slow system, even in POST

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I am trying to figure out a problem with my desktop -
even durring POST and CMOS Setup, it is running excruciatingly slow. I have an AMD Athalon 64x2 with 2GB RAM. I have tried pulling the hard drives, cd roms, all usb devices except keyboard, all cards except the video, tested the memory, and can't figure this out. Any ideas?

hello kc8ufv,

some questions, what operating system is it using (windows version)

have you done an antivirus scan, check for spyware/adware if its a windows, have you done any microsoft updates??

was anything downlaoded or installed the last time it worked??


please answer back

Slow in POST not OS ....
I would suggest swapping the memory to another channel, if you have two modules, use one.
How old is the mother board?
Did you buy it second-hand or from new?
Has it always been slow or has it occurred over time? (could be a failing oscillator)
Have you done anything before it started to slow down?

I would try unplugging all leads except for power. (I just bridge mine)
Board, power, CPU+Heatsink, keyboard and video are the minimum (+memory)

All you need is just a basic set up to trial out the POST.

I have tried various combinations of the memory, and checked the modules in another. The system board, processor, power supply, and ram were all obtained new, though they are about 2 years old. I did previously have some thermal issues, and got everything except the mouse on the system working with SLAMD64 a couple months ago, with a new power supply. (Power supplies are replaced regularly around here, seems to be a high failure item, regardless the quality. Lots of transients on the lines, I guess. Prior to my resolving the power issues, the computer had been down for about 6mos to 1 yr, due to my lack of time to work on it. I see no signs of leaky caps on the system board, and to avoid moisture problems, I always leave a packet of silica gel in the case. (sometimes gets humid around here)

what do you see in BIOS?

Could be a dust issue.

the missing information is the actual motherboard?

System board is an MSI K9M4 Ultra. I have paired AData performance memory in it.

Check the board... it could be going bad. If you have an OS that can tell you, check stuff like FSB speed and ram speed. Bad boards sometimes clock those down to save themselves.