"System Failed CPU Check/Test" ...frustrating error :<(

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by samuk1000, Dec 16, 2006.

  1. samuk1000

    samuk1000 Private E-2

    Hi there,

    I have recently bought 3 x brand new 19" TFT's (HANNS.G) and a second hand system built into a brand new case and power supply.

    SEMPRON 2500+ 1400 MHz

    The first monitor is VGA port
    The second monitor is video card port with VGA converter
    The third monitor is VGA port

    Here is the strange problem:

    The system is a real "old faithful" to the previous owner who is trustworthy. He has had it running with 2-3 monitors before (though 15-17") and sold as a fully reliable system.

    When I try to boot about 19/20 times I get the "system failed CPU test" audibly through speakers (note not through PC speaker) before even the monitors have been recognised - within about 7 seconds of the fans whirring up.

    So I gave it back to the guy who sold it to me to sort it out and he reported about 90 successful boots, said he has "benchmarked the hell out of it" and tried it with 1,2 and 3 monitors as below:

    *Plugged in and turned on with one monitor in the VGA port on the dual head radeon AGP card - no problems at all, everything perfect
    *Checked device manager - all drivers present and updated
    *Restarted 15 times in a row - no problems again
    *Shut down and rebooted 10 times - no problems

    No problems so far so I resat the CPU, both graphic cards and double checked all connections were firm. To check whether the system has any problems when there is an actual load on the CPU and ram with data flowing all around the system I ran some industry standard benchmarks. All results are saved on your desktop.

    *Installed 'Si soft Sandra 07' system benchmark utility and ran a full computer burn with 10 full passes - completed with no errors and the CPU never even went above 40 degrees.

    *Installed '3DMark 05' 3D benchmark application and ran a full benchmark with everything selected - completed with no errors.

    *Plugged in 3 monitors, enabled them all and positioned for one complete desktop.
    *Restarted 15 times in a row
    *Shut down and started up 15 times in a row.

    *Updated Ad aware and ran full system scan - clean
    *Updated Spybot and ran full system scan - clean
    *Updated Pest Patrol and ran a full system scan - clean
    *Updated Avast Antivirus and ran a boot time scan and full system scan - clean

    *Started Nero 7 started 3 consecutive encodes from .avi to DVD overnight while next to the radiator with heating on.

    The last test is enough to make most systems with a cheap power supply fall right on it's arse and I couldn't even make it do that!

    It's safe to say whatever problems your having your end are either no longer issues or there is some external factor, the only one of which I can think of is your monitors. If I had not partially heard some audio error message over the phone a couple of weeks ago, I would be billing your for my time for pointless testing and emails about your computer and your computer problems.

    I am prepared for you to bring your monitors over one night, try all three in the configuration you want and let you see it reboot, shut down and restart. If after that you take it away and still have problems, you are on your own.

    So...

    I took the monitors around to his place and firstly tried a boot on his 15" TFT and it worked perfectly.

    Then we tried a boot with just one of my monitors and it did not work so he finally recognised there was a genuine problem and I wasn't just doing something stupid.

    For some unknown reason we managed to boot the system about 30 times in a row with all three monitors (starting by adding one at a time).

    He changed some of the BIOS settings (I don't know what) after resetting motherboard.

    Satisfied with the problem being solved I took computer home and have had same problem as started off with "system failed CPU test" and about 1 successful boot in 20.

    Can anyone please help? I am not a techie by any means. I have tried resetting motherboard by changing the thing that holds two pins for 2 secs and returning it to original postion. No avail.

    I do not have a guarantee, but he has offered to buy system back off me. I would prefer to see it working as I believe in the guy who sold it to me and that it is ideal for my needs if only I get the thing working every time (very important for what I want to use it for).

    Thanks for your patience in reading this long first post. I know one of you can help.

    Sam in UK.

    PS I have tried booting system with my own old-fashioned monitor - same error after about 8 secs of switching on.

    I have tried different wall sockets as well....
     

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