Overclocked or Over Voltage Failure!
Hi!
The problem I will explain here is really causing me a headache, Big Time.
i bought my computer about 18 months ago from mesh computers uk, been working great but started

getting very slow n lagging, mainly because its used 24/7 by myself, wife and 3 kids, so we thought it

was full of junk of one kind or another so decided to put reset disk in and format puter back to factory

settings, the disk we had off manufacturer with Windows XP Media Center Version 2005 sp2 on it

failed close to the finish, saying it needed more files off cd no.2 but there isnt a second cd, we phoned

mesh computers and they were hopeless, cudnt get no sense or feedback, saying basically the puter was

over a year old, sorry! Grrrrrr! ............so a mate of mine gave me his XP Pro 2002 and loaded that, ran

great, updated windows fully including sp3, found drivers to enable sound and internet connection,

worked great for an hour or so, was a lil slow so i hit re-start button and ever since then 9 times out of

ten we get an error "Overclocked or Overvoltage Failure!" thats after we get a blank screen on stand

by saying no signal after switching power on/off about for 30 mins or more......when it been left on for

more than an more it runs but its very sluggish and laggs before it crashes again . can anyone help on

this matter as my 3 kids are doing my head in please!! i would put it pc shop to be fixed but im

disabled with parkinsons disease, so money is very tight.
Thanks
Hugh
P.S. Bare with me please, im not a computer wizz kid like you guys!! *winks* lol
PC Specs:

CPU: Intel Pentium (D) 4
Mainboard: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Motherboard: P5L-MX

Everytime you power on the computer, it won't start because it gets stuck on the following screen:
Overclocking failed! or Overvoltage failed! press F1 to run set up or F2 to continue........

Dani AI

Generated

Good follow-up from — the situation you described is a textbook case where BIOS/POST warnings and intermittent sluggishness come from two separate but compounding problems (weak CMOS voltage + poor cooling). was on the right track calling out BIOS and hardware causes; the P5L‑MX has an automatic CPU-parameter-recall (C.P.R.) that resets clock/voltage parameters after a failed POST, which is why that specific “Overclocking failed / Overvoltage failed” prompt appears. (manualslib.com)

Why that happens: a dying CMOS cell can’t hold BIOS configuration between power cycles, so defaults or inconsistent values get loaded and the board flags them as unsafe. Replacing the coin cell and then re-saving correct BIOS defaults is a quick, low-cost first fix. If instability continues, test the battery voltage with a multimeter (or use the “leave unplugged overnight” trick to reproduce the symptom) before deeper troubleshooting. (howtogeek.com)

Dust equals heat and strange behaviour. Clogged fan/heatsink assemblies let CPU temps climb, which causes throttling, hangs and random crashes; cleaning the fan, heat sink and case vents (power off, unplug, short air bursts, hold the fan still while you blow) eliminates that common source of intermittent failure. Don’t open the power supply or spin fans at high speed with a compressor — follow safe cleaning steps. (ifixit.com)

Quick checklist to apply now:

  • Verify BIOS time/date and Load Setup Defaults after a battery change. (howtogeek.com)
  • Replace the CR2032 if voltage is low, then save BIOS settings. (howtogeek.com)
  • Clean fan, heatsink and vents with short bursts of canned air; hold the fan to prevent over‑spinning. (ifixit.com)

These steps cover the usual causes for that POST message and the sluggish crashes; they’re inexpensive and safe for a desktop if done carefully.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

This sounds like one of the following:

1. You have a hardware failure. This could be CPU, power supply, ram, or peripheral device.

2. You have a newly installed piece of hardware that won't take the processing speed.

3. You have too many devices installed, and they are loading down the computer bus.

4. Somehow you went into F1 setup and set the processor speed faster than the processor you have can handle.

5. A program you installed (games tend to do this) has changed your processor speed setting to a speed greater than your hardware can handle.

6. On some older computers, this can indicate that the CMOS RAM battery has failed. The error given with a failed battery is random, since it forgot what the error was.

Thanks for your prompt reply:
ive d/l no extra hardware devices , games or programs since format , ive been into bios and loaded defaults there, checked the overclocking under advanced tab under jumper and that was set to auto and overclocking profile was set at 5% also went and checked cpu set up and these are the settings

FREQUENCY : 2800MHZ
FSB SPEED : 800MHZ
CACHE L1 : 32KB
CACHE L2 : 2048KB
CACHE L3 : 0KB
RATIO ACTUAL VALUE 14
MICROCODE UPDATE (ENABLED)
MAX CPUID VALUE LIMIT (DISABLED)
EXECUTE DISABLE FUNCTION (DISABLED)
CPU INTERNAL THERMAL CONTROL (AUTO)

Are these settings correct , these are the default settings i loaded in bios

Fixed it!! Yayyyyyy lol.......it was a combination of the cmos battery was dying which i bought a new one for £3 ($6) re-set my bios to default and while i had the side cover off the tower i noticed behind the fan the air vents had a carpet of dust covering 75% ...i clean inside regular but never taken the fan cover off so that is a Must Do! from now on, thanks for yor time, most appreciated! thanks again cheers!

A carpet of dust! That sounds like brushing the dog, and getting enough hair to make another dog.

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