Frozen MB Startup Screen

[Pezzy]

Hi all.

This happened once before about a few months ago, so I thought it was an isolated incident. But it happened again today, and I don't know what could be causing it.

First, my specs:

CoolerMaster 932 HAF Case
Gigabyte Motherboard, #EP35C-DS3R
Intel Q9450
Corsair XMS3 DDR3, 1333MHz RAM (4 GB)
BFG Nvidia 9800 GX2 graphics card
Corsair 750 watt PSU
Win XP Pro, SP3

What's happened twice now is when the computer has been turned off overnight - so this is a "cold boot" - it gets to the Gigabyte startup screen which looks like this:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll217/PezzyDude/GigabyteStartup.jpg

......and then just freezes there.

It won't POST after that, the screen where all the text is going by onscreen til you see "Verifying DMI Pool Data". It never gets to that screen, just stays on that Gigabyte startup screen which I posted the pic/ link of above.

When this happened before, and then again today, I eventually get the computer to start and boot into Windows, but I don't do anything "special"; it just eventually starts up.

When it's frozen at that screen, I first try pressing the reset button, and then it starts to boot up again, but once more freezes at that screen. I even try pressing "Delete", which is what I would press if I wanted to go into the BIOS to change any settings.

The system is not overclocked, just in case you were going to ask.

When it does this "freeze thing", I hear the "one system beep", which is supposed to be everything's A-OK for booting. Lights are on, fans are running.....but it freezes. And remember: This is from a cold boot, so it's not an overheating issue.

And yes, I am typing this from the computer that did the freezing. I just turned the system off completely, pulled out the power cord from the PSU, let it sit for a minute, plugged it back in, and then it booted up. Go figure.

Any insight into what causes something like this? All hardware is about 9 to 18 months old, so not that old.

Thanks for any input.
Pez

 

[bentobaku]

IDK But one thing i would check is the power connection on your MB and HDD and such.

 

[TaBryan09]

Hmmm....... this is a thinker

im going to have to say it is a combination of software and hardware, I suggest running a ChkDsk on the HDD plus a defrag, reasoning is that the HDD could have some bad sectors making the Comp freeze when trying to access the OS

after the chkdsk go into the windows application log and look for the winlogon log and see if there are bad sectors

(right click My Comp, Manage, Event Viewer, Application Log, should be near the top under source look for the winlogon, double click to bring up the details, scroll till you see a set of numbers, should say something like this "xxKB Bad Sectors" hopefully xx = 0)

if you have some KB of bad sectors go to this site

TackTech.com HDD Manufacturer Diag List

and download your HDD's Manufacturer Diagnostics Tool and run and see if it comes back with errors

(you will need to load it on a disc and boot to it, OS independent, if you need more step by step let me know)

it will attempt to correct the bad sectors and it might fix your problem

Good Luck

 

[carnageX]

It shouldn't be a OS problem as it's not even getting past POST.

Just to make sure, disconnect all hardware except RAM/PSU/GPU (so all you have are basics). Try to boot up and see if it works that way. May also want to try clearing CMOS (unplug PSU from wall or computer, press power a few times, remove the silver coin battery for a minute or two, and then reinsert and try to power up).

Would also try just one stick of RAM at a time, in the first channel's first slot.

 

[TaBryan09]

When it does this "freeze thing", I hear the "one system beep", which is supposed to be everything's A-OK for booting. Lights are on, fans are running.....but it freezes. And remember: This is from a cold boot, so it's not an overheating issue.

This is why im thinking it ia also an OS/HDD issue, also could be the video card causing this

this got me a bit stumped on my end, i never encountered this before

 

[carnageX]

It's stuck at the POST splash screen though, and doesn't go past that, which is why it shouldn't be an OS/software issue.

 

[bmxfreakrider]

Hard drive interface error.

Check your sata/ide cable and power connection on your hard drive and dvd drive. Make sure your boot options are set up right and you don't have a flash drive plugged into your computer. I get this problem constantly when I forget to check my DVD drive or Flash Drive, its passing post if your getting to the DMI part of the boot sequence, thats right before the OS gets control if I am not mistaken, but most of the time when a system gets stuck right there its a HDD issue.

 

[TaBryan09]

Hard drive interface error.

Check your sata/ide cable and power connection on your hard drive and dvd drive. Make sure your boot options are set up right and you don't have a flash drive plugged into your computer. I get this problem constantly when I forget to check my DVD drive or Flash Drive, its passing post if your getting to the DMI part of the boot sequence, thats right before the OS gets control if I am not mistaken, but most of the time when a system gets stuck right there its a HDD issue.

I guess thats what i was trying to say when talking about an OS/HDD problem and come to think of it I have encountered this problem when it comes to leaving USB Flash Drives in, it freezes right before the OS takes control until i pull the Flash Drive.

well said BMX thanks

 

[bmxfreakrider]

NP lol I just had this issue about 10min ago on my desktop XD been on my laptop all week and forgot it was in. Lets see if this does the trick when Pez comes back on

 

[Pezzy]

Hey everyone; thanks for all the replies.

TaBryan09: I checked to see if my "C" drive needed a defrag, but after analyzing, it said that "...You do not need to defragment this volume", so it looks good there.

I checked the application log, but nothing jumped out (unless I'm missing something). here's a screenshot:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll217/PezzyDude/ApplicationLog.jpg

The one yellow warning symbol you do see there on August 19th....that happened before this "freeze up", and besides, I don't think it had anything to do with it; the details said: "Windows cannot unload your classes registry file - it is still in use by another application......."

And I think I agree that it's not an OS problem as it didn't get past the splash screen.

bmxfreakrider: Tomorrow I'll take off my case's side panel and check all of my connections and make sure they're secure & snug, especially the HDD. Who knows....it could be the teeniest bit loose, and sometimes if that secure connection isn't there, then that connection isn't made, and the HDD can't be accessed.

I haven't changed my boot options, they're HDD 1st, CD ROM 2nd, then Floppy 3rd.

And oh.....I don't leave any flash drives plugged in.

And carnageX: You mentioned about clearing he CMOS. In various systems I've built through the years, I've done this. Usually the way I do it is to short those two pins by touching them with the tip of a screwdriver. But is removing the CMOS battery the more preferable way?

How about the CMOS battery itself? Could it be "bad"? I've never purchased one before because in previous system builds I've had, they've always lasted. If I went to my local PC parts retailer, is that something that's a "standard" size? As in "one size fits all"? or would I have to give them a model number or something?

And yes, I know about just having all of the basics hooked up (RAM/CPU/GPU). That is pretty much what I have. The only extra add-in card I have is a TV tuner card (sound card and LAN is integrated into the MB).

Well, the system booted today, so the problem wasn't repeatable. But tomorrow I'll still check out all of my connections and make sure everything's secure & snug.

But please let me know about the CMOS battery. Could it be going "bad" and it wouldn't hurt to replace it?

Thanks,
Pez