Boot Failure System Halted

[Susanw]

My computer was on when a storm hit. The power went off for 30 seconds
and when it came back on my computer also came back on. I turned the
computer off but when I turned it on 30 minutes later I got this
message "boot failure system halted". I don't know what to do. I put
in the Windows XP installation disk but nothing happened. The
computer came with Windows ME but had a free upgrade to XP. Is there
something I can do or am I going to have to buy a new computer. This
one is 5 years old.

 

[Guest]

no, at worst case scenerio, maybe a new hard drive. it sounds like your disk
controller might have gone out or maybe the powersupply isn't powering up
your hard drive, since you were able to use your computer for a short while
after the event.

see if your cmos may need some help from you in looking for the harddrive.
if there is a harddrive found in your cmos, then we know the problem is not
with your bios. While you in cmos ensure that you cd drive is set as the boot
drive. Reboot and see if you have access to your hard drive. If not, insert
your windows cd and reboot and see if you can do a "repair" installation.
Select new install, point to your current installation and select repair when
asked. If this doesn't work then it could be the hard disk controller on the
motherboard or the power supply. However, I would gamble on the power supply
since the power interruption could have caused your powersupply to fail or
degrade. But this is only a presumption from being over the internent and
not next to your hardware....

Powersupplies are cheap and easy to replace. Also, having a UPS,
uniterruptable power supply, helps alot in protecting your hardware and files
when your pc is on and lightening strikes or something....

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My computer was on when a storm hit. The power went off for 30
seconds and when it came back on my computer also came back on. I
turned the computer off but when I turned it on 30 minutes later I
got this message "boot failure system halted". I don't know what to
do. I put in the Windows XP installation disk but nothing happened.
The computer came with Windows ME but had a free upgrade to XP. Is
there something I can do or am I going to have to buy a new computer.
This one is 5 years old.

This isn't a Windows issue. Almost certainly you have damaged hardware as a
result of the storm. I can't tell from here exactly what happened or how
much damage you've had, so I can't tell you whether it's a simple as
replacing an inexpensive part or you need to buy a new computer.

You should take the computer to a computer service shop for diagnosis.
However if the computer is five years old, it probably is very slow compared
to today's models and is probably worth very little. It may not make any
sense to invest money in fixing it, and you might be better off just buying
a new one.

For the future, it's always prudent to turn off and unplug the computer and
the internet connection whenever there are nearby electrical storms.