Problem that's got me stumped :(

[Dave_07]

Hey all,

Been meaning to post about this for a while, but kept forgetting. Unfortunately it just happed again recently, and this time it put the computer out of action for about a month lol. Anyway down to the problem. I'm not too sure how to actually describe this problem, except to say what actually happens. Basically if the computer is not powered up for more than 7-14 days, when you next come to turn it on, it won't boot through properly. No logos or hard drive initializing messages appear on screen, the screen just remains white/blank, like how it is when you just turn the monitor on, but leave the base unit off, however in this instance the base unit is on. One thing i did notice tho, was on the diagnostic bracket that comes with the mobo, the led lights indicate that there is an "Initializing Keyboard error" This same led display appears every time this problem occurs. So i guess it's at this Initializing Keyboard Boot Stage that it hangs up on. However i can't find anything wrong with the keyboard, (Genius Keyboard) it seems to work fine, and also seems to be installed correctly and no conflicts register in device manager.

Each time this weird problem occurs different things seems to remedy it, for example, one time just an incorrect shutdown fixed it, another time a cold boot sorted it, other times i just leave it for a week or so, then when i come to turn it on, it seems ok again. Although when it does eventually boot up i usually have to re-assign all the bios settings again, as they always seem to be lost when the "Initializing Keyboard error" occurs. The best way so far to avoid this, seems to be to just make sure the computer does not go un-used for more than 1 week lol, but this is stupid having to remember to power up the pc every week to prevent it not booting

Any idea's on how to remedy this ?

Cheers, Dave.

[arthurleung]

Try replacing the battery. From the look of it you don't have mains turned on all the time, so the RTC drains from the button battery instead of standby power from the PSU.

[blueball]

Agreed. buy a new battery. usually the are CR2030 batteries (If I am remmebering correctly) but just check what is written on yours. Don't bother with fancy batteries. boots own brand are cheap and work just as well I find.

[BigFatCat]

The ones I've got are CR2032, which are 2 quid from maplin.

[Dave_07]

Yeah thats one of the first things i thought of too. Battery level on the mobo is fine and the mains are on 24/7.

[Fabula]

Try re-seating the components in your system. Sometimes over time the connections can loosen, possibly due to temperature variations.

Anyway, with unexplained problems like yours, removing and replacing the components fixes things a lot of the time.

[wizzzzzuk]

I know this sounds silly, but anyway..
When you do get the pc to boot go into the setup and set HALT to "no errors" that way it'll start even if it doesn't recognise the keyboard.
If you've already done this please ignore this message.

[Dave_07]

I know this sounds silly, but anyway..
When you do get the pc to boot go into the setup and set HALT to "no errors" that way it'll start even if it doesn't recognise the keyboard.
If you've already done this please ignore this message.

What does HALT stand for ? or where might it be in the bios ? as it doesn't seem to appear in my bios, although could it be under a different name ?
Making the pc boot through errors might just be the way to deal with this.

[wizzzzzuk]

It's in the first bios screen, near the bottom, it should say..
HALT ON = (then choose from either), no errors, all but keyboard or all errors.

[Dave_07]

My first bios section is just about the hard drives/dvd drives etc. There is an "Advanced Bios Features" section tho, but there's nothing in there about "HALT ON" or anything. Nearest thing is just the "Boot Device Priority" and the only options there are the hard drives/dvd drives etc.

Now that you mention it tho, i do remember that "HALT ON" is virtually an industry standard on any mobo, and should be an option for it. Maybe it's been lost in the many many improper shutdowns lol.