Can't decide if it's a bad motherboard or processor...

[moonbeamdanser]

I just inherited a machine that is running an Asus a8ns2 SLI Deluxe board with an AMD Athlon 64x2.

It will boot up to the bios setup screen.

However beyond that is more than it is capable of. 

Typically when started it will show the ASUS logo for about 30-45 seconds before proceeding to the check screen.  I know normally that should only show for a few seconds. 

If I don't enter into bios it will take another 1-3 minutes to boot to windows.  It will either load the XP screen and crash there, or, it will give the Blue Screen of Death and crash at that point.  I have only ever got it booted to the OS once, and it was in safe mode.  However once booted to that point it behaved perfectly well.

Accessing BIOS, however, is fine.  All settings save and change as expected, and it accesses fairly quickly, unlike Windows. 

The Harddrive is fine, the OS on there a fresh install.  All the ram is viable (3Gb).

I don't know if I should bet on the processor being bad though, or the motherboard.  I'm hoping someone can give me a better idea which direction to go in with it.  (I will say that I suspect that heat was a factor in what is going on, as when I pulled the heatsink off the processor during my troubleshooting, I found that whoever had installed it (it's a Scythe Ninja heatsink, one of the low end models) hadn't actually removed the protective blue plastic from the bottom of the heatsink.  At least they put the thermal paste on. -_-)

[moonbeamdanser]

 /bump

[patio]

Was XP installed to that drive on this machine ? ?
Did you re-do the thermal paste ? ?

Thermal Paste Guide

If XP was installed on another machine then moved to this one you will at least have to do a repair install to get it to boot...

[moonbeamdanser]

I installed XP on a new harddrive FOR this machine ON this machine, and I have also swapped out another harddrive that has a fresh XP install on it that works just fine on it's home machine, and I get the same results regardless.  Slow booting and eventual crashing.  To be honest it was actually the drive I swapped from another machine that allowed me to boot to safe mode the one time I got it that far.

And yes, of course I replaced the paste... after I removed the blue plastic, of course.  I'm very surprised it hadn't melted all over the place.

[moonbeamdanser]

 /bump

[Spoiler]

pull the ram and post the part numbers from each chip

when your at it pull all the ram but one chip and try to boot. trade out each chip and reboot. post results.....

[moonbeamdanser]

I have tested the ram before and it's all good.  It all recognizes and tests ok and allows the system to boot up, whether i have all 3gbs installed or i do them one by one--but only in the half-defective way that it boots. 

I'm not at home right now to test it again, but I will do so when I get there if you really think its necessary to do one more time.

[patio]

Remova all but 1 stick of RAM and do a few cold boots...

Then Do This...

Done properly all your data and apps will be intact.

After everything is running re-introduce the RAM 1 stick at a time with a few cold boots in between each...

[Computer_Commando]

...
1.  Typically when started it will show the ASUS logo for about 30-45 seconds before proceeding to the check screen.  I know normally that should only show for a few seconds. 
2.  If I don't enter into bios it will take another 1-3 minutes to boot to windows.  It will either load the XP screen and crash there, or, it will give the Blue Screen of Death and crash at that point.  I have only ever got it booted to the OS once, and it was in safe mode.  However once booted to that point it behaved perfectly well.
3.  Accessing BIOS, however, is fine.  All settings save and change as expected, and it accesses fairly quickly, unlike Windows. 
4.  The Harddrive is fine, the OS on there a fresh install.  All the ram is viable (3Gb).
5.  I don't know if I should bet on the processor being bad though, or the motherboard. 
6.  (I will say that I suspect that heat was a factor in what is going on, as when I pulled the heatsink off the processor during my troubleshooting, I found that whoever had installed it (it's a Scythe Ninja heatsink, one of the low end models) hadn't actually removed the protective blue plastic from the bottom of the heatsink.  At least they put the thermal paste on...

1.  Indicates some kind of hardware problem.
2.  Same as #1.
3.  Good.
4.  Could be RAM, but I think unlikely.  Can't hurt to test it, somehow.
5.  AMD's are not very tolerant of overheating.
6.  I never heard of part of a cpu being bad, but I suppose it could happen.  No way to test that I know of.

[patio]

I suspect the PSU here...