| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Troubleshooting boot failure
#307271 - 04/14/13 06:48 AM
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A few months ago, my PC decided started hanging on startup. The hang only happens on a cold boot, restarting or even a shutdown and immediate restart works 100% of the time. About 90% of the time, it hangs during the Win7 "Starting Windows" animation. Rarely it will either boot successfully, or it will bluescreen. Bluescreen messages seem to be random, and don't seem to point to anything specific. On very rare occasions, I can see graphic glitches in the Windows animation, just before it bluescreens or hangs.
I don't have the time, money, or patience to start swapping out components randomly until the problem goes away, so I'm curious to hear suggestions as to what the most likely bad component is and/or ways to test. I've already run several passes of MemTest86 without error, so RAM doesn't seem to be a problem. My next thought is power supply? Could it be the voltages are sagging when it's started cold? Is there a way to test this without specialized equipment?
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| Sune |
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Connected
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Reged: 09/21/03
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Loc: Lagoa Santa, Brasil
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Re: Troubleshooting boot failure
[Re: DMala]
#307277 - 04/14/13 03:41 PM
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> A few months ago, my PC decided started hanging on startup. The hang only happens on
> a cold boot, restarting or even a shutdown and immediate restart works 100% of the
> time. About 90% of the time, it hangs during the Win7 "Starting Windows" animation.
> Rarely it will either boot successfully, or it will bluescreen. Bluescreen messages
> seem to be random, and don't seem to point to anything specific. On very rare
> occasions, I can see graphic glitches in the Windows animation, just before it
> bluescreens or hangs.
>
> I don't have the time, money, or patience to start swapping out components randomly
> until the problem goes away, so I'm curious to hear suggestions as to what the most
> likely bad component is and/or ways to test. I've already run several passes of
> MemTest86 without error, so RAM doesn't seem to be a problem. My next thought is
> power supply? Could it be the voltages are sagging when it's started cold? Is there a
> way to test this without specialized equipment?
Check voltages in the hardware monitoring section of your BIOS.
Maybe its your video card?
To rule out a software issue, boot something else (anything, for example a Linux live CD/DVD) does it freeze then? Also try booting cold to Windows safe mode.
S
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| B2K24 |
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MAME @ 15 kHz Sony Trinitron CRT user
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Reged: 10/25/10
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Re: Troubleshooting boot failure
[Re: DMala]
#307286 - 04/14/13 06:15 PM
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Steps I would take
backup all important data
Format C:\
reinstall the O/S
although, it could be a screwy setting in BIOS, but probably unlikely.
You could see if an update is available to flash
before doing that reset everything to default in BIOS and save.
Do the above and if you still see some problems then it would be time to start ruling out hardware individually.
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Stiletto |
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They're always after me Lucky ROMS!
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Re: Troubleshooting boot failure
[Re: B2K24]
#307287 - 04/14/13 07:14 PM
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> Steps I would take
>
> backup all important data
> Format C:\
> reinstall the O/S
>
> although, it could be a screwy setting in BIOS, but probably unlikely.
>
> You could see if an update is available to flash
> before doing that reset everything to default in BIOS and save.
>
> Do the above and if you still see some problems then it would be time to start ruling
> out hardware individually.
Um, no. What about what he said made you think of a software issue? Anyhow, do what Sune said instead.
- Stiletto
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| B2K24 |
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MAME @ 15 kHz Sony Trinitron CRT user
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Re: Troubleshooting boot failure
[Re: Stiletto]
#307288 - 04/14/13 07:42 PM
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> Um, no. What about what he said made you think of a software issue?
I think it's because of the inconsistencies in BSOD error messages and the fact his problem isn't specific but jumps around all over the place. (points to possible boot file corruption or other things)
When troubleshooting, you start with the easiest things to rule out first. For most people backing up all important data and doing a complete O/S reinstall is easier than playing in the BIOS and running diagnostic software on their hardware they may not be familiar with.
If it were me I would backup data, reset BIOS to default values changing boot device to your O/S image/disc, then format C:\ doing a complete reinstall.
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| italie |
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MAME owes italie many thank yous, hah
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Re: Troubleshooting boot failure
[Re: Sune]
#307295 - 04/15/13 01:43 AM
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> Check voltages in the hardware monitoring section of your BIOS.
Or from a power connector (4 pin)when running.
>
> Maybe its your video card?
>
Scour the motherboard and or video card for bulging capacitors... especially if the PC is a Dell, or a compact casing.
Also check to ensure your CPU fan is spinning freely.
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Re: Troubleshooting boot failure
[Re: DMala]
#307915 - 04/27/13 10:36 PM
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Memtest can only check a limited set of problems where ram is involved.
If you see graphics problems ... ram can be involved, but also the video card, power supply, motherboard chipset.
Try to lower the cpu/fsb frequency in the bios.
And if all else fails try to turn on the computer with only one ram stick on the motherboard.
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