Leaving my Windows HP home ed PC overnight , and it does not start up at

all. It hangs at the point I would be expecting the splash screen to appear,

with a blank black screen , and no sign of hard drive activity- the fan

stays at full speed so there may be some processor activity.

Press the 'off' button, and it goes to 'off' as expected after 4 or 5

seconds.

Now press the off-on a second time and it burst into life offering the 'safe

mode' options. Chose Safe mode and its starts and suns normally. From Safe

Mode, select shut down, restart and it starts and then behaves perfectly.

I have checked the device manager looking for errors and there are none, I

have run the antivirus , trojan etc software.

The setup is Windows XP home 2002 service pack 2 with a pentium 4 CPU 3.4GhZ

with 2GB of RAM

I have run SFC , and tried registryfix letting it correct any errors. it

still behaves the same so I have restored to the previous 'good' point. I

have restored back as far as I can.

I have not suffered virus attacks, or added any software or hardware ( that

comes to mind) that my caused any problem.

Any offers what may be wrong or how to diagnose it.

"Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:trJii.17303$p8.11572@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

> Leaving my Windows HP home ed PC overnight , and it does not start up at

> all. It hangs at the point I would be expecting the splash screen to

> appear, with a blank black screen , and no sign of hard drive activity-

> the fan stays at full speed so there may be some processor activity.

> Press the 'off' button, and it goes to 'off' as expected after 4 or 5

> seconds.

> Now press the off-on a second time and it burst into life offering the

> 'safe mode' options. Chose Safe mode and its starts and suns normally.

> From Safe Mode, select shut down, restart and it starts and then behaves

> perfectly.

> I have checked the device manager looking for errors and there are none, I

> have run the antivirus , trojan etc software.

> The setup is Windows XP home 2002 service pack 2 with a pentium 4 CPU

> 3.4GhZ with 2GB of RAM

> I have run SFC , and tried registryfix letting it correct any errors. it

> still behaves the same so I have restored to the previous 'good' point. I

> have restored back as far as I can.

> I have not suffered virus attacks, or added any software or hardware (

> that comes to mind) that my caused any problem.

> Any offers what may be wrong or how to diagnose it.

>

This sounds like a possible hardware issue.

I'm guessing here, based on the symptoms you describe, but I've seen this

when the PSU (power supply) is marginal or failing. By marginal, I mean just

enough to run your PC, but not enough to supply the needed current for a

cold start. These symptoms can appear inconsistently.

I have had two different PC's that exhibited your symptoms, and a better PSU

cured both.

To determine if I'm on the right track, ask yourself the following:

Is your PC from a major mfg, such as Dell, Gateway, HP, etc.? If so, the

supplied PSU is probably the bare minimum for the factory configuration. You

also need to check with the mfg to be sure a standard ATX PSU can be

installed in their PC.

How old is the computer and is the PSU a known quality brand or just

something that came with the case.

Most PSU's have a sticker on the side that show the wattage ratings for the

various voltages (+12v, +5v are the most important). What are they?

Since acquiring the computer, what hardware devices have you changed or

added?

Finally, PSU's can degrade over time, so if your PSU was just good enough

for the original PC configuration when new, and/or you have changed the

configuration to use more power, your PSU could be the culprit.

Unfortunately, the only way to test this theory is to acquire a new PSU,

known to have more than adequate capacity, install it and see if the boot

problem goes away.

Without knowing the details of all your hardware, it's impossible to make

specific PSU capacity recommendations.

i think the program

below will be of help.

 

install it to run

at each boot time:

 

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/FileAndDisk/PageDefrag.mspx

 

 

--

 

db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.

><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

 

 

..

 

 

"Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:trJii.17303$p8.11572@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

> Leaving my Windows HP home ed PC overnight , and it does not start up

> at all. It hangs at the point I would be expecting the splash screen

> to appear, with a blank black screen , and no sign of hard drive

> activity- the fan stays at full speed so there may be some processor

> activity.

> Press the 'off' button, and it goes to 'off' as expected after 4 or 5

> seconds.

