I think I'm in trouble

[Skanky]

I've suffered a couple "major" crashes already with my computer build (hard drive failure, OS screwed up, etc.), but this time I think I've reached a point that is beyond my troubleshooting abilities.

Basically, while surfing I got a crash to a reboot (a BSOD popped up which looked like a STOP error, but it wasn't on the screen long enough for me to read it).

When it tried to reboot, the splash screen for the mobo displayed (big nf4 logo). That was something that never happend before. Afterwards, it could not fully boot - last displayed message was "Could not find operating system".

I'm guessing I may have a hard drive failure or something weird happend with the multiple drives, but this is not where the story ends...

This is where I think I may have screwed up - last night, I was able to get into the BIOS (hit DEL during bootup), and thought I could reset everything by choosing a "Load last CMOS" option... which thinking back on it, was probably a really really stupid thing to do.

Next bootup, the computer turns on, but absolutely NOTHING on the screen... no splash screen, no boot sequence, just black.

What the heck do I do now? Where do I start?




Here are my computer specs - I have NOT overclocked this system at all, nor changed any BIOS settings short of boot order (because of the hard drives).

Processor AMD Opteron OSA148DAA5BN CABYE 0528GPMW
Motherboard DFI Lanparty UT Nforce 4 Ultra-D
Memory 1 GB DDR (2 pcs 512) PC-3200 (400) OCZ Platinum Revision 2 (OCZ4001024ELDCPER2-K)
Power Supply OCZ OCZ520ADJ PowerStream w/Adjustable Power Rails & LED 520W PS
Heatsink Thermaltake CL-P0114 Big Typhoon 4 in 1 Heatpipe Cooler
Case Fan 80mm UV Blue Fan w/ UV CCFL
Case Fans Quad Blue LED 120mm x 25mm Ball Bearing Case Fan
Case Antec SLK3000-B Black
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (Full Version) Single-Pack OEM
Video Card POWERCOLOR R48-XVD3 Radeon X850XT PE 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card
Thermal Paste Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
VGA Cooler Vantec CCB-A18 Ball VGA Cooler Kit
Floppy Drive SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1
DVD RW NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM
Hard Drive Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive on SATA2
Hard Drive 2 Western Digital 250GB WD2500KS on SATA3 (HD 250G|WD 7K 16M SATA2
Hard Drive 3 Western Digital Caviar Special Edition WD2500JB 250GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM





Help!




(Will be back later tnite and will probably attempt to work on the dang computer after Sunday, just so everyone knows.)

 

[SeasonalEclipse]

Have you tried putting on the clear CMOS jumper thing on the board? That should reset it back to stanard settings?

 

[Molester]

i know that build....skanky? q3 skanky? to the forums

try using 1 ram stick at a time first, if you have a spare vidcard, i'd try that second, then if you have a spare psu try that(trying to eliminate anything but cpu/mobo)

i don't think it's your hd, as you'd at least get a POST screen, but disconnect all your non-boot hd's or any other components

 

[AlabamaCajun]

First before powering up, pull the dimms and reseat them and the video card just for the oppertunity to eleminate seating problems.
Power up while holding down the Insert key, this will reload the bios.
Go into the advanced memory timings and locate Align DQS setting and set it to enable. Also check you ram voltage, it may be low for your memory.
Boot and run memtest for a few hours then if good, run Prime95 for 2 to 3 hours. You can also run PC-Mark 03 or 05 to test stability with the Video card in play.

*"I realize you did not OC but this applies to everyone in general"
Missing OS messages do popup due to OC instability and clear up just by dropping back on some settings. DFI is a tough board but on occasion they do get toasted. Anytime you see a BSOD or reboot, your OC is not there or a component is faulty, overheating or exceeding its max.

 

[Skanky]

i know that build....skanky? q3 skanky? to the forums

try using 1 ram stick at a time first, if you have a spare vidcard, i'd try that second, then if you have a spare psu try that(trying to eliminate anything but cpu/mobo)

i don't think it's your hd, as you'd at least get a POST screen, but disconnect all your non-boot hd's or any other components

Yeah, that's me Molester! Wassup man!

I will probably start with disconnecting my HD's, but I think i need to resolve the pre-boot sequence stuff first. Either way, will reset the RAM, disconnect hard drives, may do the reset BIOS jumper trick to start. Of course will post back later once I know whats going on.

I've got guests this weekend, so I may not have a chance to try it until Monday or so, but I'll consider all suggestions.

On a side note, as you probably already know molester, the computer has been running outstanding otherwise. Still way faster than anything I need it to do, even after a full year of running.

