PC booting with Black screen and sometimes working?

[theonlytazman]

Got a problem with a pcchips (yes I know they're not great) GigaPro chipset motherboard.

It has 256mb sdram installed. Problem is that on occasions it boots up without any problems and goes into trying to install the OS. At other times though the screen goes black - shortly after the BIOS checks - and then the pc restarts.

It can do this several times at once!

We have changed the memory to some other branded chips. With no effect.

No beeping noises coming from the board to indicate a problem

Any ideas?

 

[wolluf]

Try disconnecting (or disabling if onboard) everything apart from graphics card (replace with another if possible, if this approach doesn't work) 1 stick memory and keyboard. Now see if it will boot past POST reliably. If it will, add hardware items back one at a time. Make sure all cabling is sound, and firmly connected when putting back & ensure items properly seated. Also check fans ok (no overheating).

 

[ski]

It appears that you have a hardware problem.
First, clean out any dust inside the case, on fans, on heatsinks, etc.
If no luck, then make sure all cards, memory, and CPU are firmly inserted, and all connections are secure.
If still no luck, then check that all fans are running(especially the CPU fan).
If they're ok, then disconnect all components except the power supply, MB, CPU, memory, video card, and HD. If the problem stops, then connect the other devices until the problem happens. The last device connected before the problem reoccurs is the culprit. Swap it out. If the system works ok with the replacement, then replace the original device.
If the problem still happens with just the above components installed, then swap them out until the problem stops.