Random boots.

[2ftrain576]

I have a system with asus cuv4x mobo 30 gig western digital
us robotics 56k modem 256 mb pc133 ram creative sound blaster maudio pci, pent III 1 gig processor Eagle 300W psu

the problem is every once and a while the the system fails to boot, unless i go inside and re-seat a device. on each failed boot i have re-seated the memory, video card, sound card...........etc. after the device is re -seated, the system is fine for a while, then just won't boot untill i go inside and re-seat something. This makes it very hard to isolate the problem device. What could be causing this situation? Thanks!

[NooNoo]

What os? If it is 2k or XP what does the event viewer say.. do you get a blue screen?

[2ftrain576]

the os is windows me. there is no error screen. just a black screen with the green power led on the case. no post or beeps.............nothing.

[NooNoo]

Do you have it plugged into a surge protector?

Have you tried another powersupply?

[2ftrain576]

yes, a surge protector is being used. no i haven't tried another power supply.
when the system does boot, it works just fine. then for reasons unexplained it won't boot until i go inside, and reseat either the memory or one of the cards.

[confus-ed]

Originally posted by 2ftrain576
....then for reasons unexplained it won't boot until i go inside, and reseat either the memory or one of the cards.

If it ain't the psu, which it may or may not be - Boot usually 'consumes' most power, then you need to be aware that doing this will have the effect of clearing the DMI pool.

When a machine tries to post it first references the DMI pool to pick up resource allocations in order to initialise, now no matter what MS have to say about this - device drivers in windoze can write to this and change info that is effectively part of the computers BIOS. When you do anything that gives the PC 'new' stuff this also clears the DMI pool .... next time it won't boot instead of reseating cards or memory try clearing CMOS with the m/b jumper....

If clearing CMOS does the trick you have some incompatible devices that are trying to use the same allocations ... an 'iffy' but otherwise good driver can do this & you either live with it or start swapping bits out, a new updated bios for the board usally cures the problem but may not .... some stuff just won't live inside the case with other stuff, though swapping PCI slots for peripheral devices often helps...

But most often in situations like this its a wire or component that has a 'poor' connection and basically you have a grounding problem, like you say 'makes it very hard to isolate the problem device'....

As I said try clearing cmos next time (& avoid the temptation to 'push home' any components!) then you'll know, at least, whether its an incompatability issue or something else (either psu or grounding) .... Happy hunting!

[2ftrain576]

ok ..........i updated the bios, swapped out devices. still no luck. however, now i noticed that if i just leave the computer on with just the power and hd led illuminated, it will boot after aabout 4 or 5 minutes. guess i'll try a new power supply, and see what happens........... or could it be a low cmos battery?..........hmmmmmm.