computer hangs every reboot

[garwain]

I have just built a new system running dual AMD 1600+ MP processors and 1 GIG ram and I must say it runs GREAT!

rebooting is another story. whether I reboot by entering the bios and saving changes, or restart from whatever OS is currently installed (have linux redhat 7.1, win98SE, 2k, ME, XP all on removable HDDs so I can easily switch) or press ctrl+alt+delete a few times it'll do the shutdown process and blank out the screen, then just hands. The only way I can restart my machine is to do a cold boot (hold the power for 5 seconds, wait 15 seconds or so for the machine to cool down then hit power again)

Anyone have any ideas about where to start looking for this annoyance? I'm sure I've plugged the reset switch and power switch cables to the right pins on the board.

 

[DosMaster]

If it weren't for the issue occurring when exiting BIOS I'd say it was an APM issue. However, this sounds more like a hardware conflict somewhere, otherwise it wouldn't happen when exiting the BIOS. The fact that it does not occur on a cold boot, yet will happen in any OS further points to a controller conflict, I suspect.

I speculate that one of your cards is acting up, and it's booting cold because that card is not energized until the actual boot process is over.

A good troubleshooting process for this would consist of removing all accessory devices from your computer - that is, disconnect everything, unplug all drives (even the floppy) at the motherboard and remove all cards except the video. Boot the computer and enter the BIOS. Make sure your video settings are correct for the type of card you're using, i.e. AGP, PCI. Save and exit. Did it hang? If so, see if you can pick up an inexpensive old PCI video card somewhere - maybe you even have one lying around. Swap out the video cards and try again.

If at this point you still are experiencing the issue, you most likely have a bad motherboard, although it is remotely possible that the power supply is causing this. Check that before replacing the motherboard.

If, however, the machine posts properly, install the floppy cable and reboot to a floppy disc. Use the three-finger-salute to reboot. Did it hang? If not, next go with your cards, one at a time. You should put them back into the slots they came from to keep Windows happy.

If you successfully place all the cards back in, connect your primary drive back up. Reboot from the OS (I'd use Win9x here) and see if it hangs. If not, attach your secondary drive, if any or the CD drive if you have no secondary drive. If you have two CD drives, remove the slave from the cable first.

Continue with this procedure, connecting one device ONLY at a time until the problem recurs. This will pinpoint the offending device for you.

Hope this helps.

DosMaster

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[Neo81]

Garwin I saw another post about this in the Hardware (hard drive) section, that may shed some light on your problem, same thing, same pc nearly well sorta


Later
NEo81 >:O>