For all you experts out there

[computard]

So heres the deal... I promise, it is motherboard/bios related (or at least I think):

Fresh install of WinXP SP2 and installed a wireless network driver. Updated SP2 via win update (many, many updates - also updated chipset drivers). I needed to get rid of the wireless network driver because it was conflicting with an internal wireless N adapter driver that I just bought. Tried deleting the old driver, wouldn't work. Decided to do a system restore to before I installed the original network driver. Thought of the win update consequences, but I made the mistake of once again trusting MS (or trusting my common sense is more like it).

Anyways, now my PC gets stuck at the splash screen every time I boot. Starts to boot, but stops after it identifies the processor. I believe the next line in the boot print sequence is the memory frequency test (+ the memory size test), but it NEVER gets that far. If I hit delete real fast while its booting, it will start to enter bios setup but freezes at same spot (memory test).

Already tried:
1. taking out lithium battery to reset CMOS
2. changing bios reset jumper to reset CMOS
3. taking out and putting RAM back in (after turning on/off)

Nothing worked. Any other ideas? Any tricks? Ah, maybe its time to upgrade my motherboard anyways?

SPECS:
- Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG
- Shuttle AN35 Motherboard (NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 + MCP Chipset)
- AMD Athlon XP 1250MHz

 

[leo2kp]

Take out all the RAM except for one stick, disconnect everything you don't need to POST such as HDD, CD-ROMs, Floppy, etc, and try again. Process of elimination.

 

[computard]

leo2kp, thanks for the reply...

tried what you said, still nothing. still can't get to POST past the processor identification.... any other ideas?

anyone? help!

 

[royalcrown]

hit F* and do a logged boot, it will tell you the last successfully loaded driver, and the one after that is usually the culprit, a lot of times it is the network cards/adapters. They don't always plat nice, reset your cmos configuration. Clear it.

 

[redbadge]

board?

 

[computard]

@royalcrown... it won't even let me get that far in the boot sequence... hitting F8 does nothing.

It literally looks like this each time I boot:

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG
"Something unrelated about the bios"
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 1250MHz




(nothing here in b/w top & bottom)




Hit DEL to enter setup.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[runswindows95]

Sounds like your motherboard bit the dust which means a new system overall.

 

[doomturkey]

Yeah thats a pretty old chip, 1.25ghz XP is pretty ancient. And I though My A64 3500+ is ancient...