intermittent boot failure

[Guest]

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]

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

 

[Malke]

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

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

 

[Rock]

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.