Erratic boot

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rhema2005
  • Start date Start date
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Rhema2005

I'm running WinXP Pro Ver. 2002 SP2.

Recently when booting, the system "takes an awful long time" to get running
(the three bars in blue WinXP seem to run forever. Frequently the system
symply restarts on its own. Even running on "save mode" only once-in-a-while
get the system started properly. Other times, I simply let it run (restarting
itself a few times) then eventually, it get going. Weird, frustrating but
true.

Anyone with a super idea?

Thanks.

Peter
 
Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in the
System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports please.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using copy
and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no further
information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rhema2005" <Rhema2005@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3B65A040-0ED2-4B78-B0C5-00F83C168523@microsoft.com...
> I'm running WinXP Pro Ver. 2002 SP2.
>
> Recently when booting, the system "takes an awful long time" to get
> running
> (the three bars in blue WinXP seem to run forever. Frequently the
> system
> symply restarts on its own. Even running on "save mode" only
> once-in-a-while
> get the system started properly. Other times, I simply let it run
> (restarting
> itself a few times) then eventually, it get going. Weird, frustrating
> but
> true.
>
> Anyone with a super idea?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Peter
 
"Rhema2005" <Rhema2005@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
> I'm running WinXP Pro Ver. 2002 SP2.
>
> Recently when booting, the system "takes an awful long time" to get
> running
> (the three bars in blue WinXP seem to run forever. Frequently the system
> symply restarts on its own. Even running on "save mode" only
> once-in-a-while
> get the system started properly. Other times, I simply let it run
> (restarting
> itself a few times) then eventually, it get going. Weird, frustrating but
> true.
>
> Anyone with a super idea?

In addition to Gerry's post, and checking the event viewer for errors might
give you some clues, it could be any number of problems, including both
hardware and software. I could be a power problem, or a problem with the
hard drive, or a device driver.

Here is a link with info some tips on troubleshooting startup problems:
Resources for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308041/en-us

Make sure you have at all times a full and complete backup of important
data. I recommend you get a drive imaging program such as Acronis True
Image version 10, and image the system to an external hard drive. This is a
very useful tool for backup and recovery. If the problems are due to
failing hardware an image can be restored to new hardware and you're back
running, which avoids a clean install of the OS and all apps.

Download a hard drive diagnostic utility from the hard drive manufacturer's
web site. That will create a bootable floppy or CD. Boot from that and run
the diagnostics on the drive.

I suggest you also test the memory. Download and run at least two of these
memory diagnostic routines. Let each one run for about 24hrs, not just a
single pass. These will run from a bootable CD.

Memtest86+
http://www.memtest.org/

Windows Memory Diagnostic
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

DocMemory Memory Diagnostic
http://www.simmtester.com/page/products/doc/download.asp

Here is a link with tips on troubleshooting hardware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Good luck.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]
 
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