what is going wrong?

[JrockMod]

Hey guys the problem started yesterday. I just got off from work and got on my computer, when I went to click "turn off my computer" the screen did exactly how a vista turn off screen would look like and than the display went black as usual and than I waited for my computer to turn off (lights, fans) but for some reason 3 mins past and it hasn't turned off....this really confused me...so I went ahead and turned it off manually. I than turned it back on to see what had happen and I notice when it was booting up the windows right after the bios a blue screen pop up saying "the bios in this system is not fully ACPI compliant" So I turn it off and let it off over night and than the next day I turned it on and it worked fine...so it looked it was just a small error...well after a few hours I click my stand by button and waited for the computer to turn off (ACPI is set to S3 for lowest power demand) well for some reason it took the computer almost 2 min for it to turn off (lights, fan) and when it did I couldn't turn the computer back on.....so I had to shut off the computer manually (somehow because the computer was in standby still) and than the whole process started again with the blue screen popping up and such...

so now when I try to turn my computer on I keep getting problems with my bios.... example

I turn on my computer and it will take the ide 20 secs to locate everything and than show up the screen saying how would you like to start up windows =safe mode, last known good conf, normal.....but for some odd reason my keyboard wont work and the count down timer will freeze anywhere from 10-20 so I have to manually shut off the computer...

If i try to go into my bios by pressing the del key it will enter the bios (notice keyboard works) and than after 30 sec or so the keyboard freezes and noting works...... but me being sneaky I went to the part in bios where it shows the temp...and I notice when my keyboard freezed the temp still was moving up and down showing the current temp.....

I am at complete lost of words and ideas of what to do...

I'm thinking its the motherboard....

I don't see why the power supply could do anything to cause this because if it was the power supply wouldn't even start up right? I don't think ram has a issue, processor I don't think could cause this.... Hdd i don't see that being the case.

what do you guys think it could be?!?!?!

sometimes the computer boots up fine and can stay on for hours with no trouble..but when I shut it down or restart it or standby or whatever....it acts strange and for some reason it doesn't tell the computer to do what its being told....

is there some test I can try to make sure that the mobo could be at fault?

[kilgoretrout]

A marginal power supply, i.e. one that cannot consistently deliver power within the proper specs, can cause all kinds of erratic problems, not unlike what you are experiencing; I wouldn't rule out a defective psu just yet so please post the make and model of your psu. Also, check your ram with memtest just to rule that out as well:

http://www.memtest86.com/

Finally, if you are overclocking, set everything back to the standard settings and see if that cures your problem.

[JrockMod]

Originally Posted by kilgoretrout A marginal power supply, i.e. one that cannot consistently deliver power within the proper specs, can cause all kinds of erratic problems, not unlike what you are experiencing; I wouldn't rule out a defective psu just yet so please post the make and model of your psu. Also, check your ram with memtest just to rule that out as well: http://www.memtest86.com/ Finally, if you are overclocking, set everything back to the standard settings and see if that cures your problem.

I have a 750 watt apevia warlock.

but if it was the psu wouldn't it not even turn on?

[shadowpr]

Not always. A bad psu could cause all sorts of problems.

Try a different one. Apevia units aren't known for being quality.

[JrockMod]

Originally Posted by shadowpr Not always. A bad psu could cause all sorts of problems. Try a different one. Apevia units aren't known for being quality.

try a different one? i don't have one that is high enough.. is there some kind of manual test I can do or something?

[shadowpr]

What other power supplies do you have?

Borrow one from a friend?

Or, places like bestbuy should be able to test it ou for you. Then should be able to do the same with your mb.

Have you already tested the ram?

[JrockMod]

yes ram is fine. I even removed them and put my old ones...still no luck... so what now?

I don't really know anyone that is really into hardcore computers......so I can't get a strong power supply..

I do have a question, if I go into my bios and than the pc freezes but the time still moves in my cmos does that mean that it isn't the mobo that is causing the problem?? because it is the same if I check the temp on bios, everything still moves (temp) but I can't move my keyboard after awhile...its strange....but if I don't go into bios and it goes to the screen where it says choose how you want to start up windows (safe mode, last known good, normal) the count down freezes at 10-20 and I have to manually reboot it.....

I really hope it isn't the power supply, I got it in June.

