I have recently put together my first computer, and it worked...for a while
It worked for about 2 weeks, when it first hung up during the BIOS boot. It hung up after identifying my processore, and just froze. I reseated all of my hardware, and it still didn't work. I pulled the battery off the motherboard, and let it sit for 24 hours, then booted up again. My computer began to function normally for another two weeks when it began freezing after IDing my processor. I've tried reseating all PCI cards and memory sticks, but to no avail. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

CPU: AMD Sempron 3100+
Memory: Infineon 256 MB DDR400 (x2)
Motherboard: ECS nFORCE3-A
Video: GeFORCE FX5500
BIOS: Phoenix-Award BIOS v6.00PG

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Ugh, I had an ECS. The thing hated heatsinks.

Your bootup ceases at the processor identification, which is either a problem with the processor itself, the motherboard, or your RAM. Shorting would not make a system shut down at a certain given moment, electrical stuff is a little more random than that.

Uproot the heatsink out of your computer and take a look at the processor, check for burns or goopy melted parts, etc. Usually a wounded processor isn't that dramatically presented, but check for anything strange nonetheless. As far as motherboards... hard to check. I recommend clearing the BIOS (your manual will tell which jumper to remove, then you wait... after a minute replace the jumper and it should be defaulted), usually the BIOS reset jumper is labelled on the board, look around any little white text.

RAM is easy to check. Put one stick in at a time and try to boot, not both.

This may involve the heatsink, so make sure your heatsink is mounted correctly, too.

Thanks for the tip. I checked both RAM sticks, the heatsink, and the processor, and everything looked good. I pulled the jumper, and i was able to boot. But when i tried to start up the next day, same thing. Freeze after IDing the processor. I rechecked everything, but still nothing. ughhh

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