Computer Boot Problemshttp

What you should do if you get the chance is find the jumper for resetting your BIOS. If you made any misconfiguration in it, then it will cause problems and resetting it to default might be the only way to get the basic system stable enough to work with.

Theres usually one jumper on the board somewhere that when bridged will short the charge that cycles the saved settings, failing that the only other option is pulling out the batterie thats on the board and letting it discharge over time.

I would suggest doing this before buying new hardware, as you might save some money.

 

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I was careful not to change anything in the bios. I am tempted to get a cheap video card and download the beta version of vista and see if I can get the compter working

 

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Just to confirm that a video card and graphics card are the same thing?

 

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Also would a faulty video card stop the PC from booting?

 

Yes. Video card and graphics card are the same thing.

Yes, a bad video card will prevent the PC from booting.
Actually, not only that, but a bad video card will do EXACTLY like the problem you described (where it boots one out of every few times you hit the power button, and becomes unstable when it does manage to boot).

 

Which can also be caused by a Wrongly configured entry in the BIOS, for instance setting Palette snooping or video BIOS shadow memory address. Basically if the BIOS suggests that the Videocard and the system should compete for the same resources... instance crash.

 

bad ram will also keep the computer from booting

do you smoke?
the reason i ask is because smoke particles could have infiltrated your system and gotten into the pci and ram connectors.
if you do smoke then THOROUGHLY clean your system

i smoke and when i cleaned my power supply i got a pile of crap out of it that was unreal.

 

I do, what would you suggest cleaning the system with as it is very dirty inside.

 

a vacuum cleaner that blows
the kind that has an exhaust port that you can connect the hose to.
take your machine outside and observe proper grounding rules for static.
if your machine was anything like mine you are going to get a cloud of crap out of it.

the only way i knew my machine needed cleaning was the supply fan quit working.
i took the supply out and took it apart. i am amazed it didn't short out with all the crap that was in it.

use a toothpick to clean the pci and ram connectors.

you will probably need to clean your cpu heatsink too.
the fan on my heatsink attaches with 4 screws.
the fan/sink assembly clips onto my cpu with a clip.
if you remove the heatsink from the cpu make sure that you have some heaksink compound to put it back on with.

i leave one side off of my computer because i smoke.
the reason is that an enclosed computer will draw air through your floppy and cd rom drives among other places.

 

Thanks for the advice.