Problem with motherboard? Multiple errors upon boot attempt

Question

Hey, so I don't really know much about what I'm doing, so I'll just lay out everything I know. I got this motherboard from a friend that moved into a house they bought so it may likely be toast, but I am trying to find help anyways. This is a Dell motherboard labeled E210882, and I have an Intel '03 Pentium 4 3.20 GHZ processor, with one stick of RAM, being PC3200 400 MHz and 256 MB. I don't have anything added onto the motherboard, other than a VGA cable from the built in port on the board to a monitor. When I press the power button, there is one beep, and the fans on the board come on. The monitor lights up and indicates that it's starting up, and it says it is a Dell Dimension 4600, but there is a message saying 'Previous attempts at booting have failed at checkpoint 'blank' '. The blank has said multiple things: 'Krst', 'TIME', and another I can't remember. After that, the computer shuts itself down. The only indicator that it still has power is a single green LED on the motherboard that stays lit as long as the switch on the power supply is toggled on. The total time from the time I press the the power button to the time it shuts off is about 10-12 seconds. If I try to boot it again immediately after it shuts down, it only stays on for about 5 seconds. If I do it again, it will stay on for a second, so on and so forth, The 4 error LEDs on the back of the motherboard don't stay on any particular code, they just flicker between green and orange. That's about all I know, I tried to exhaust everything I knew to explain as well as I could. I am completely lost on this, and when it comes to the actual physical parts inside a computer, I am no good. I appreciate any and all help on this matter!

somewhatrice · Answer

This is as good of a start as any. Seeing as how tomorrow is New Years Day, and getting a new battery for the CMOS may be more trouble to find when most stores are closed, I'll try that as soon as I can.

JOcean · Answer

That number you posted is not the part number of the motherboard. That is an industry regulatory number. The board could have been sitting around for some time. I would remove the CMOS battery (coin cell) and leave it out of the motherboard for 15 minutes (Intel recommends 30). Then do not put the old battery back in, rather install a new battery. And being this is a pieced together system any diagnosis is guesswork at best.

https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General-Read-Only/Error-Alert-Previous-attempts-at-booting-this-system-have-failed/td-p/3821075

somewhatrice · Answer

Alright, I put in a new battery and no change. The computer still shuts itself down after 10 seconds. :/

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