Intermittently, XP will not boot, about 1 in every 6 or 7 trys. This
started after I installed SP2. I am shown the menu to enter into the BIOS but
that is all I see on the screen. XP won't even start to boot and the computer
justs locks up completely. I have to pull the plug out of the wall socket.
After a minute, I plug back into the power and it will boot and I choose
"last good boot" or something similar and every thing will be fine for
another 6 or 7 boot ups. Anyone have any ideas. I can live with this but it
is annoying. Thank you

Have a look in your BIOS for an option like "Quickboot mode" where certain
POST tests
are skipped. If that is enabled, disable it and retry.


Jon


"Nancy Snyder" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:663BF666-4DCA-4966-B5D9-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Intermittently, XP will not boot, about 1 in every 6 or 7 trys. This
> started after I installed SP2. I am shown the menu to enter into the BIOS
> but
> that is all I see on the screen. XP won't even start to boot and the
> computer
> justs locks up completely. I have to pull the plug out of the wall socket.
> After a minute, I plug back into the power and it will boot and I choose
> "last good boot" or something similar and every thing will be fine for
> another 6 or 7 boot ups. Anyone have any ideas. I can live with this but
> it
> is annoying. Thank you
>

Jon wrote:

> Have a look in your BIOS for an option like "Quickboot mode" where
> certain POST tests
> are skipped. If that is enabled, disable it and retry.
>
>
> Jon
>
>
> "Nancy Snyder" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> message news:663BF666-4DCA-4966-B5D9-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Intermittently, XP will not boot, about 1 in every 6 or 7 trys.
>> This
>> started after I installed SP2. I am shown the menu to enter into the
>> BIOS but
>> that is all I see on the screen. XP won't even start to boot and the
>> computer
>> justs locks up completely. I have to pull the plug out of the wall
>> socket. After a minute, I plug back into the power and it will boot
>> and I choose "last good boot" or something similar and every thing
>> will be fine for another 6 or 7 boot ups. Anyone have any ideas. I
>> can live with this but it
>> is annoying. Thank you
>>
The option for "Quickboot" will not be involved in causing this problem.
This sounds like a classic case of the power supply failing or other
hardware problems. Here are general hardware troubleshooting steps:

1) open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing); 2) test
the RAM - I like Memtest86 from www.memtest86.com - let the test run
for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately; 3) test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from
the mftr.; 4) the power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for
the devices you have in the system; 5) test the motherboard with
something like TuffTest from www.tufftest.com. Testing hardware
failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good
parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable
opening your computer, take the machine to a good local computer repair
shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).

I would start with checking the possibility of overheating and the power
supply first.

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"

Nancy Snyder wrote:
> Intermittently, XP will not boot, about 1 in every 6 or 7 trys. This
> started after I installed SP2. I am shown the menu to enter into the BIOS but
> that is all I see on the screen. XP won't even start to boot and the computer
> justs locks up completely. I have to pull the plug out of the wall socket.
> After a minute, I plug back into the power and it will boot and I choose
> "last good boot" or something similar and every thing will be fine for
> another 6 or 7 boot ups. Anyone have any ideas. I can live with this but it
> is annoying. Thank you
>

Could be a failing power supply unit.