IT WORKS....IT WORKS....IT WORKS!!!!
Whew!! got the machine to run, at last. the contact between the cpu and the heatsink turned out to be the culprit. just took out the heatsink/fan, re-applied some thermal compound and put it back in. Voila! everything's fine with the world again!!
Cheers !!
Rony.
-- http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/listinfo/linuxers

