"System Failed, Cpu Test"Message When Starting CPU

[ImmaculateBastard]

so ive had this problem before and it came up again out of nowhere. when on my computer it would just shut off and when id try to restart it it would simply say 'System Failed, CPU test' or 'GPU test'...its quite odd. last time all it took was a new power supply cord and it worked again but now ive been through a few extras and friends cords and still no luck. was wondering if anyone could help me out with this at all...

the computer does start up it just doesnt do anything but keep a black screen and say on the speakers 'System Failed, CPU Test'...ive also thought it said check the end task but people proved me wrong with that one the other day.

ASUS PC???motherboard
nvidia geforce fx 5200
windows xp sp2
512RAM
130GIG harddrive
intel pentium 4 3ghz

not the best with this stuff but some help would be more than appreciated cuz i more than want this computer up and running again as soon as possible.

[patio]

Replace the CMOS battery...about the size of a dime located on the MBoard.



As always when working inside the case remove all power sources and take anti-static precautions.

When finished with this procedure borrow a known good PSU of the same or greater wattage and swap it in there...if things improve then replace the PSU...

[ImmaculateBastard]

hey thanks for the reply, more than appreciated. i saw a few views too and no body corrected you or put up another suggestion so im going this route for now and hopin it works out. another plus too is that i got a power supply around and could just swap that out later on and hope that works out nicely *thumbs up*

[Dias de verano]

Checl CPU is seated properly. Or it could be PSU. Check the BIOS where your voltages are listed. There is a 3.3v rail...a 5v rail and 12v rail listed. Make sure the 3.3v and 5v rail are close to that spec. If your 3.3v rail is not getting good powere... say 3.0v or less or your 5v rail is dropping below 4.7 you may get that error.

Oh I just noticed... You have an ASUS P4 board... It could be the motherboard.

[ImmaculateBastard]

ya its the ASUS P4C800 M.B... im just about to check out asus boards and a lil on here to see if anything says something interesting about this.

buddy of mine i talked to who did a bit of tech this and that (and who i dont trust that much with this stuff) said to just try taking out and putting back in the CMOS battery but im none too sure bout that one.

and one more thing LOL im not that great with the whole BIOS thing to be frank and with the fact that my computer doesnt even Boot all the way, just stalls when it starts with a black screen and says that error message over the speakers theres no way for me to get to the BIOS that im aware of.

anyways, ill be searching forums and such for the next hour or so and hope to hear back with some other tips and such.  :D

UPDATE
http://support.asus.com/troubleshooting/troubleshooting.aspx?SLanguage=en-us 
i just came across this site on the troubleshooting part of ASUS.com and this kinda goes along with whats happening with me, the whole 'No display while power up' and such. good idea to go through with this if i dont really know bout BIOS' and such?

[Dias de verano]

theres no way for me to get to the BIOS that im aware of.

Without a working cpu, you don't get to run the BIOS setup.

[ImmaculateBastard]

lol no guffin, i was just saying though of the situation...when i do get it up ill check those settings...

what do you think though of resetting the BIOS or the battery removal/reinsurtion idea?

[patio]

Replacing the battery will reset the BIOS back to it's default settings.....

[Dias de verano]

A lot about "CPU failed test" messages on ASUS boards here

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/18608/

A lot of times it turned out to be the Motherboard/CPU interface, specifically the 12v four pin connector, and people found that a board that would not work with an expensive Antec or Thermaltake 450W or 500W power supply would boot and run fine with a $40 el-cheapo psu. Others RMA'd their boards. There does seem to be a well known problem with ASUS Pentium 4 boards of a certain period. Whether that is what is wrong with your setup I cannot tell.

[ImmaculateBastard]

ya i got a 'el cheapo' psu now lol and im going to try that reset of the CMOS battery and see if that helps any...if not, well, payday is on friday and i guess ill spending some time at the computer store up the street *thumbs up* lol

[ImmaculateBastard]

QUICK UPDATE! so ya i bought a new CMOS battery and threw the other PSU into the computer and still no change. still going 'system failed...' and such lol.  sucks so im going to take into a shop and see what they can tell me. hopefully something fantastic but i sincerly doubt as much. but luckily pay is here and i might as well get it done when i got the money.

Post Edited for content
Keep it clean...we have Members of all ages.

patio.

[Kurtiskain]

ASUS...I have a P4PE and this error happened to me when using faulty RAM.

You stated you have 512MB ram but is that 2x 256MB or 1x 512MB?

Try with just one stick and if it sill doesn't boot try with just the other one in the first slot.

I dont know why ASUS boards do that because it certainly doesnt have anything to do with the CPU.

Kurtis

[ImmaculateBastard]

i got 2 266MB memory sticks in there.... but ya i started a new job with lots of computer geeks so it should be worked...hasnt hurt me though not having the net work the last little while.