PC freezing at BIOS screen on startup

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MAC
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PC freezing at BIOS screen on startup

Post by MAC »

I rebooted by PC today and it is freezing at the BIOS screen. This is a Dell Vostro 410 I purchased 3 or 4 years ago. Any ideas on what could be causing this or what I can do?

Thanks in advance,

MAC
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eGoCeNTRoNiX
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Post by eGoCeNTRoNiX »

Try pulling the CMOS battery for 10-15 minutes then put it back and see what happens.. Also, check your memory sticks one at a time. Hope this helps..
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MAC
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Post by MAC »

I pulled out both memory sticks and cleaned the contacts with an eraser and put them back in. PC booted up. I'll reboot it in a little while to see if it hangs up again.

Thanks for the info.
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eGoCeNTRoNiX
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Post by eGoCeNTRoNiX »

No problem, glad you're up and running again. :)
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FlyingPenguin
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Post by FlyingPenguin »

I've seen a lot of issues with memory not being properly seated or having grunge on the contacts lately. Me thinks RAM manufacturers are cutting corners on the gold plating for the contacts.
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MAC
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Post by MAC »

Restarted the PC and it rebooted just fine.
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Post by normalicy »

Yup, memory was my first guess.
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Executioner
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Post by Executioner »

You can test your memory stick one at a time with MemTest86 a free utility.
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MAC
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Post by MAC »

Well my PC was shutdown and I could not get it to restart. Ran Memtest86, but I couldn't tell if the RAM was bad or not. I bought two new sticks of RAM (2 GB) for $30.00 and installed them. At first the PC would not restart, but after allowing Windows to repair itself, it started and is running fine.

I think its time to build a new PC anyway!
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