pc boot prob diagnosis

[zoodemon]

hi my pc has started failing on boot up, not always at the same spot. the fans wir up, not always sounding to steady or typical, and then sometimes it turns off before getting to windows password, sometimes after, and also sometimes after failed startup notification page (where it gives boot up options).

i have to switch it off at the plug and then start over, possibly up to 5 times before it will boot. once into windows it is fine and never crashes, seems quite stable.

i've had a look in event viewer, it doesn't say what process isn't starting, i'm just trying to work out from what it does say is working. today for instance, the first two event logs are 1) uniprocessor free then 2) event log started, then they're repeated because it had crashed at that stage. if the fault is not showing up here, where else could i find out what it is? thanks

i'm using windows xp sp2

 

[muckshifter]

welcome to the forums ...

Sounds to me as though you have some hardware failing.

 

[JaLing]

the fans wir up, not always sounding to steady or typical, and then sometimes it turns off before getting to windows password, sometimes after, and also sometimes after failed startup notification page

Your first port of call is as you mentioned... the fans don't sound normal.
Bearing based fans get clogged and stop spinning at the appropriate speed, the heatsink gets hot and then crash / restart / shutdown, depending on the bios options set.

Try checking the fans for dust etc and check the cpu temp in the bios, leaving the system running whilst in the bios wont stretch the cpu but should allow you to see the temp rise.

Some people recommend cleaning the fans via air etc but my personal opinion is to replace them as you'll just have the same issue later and next time it could end up cooking your cpu.

Post back if it's not the fans and we'll troubleshoot further.

You can to me now

 

[zoodemon]

bios temp in windows?

Try checking the fans for dust etc and check the cpu temp in the bios, leaving the system running whilst in the bios wont stretch the cpu but should allow you to see the temp rise.

hi sorry i'm not that clued up. can i read the cpu temp while in windows xp or do you mean somewhere in the boot setup- before windows boots? is the cpu under more strain during boot up than workload? i could d/l a cpu core monitor like a had before, but like i say it seems fine in running, games and all.

i do agree it seems like a hardware failure, the mobo is about 7 years old now and the caps look a bit iffy. anyway i should still try and find the fault rather than throwing money at a new mobo, which i'm going to struggle to find that will fit my system anyway.

 

[JaLing]

U didn't say.... u said that it crashes at random points during startup.....anyways.

When you first turn the comp on, you get your post checks. This is when the RAM count happens, it checks the cpu, k/b etc. During this point you can enter the bios... if your computer is a brain then this is the hypafalamous (however you spell it), it controls the most basic but essiential operations of the computer and in here you can monitor the temps without mis-reported errors as some programs do.

To enter you usually press.....
Delete
but it depends upon the system.

 

[zoodemon]

well temps seemed ok. i had it crash once while in boot up, i could see the clock speed at overclocked 1600 then it beeped and reset and said cmos/gpnv checksum bad and everything reset to old dates and settings before finally switching off.

i put a new battery in the mobo a while back but it made no difference to losing the cmos settings, so must be something else. the cutting out on startup is a real problem now.