Computer not booting

I seem to have a very wierd problem. Searched for it quite a bit on google but didn't see anyone else with the same problem.

I simply cannot boot into any OS from my machine at all!

The BIOS seems ok, the bios is also passing over to the operating system's boot sequence allright, but as soon as the operating system takes over from the BIOS and starts loading its own files, it simply hangs there.
I'm primarily using Windows XP Pro, so it hangs on the XP splash screen. I tried booting into safe mode, but it hangs on the screen where all the XP drivers are loaded.
Even tried booting from DVDs into different OS versions on the Ultimate Boot CD, but get the same problem, so my OS installation on the hard drive is not corrupted, and neither are my harddrives or optical drives. Also tried booting into Linux from a BackTrack 3 DVD, but get the same problem. Only it hangs on the Linux/BT3 splash screen this time.

I think this is a hardware problem with either the motherboard or the processor, but cannot be sure, since otherwise the system would not even have passed POST.

I think my memory modules are allright since I ran a memcheck utility from the Ultimate Boot CD and it showd my memory to be fine.

Does anyone have any idea what's wrong here?

If you can boot using LIVE CD/DVD then it means that your HD's boot sector is screwed. The BIOS uses an interrupt call to locate MBR on disk and pass the control over to OS boot loader located on the MBR. If the MBR is not accessible then you can not start any OS. I would recommend using one of those recovery disk (Live CD's) to scan your disk and see if you get any errors. Also if you have a spare HD then try that and see if that works. If that fails too then the problem is on motherboard.

try http://www.knoppix.org/

Also, try seeing if anything is overheating and such, or if you have enough power (PSU).

Nope, I don't think it's a problem with my harddisc or optical drives. I have 5 drives in my machine - 3 harddrives and 2 optical drives. The operating system is installed on one drive whereas the other 2 harddrives hold data. While troubleshooting I tried booting with each device (optical and hdd) but I got the same results everywhere. While testing each drive I also made sure to disconnect all 4 other drives, so I don't think this is an issue with a damaged/corrupted MBR either, since my hdd wasn't connected while I tested booting with the Ultimate Boot CD or BackTrack 4 CD on my optical drives.

Also, my machine's power supply has enough juice to run my system - it's a 550 W Cooler Master Real Power SMPS, and has been running my system with the same configuration non-stop, perfectly for the past 2-3 years, and my machine was running fine uptill the night before this happenned. I switched the machine off at night, booted it again next morning, and was stuck on the splash screens.

I think someone up there was right, it is an issue with the motherboard. I had the same suspicions, but they weren't confirmed just because the motherboard was passing POST allright. Just sent the motherboard to the service center yesterday, will take a week to come back. Let's see what they have to say.

My computer could not booted after I install a game. Don't know what happend but I think because of the graphic card conflick. Can anyone help. i'm using Window Vista, Ram 4GB, CPU Core Quad 3.4 GHz.

@ticktacktoe

It quite possibly could be your RAM, which makes sense. It's able to read files from the disk, just not load them into memory. Here's a few tips:

1. Do a memory test, you can find some bootable memory tests and run some on your computer.
2. REMOVE all memory chips and put them in one by one to see if one faults. If it still doesn't work, then it's not the ram.

Also, did you install any new hardware recently?

EDIT: Didn't see that you sent it off to the mobo manufacturer, if it comes back without any problems please try the above. Smile

@homesglen-test

Before I was able to even boot my computer I had to disable the onboard graphics card before I could use the new one.

try putting in the XP install CD and choosing repair. this will repair any problems with system files or the boot sector, and will not destroy your data. had this problem myself, using repair worked.

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