Weird computer probs....pls help

[styrty]

I just built my dad a cheap computer for him to use for e-mail. It's an Athlon 1700 XP with a 350 watt power supply and all the basics. It's running Windows XP and is not overclocked at all. Now when I first started the computer everything ran just fine. After I turned it off, however, and tried to turn it back on nothing would load. All the lights on the front of the case were on, but nothing was loading and the screen stayed black (no beeping or anything). The weird thing is, I figured how to make everything load. If I toggled the switch on the power supply on/off really quickly, then the computer would start up and everything would run fine (until I turned it off again, then the same problem would occur again when I tried to start it).

It gets even weirder. My old computer (which is in the same room as my dad's new computer) is a 750 mhz Duron with a 250 watt power supply and everything basic. After using it awhile and playing around with it by overclocking it I decided I would go back to basic 750 mhz speed. After that it would not start up. It was doing the exact same thing my dad's computer was doing. If I toggled the power on/off really fast I could make it come on and run fine. Other than that there is no other way to start my computer. Now, I'm fine with it this way. Doesn't bother me, but I know it will bother my dad. Telling him that if he wants to work on his computer he needs to do a certain trick to make it work is not an option. Does anyone have any idea what is going on and if so please, please help me.

 

[StraightPipe]

if it were my hardware I wouldnt be repeatedly surging it.

 

[styrty]

Yeah, I know it's not a good idea but it's on a 750 mhz and I only use it for e-mail. I have another computer for games and editing. I've actually been surging it for almost two years now and nothing has broken. If I knew another way to get it to boot without having to spend more money (since I don't really care about it that much) I would do it in a heartbeat. On my dad's new computer, however, I'm not going to be doing that. That's why I'm trying to figure out what the problem is.

 

[NorthernSink23]

Sometimes that happens when I underclock/overclock a little too much as well. You just need to clear your BIOS settings and let it reset the settings.

Disconnect all wires
Open your computer and disconnect the power supply from your motherboard (the big thick mess of wires that is rectangular and usually behind the CPU)
Sit for a moment or two and wait for excess discharge.
Connect motherboard wire first.
Connect power cable.

Hope it works for you.

 

[DaTT]

Originally posted by: abhatia
Sometimes that happens when I underclock/overclock a little too much as well. You just need to clear your BIOS settings and let it reset the settings.

Disconnect all wires
Open your computer and disconnect the power supply from your motherboard (the big thick mess of wires that is rectangular and usually behind the CPU)
Sit for a moment or two and wait for excess discharge.
Connect motherboard wire first.
Connect power cable.

Hope it works for you.

This will in no way clear your BIOS back to original state. There are three ways to to reset your BIOS:

1) Go into your BIOS and choose the LOAD DEFAULTS setting

2) Use the handy little "Clear BIOS" jumper on the motherboard somewhere

3) Remove the Lithium battery for about 15 minutes