Computer stops booting before reaching BIOS Setup

Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section, I looked for something related to the problem and this was the closest I got.

My cousin has a Gateway computer running on Windows XP. He had a Supervisor Password which he set-up in BIOS. All was fine until one day he turned it on and it stopped booting before it reached the screen where he would enter his Supervisor Password. The screen to enter it never comes up. All it does is sit there at the Gateway screen doing nothing. He tries to get into BIOS Setup when he first turns it on to possibly remove the password which would at least get him to Windows, but the computer won't even allow him to do that. It's like it doesn't detect anything at all. He's called Gateway and spent over an hour on the phone with them and they've been unable to help him. Does anyone know what would cause this and if there is anything he can do to get into his computer to make any necessary changes to prevent it from happening again?

 

If he set up the password in the BIOS, he may have to clear the CMOS. If he does that, he'll need to restore the BIOS configuration settings. If he can get into the BIOS setup, he should note the relevant settings before he clears the CMOS.

Usually, there's a jumper on the motherboard for that function. With any luck, it's marked, but it's usually a lot easier to find it if he's got the manual for that motherboard. On recent ASUS boards, it's marked "CLRTC". It has three pins, with a jumper connecting two of them.

To clear the CMOS, turn the system off and unplug it. Some motherboards require the CMOS battery to be removed. Move the jumper over, so that it's connecting the other pair of pins. That shorts out the CMOS. After 5 sec., put the jumper back where it was and replace the battery. Then re-start the system, go into the BIOS, and re-set the configuration settings that got cleared.

Gateway may do things differently, so the above may be no use to your friend. He should check his manual for the system. And it's possible that there is a hardware problem somewhere. If that's the case, the above won't have any effect.

 

I have seen this happen at school.
The solution was: a new hard drive, and win xp reinstalled.

 

Thank you for replying. I can tell you for sure he doesn't have a manual and he doesn't have a way to get into BIOS at all. Maybe I can find the BIOS configuration settings for his computer somewhere online. Someone told me once that if you remove the computers battery for a certain period of time, it should clear the CMOS as well, but I didn't remember clearly all that was involved, and again, he'd have to have the configuration settings. Thanks again for the information.

 

Maybe it would be less of a headache to just get a new hard drive...seriously.

 

Yes, you should.

 

Removing the battery probably will do it -- but it may take rather longer. I don't really know why the Asus motherboard manual says to both remove the battery and short out the CMOS -- but it does. However, another manual I have (for an older mobo) requires only that you change the jumper to clear the password. See if you can get a manual for that mobo from the manufacturer's website.

How badly do you need to know the old BIOS settings? Well, if the hard drive is being auto-detected, the BIOS should auto-detect the same settings for the hard drive(s) as were there before. The rest you can probably work out. It may take a few tries, but it should be possible to end up with an operating system -- and without a re-install.

A re-install (or a new hard drive) may not work if the password was set up in the BIOS. No password, no boot. How do you re-install an OS if the BIOS won't allow the system to boot?

Which reminds me -- can you boot successfully from a boot floppy or CD-ROM? If you can't, you won't be able to do much with a replacement hard drive except use it for a paperweight.

But the problem may be something else entirely. The fact that you never get to enter the "supervisor" password bothers me somewhat. I don't have an explanation for that.

 

Hi Liz pajamas I hate to say this but you are beating a dead horse to get uo and go. xp is no longer supported which means it's cmos motherboard bios is a dead end because you can no longer find anyone writing script for your version of bios. Unless you are ultra rich and have resources.

I would recommend scrapping the tower. removing the mother board for later recycling also all the other components:,ie: power supply, optical drive and anything inside the case considered hazardous waste to be disposed of properly. Keep the chip and some of the other components, they contain 24 kt gold are worth trading if you accumulate enough of them. I myself recycle them for the gold they contain and then dispose of the waste in special hazmat container for later disposal(legally).

GO to Amazon.com with a debit or credit card and by a new computer of your dream that is up to date and hompefully will last you another 6 to 7 years if you buy an upgradable atx tower. They have them on there for less than 400.00, last years gamers and media computer systems. Do yourself a favor and your cousin, Dream of the new computer and please don't stress on the old one. It had it's day and everything on the drive is completely retrievable, that is if the drive did get fried.


A good example of what I am talking about is my Machine. In the end I paid only about 285.00 for it and I have a cool master tower with a gigabyte board ,AMD FX-6600 black edition 6 core cpu, 8 gigabytes of ram, It came with a wimpy geforce GT-610 then I installed a GTX-650 SC 2 gig graphics card, but I then saw on Amazon the opportunity for a GTX TITAN dual fan 4 gb ddr5 long card and I will be good for a good long while. oh and I run 7 pro. happy hunting! OH I had to pay a lot extra for the titan :-D