Fail-safe mode - dying computer?

Pickers · 13 May 2006 at 08:53

I built this system back in october ish time:
Abit AN8 ultra
AMD X2 4400+
2Gb geil value ram.

Now recently, very occasionaly when I have turned the system on I have just got a black screen (monitor flicks back to standby), with all the lights on.

I turn off the computer, and turn it back on and it posts, then I am met with:-
this screen.
So I press F1 and computer loads windows. Next time system is turned on, its usually fine, and doesn need to press F1.
This morning, it does it, and I go into CMOS and load optimised set-up then reboot. This screen comes back up again so has obviously reverted back to fail safe mode.

Is my processor breaking? Does anyone have any ideas?

Over easter I rebuilt an old system that did something very similar (black screen no post, then after resetting CMOS witht he jumper it would boot, but I'd have to press F1 to continue to load windows). It turned out in that case that a bios update and forcing the motherboard to detect the old chip at corect speeds worked.

Scythe · 13 May 2006 at 09:05

Personally I think it is the mobo that is dying, not your CPU. RMA it.

Pickers · 13 May 2006 at 09:08

Scythe said:
Personally I think it is the mobo that is dying, not your CPU. RMA it.

Oh nooo..

Crud time for an RMA

Just found this with a google. Worth trying?

hp7909 · 13 May 2006 at 09:20

Any chance you've overclocked the system (manually and or even AUTO)? Cos it sounds to me like the board's reseting to a 'failsafe' mode e.g. Asus's C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall) and then lets you know that its not happy.

Before you jump to any conclusions (R.M.A), try:

Turning of any overclcoking, manual & or AUTO
Clearing the CMOS (remove battery, etc)
Checking CMOS battery's not faulty
Flash BIOS, try even an older version

Pickers · 13 May 2006 at 09:29

hp7909 said:
Any chance you've overclocked the system (manually and or even AUTO)? Cos it sounds to me like the board's reseting to a 'failsafe' mode e.g. Asus's C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall) and then lets you know that its not happy.

Before you jump to any conclusions (R.M.A), try:

Turning of any overclcoking, manual & or AUTO

Clearing the CMOS (remove battery, etc)

Checking CMOS battery's not faulty

Flash BIOS, try even an older version

Thats exactly what it sounds like. Only no manual or auto overclocking here. I've just updated the bios and for 3 reboots since, the only "press f1 to continue" message was the reboot after flashing bios when it was still doing its thing. Since then It appears ok... But then, this started as an intermittant problem anyway.
I'll keep you POSTed (fnaarrrr

)