PC powers up, doesn't boot BIOS

[popolo]

Hey there. The problem I'm currently having with my PC is kind of weird. I usually leave my PC running overnight, and when I come back in the morning it basically doesn't wake up from Sleep Mode. I then restart the computer in which the fans power up, but get no signal to the monitor and BIOS doesn't load. Sometimes after waiting 10 seconds, I'll hear a short beep, but that's it. The fans are usually running REALLY fast when I try to boot it up. Sometimes I hear the BEEP right away and I get power to my heaphones and keyboard, but BIOS still wont load.

So I usually just restart the comp 20-30 times, at which point it finally boots BIOS and everything works fine. It's basically a bone stock PC.

Gateway FX4710-UB802A
Intel Quad Core Q9300 @ 2.5ghz
Two 2gb sticks of RAM
Nvidia 9800 GT
Windows Vista 64-bit
640gb SATA II hd

The problem occurs whenever the computer is shutdown or restarted for any updates. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Clinkzehffs]

Can you remove different combinations for the RAM sticks? Remove one, try it in all slots, then put that one and remove other, try it in all slots until you get success.

Try removing the harddisk and see if you can get success.

Try not leaving your PC overnight for a day or two (don't let it get too much heat), does this still happen?


Tell me what happened, and I'll give my opinion on it

 

[popolo]

Hey there.

Yeah I did that yesterday, and it SEEMS like the problem is within the video card.

My current video card has a 6 pin power connector on it. When I swap in a video card with no power connector on it(only one i have lying around) it works fine. If I switch my monitor cable to my on-board graphics it also works fine.

After about restarting my computer 100 times, it booted up. But if I shut it down, it will probably go to **** again.

 

[mailpup]

For testing purposes can you swap in another power supply? It might be that the old one can no longer keep up with the more powerful graphics card. In other words the power supply could be failing even though it hasn't failed completely.

 

[popolo]

For testing purposes can you swap in another power supply? It might be that the old one can no longer keep up with the more powerful graphics card. In other words the power supply could be failing even though it hasn't failed completely.

My current power supply is a 400w with dual 12v rails at 16a each.

I have a 575w power supply that a friend just gave me with a single rail at only 22a. I didn't noticed that till I installed it. It still didn't boot right away, but eventually got it up after about 10 restarts. I received an error saying my nvidia gpu wasn't receiving enough power (I believe the 9800gt requires 26amps)

So I put my old power supply back in, restarted the comp about 50 times to get it up and it's currently working fine(until I shut it down again)

 

[mailpup]

I could be wrong but if swapping the power supply made a change in the boot up (10 tries instead of 50), it still might have something to do with a weak power supply. The power supplies might have a certain amp rating but they could still be failing to put out their full rated amperage.

 

[Clinkzehffs]

It looks like a power issue to me, try getting a stronger power supply. If you are sure that the 575w one decreased the restart time from 50 to 10, and if you are sure that its not coincidence, you definitely need a better & stronger power supply. Try with a stronger power supply and see if same things still happen. You can also try changing your video card with your current power supply if you have one you don't use. It's either a problem about your video card, or the power supply is weak, gotta try and see.

Regards

 

[ediggity]

Same problem had here...

I also have a Gateway FX4710-UB802A which had the same problems.
Try downgrading your video driver.

<my_story>
I sent it off to Gateway twice for repairs; I bought it at Costco, so they extended the manf warranty. All Gateway did was re-image/replace the hard drive, and replace all the hardware (memory, video card, motherboard, processor) - at least according to the sheet they gave me when it was returned.

(Before the problems started, I had upgraded to Win7.)
In both instances when I got the computer back, it had the original 64bit Vista SP1 OS image and needed upgrading.

As soon as the video card driver updated I got the same experience; it would boot, windows would start, and the screen would go black. Windows was running - I could Windows key > right arrow > Enter to shut it off.

After scouring the interweb for answers, I arrived at the video card driver problem. I downloaded to an old version of the video driver from NVIDIA while in "SAFE mode with Networking" and then downgraded the driver (search for directions on how to do this).
This worked like a charm.

I unfortunately can't tell you what version or where I downloaded it because I have since purged myself of this NVIDIA video card in favor of a brand new, much quieter ATI HD5750.
</my_story>

I'm actually having a different, yet similar problem now. At the same time I upgraded my video card, I decided to add 4 more GB of RAM. No problem; all went in just fine.

Now periodically, my computer locks up, screen goes black (Windows key > right arrow > enter does not shut it off) and my only option is to power off by holding down the power button. A little research tells me the NB (northbridge) voltage setting in my BIOS might be too low to accommodate my new memory, and I should kick it up to 1.4 or 1.45V.

Unfortunately my BIOS version doesn't allow me to set the NB voltage...
What to do next? Upgrade BIOS?

Notes to self:
- don't buy computers with NVIDIA video cards
- don't buy a Gateway
- considering a switch to Mac...