Startup Problems

[Leon Roskilly]

It used to happen very occasionally, but practically everytime I boot up from a cold start now.

 

(perhaps something to do with opening up the box to change the fan in the PSU?)

 

On power up, it auto powers down.

 

Sometimes within a second or so, sometimes a bit longer into the Windows startup.

 

It usually takes 2 or 3 attempts before I'm up and running.

 

(Funnily enough I had this problem with my old computer in the later part of it's life).

 

Is this a sign that I should start thinking about replacing the computer (around 4 years old), with a newer flashier Vista box?

 

Should I just ignore the problem until one day it fails to boot at all?

 

Or should I drop it into PC World for a health check?

[chesters1]

sounds like a bios problem or a component thats not quite seated in its slot or a sluggish drive,check all the cards by removing them (leave mains lead plugged in but switched off at wall socket) and reseating them and also check all the cables to make sure they are firmly in.

putting a new fan in wont have effected anything but overheating may have occurred before you realised it had seized and the heat may have caused dry joints in the psu.

as for replacing it 4 years is a long time in gaming circles but for general word processing or browsing its fine.

(if you need a excuse to upgrade it for your mrs's benifit its a lump of tat )

if your pc came with auto updating software for your bios then run it.

check also the cpu fan is running ,cpu's overheat very quickly and there maybe a bios feature to shutdown the pc if the temp is to great or the fan isnt running ,a stiff cpu fan may take a couple of starts to get it going .

 

check that on boot the correct CPU and speed is displayed occasionally mine gets confused and creates strange boot problems .rebooting cures it or it hesitates for a F1 to continue

not sure if your into delving into the bios setup though.

 

if it boots ok into safe mode every time there maybe a corrupted driver ,if windows encounters it it will ignore it the second time it warm boots but re-find it after switch off.

a look in device manager for yellow exclamation marks may reveal a device with problems but it maybe a windows program itself thats being naughty.

running XXXXX (newt knows what its called i keep forgetting) restores corrupted wondows files from the CD.

or as a last resort installing windows from within windows can work wonders restoring corrupted bits.

 

unfortunately fault finding a wounded pc is far harder than fixing a dead one

Edited July 12, 2007 by chesters1

[Peter Sharpe]

Or should I drop it into PC World for a health check?

 

Are you mad?

[peterpikefisher]

this type of fault is very like your CPU is on the way out

however try the following first.

 

1 /open PC and using an air duster clean inside your box especially near the CPU

this should help.

 

2/ run a reg fix program correct any anomaly's that are shown.

 

 

this should help..

 

do not let PC Wan**rs Near you PC there as much use as a fart in a space suit.

[Leon Roskilly]

Cheers Guys,

 

Looks like a trip down to PC World then (LOL!)

 

I thought that it migh be an electrical problem, with the electrical loading as the various devices power up, but strangely, once the PC is running, when I put it into sleep mode and everything power down, there is no problem at all when I press the button to fire it up again.

 

It's only when Windows is loading up initially that the problem occurs (there's a 'click' at the back and the power goes).

 

I could better understand if the auto power-down occurs at the same point on each cold start, but it sometimes happens immediately, sometimes it runs awhile before deciding to turn off.

 

A few attempts and it eventually comes up (sometimes with windows 'complaining about the previous unsuccessful starts, and inviting me to change some parameters, which I leave well alone).

 

Once I'm at the Windows Log In screen, I know that I'm on my way.

 

Is it a 'warm up' problem, I wonder.

 

(Seems to have caught my son's difficulties of starting up in the morning, but once he's out of bed he's fine for the rest of the day)

 

ps I gave the insides a good dusting and vacuuming (careful not to actually touch anything electronic) when I changed the fan in the PSU.

 

I also checked that all the other fans were working OK

 

I downloaded and tried to run CCLEANER (http://ccleaner.com/) , but that crashed!

Edited July 14, 2007 by Leon Roskilly

[Chris Goddard]

Sounds to me like an electrical connection Leon?? Perhaps something with the new PSU?? Are you getting any 'BLEEPS' or is it just a 'CLICK'??

[Leon Roskilly]

Sounds to me like an electrical connection Leon?? Perhaps something with the new PSU?? Are you getting any 'BLEEPS' or is it just a 'CLICK'??

 

 

Just a click, but you get the click when it turns off normally.

[Chris Goddard]

Hence why I think it is the PSU Leon!! Sounds to me like a Bi-Metallic strip used for overheating purposes like a relay. A cheap sort of thermostat?

Was the PSU you fitted new?

 

Having said that!!! Have you moved your MEMORY at all?, NO LEON not your head!! The RAM memory on the MOBO? Getting a report this could cause the problem?

Edited July 14, 2007 by Chris Goddard

[Leon Roskilly]

Hence why I think it is the PSU Leon!! Sounds to me like a Bi-Metallic strip used for overheating purposes like a relay. A cheap sort of thermostat?

Was the PSU you fitted new?

 

Having said that!!! Have you moved your MEMORY at all?, NO LEON not your head!! The RAM memory on the MOBO? Getting a report this could cause the problem?

 

 

Hi Chris,

 

No I just changed the fan in the PSU, which had probably been dead for a fews weeks, so it wouldn't surprise me if something there had got overcooked.

 

No, I've not touched the RAM.

 

I guess that if the problem doesn't get worse, I can live with it, and if it fails altogether, that's when I might take it along to a nearby PC repair shop (no not PC world, one of those tiny shops buried away from sight, that's been going for a number of years now, so they must be doing something right), and get them to check if a new PSU solves the problem, or to see if it can be revived at reasonable cost.

 

Otherwise it's a new superfast PC with mega ram, HUGE disc capacity, and a DVD rewriter etc !!

[chesters1]

Otherwise it's a new superfast PC with mega ram, HUGE disc capacity, and a DVD rewriter etc !! smile.gif

 

that would definately cure it .but before you do back up everything (mail ,cookies,passwords etc)and run windows files and settings transfer dooda (make sure you have the vista compatible patch) to make it less painfull ,and ofcourse if your nearly dead pc is faster than my XP2600+ i can arrange burial for the mobo and CPU

 

the "clicking" can be the monitor either resetting the refresh rate or switching off ,is it plugged in tight and does windows see the proper graphics card and monitor (and the bios "sees" which type of buss the card uses "first")

Edited July 14, 2007 by chesters1