Do I need a new Motherboard???

[Rubicon99]

Hey

Well after thinking that my onboard sound processor was causing bootup issues, I've now realised the real culprit is my AGP slot. I thought (and hoped) it may have been the graphics card but alas 2 new cards have exhibited the same problem.

The problem is that it generally takes 2, 3 and 4 reboots to get going after the PC has been off for an extended period i.e overnight. Once I'm up and running any reboots usually work OK.

I can't recall the exact message but the first boot after I installed a new graphics card gave an address space type error and the windows load halted/hung.

So basically I'm now trying to decide whether I have a physical problem with the mobo &/or AGP slot or whether it could be a BIOS issue.

Any ideas on how I can find out?

Thanks

edit: I thought that I should also point out that the first successful boot after problems brings up the " the system has recovered from a serious error" message. A check of event log shows a generic device error

 

[RicoDirenzo]

MIght very well be your NOrthbridge chipset or AGP slot isn't getting suffiecinet power. Two basic issuws must be addressed first!!! Try another power supply and run memtest86 on your RAM. In either case, the problems you have described can be the result of wiht bad memory or a faulty power supply. The fact that AGP shows any signal at POST makes me suspicious of your power supply.

 

[Rubicon99]

Yep looks like it's faulty memory. I couldn't get the memtest86 image to boot from CD so I used another tool (Windows Memory Diagnostic or something like that). Anyway the stick in slot 1 failed one of the tests and then I reversed them and the same stick (now in slot 2) failed a couple more tests.

So looks lie off to get more memory.