I want it to be the motherboard because I do plan to get the ecs replaced with a decent asus mobo... that way I can overclock my processor. But with this ecs I can't overclock noting...so in other words noting is overclocked. (i didn't abuse it)

and if it was the power supply, why is it sometimes it lets window bypass and it works fine for hours and hours...but if I restart or shut it down it doesn't properly do its job...and when I turn it back up again it acts strange...


*****Update*****
Hey guys I searched and found that this is what I have

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831691

what do I have to do?

If I am able to go into windows still can I still remove that?

[MrDravenX]

I had problems coming back from stand-by and hibernation years ago that I just stop using it all together. It seems to mess up the computer more than anything else.

[Spools]

Originally Posted by JrockMod Hey guys I searched and found that this is what I have http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831691 what do I have to do? If I am able to go into windows still can I still remove that?

Instructions are on the site:

To resolve this problem, restart your computer. If the problem persists, start the computer by using the Windows CD or by using an emergency startup disk, and then delete the Hiberfil.sys file. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Insert your Windows XP CD-ROM into the computer's CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer from the CD-ROM. Note Some computers may require that you modify the basic input/output system (BIOS) settings before you can start the computer from a CD-ROM. For information about how to modify BIOS, see your computer documentation. 2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start Recovery Console. 3. If your computer is configured for dual booting or multiple booting, select the relevant Windows XP installation. 4. When you are prompted to do so, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER. Note By default, the administrator password is blank in Windows XP Home Edition. 5. By default, Hiberfil.sys is typically located in the root directory (C:\). At the command prompt, type del hiberfil.sys, and then press ENTER. 6. Restart the computer.

Do you have your XP disc so you can follow these steps?

[JrockMod]

Originally Posted by Spools Instructions are on the site: Do you have your XP disc so you can follow these steps?

I have vista, and I use diskclean up because that is how you remove the hibernate..

what now?

[Spools]

After some searching, it looks like you can turn off hibernate using an administrator command prompt and type: powercfg.exe /hibernate off

See if that helps.

[JrockMod]

Originally Posted by Spools After some searching, it looks like you can turn off hibernate using an administrator command prompt and type: powercfg.exe /hibernate off See if that helps.

I tried it still no luck.

Guys can we rule out that its the power supply? please lol because sometimes it does let me go on windows and it works perfectly fine...until I try to turn it off...or sometimes when I try to turn it on it acts strange....what can cause an issue like that

from that link it says something dealing with the ram...could the ram be the issue? its a 4gb one a 32bit windows...its been working fine for months..

[tomtoon]

well it might be the ram.

It is more safe to go with 2x 2GB rather than 1x 4GB as then you can still have the pc working while you're waiting for more to turn up if need be.

It also could be that your using 32-BIT VISTA.

I know you said that its been working fine for months BUT 32-bit doesn't recognize all 4GB.

[shadowpr]

test the ram with www.memtest.org

[JrockMod]

Ill go ahead and check it out whenever the pc decide to let me use windows...takes a few times, but honestly...what could be causing the long wait for the computer to locate the IDE...whenever I turn on the computer it shows the energy symbol and the bios version and model..than after 15 sec it starts to locate the ide (harddrives,cd..etc) than its random from there....sometimes it will bring a black page showing all my components connects (usb, harddrive, multimedia..etc) than on the bottom it says building dmi pool............. boot from cd: and stays there...

sometimes when I turn it on it bring me to the page where I have to choose from the following option on how I want to start windows (safe,normal etc.) and usually the keyboard freezes and the count down timer will freeze in matter of seconds....or if it does pass the seconds whenever windows try to load it gives me a blue screen which leads me to this issue http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831691

forcing me to restart the comp manually.

and sometimes it works fine...

but i do want to repeat, whenever it does pass that stage...everything works fine....I'm playing crysis no trouble and letting it stay for hours and hours....but when I try to turn it off, standby or restart...it doesn't fully shut off...the screen does and than I hear the hard drive click...(the sound of when everything shuts off) but instead everything inside is still on...(fan lights etc..)

I am really lost for words and I hope I can get the answer to this...

[shadowpr]

You could try a different ide cable.

Or try booting with just the hard drive installed, and remove your cd drive. See if that is causeing problems.

[TPTKD]

Try another video card to see if the problem solved. I had same prolem with hibernation. After I put the computer into hibernation mode,I can not restart the computer. It'll hang at wait for system to shut down forever. I have to manually shut down the computer. I switched to old video card that I had as spare . Everything works fine . No more hanging !