Member Avatar for Run

So this all started last night, I was playing World of Warcraft when my computer just froze, i had to manually restart it. My computer freezes often, it used to be every 5 minutes until I bought a table fan and have it blowing into my computer, it now only freezes once or twice every day. When my computer came back, everything was normal, so I started WoW again, and 1 minute later it froze again. This time when I manually reset it, it came to a black screen with writing on it, this is the first time i had ever seen this on my computer, so i left it for a couple minutes, it did not change so i manually reset my computer again. This time it starts up, everything sounds perfect, it goes to the MOBO screen, which is normal, then it goes to a black screen with a flashing bar on the top left corner. As a bar, I mean ___. I can't get into safe mode, if i press F8 at the MOBO screen, a window pops up asking me which drive to boot, and if I press F8 on the black screen with the flashing bar, nothing happens.

I would really appreciate any help you guys can give, and feel free to ask for anything that might help you determine what the problem it.

I have windows XP
My MOBO is an Asus P4P800-VM
My power supply is a 430W

Thanks for your help

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by hughv

Dani AI

Generated

Short expert summary and a practical troubleshooting path that builds on and without repeating what they already suggested.

The symptoms (POST/MB string appears, then a black screen with a blinking cursor; frequent freezes under load) point to two broad causes: failing hardware (overheating, PSU, RAM, GPU, or disk) or a corrupted/absent boot stage on the hard drive. Treat both in parallel: confirm whether the BIOS still sees the HDD and whether the machine shows any POST/beep codes — those answers immediately narrow the fault.

Hardware checks (quick wins)

  • Shut down, remove mains, open the case and inspect for dust, loose cables, and bulging capacitors. Verify CPU heatsink is seated and fan spins; a table fan is only a temporary workaround.
  • Try a minimal boot: disconnect optical drives, extra HDDs, all USB devices and any non-essential PCI cards. Boot with one RAM stick in the primary slot, then swap sticks to rule out memory. If a discrete GPU is installed and the board has onboard video, remove the card and try onboard output.
  • If freezes happen only under load, strongly suspect the PSU. If possible, test with a known-good PSU.

Software / disk checks (if BIOS sees the drive)

  • If the drive is detected but the system stops with a blinking cursor, the bootloader or filesystem may be damaged. Before attempting repairs, mount the drive on another machine or boot a Linux live CD/USB or WinPE/BartPE to copy important data off the disk and run filesystem checks from there.
  • If the drive is not visible in BIOS, focus on cables, controller mode (IDE/AHCI) and the drive itself.

What to report back

  • Exact POST beep pattern, BIOS make/version, whether the HDD is listed in BIOS, HDD activity LED behavior during the blink, and results of a single-stick RAM test or a test with onboard video. Those facts let responders give a targeted next step.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for hughv

You need to start by addressing the overheating issue.
Check your fan, case and heatsink for dust and proper operation. Install a case fan, if necessary. Reseat your memory and cards while you're at it.
I'd rather get on with my game also, but some problems just can't be ignored.:)

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

Can you start the system in Safe Mode? I'm guessing the overheating may have fried the graphics card. If you can get to safe mode, uninstall the GFX drivers and reboot normally. If it starts normally, reinstall drivers and see what happens. Revert back with the results.

Member Avatar for Run

In my large wall of text it says that I can't get into safe mode. I have also been reading up, and is it possible that I need to repair my windows, I read that if I am unable to get into safe mode, I need to repair windows with the windows CD.

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