Member Avatar for zerokool123

I have a new system: Biostar MB FT 7050
OCZ platinum revised 2 gigs
Ultra 600 watt PS
seagate 250 gig harddrive

My problem, My system will not boot up properly after it has been off for a while(15 + Min). It boots to the BIOS and allows me to enter BIOS just fine. but if I if it starts to load OS(windows XP pro SP2) it will not show the Verify screen(screen that pops up and shows CPU temp and all that stuff) and freezes on a black screen with cursor. To remedy all I have to do is turn the PS switch to off or unplug and wait a minute and then it will boot fine and everything runs great. Do I have a problem with PS or MB? I have read some other posts and it sounds like a uncommon problem. Please also note that if the system is restarted after it is shut down, or right after it is turned off it will start just fine, no boot problems. Thanks guys

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Freaktech

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Brief expert summary and next steps based on the thread: reports a cold-start failure that temporarily clears after cutting power or resetting CMOS, and has suggested HDD/controller trouble. Both are plausible. The goal is to isolate PSU, motherboard and drive without swapping parts blindly so the defective component can be identified or documented for RMA.

Run targeted isolation tests in this order:

  • Try to boot a known-good external media (bootable CD/USB live image) after a long power-off. If that succeeds reliably, the board and PSU likely hand off control correctly and the problem points at the drive or its power/cable. If it still fails, the issue is upstream (PSU/MB).
  • Swap the SATA data cable and the drive power connector to a different lead from the PSU; use a different SATA port on the board. A marginal power lead or cable is easy to miss.
  • With the machine powered off but PSU plugged in, measure the standby rail (+5VSB, purple wire on ATX) with a multimeter. If +5VSB is absent or low, the PSU standby circuit is flaky and can cause “cold” failures like this. If a meter isn’t available, temporarily substitute a known-good PSU to test.

Other checks that commonly find intermittent cold-boot faults:

  • Visual inspection of motherboard and PSU electrolytic capacitors (bulging/leaking). Replace board/PSU if caps are suspect.
  • Minimal-hardware boot: one RAM stick in the recommended slot, no add-in cards, single drive. Try alternate RAM sticks/slots.
  • In BIOS, disable quick-boot / enable any HDD-boot-delay option so devices have extra init time; document the BIOS version and change history before flashing.

Always back up the drive before extended testing. If tests point to the same failure after swapping PSU and cables, prepare a concise fault log (what was swapped/tested, BIOS version, symptom timing) to provide to Biostar or the PSU vendor for an RMA.

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Member Avatar for Freaktech

Sounds like your HDD is having issues. Like it is having problems spinning up after a cold start. I would recommend a full back up and then replace the drive.

Member Avatar for zerokool123

why do you think it is the HDD? The problem happens in BIOS before the final post screen comes up. Is there a way to check the HDD with out replacing it? The drive is less than a week old.

Member Avatar for Freaktech

The black screen with cursor means the bios have finished post and is waiting on the HDD to load the ntldr. This is usually an idication a bad MBR, but with you able to shut the system down and then boot fine, I still suspect the HDD.

Member Avatar for zerokool123

Please check this and advise.

Thanks so much every one!!

Member Avatar for zerokool123

Also, other fixes: IF i unplug for 1 min system will reboot. If I turn switch off for 5 min system will boot fine. If I reset BIOS by taking out battery or resetting by jumper system will boot fine .

Member Avatar for Freaktech

With all of that it does sound like BIOS issue then. Sounds like a defective line of boards. Almost like the controller on the board does not see the HDD then suddenly does. That would explain the successful post and then the cursor. The BIOS is trying to pass control to the NTLDR but it can't because the controller has not activated the HDD.

Member Avatar for zerokool123

Thanks for your help. Also wanted to see what you thought about this: When I called Biostar and talked to a tech he told me do flash system and see what happens, he gave me the name of a certain update, not the newest to use. I can not tell if it has worked. If you see my other similar post about this problem I thought I had it fixed because the system did two cold boots in a row. One about an hour after shut down and the other about seven hours after system shut down. The tech said if this doesn't work he will replace MB. DO you think this is a hardware issue or a bios issue? I would think that if this was bios issue we would hear a lot more about it?

Member Avatar for Freaktech

Thanks for your help. Also wanted to see what you thought about this: When I called Biostar and talked to a tech he told me do flash system and see what happens, he gave me the name of a certain update, not the newest to use. I can not tell if it has worked. If you see my other similar post about this problem I thought I had it fixed because the system did two cold boots in a row. One about an hour after shut down and the other about seven hours after system shut down. The tech said if this doesn't work he will replace MB. DO you think this is a hardware issue or a bios issue? I would think that if this was bios issue we would hear a lot more about it?

Could have been a mix of both. Bad CMOS chip would could accept a fresh flash, but would not fuction correctly. If he is telling you to install an update, but not the most current, they could have something going on with the newest that they do not want to get made public. HP has a bad habit of this. They only notify their support people. I get notifications all the time with issues they don't release to the public.

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