other add-in cards. My best guess is power supply or motherboard fault. If you have or can borrow a spare power supply I'd swap that out and see what happens.

Will try the re-seating thing.....but 'spare' psu is a little tricky.

UPDATE!UPDATE!UPDATE!UPDATE!

Have now bypassed GT430 and tried onboard video.....problem remains
.....can I rule out a faulty GT430?
......so, looks like M/B or PSU....?


Thanks again....

Kev

 

[alphanumeric]

Unplug anything not needed for the PC to boot up. Leave only power supply, motherboard, CPU with heatsink, one RAM module and keyboard. Unplug all your USB devices, (except keyboard), also unplug your hard drives and optical drives. Use onboard video. Power up and see what happens. Doing this removes as many components as possible from the puzzle and also reduces the load on the power supply. If it boots up OK then start plugging things back in. When I say boots up OK, I mean to the BIOS POST screen. Even if you get a no bootable device message just seeing that message is a step in the right direction. If the problem persists then you know for sure its one of the few components still hooked up.

 

[tonewheelkev]

Unplug anything not needed for the PC to boot up. Leave only power supply, motherboard, CPU with heatsink, one RAM module and keyboard. Unplug all your USB devices, (except keyboard), also unplug your hard drives and optical drives. Use onboard video. Power up and see what happens. Doing this removes as many components as possible from the puzzle and also reduces the load on the power supply. If it boots up OK then start plugging things back in. When I say boots up OK, I mean to the BIOS POST screen. Even if you get a no bootable device message just seeing that message is a step in the right direction. If the problem persists then you know for sure its one of the few components still hooked up.

Sounds like a plan!!

Will post back when I've progressed it.

Thanks again......

 

[tonewheelkev]

....think it's now sorted!!

Thought I'd try Gregrocker's Troubleshoot Win 7 link....and disabled several dubious entries in systemconfig / startup....

.....Has improved things, and now can access the BIOS post screen......

Many thanks to all for your patience

 

[tonewheelkev]

Whoops....spoke toooo soon!!!!

Thought I had it just there.....but now I've lost the BIOS post screen again, after recovering it albeit momentarily.

Can't help but feelin' that I'm on the right track tho'......

 

[gregrocker]

Enter BIOS setup to see what Fast Boot (or similar) options are listed, then toggle them to see if they make a difference.

If you haven't already reset BIOS to defaults I'd do that first. What is SATA controller setting?

When you lose the BIOS POST screen, what exactly happens or doesn't that should?

 

[alphanumeric]

The BIOS POST screen happens first thing, before the OS is loaded. Disabling applications from loading in Windows with msconfig shouldn't have any effect on whether you see the BIOS screen or not. POST stands for Power On Self Test. Basic hardware detection is one of the things done during the POST. If the BIOS is set to quick boot, minimal checks are done. If you turn off Quick Boot, more in depth checks are done. Failing hardware can cause a failed or prolonged POST/BOOT. One of the last things done is that the hard drive is ID'd and checked for an OS. Then command is transfered to the OS.
Don't get me wrong, using msconfig is a good idea when trying to figure out whats screwing with windows. In this case I just think there is more than that going on on your system.
Todays systems can boot from USB devices and I've seen quit a few threads where an external USB device prevented the PC from booting up in a timely matter or at all in some cases. I've also seem some pretty strange things happen when the power supply is flaky.

 

[tonewheelkev]

......... I've also seem some pretty strange things happen when the power supply is flaky.

Testing the 'flakiness' of the PSU probably will prove difficult....this being a self build.

How likely is it that a 'quality' PS like this is going down the pan at this stage???

Difficult to tell if the BIOS is set to a quick boot option....as I can't access the BIOS!!!

 

[alphanumeric]

New parts can fail just as easily as old parts. I've had stuff that was DOA right out of the box. You can get defects in manufacture that don't show up until the part actually sees some use. All I'm saying is don't rule something out just because it is brand new. If you follow the steps I listed in my earlier post it might get you some answers and maybe let you get into the BIOS. No BIOS POST screen, screams of a hardware problem to me. I'm a retired electronic technician. I was trained in the maintenance and repair of complex electronic equipment, including PCs. I'm not bragging, I'm just giving you some background on what I do and why I come here, thats all.

 

[tonewheelkev]

..... I'm just giving you some background on what I do and why I come here, thats all.

Appreciate that Alpha (...feel like I know you...!).....will have PSU checked!!!

 

[alphanumeric]

Just remember that its just a guess at this point as to whats wrong. It could also end up being a motherboard fault, or something else. Even on the best of days with lots of spare parts to swap in, it can end up being hit or miss until you swap the right part, or find a loose cable or wire.

 

[tonewheelkev]

Seems sorted.....

I would re-seat my Video Card, RAM modules and any other add-in cards. My best guess is power supply or motherboard fault. If you have or can borrow a spare power supply I'd swap that out and see what happens.

.....finally got around to re-seating video card .....and
.....hey presto!!!!.....looks like all is OK now

Many thanks

 

[alphanumeric]

OK, hopefully thats all it was. Cheap fix too.