My computer won't boot! MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum

Hi there.

Having major problems with my PC, and this is probably my fault! I recently turned on my PC and I got an error message during the boot-up saying that the config.sys was missing/corrupted. So i restarted and tried to get into the BIOS settings so I could change the boot-up to CD to run a Windows repair. Well, instead of the BIOS settings I got a blank screen with a flashing cursor in the top corner, and nothing else.

After ripping my hair out for a while, I figured the only thing I could do is load from a boot disk and flash the BIOS. I did this and the flash utility said it was done successfully.

Now when I restart/switch on the computer, it won't go any further than the motherboard 'Platinum' intro screen! In other words, its not booting at all!

Is there any way to fix this? Or have I really messed up the motherboard?

Thanks in advance

 

Have you tried cleraing the BIOS?

 

I haven't tried that yet. I will as soon as I figure out how to do it....



thanks for the suggestion

 

There should be a small jumper on the motherboard near the IDE channels or the CMOS battery, every motherboard manufacturer puts it somewhere different!
Check your motherboard manual, and it'll tell you how to do it

 

If you can't find the jumper, take the battery out for a while and then put it back in, give it 10mins, 15/20 to be sure, heck you could leave it out overnight just to be absolutely certain...

 

In the manual, I have found a way to clear the CMOS. Is this what you're talking about?

 

Yup

 

Indeed it is, clear that and let us know what happens...

 

Thanks to you both! I will let you know

 

Okay, clearing the CMOS didn't work so I replaced the board. And I'm still getting the same problem! Now I'm thinking it wasn't the board at all!

I've thought about this and I've come to a conclusion that it's the processor causing all the problems. This is annoying because it's around 5 months old.

I've noticed that the case fans will not work if connected to the motherboard, but will work if plugged directly into the power supply. This is another thing that leads me to think it's the processor

 

Update: I discovered that this problem was a result of my RAM. I have two matched pairs of Corsair TwinX1024 3200C2PT making a total of 2GB. I bought one pair about four months ago, and the other is only about 1 month old. It turns out the older pair have 52 errors after running MemTest on them.

I'm telling you this because when I consulted Corsair about this, they told me that Corsair memory will not work well on some boards if they have different version numbers even though its the same type of RAM. This thread shows how to read the version numbers.

http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38145

I think this is important for people to know as I have not heard of this issue ever, and cannot find this point in any small print for the mobo or RAM.