PC won't boot - stuck on first screen, can't enter BIOS

mobo: P5N-MX
hd: 80gb sata (seagate)
1 stick of 2gb RAM
winXP Pro

Hi,

My wife's PC decided not to boot today and now I'm running out of ideas - she was running a Microsoft Word doc when the PC froze - I tried task manager and still nothing worked (not even the mouse). I pressed the restart button and I havn't been able to get passed the first screen since!

The first screen appears telling me to either press TAB for post BIOS message or press delete to enter setup - if i'm very quick and press the del button incessantly as the pc is turned on i get the "entering setup..." but it freezes there ?

I can't get into BIOS so I tried taking out the CMOS battery for a couple of minutes to rest it - no change, still can't get past first screen. I have also tried disconecting all the plugs from the back and pressing the power button for 20 secs (as found somewhere else) - again no change

I have a Norton Ghost backup file i could use if all else fails, but the last backup was months ago so if we can go another way this would be better.

I can't see there being a problem with windows because i can't even get that far :cry

How can this be resolved - any ideas?

Cheers, Andy

 

First, disconnect any USB devices except keyboard as USB devices can be troublesome.

Unplugging and holding the power button is about the same thing but did you have the PC unplugged when removing the CMOS battery-that is what you want to try no power and no battery for about a minute?

If already tried then go ahead and remove the RAM and reseat it and try to boot.

If still no go then try to boot with the HD and/or the CDROM unplugged and see if that makes a difference.

 

Normal service can resume!

turns out it was the mouse it didn't like - a mouse designed for laptop if that matters. was working fine for months but when we brought the PC into the bedroom we had to use a usb socket at the back (it was always in the front)

But, it had worked for last week or so in the rear socket?? (who knows)

but everything works fine now (with a different mouse)

many thanks!

 

Glad it was something simple.

Because it seems to be BIOS/Setup that has the problem and I don't see any BIOS updates that address a USB problem for that motherboard, I think going with a different mouse is the best and simplest solution.

* A laptop mouse is generally just a bit smaller for portability. There is no reason one shouldn't work on a PC. USB technology is great but sometimes it is a bit quirky. Who knows another day the troublesome mouse might work fine.