Greetings:
I am resurrecting a Gateway PC that I believe was the victim of a lightning strike/power surge. I have replaced the PSU, motherboard, RAM and hard drive. The basic specs are set forth below.

Now I am getting random errors that cause explorer to shut down, among other bad things. More specifically, the system will not perform memtest86. It gets no more than 17 seconds into the first pass and then stops. However, I have checked the RAM in another motherboard and it works fine. And I tried known good RAM on the new/replacement motherboard and got the same result.

This all happens with nothing connected to the motherboard except the AGP video card, which is good, and a monitor. So I supect the CPU, the only core part that I haven't replaced. However, it is possible that the replacement motherboard is bad, but that seems less likely.

Any ideas or insights?

Thanks.
Ed

Intel D845GERG2 Motherboard
Intel 1.5GHz P4 CPU (Willamette core)
Samsung PC400 DDR SDRAM (at PC266)
Enlight 250-watt PSU
Standard Drives

Before swapping the CPU or MOBO again, update the BIOS to the latest and try memtest one more time.

So to start with I believe you are saying that....1 stick of ram,vdeo card,CPU, keyboard ,monitor ,PSU,,and motherboard are all installed.

Is the motherboard standoffs and screws all in correct=no shorting out of motherboard?

Is the PSU voltage select switch set for your local voltage 120/220 Volt if applicable?

Also, have you checked the temperatures?

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

Thanks. Good ideas all.

The possibility that the motherboard standoffs might be causing a short sounded promising, especially in light of the weird Gateway standoffs in place - which I can't replace without replacing the case. But I double-checked, and I can't see any way that could be happening. Also, while I was in there, I removed the CPU and looked for bent pins, but no joy.

The PSU is set to 115 volts. I've never seen one set to 230, and I'm curious. What would happen?

I already flashed the latest BIOS. But I think I will try it again, just to double-check.

And the CPU and system tempratures stay pretty cool, according to Motherboard Monitor, hovering mostly in the mid-30s.

If the BIOS re-flash doesn't fix it, I will order a CPU. That is a shame, because that motherboard would not have been my first choice, but I calculated that the CPU was still good and was working around it. So I have missed my big chance to upgrade the system.
Ed

"The PSU is set to 115 volts. I've never seen one set to 230, and I'm curious. What would happen?"

Nothing good. Don't try it!

I find it very hard to believe it's the Bios or CPU, but it 'seems' that you have eliminated the more likely suspects.

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

Yes, I am not comfortable with the idea that it is the CPU. In years of troubleshooting, I have run across several CPUs that have died but only one or two that have gone goofy.

So it may be the motherboard, but I keep thinking about the fact that whatever killed the previous system took out the PSU, motherboard and hard drive. That's a pretty wide path of destruction. So, I think there's pretty good chance that the CPU was also damaged.

And I damn sure can't think of anything else to do. So I have ordered a CPU and am keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks for the help.
Ed

The PSU is set to 115 volts. I've never seen one set to 230, and I'm curious. What would happen?

Curiosity kills the cat! Er..Maybe the SMPS also :)
Your Supply voltage is 115 volts, hence the PSU is set to 115 volts. Now, if your supply was 230volts and you set your PSU to 115, you would definitely have a campfire in your room :). But since it's the other way round, it might not boot up or could even damage your system; wanna try?It will be something like asking your hardware to run on a lower voltage than it actually requires.
In some countries(for instance:India) the supply voltage is 230 and u've to set ur PSU to 230.There if u set it to 115 and pump, then it's crash and burn; lol

Be humble

Oddly enough I have seen pc's that have been zapped do some funny things,

One time I had one that would not turn on at all.
The remedy (by fluke) was let it sit for a few hrs. unplugged then turn it on.
and it worked fine

I closed the call and struck one up to a crowbar effect.

This may have nothing to do with your problem
I just wanted to share a zap story