PC POSTS' but says "CPU Changed or unoperable?!"

[Seiken]

My computer was running fine last night.. I turned it on this morning and it got as far as the XP splash screen and then rebooted itself again into this endless cycle. It would bring up the boot-up mode selection screen (Safe Mode, Normal Mode, etc.), but now it says the CPU has been changed or is inoperable. If that was the case, wouldn't it not POST?!

I never overclocked the **** thing. I was beginning to think it was my hard drive, but it's not making any unusual sounds when powering up the computer. Could it really be the CPU?

I'm trying to go through the process of elimination, but I don't have an extra CPU around. Any ideas?

The motherboard is an ABIT IC7-MAX3 running a P4 3.2E

 

[bmxfreakrider]

did u have a power surge or nething? also it may sound stupid, but by any chance is the heat sink on backwards? i had that before, and ruined a cpu. can u get bios, or reset the mobo? that could do it. also ur mobo batt might be bad, try that too. but yes it could be teh cpu if u had a power surge, or something, or if it overheated.

 

[Seiken]

I was away for the long weekend.. I came back, used it for the night.. turned it off and turned it on the next morning.. that's when it started acting like that.

The HSF is on right.. it's been running fine for months and I haven't done any "tweaking" for a long time now. I hardly move it from its location. I'll try the battery and I'm going to get a PSU tester.

Like I stated earlier, all it does now is boot into the selection screen that prompts you to select Safe Mode, etc.. I tried Safe Mode, and it freezes after displaying random driver lines. *shrugs*

 

[sPlAtOiD]

Go into your bios and select restore BIOS to default.Then hit f10 to save and reboot.