POST - CPU fail

[oboe]

I think my old P4 2.8GHz chip finally died.   Was out of town for a few days, and when I got back, the system won't boot and I get a voice (ASUS P4P800 mobo) telling me the CPU has failed.  I had it overclocked 20% for the past year, trying to wring every bit of framerate out of AH that I could.  The system had been acting flaky for a few months, locking up occasionally, etc.

I think I can still get a socket 478 Pentium IV from a local computer store, but it'll run $100 and change.   Can I just drop a new CPU in?   Would I need to reinstall Win XP?  Or would the $100 would be just better spent putting it toward a completely new system?

I'm going to be travelling quite a bit from now on, and was wondering how a gaming laptop like the 17" Gateway FX7811 would handle AH2.   1900x1200 screen resolution, nVidia 9800M GTS graphics, 4 Gb ram and a 2.26 GHz CPU.    Not sure about Gateway's reliability but this machine has pretty good specs for the price, and its portable enough I think I'd be able to play AH and work on skins when away from home.

 

[Fulmar]

Yes you can just add in a new chip w/o installing Windows etc.  I'd check out ebay for used CPU's.  I found some P4's for $30 or so.  Granted, its ebay, but there are some good sellers out there (and bad).

[Chalenge]

Isnt it probable that if you cooked the CPU that some of the supply side circuits are also cooked?

[oboe]

Isnt it probable that if you cooked the CPU that some of the supply side circuits are also cooked?

I really don't know Chalenge - is there a way to tell, or check it?

[Fulmar]

I really don't know Chalenge - is there a way to tell, or check it?

Is the anything burned/discolored on the motherboard?  Can you smell burnt plastic?  If not, it may be that the CPU just crooked.  If yes, then its likely the motherboard toasted along with the cpu.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

You're seriously wasting your money if you buy a new P IV socket 478. For a few bucks more you can get an asrock cpu+motherboard combo running at 3Ghz core2duo. Take this as an opportunity to upgrade your dated box.

[Fulmar]

You're seriously wasting your money if you buy a new P IV socket 478. For a few bucks more you can get an asrock cpu+motherboard combo running at 3Ghz core2duo. Take this as an opportunity to upgrade your dated box.

Right, but you have to figure his Socket 478 board still has an AGP slot and is more than likely still using DDR.  So tack on a new video card and some ram.  $30 would be worth it for the time being IMO.

[BaldEagl]

Just curious.  When you overclocked did you change the voltage to the CPU?  Just thinking that if it's not getting enough voltage that would cause problems similar to those you're experiencing.

One way to check would be to bring the clock settings back to stock and see if it boots.

[Fulmar]

Just curious.  When you overclocked did you change the voltage to the CPU?  Just thinking that if it's not getting enough voltage that would cause problems similar to those you're experiencing.

One way to check would be to bring the clock settings back to stock and see if it boots.

He says the system won't boot and I take it as he can't even get to the post screen.  I.e. his monitor probably says 'No Video Input.'

[MrRiplEy[H]]

He says the system won't boot and I take it as he can't even get to the post screen.  I.e. his monitor probably says 'No Video Input.'

Before you do anything else reset the BIOS on the motherboard and try booting again.

[oboe]

How do you reset the BIOS on the motherboard?    I cannot get into the BIOS menus at all - comp. doesn't get that far in the boot.   It just hangs, no video output, and the hard drive access LED is lit steady.

I didn't change voltage to the CPU; but my overclocking had worked fine for months.

[1701E]

How do you reset the BIOS on the motherboard?    I cannot get into the BIOS menus at all - comp. doesn't get that far in the boot.   It just hangs, no video output, and the hard drive access LED is lit steady.

I didn't change voltage to the CPU; but my overclocking had worked fine for months.

If i remember, to reset BIOS you have to remove the Battery for 30-60 seconds.
As for possible dead CPU it certainly sounds like it.  My 4 month old (give or take a month) AMD Athlon 64 X2 recently died, due to my own doing i think, but the same things happened.  I could power the PC on, but no video would appear, but everything else seemed to be working.  Got new AMD Athlon X2 and now it works great.

[Fulmar]

To reset the bios, refer to your motherboard manual.  If you don't have it anymore, just go the the MFGers website and download it.  It varies by motherboard on how to do it.  Like on my current one, I have to remove a jumper, take the battery out for 30 seconds, put the jumper on and then put the battery back in.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Usually CMOS reset is done by removing the battery, shorting the CMOS reset jumper for a second, reseting the original jumper position, re-insterting the battery and rebooting the computer. Advice can be found in every motherboard manual.

I usually do it without removing the battery shorting the CMOS reset pins just for a microsecond. Sure it drains the battery a bit but hey I'm lazy and it worked every time

The biggest risk in my method is to drain the battery -> need to replace it. It won't affect the booting of the computer tho it will just complain about reset bios settings on every boot untill the battery gets replaced.

Also in practise it's not necessary to wait for several seconds after removing the battery - the memory gets cleared practically instantly. Just remember to unplug your powersupply before doing anything else.

[Fulmar]

The CR2032 lithium batteries shouldn't get drained that much.  It takes a minimal amount of power to keep the clock and system running.  I've had old motherboards in storage for 4-5 years and I've pulled the CMOS battery and it still tested at 3.2 volts (3.25-3.3 is new condition voltage, anything around 3.0x and lower is considered bad).