Ok, this one is scaring.

I have a Athlon 1.8 dual boot system (win XP and RH8)
What is happening right now:
when pushing the power button: Nothing comes up to the screen
Computer emits intermittent beeps
Does not even reach boot loader

Each time I have to physically reset cmos to be able to boot ant this is getting annoying
The problem will reappear if i shutdown or reboot the compy
Oh and the problem happens from whatever os I shutdown or reboot

Does any of you has an idea about what it could be,
and if so any suggestions about how could i fix this problem.

Best regards,
C0|2N

Looks like a hardware problem ... not related to Linux; Certainly not security related.
Try resetting the BIOS config to its defaults/optimum defaults

I have already resetted my bios (by clearing cmos)
I am to think it is a virus... thats why i posted here

The number of beeps often tells you the general area where the problem is occuring. Who made the BIOS and how many beeps are you hearing?

Also most viruses that attempt to damage the BIOS or CMOS can usually be detected by standard Windows Antivirus apps like Norton, McAfee, etc, so when you boot into windows run a scan to see if you can indeed find a virus and then just as importantly find out specifically which virus is present. The last point is important, because there are several ways to attack the BIOS/CMOS.

I already tried a scan but i haven't found anything...
And now, unfortunately i am unable to boot my comp. The beep sequence has changed.
The last thing i remember doing before my box died is loading bios failsage settings...

Since i agree this does not give a lot of information i will post some debug
data tomorrow (i have debug facility built-in motherboard)
I will also try to post the exact sound (it might be though cuz of tonality changes)...



Regards,
Corn

Also, I havent reported this before as i thought it was unrelated... but each time i would
clear the cmos, i would see the following message error at startup:

Error CMOS checksum invalid
Press del to enter setup, F1 to load defaults

It may be time to change the cmos battery.

If you really think your bios has been corrupted you could try downloading the latest version for your board and update it, that should eliminate any problems that a virus has caused.

But ive seen this problem before on older machines where the bios battery has run out of power. So replace the battery first before you try rewriting the bios.

Yeah i agree, but i am surprised i would have to replace a bios
on a 3 years old PC... anyway...


the other point is that i cant flash the bios since i must run software to do so.
Which is impossible since i dont reach power on self-test :P


Regards,
Corn

maybe see if you can take the chip out? ... maybe?

Ok,
I managed to get the thing work twice....
I have an award modular bios v6.0 on a sst chip
I tried to flash, but the program i dled from the motherboard maker (dtk) tend
to freeze.

Also, i scanned once more and the antivirus sw got shut down... virus related off course.
I shutted down a couple of processes and restarted a scan.
The computer violently crashed with on an unhandled instruction causing a blue screen of death.
I was unable to bring it to life since....

Hi

Suggestions:

#Boot the system and record the number of beeps that the system issues.
Download the service manual for the motherboard from it's manufacturer's web site. Lookup the beep sequence.

#With the system turned off:
Replace the CMOS battery with a fresh one
Remove and replace the memory modules from the system motherboard.*
Close the jumper responsible for clearing the CMOS, turn the system on to clear the CMOS and then turn it off again, restore the jumper to its normal position.
Re-Test.

*Suggested because if the memory modules are not seated soundly the system may boot intermittently or not all.

If still unsuccessful may I suggest:
#Removing all but the most basic cards and devices and repeat the above test.
#If you are using a removable display adapter then change the card out for a basic display adapter.

The system may be prevented from starting up due to a faulty card in the backplane BUS, poorly seated or defective memory modules, faulty CMOS BIOS code, incorrect user BIOS settings (eg. incorrect CPU specifications), faulty FDD,HDD,CDROM, etc.

In a worst case senario, if you have flashed the BIOS and it has failed the system, consider taking the system to a PC repairer and have them physically remove and replace the BIOS.

Hope that helps.

Would be interested to hear how you get on.

C.

Sounds like esd damage to one or some components.

On thing to try. Instead of the cmos reset, power off and remove ac from psu. Then press on button few times and see if it boots correctly.

i think really the battery might either be dead or creating problem, can you save settings and retain time/date settings?? try BIOS defaults

This is a 6 year old thread and since the OP has not been around for awhile I would assume the problem has been resolved in some fashion.