hey guys, my problems is this, everytime i power on my machine it boots straight to the bios and freezes, it's an asus a7v8x-x (the mobo i mean), aparently this is an asus specific issue and i have sent a message to asus tech support to see what's goin on. if anyone here can help then please do. the entire specs of the system since completion and the start of the problem are as follows. asus a7v8x-x amd athlon xp 2600+ 512mb ram creative labs geforce fx5600 soundblaster audigy 2 platinum cd-rw and cd-rom 2x hdd's 1x 120gb and 1x 5gb sys guard III fan controller 450w psu.

hi i need some details. have you ever been able to get it to boot to windows using that system at all. if so have you downloaded the latest bios. if not then do so. if you can't get into windows try clearing the cmos. read your manual and it should tell you how. if that fails this should work. take out your powercable and unplug it from the motherboard also, then take out the battery and wait a few seconds before putting it back in. if this doesn't work make sure none of your parts aren't faulty. try it without the 5gb drive in. also try it with different memory if you have any, if not unplug everything and plug them back in again. (youd be amazed at what this can do sometimes) also make sure theres no dust, try and clean it as best you can. what type of powersupply do you have is it an old one or new one and how much voltage does it have? one other thing you could try is checking to make sure your cpu and heatsink are in propably. i hope this helps.

i have been able to boot to windows, xp, i didn't bother updating the bios as there were no problems at the time, i was at that time using my 5gig but obviously that's not enough space for everything i need so i bought a new one, thus the 120gig. it was after this that i noticed the problem, it just boots to the bios and freezes there, it's automatic so there is no manual control, it flicks straight to the advanced menu. i have tried to clear the cmos, it worked as the options that i had seen previously had been replaced by default values, but there was no change in the status of the problem. from there all the parts have been tested and are working, the vga card is fine otherwise i would get no display and the other parts are fine. i have replaced the motherboard and so i have reseated all the parts and i believe it to be a standard 12v psu running at 450 watts. all parts are brand new except the floppy drive and the cd-rom and the heatsink+fan and cpu are seated correctly as i only replaced the motherboard today and checked everything. well, i hope this helps :-) thanks for your time.

Disconnect all the drives and pull all the cards except the graphics card and try it.

okay, i have done as you suggested but it has made no difference, i have a feeling it may be because the motherboard could be touching the metal plate it is seated on. do you think this could be the case?