Processor and boot-up troubleshooting

[Gudzilla]

I need help with a situation on my desktop PC. Recently I had a blue screen error. I was not able to see the details though. When I tried to start the machine it would not boot up so I am trying to determine what the problem is.
Can someone help me troubleshoot?
When the DOS type screen comes up at the start it asks if I want to start in recovery mode or start normally.
When I opt for recovery mode the four animated windows colored dots float on the screen like usual, but it never boots up.
When I opt for starting normally, the sliding bar animation at the bottom of the screen continually moves back and forth, but it again never boots up. I have let both of these run overnight just to make sure I am waiting long enough for it to repair itself.
I put the windows installation disk in and tried to boot off of that, but still would not boot.
I am able to go into the BIOS settings, but I don't see anything that would help. I'm not an expert with the BIOS, but still I don't see anything useful.
The machine had two hard drives, a SSD for the system, and a conventional for files. I’ve taken both out and scanned them for errors on another machine, and didn’t find any.
My thinking is that it is the processor, but I am not sure. It seems to me that if I can go into the BIOS, then the motherboard is working, and both the hard drives are working, then it must be the processor.
I had noticed that it was making the clicking sound more often for the past couple of weeks of using it, and there were times it seemed to be taking longer than normal for opening big excel files that had a lot of calculations in them. Also the processor cooling fan had been louder.
If anyone could help me I would really appreciate it. I don't want to pay for a new one and then have that not be the problem. I take it that processors are hard to return to a seller.
If I need to replace the processor I kind of need help determining what to buy, or if it is possible to do any kind of upgrade while I am at it. Upgrade is not necessary though, just if it is possible I might as well do it.

I know my specs are in my profile, but here is the basics also just for information’s sake.

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Gateway GT5662
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit
CPU
Phenom 9500
Motherboard
ECS MCP61PM-GM AM2 mATX

 

[badger906]

if it was a processor issue you wouldn't even get past the post phase and you would here a series of motherboard beeps indicating an error.

the whole time I was reading this harddrive failure was the thing in my head from the begining. just because disks past tests doesnt mean they arent dodgy.

if you have an old hard drive laying about stick it in withiut any other drives and try and install windows to it. if you get anywhere near the windows installing part then you know its drive related.
if you get the same issue its time to dig deeper.

 

[Gudzilla]

Thanks for the suggestion, its taken me quite a long time to reply back.
I tried putting in another hard drive, but no luck. I turn the machine on and it stays on the initial screen with the manufacturers name and the options for BIOS settings or the Boot menu. Whether I press the buttons (F2 or F10) once, repeatedly or not at all, nothing goes any farther. I never get to another screen. At least with the other hard drive it would go into the BIOS or Boot menu. Now this one does neither.

 

[badger906]

you should be able to enter the bios even without a hard drive plugged in..

starting to reconsider my initial post and head towards the mobo..

 

[Gudzilla]

Yeah, I'm looking up pricing for motherboards. Not sure if I would want to find the same model and keep the rest of the hardware. Its pretty rare now, price is somewhere between $50-$100, and about that much again just for shiping because, it comes only from China. That would make it kind of a risk if there were any problems with it.
I'm not totally sure if it would be best to just put in a newer mobo, with a newer chip. But that kind of sounds the same as just starting from scratch. I could do that, but the rest of this machine is fairly decent and I could always use it for something even like a media player for a tv, or even a donation to someone who could use it if I didn't.