Two nights ago we had severe lightning storms. I had already lost one major electronic item in the house from the last one and so I decided to unplug the surge protector from the socket.

Yes, I had completely shut down my machine first.

Since the storms were to last all night into the day it wasn't until about twelve hours later that I plugged it back in. I turned on the PC and it hung at the very first screen. I tried several times to restart but it kept hanging at the very first page -- the one with the logo; it wouldn't even get to the first Phoenix Award screen. The POST said 49 but there was no beeps at all.

According to the Manual POST 49 means "Calciluate total memory by testing the last double word of each 64k page." I haven't a clue what this means.

I was able to get into the BIOS and applied the default settings to see if that would help. I have yet to overclock so there are no issues there nor have I messed with the BIOS previously. Until today it has always booted to Windows.

After entering the default settings it finally booted into Windows but the Logo screen was strange as it was smaller, slightly shifted to the right, and the top of the same page showed at the bottom. The computer then was working fine otherwise.

I shut down the computer and started it up again the next day only to have it hang at the logo screen again. This time no strange shifts of screen as it took up the entire screen which is the norm

Again, I made sure this computer was fully shut off before I unplugged the cord. Does this sound like a CMOS battery issue? Thanks in advance.

I would say no. It's actually possible for your computer to run fine with no battery, so I doubt this is the problem.

The POST code sounds like it's doing a quick error check on your RAM - performing calculations on it to check for errors.

Have a look at something like Memtest 86 and give it a good workout with that.

The screen issue could simply be needing a good degauss (I imagine it is a CRT rather than an LCD monitor?) which the switch off and restart will have provided. If it happens again, degauss it manually (usually using a switch on the front of your monitor) and let us know if that fixes it.

sham, I did a major memtest86+ two aeeks ago with over 14 hours and 17 passes with no errors.

The monitor is an LCD.

Oh, the monitor problem may be more serious then - that's just exactly what my old CRT likes doing now and then ;)

I'm a bit stumped to be honest...I don't see how your computer has been affected by the storm, yet it seems entirely too coincidental! You've even got the thing surge protected, so even if somehow your mains was a bit funny when you plugged it in, it shouldn't be affected.

All the same, going on the assumption that it has been affected by the storm, I'd still be inclined to check your memory again in case it's been the casualty. 17 passes is a little excessive though ;) Try one pass if you have 20 minutes...if nothing else it'll help eliminate one cause.

The only other memory I can imagine that error refers to is that on the motherboard itself, but most of that's ROM IIRC and if it was your CMOS that has been fried, I wouldn't expect it to boot some of the time but not others.

Beyond that, I'm afraid I'm at a loss. Perhaps Hive or someone else with more experience will be able to give a different solution.

Just a thought - what happens when you do a hard reset (ie with the physical reboot button) after the freeze - can you get into Windows after that or do you have to turn it all off?

When I do a hard reboot it freezes at the LOGO screen. I can get into the BIOS but if the computer won't boot beyond the LOGO I can't run the MemTest.

It's hard to say... was the computer *completely* disconnected? No network cable, no modem line, no other powered peripherals (printers, monitors, etc.)?

You may have taken a hit that killed some component. Based on where you're describing it, I don't have good feelings for the life expectancy of your motherboard :(

You can take the monitor and put it on another pachine to make sure it's okay. You may have to have someone at a shop take a look at the computer itself. They should be able to check it for fried components.

BTW, this is the opportune time for my occasional plug of whole-house surge suppression systems. They're rated for far more power than any plug-in surge suppressor you can find.

Or do it on the cheap and just stick a giant metal spike on the side of your building as a lightning conductor. :D

How old is your machine?

A lot of people think that lightning storms will detroy your PC with a surge, but these days, the chance is very minimal as the PSU can stop most electrical surges.

Anyways, on to the problem, where exactly on the POST screen does it freeze? is it when it is summing up your memory? or after it has detected drives?

And, do you feel confident in taking your RAM out and trying it in another machine? Or are you even able to?

Hive:

1. Machine is 5 weeks old.

2. Machine hangs at the Logo Screen. I can get into BIOS but it doesn't even boot to the Phoenix Award page!

3. I do have a good power surge.

4. I have never messed with the BIOS except the time I did a MemTest86+ where I made my floppy first boot. The thing is this won't even boot to drives.

5. I will take out the RAM if the EPoX tech suggestions don't correct the issue.

6. One thing I appreciate about EPoX tech support is that they respond in 24 hours or less. They took the information and they want me to clear the CMOS by moving the jumper pin from 1-2 to 2-3 for 40 seconds and then back again. I then will power back on to see if this is the issue. I'm thinking they're thinking corrupted CMOS.

Thanks for hanging with me on this guys.

Update: Cleared the CMOS as per EPoX's instructions and... nothing.

Second Update: As I was writing my last update it booted to Windows after about 5 minutes and so to retest I restarted and... in hung again at the logo screen. Now why would it boot but not boot a second time

[ 06-05-2006, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Albromor ]