> Now press the off-on a second time and it burst into life offering the

> 'safe mode' options. Chose Safe mode and its starts and suns normally.

> From Safe Mode, select shut down, restart and it starts and then

> behaves perfectly.

> I have checked the device manager looking for errors and there are

> none, I have run the antivirus , trojan etc software.

> The setup is Windows XP home 2002 service pack 2 with a pentium 4 CPU

> 3.4GhZ with 2GB of RAM

> I have run SFC , and tried registryfix letting it correct any errors.

> it still behaves the same so I have restored to the previous 'good'

> point. I have restored back as far as I can.

> I have not suffered virus attacks, or added any software or hardware

> ( that comes to mind) that my caused any problem.

> Any offers what may be wrong or how to diagnose it.

>

Thanks guys for the two replies... The hardware is about 3 years old now,

and the only thing added has been an external USB hard drive- self powered,

but I did wonder about PSU failing slowly. I also thought 3 years old, hard

drive begining to fail, so I downloaded harddisc monitor or something

similar to that and ran that a few times...it showed no failures and 100%

good drive.

Ive downloaded the defrag prog and I will install before closing tonight. I

will be back with some results of what it does in a couple of days.

Regards

And Thanks

" db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. ." <databaseben.public.newsgroup.microsoft.com>

wrote in message news:OphCfBlvHHA.4540@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>i think the program

> below will be of help.

>

> install it to run

> at each boot time:

>

> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/FileAndDisk/PageDefrag.mspx

>

>

> --

>

> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.

>><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

>

>

> .

>

>

> "Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

> news:trJii.17303$p8.11572@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

>> Leaving my Windows HP home ed PC overnight , and it does not start up at

>> all. It hangs at the point I would be expecting the splash screen to

>> appear, with a blank black screen , and no sign of hard drive activity-

>> the fan stays at full speed so there may be some processor activity.

>> Press the 'off' button, and it goes to 'off' as expected after 4 or 5

>> seconds.

>> Now press the off-on a second time and it burst into life offering the

>> 'safe mode' options. Chose Safe mode and its starts and suns normally.

>> From Safe Mode, select shut down, restart and it starts and then behaves

>> perfectly.

>> I have checked the device manager looking for errors and there are none,

>> I have run the antivirus , trojan etc software.

>> The setup is Windows XP home 2002 service pack 2 with a pentium 4 CPU

>> 3.4GhZ with 2GB of RAM

>> I have run SFC , and tried registryfix letting it correct any errors. it

>> still behaves the same so I have restored to the previous 'good' point. I

>> have restored back as far as I can.

>> I have not suffered virus attacks, or added any software or hardware (

>> that comes to mind) that my caused any problem.

>> Any offers what may be wrong or how to diagnose it.

>>

>

Kirk - If computer runs OK via Safe Mode but problematic in normal mode - a

driver is at fault.. Consider using the bootlog option on the F8 menu or a

selective startup via msconfig.

 

"Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:ELTii.17941$p8.5356@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

> Thanks guys for the two replies... The hardware is about 3 years old now,

> and the only thing added has been an external USB hard drive- self

> powered, but I did wonder about PSU failing slowly. I also thought 3 years

> old, hard drive begining to fail, so I downloaded harddisc monitor or

> something similar to that and ran that a few times...it showed no failures

> and 100% good drive.

> Ive downloaded the defrag prog and I will install before closing tonight.

> I will be back with some results of what it does in a couple of days.

> Regards

> And Thanks

> " db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. ." <databaseben.public.newsgroup.microsoft.com>

> wrote in message news:OphCfBlvHHA.4540@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>>i think the program

>> below will be of help.

>>

>> install it to run

>> at each boot time:

>>

>> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/FileAndDisk/PageDefrag.mspx

>>

>>

>> --

>>

>> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.

>>><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

>>

>>

>> .

