Startup stops,nothing works.

[RankAmatuer]

When starting up windows xp,the whole computer freezes when screen saver
shows or just after.Ctrl,alt del, won't work,large hourglass appears on
curser when put over bottom blue area of screen and nothing can be clicked
on.The light indicating the computer is processing something does not
flash,cooling fans are working.Computer can only be shut down by holding down
the off button,it is a laptop.By doing this severel times i can get the
computer to work,as it is now.Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[R. McCarty]

Power down the PC, remove the AC Plug from the power supply and leave
it sitting for 30 minutes. - Then retry a boot.

 

[SC Tom]

When starting up windows xp,the whole computer freezes when screen saver
shows or just after.Ctrl,alt del, won't work,large hourglass appears on
curser when put over bottom blue area of screen and nothing can be clicked
on.The light indicating the computer is processing something does not
flash,cooling fans are working.Computer can only be shut down by holding
down
the off button,it is a laptop.By doing this severel times i can get the
computer to work,as it is now.Any ideas would be appreciated.

What type and how old a laptop?
Check your vent areas and make sure they are clear of dust, pet hair, etc.
It there are removable covers over the CPU area, remove it and make sure the
fan and heatsink are clean and clear of dust, pet hair, etc. It might
possibly be a heat problem.

SC Tom

 

[Mark Adams]

When starting up windows xp,the whole computer freezes when screen saver
shows or just after.Ctrl,alt del, won't work,large hourglass appears on
curser when put over bottom blue area of screen and nothing can be clicked
on.The light indicating the computer is processing something does not
flash,cooling fans are working.Computer can only be shut down by holding down
the off button,it is a laptop.By doing this severel times i can get the
computer to work,as it is now.Any ideas would be appreciated.

Does it start normally in Safe Mode? If it does, one of your installed
applications is probably hanging it up during normal startup. Click Start,
Run and enter in the box "msconfig" without the quotes to bring up the
Diagnostic Utility. Click the Diagnostic Startup button and restart the
computer. Reopen the utility and click the "Startup" tab. Check the boxes on
the various entries one at a time and restart the computer each time until
you find the application that hangs the startup, then you'll know which
application to investigate.

 

[Bob I]

Does it really take 30 minutes for the ROM's to clear?

ROM is Read Only Memory, you hope it never clears.