Thanks for all help, and my apologies to the admin for posting it in the CPU forum - I wasn't really sure where this thread belonged.

 

[Skanky]

First before powering up, pull the dimms and reseat them and the video card just for the oppertunity to eleminate seating problems.
Power up while holding down the Insert key, this will reload the bios.
Go into the advanced memory timings and locate Align DQS setting and set it to enable. Also check you ram voltage, it may be low for your memory.
Boot and run memtest for a few hours then if good, run Prime95 for 2 to 3 hours. You can also run PC-Mark 03 or 05 to test stability with the Video card in play.

*"I realize you did not OC but this applies to everyone in general"
Missing OS messages do popup due to OC instability and clear up just by dropping back on some settings. DFI is a tough board but on occasion they do get toasted. Anytime you see a BSOD or reboot, your OC is not there or a component is faulty, overheating or exceeding its max.

Hot damn, awesome advice. Than you.

 

[Molester]

what's up man, check your pm's here(private messages, top-right of screen)

you'll find alot of help here, although i wish they wouldn't have moved it from the amd cpu sectoin, will prolly get more advice there, less traffic here

 

[Skanky]

Oh man - you guys won't believe the good luck I just had.

Finally got a chance to look at the computer tonight. Plugged up the monitor to a diff computer to verify the monitor wasn't the problem. It wasn't.

Tried pressing the delete key while power button pressed - no change in status.

Then, I tried something that a guy at work reminded me of - dissapated the residual power by disconnecting the power cord then pressing the power button.

After doing that, I was able to get to the BIOS setup - a big step forward.

However, after saving BIOS, was again greeted by the "Unable to find OS" error. Luckily, now, I could check boot sequence, and low and behold, it was out of order.

Booted to the ol' 74G Raptor, and voila! X64 back up and running! WOOT!

I swear the whole thing took less than 5 minutes, tops.

Now, I don't know why i had such a rough crash in the first place, but I think I'll be doing the usual virus/spyware checks and probably doing another C: backup soon.

As far as the boot sequence goes, do other people have problems with SATA connections like this? This isn't the first time I've seen the boot sequence rearranged - it was scrambled before when I added my 2nd SATA HD.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice everyone. I've lurked here for awhile, and already know this is the first place to find good info on all things computer/x64, AMD related.

Thanks again.

You gonna get Skanked on q3 Molester...

 

[Molester]

glad you're up and running skanky

by the way, 1v1? negs?

 

[Skanky]

glad you're up and running skanky

by the way, 1v1? negs?

Bring it... maybe.




Maybe late tnite... NBS.

 

[Molester]

i have to wait for my new mobo to get here, then test it, then insulate it, then hook up to phase, then stable that out, then i'll be ready to put you in the 'wrong place'

 

[Skanky]

i have to wait for my new mobo to get here, then test it, then insulate it, then hook up to phase, then stable that out, then i'll be ready to put you in the 'wrong place'

It's always an excuse with you, isn't it. Oh yeah, I bet you'd like to put me in the 'wrong place' wouldn't you... nasty!


When will you have all the components? Make sure to post pics - I'll try to remember to visit here every now and then.

Come visit sometime on your *slow* computer if you want.

 

[Molester]

well, hopefully the board will get here by the weekend, i have everything else necessary
i will do a full write up, posted here in amd threads
this is a friends pc, so no loading q3

 

[Skanky]

cool man.

Hey - fixed my bio stuff. Good ol' vBulletin.

 

[Molester]

so, when you gonna start oc'ing that beast, i didn't recomend you those parts for them to run stock, coulda spent alot less but you said you'd oc it...

 

[Skanky]

so, when you gonna start oc'ing that beast, i didn't recomend you those parts for them to run stock, coulda spent alot less but you said you'd oc it...

You gonna hold my hand while I flip the switch? I could use the "Molester's OC 101 guide again". I don't wanna try to get to 3Ghz or anything until I know what the **** I'm doing.

Anyhoo, maybe this time around I can get all my progs to work (the latest 3dMark wouldnt run last install, remember?). I'm on a clean install now, so who knows.

Oh yeah - think the sig is ok now?

 

[nvidiaOCmaster]

Oh yeah - think the sig is ok now?

Looks like you got pwned by a mod.

Other than that its kickass.

 

[Molester]

Looks like you got pwned by a mod.

Other than that its kickass.

no, i told him to shorten it

skank, of course i'll help you out

 

[nvidiaOCmaster]

I meant the removed link

 

[Skanky]

I can't link to a motorcycle forum? Alrighty then.