>>

>>

>> "Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

>> news:trJii.17303$p8.11572@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

>>> Leaving my Windows HP home ed PC overnight , and it does not start up at

>>> all. It hangs at the point I would be expecting the splash screen to

>>> appear, with a blank black screen , and no sign of hard drive activity-

>>> the fan stays at full speed so there may be some processor activity.

>>> Press the 'off' button, and it goes to 'off' as expected after 4 or 5

>>> seconds.

>>> Now press the off-on a second time and it burst into life offering the

>>> 'safe mode' options. Chose Safe mode and its starts and suns normally.

>>> From Safe Mode, select shut down, restart and it starts and then behaves

>>> perfectly.

>>> I have checked the device manager looking for errors and there are none,

>>> I have run the antivirus , trojan etc software.

>>> The setup is Windows XP home 2002 service pack 2 with a pentium 4 CPU

>>> 3.4GhZ with 2GB of RAM

>>> I have run SFC , and tried registryfix letting it correct any errors. it

>>> still behaves the same so I have restored to the previous 'good' point.

>>> I have restored back as far as I can.

>>> I have not suffered virus attacks, or added any software or hardware (

>>> that comes to mind) that my caused any problem.

>>> Any offers what may be wrong or how to diagnose it.

>>>

>>

>

>

Thanks for that AJR, I will try that at the next start up. To the gent that

suggested pagedefrag, I have installed, it ran, and the screen locked after

defragging ( or should I say I didn't go any further) I have checked drivers

thru the Device manager and it doesnt show any problem driver.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

"AJR" <ajrjdr@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:OMC9RKpvHHA.4332@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> Kirk - If computer runs OK via Safe Mode but problematic in normal mode -

> a driver is at fault.. Consider using the bootlog option on the F8 menu or

> a selective startup via msconfig.

>

well,

 

as we know you are able

to start in safe mode and this

is a major clue.

 

therefore, something is installed

in normal mode that is causing

the issue and it could be a third

party driver or a third party process

as the other intuitive responders

suggest and the experts in the links

below.

 

there are several methods to

analyze what is causing the problem.

 

1) method is to turn on boot logging feature.

this will log the events into a text file as you

boot in normal mode and until it stalls.

then when you reboot into safemode,

you can review that log and see

where the boot encounters failure.

 

http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&q=boot+logging+

 

2) another method is to use the "clean boot"

method.

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

 

however, in addition to the instructions by the

experts at the above link here's a tip

from us users that you can try

first and before the above:

 

press and hold down the shift key

right after the o.s. boot menu and

hold it down until the desktop loads,

if it loads that is, as the shift key will

disable startups before loading

the desktop.

 

if you still have pagedefrag

installed, just keep the shift key held

down and don't release it even

during the defrag. release the key

after the desktop loads your

icons.

 

something to keep in mind that

even though we defragged your

hives, the program does not remove

corrupted keys from the registry,

that is if there are any and may be

a cause for the stall.

 

but we can help take this particular

issue that affects your particular

configuration, one step at a time.

 

 

 

--

 

db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.

><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

 

 

..

 

 

"Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:ad2ji.18133$p8.6379@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

> Thanks for that AJR, I will try that at the next start up. To the

> gent that suggested pagedefrag, I have installed, it ran, and the

> screen locked after defragging ( or should I say I didn't go any

> further) I have checked drivers thru the Device manager and it doesnt

> show any problem driver.

> Thanks for the suggestions guys.

>

> "AJR" <ajrjdr@comcast.net> wrote in message

> news:OMC9RKpvHHA.4332@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> Kirk - If computer runs OK via Safe Mode but problematic in normal

>> mode - a driver is at fault.. Consider using the bootlog option on

>> the F8 menu or a selective startup via msconfig.

>>

>

>

Re: Difficult to start XP normally

 

On Jul 5, 7:20 am, db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. .

<databaseben.public.newsgroup.microsoft.com> wrote:

> well,

>

> as we know you are able

> to start in safe mode and this

> is a major clue.

>

> therefore, something is installed

> in normal mode that is causing

> the issue and it could be a third

> party driver or a third party process

> as the other intuitive responders

> suggest and the experts in the links

> below.

