Will not boot past video test...
 

I have a 1.2 gig CPU, 760 Mg ram, 160 HD & Win XP Pro.. (5 yrs old) A few days ago I started to receiveing "Delayed write errors." Then I received a boot error message that "operating system not found, insert system disk. This lead me to believe that I had a HD problem. I was able to get the system rebooted after a period of time waiting. Once I was able to get it running, I saved much of what I needed to keep and shut it down to replace the drive. I tried one more time to ststart the system, but it will now not boot past the video initialization. Thats it. I even tried with another HD that is a clone of the 160, but still no boot up past the video init. I will show the video intit and go to a white help screen and no further. I beleive this is a BIOS problem right now, but am stumped which way to go at this time and I'm not sure how to repair. The board is a Gigabyte GA-7ZM Socket A type

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

It could be a problem with the RAM You can download microsoft memory tester and create a bootable floppy. Also try a different video card if possible. It sounds like memory though "Delayed write errors" are caused when data is slow or won't write to RAM;)

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

Will not boot past video test...
Not the memory. Took all out and checked each strip, plus additional I had put away for the same machine. Like I said, the system will not even go to the POST for booting up. any other ideas??

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

Are you able to update the bios ?

Try unplugging everything and take the motherboard out of the chassis. Just plug power into motherboard, one stick of ram, CPU, and graphics if there is none on board. Make sure you unplug power from all other devices and all ide or stat cables from motherboard . See if it goes through the post. Place the motherboard on some card or a wooden surface, not metal! Let me know if you get any results.!:confused:

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

I have basicly done that by removing all connections so that all that is running is the power supply and motherboard. Still no action on ther booting. Then added one memory stick, then one drive. Still no action. I have sent e-mail to Gigabyte to see what they have to offer. Two other IT's have said to change out motherboard or get another computer. that wasn't a good answer. Oh well.

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

Oh to answer your original question, no I can't get it to boot at all to update the BIOS.

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

Did you remove the motherboard from the case?

I have come accross this sort of thing numerous times and it genrally is something in the case causing the motherboard to short, therefore it won't boot.

Its worth a try.

If you get a new motherboard and its not exactly the same you will have to do a complete reinstall, you will also have to make sure the RAM you have is compatible and the CPU. If you can't i would suggest getting a whole new system.:sad:

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

No, I did not remove the board. I didn't give it a thought about a short between the board and chassis. So maybe I'll try that. I have upgraded a number of pc's with new mobo's, cpu's, memory and power supplies. I was not really wanting to do a reinstall, that is why I was trying to figure out what had happened and can it be repaired. All the devices in the chassis are still good and workable so a new board, cpu, etc. is not out of the equation. So anyway, I may play some more with it. I was able, before it went out totally to move all the important data files to an external, so I'm not panicing. As for another machine, I don't need all those extra parts laying around. I have enough already. (pack rat heaven.) Thanks for your input and if I decide to continue, I'll let you know the results.

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

That is definitely a dead motherboard. I think i've experienced that once or twice...

Re: Will not boot past video test...
 

Well gigabyte answere my question. They first said to unplug AC, then remove board battery. Wait 5 secons or more then reboot. but after three trys, no dice. They alsosaid that it could be corrupted BIOS or a bad BIOS chip. If I wante to send the board back, it would be $58 + shipping. Not a good deal because a new board would be about $70. They did give me the number for two boards that will use my 1.2 gig cpu, but new DDR memory. Also where I could get them. And all I would have to do would be to rebuild instead of reinstall XP as the replacement boards use the same, but updated chipsets. But finding the boards is has been a bitch for some reason. Gigabyte does not sell retail, only through certain pc builders. So it looks as though i am off to kookung for a new board, cpu, (faster), etc., etc. Thanks for all the help. specially knsljo. Later guys.