Cold start hangs but restarts are OK

[TheSurgeon]

Hi,
I am using XP Professional with SP2. There is a strange behaviour at
startup. After a long period of inactivity (for example owernight) with the
PC shut down, I have problems with cold start. The system boots-up and the
password entry screen comes up normally. After selecting the user and
entering the password, the desktop appears and startup programs begin to
load. At some point the system hangs. I can only access the task manager.
1- If I press the RESET button on the PC, the system reboots without any
problems.
2- If I press Ctrl - Alt - Del and open the task manager, then select
restart, the system reboots without any problems.
3- If I shut down explorer.exe and start another one, the system runs
without problems.

I think, explorer.exe is hanging at some point. But where? And why not after
a restart?
Any ideas?
Thank you...

Sumer Yamaner

 

[C. A. Upsdell]

Hi,
I am using XP Professional with SP2. There is a strange behaviour at
startup. After a long period of inactivity (for example owernight) with
the PC shut down, I have problems with cold start. The system boots-up and
the password entry screen comes up normally. After selecting the user and
entering the password, the desktop appears and startup programs begin to
load. At some point the system hangs. I can only access the task manager.
1- If I press the RESET button on the PC, the system reboots without any
problems.
2- If I press Ctrl - Alt - Del and open the task manager, then select
restart, the system reboots without any problems.
3- If I shut down explorer.exe and start another one, the system runs
without problems.

Could be a heat creep problem. Open up your chassis and make sure that all
daughter cards, cables, and non-soldered chips (like RAMs) are plugged in
firmly.

 

[TheSurgeon]

Could be a heat creep problem. Open up your chassis and make sure that
all daughter cards, cables, and non-soldered chips (like RAMs) are plugged
in firmly.

The case is always open. CPU, motherboard and HDD are being monitored
continuously for temperature changes. In fact, if it were a temperature
problem, it shouldn't occur when the system is cold.

 

[Testy]

Most likely a weak or failing power supply.

Testy

 

[C. A. Upsdell]

The case is always open. CPU, motherboard and HDD are being monitored
continuously for temperature changes. In fact, if it were a temperature
problem, it shouldn't occur when the system is cold.

It can happen. With heat creep, connections are pushed apart over time.
The result can be that, if the system is cold, a contact fails: but when
the system warms up, the metal in the connection expands and makes a good
connection.

 

[TheSurgeon]

It can happen. With heat creep, connections are pushed apart over time.
The result can be that, if the system is cold, a contact fails: but when
the system warms up, the metal in the connection expands and makes a good
connection.

OK. First of all, I will take the PCI cards and memory modules apart and
reinstall the hardware.

 

[Jerry]

In a way you are lucky it will boot. I have a very similar problem, but
after being shutdown over night, when I start the pc, it goes no where.
After several restarts, it will finally boot up and is fine. I have
replaced the power supply and the battery, to no avail. I have also done a
through inspection with a magnifying glass and nothing visible shows. To
fix the problem the only solution is to replace the MB. Finding a MB that
will use my RAM and cpu is real hassle.
Good luck to you

 

[Guest]

I have a similar problem. On my 3 year old computer, after adding a new
video card (Radeon 9600) and up grading to XP, my computer began to freeze
just as desktop was about to finish loading. I press the reset button and
the whole boot procedure goes through to desktop without a problem. My
computer will run all day without a problem but any restart or cold boot will
freeze the computer before desktop finishs loading.
Athlon 1.4 gighz, 512 meg SDRAM, 40 GB Maxtor, Radeon 9600, XP SP1. I
suspect it's a hardware/power supply problem but cannot find a solution.
What is the difference between hitting the ON/OFF button and initiating a
cold start and pressing the reset which I assume interupts the power briefly ?

 

[Guest]

I have exactly the same problem and have not come across any solution. Did
you ever get your problem fixed? If so please, please tell me how