>

> there are several methods to

> analyze what is causing the problem.

>

> 1) method is to turn on boot logging feature.

> this will log the events into a text file as you

> boot in normal mode and until it stalls.

> then when you reboot into safemode,

> you can review that log and see

> where the boot encounters failure.

>

> http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&q=bo...

>

> 2) another method is to use the "clean boot"

> method.

>

> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

>

> however, in addition to the instructions by the

> experts at the above link here's a tip

> from us users that you can try

> first and before the above:

>

> press and hold down the shift key

> right after the o.s. boot menu and

> hold it down until the desktop loads,

> if it loads that is, as the shift key will

> disable startups before loading

> the desktop.

>

> if you still have pagedefrag

> installed, just keep the shift key held

> down and don't release it even

> during the defrag. release the key

> after the desktop loads your

> icons.

>

> something to keep in mind that

> even though we defragged your

> hives, the program does not remove

> corrupted keys from the registry,

> that is if there are any and may be

> a cause for the stall.

>

> but we can help take this particular

> issue that affects your particular

> configuration, one step at a time.

>

> --

>

> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.

>

> ><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

>

> .

>

> "Kirk" <K...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

>

> news:ad2ji.18133$p8.6379@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

>

> > Thanks for that AJR, I will try that at the next start up. To the

> > gent that suggested pagedefrag, I have installed, it ran, and the

> > screen locked after defragging ( or should I say I didn't go any

> > further) I have checked drivers thru the Device manager and it doesnt

> > show any problem driver.

> > Thanks for the suggestions guys.

>

> > "AJR" <ajr...@comcast.net> wrote in message

> >news:OMC9RKpvHHA.4332@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> >> Kirk - If computer runs OK via Safe Mode but problematic in normal

> >> mode - a driver is at fault.. Consider using the bootlog option on

> >> the F8 menu or a selective startup via msconfig.

 

Seems to me that when you received the blank screen during bootup

something crashed and considering windows gave you the safe mode

option on the next startup it would seem that it was windows. You can

always go buy a power supply tester for 10 to 20 bucks and test the

power supply and make sure it does give the correct voltages. The

event logging though sounds like a good idea as it will tell you where

the error occurred. Troubleshooting is a step by step process. One

of the things I would suggest are these, 1) Under any circumstances if

your computer fails for some reason do NOT load any more software on,

especially third party, even though some may think it is a wonder app

you have just added another piece to the puzzle. If during the

troubleshooting process you have changed something, like added another

piece of software, if the problem is not fixed remove that software

immediately or put the switches back to where they were, if you have

messed with the motherboard. In other words if you try something and

it doesn't work go back to the original position before you try any

thing else. Good Luck.

dloj

Re: Difficult to start XP normally

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, but I am fast coming to the conclusion

it may be the PSU failling. Once the PC is started after going <power up>

<Lockup before splash screen> <reset via off on switch><safe mode><close

down/restart> <power up correctly> then any further shut downs , even power

off, then restart is normal... Not bothering to test PSU, as they are cheap,

so I'll be getting a new one from the computer fair nearby tomorrow.. Thanks

for the suggestions guys, much appreciated, if it still fails after , like

schwarzenneger , I'll be back...

Regards

Re: Difficult to start XP normally

 

ok

 

--

 

db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.

><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

 

 

..

 

 

"Kirk" <Kirk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:V8Tji.19919$p8.4332@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

> Thanks for all the suggestions guys, but I am fast coming to the

> conclusion it may be the PSU failling. Once the PC is started after

> going <power up> <Lockup before splash screen> <reset via off on

> switch><safe mode><close down/restart> <power up correctly> then any

> further shut downs , even power off, then restart is normal... Not

> bothering to test PSU, as they are cheap, so I'll be getting a new one

> from the computer fair nearby tomorrow.. Thanks for the suggestions

> guys, much appreciated, if it still fails after , like schwarzenneger

> , I'll be back...

> Regards

>