new box randomly locking up on XP boot

[Cheech]

Wow, it just occured to me how long it's been since I posted on here

Anyway, here's the specs:

Biostar M7NCG-400 MicroATX board
Athlon XP-M 2600+
512 MB A-Data (cheapy Newegg) memory
80GB ATA100 HD (tested in an external enclosure, works normally)
220W PSU (supplied in case)
cheapy DVD-ROM

I am successfully able to boot from CD, and also boot from HD. I am able to repartition and reformat the HD as many times as I want, and also the DOS version of the XP setup works without incident (copying files over and so forth) After the DOS version is complete, and the system restarts, it will lock up anywhere from the fading in of the XP boot screen to the "Setup is now restarting" window. Sometimes it will get as far as a light blue (normal background, not BSOD) screen, where I will have USB mouse movement. I can move the mouse (there is nothing more on that screen) for about 3-4 minutes until that locks up as well, and the entire system is non-responsive. There is no HD activity when it locks. It appears when I first turn it on it will lock up earlier than when I am rebooting it.

When I was initially building it, I did not notice that one of the mobo standoffs was not keyed to a hole, and it was probably touching a trace or two. I have since put some electrical tape over the standoff, but the board was turned on a few times over the bare metal standoff. I have removed the HSF (Masscool 1U) to make sure there is no core damage, from what I can see I don't see any. I have tried the memory in all 3 slots, but I don't have any more DDR sticks to try and isolate the memory. Currently there is nothing in the PCI slots.

Thus far I think the board's a bit screwy, but I am definitely open to suggestions and more troubleshooting advice.

 

[kirbyrj]

Do you get errors if you run Memtest86?

 

[Cheech]

Do you get errors if you run Memtest86?

Never heard of Memtest86. Can this be run from a booted CD?

/edit Nevermind, google answered my question I will try it today.

 

[HvyMtl]

yes memtest86 is a great place to start
double check to make sure the motherboard is not grounding on anything in the case.
double check all cables.
220 watts seems a bit low - try with a different (known good) power supply
what is the graphics card? or are you using onboard?
If on board try a known good vid card
if vid card try it in a known good system
unplug the cheapy dvd rom drive and see if it boots
best of luck

 

[Cheech]

yes memtest86 is a great place to start
double check to make sure the motherboard is not grounding on anything in the case.
double check all cables.
220 watts seems a bit low - try with a different (known good) power supply
what is the graphics card? or are you using onboard?
If on board try a known good vid card
if vid card try it in a known good system
unplug the cheapy dvd rom drive and see if it boots
best of luck

Just ran through 2 iterations of Memtest, no errors reported.
I am building this box to go in my car, and all the research I have done indicates that the Biostart would be able to function with a 150W PSU, much less a 220W one. If that is not the case, then I seriously need to rework my setup.
Vid card is onboard, nForce2 IGP setup.
Thought about the DVD, that might be my next step. It was a pull from a Gateway box, so I am reasonably confident that it works, but it's still a good suggestion.

More info is definitely appreciated, but thanks for the feedback thus far.

 

[HvyMtl]

try these links to see if you have too much on that 220 watt psu:
http://takaman.jp/D/index.html?english
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/