Startup stutter

[Guest]

During start up with Vista Home Premium, the monitor hangs with a flashing
cursor in the top left corner as though in the command window. Then, if I
reboot a normal startup occurs.

I have checked startup programs, eliminating all but the essentials and
restoring them in groups of three. There has been no sign of the problem at
any stage of that process. Thus, it is as though something has been left
there during the last time the computer was used.

I have tried turning off the power switch for the computer after shut down,
just in case. This does not change things.

Does anyone have any thoughts to add to my blasphemous ones?

 

[Meinolf Weber]

Hello Barrie,

Check the boot options for the drives in BIOS. Is it set to harddisk?

Best regards

Meinolf Weber
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.

 

[pinp1986]

Is there a printer hooked up? I had the cursor on the top left and it
wouldn't boot. Had to unplug the printer and reboot

 

[Guest]

No, it is set to one of the optical drives first and then the boot drive. In
the absence of a boot disk in the ROM drive it should surely be OK. Also, if
that was the problem, would the re-boot not be equally vulnerable?

 

[Guest]

Certainly there is a printer hooked up but it was ever thus. i.e. this is a
new event with the same hardware hookup. I am trying to distinguish between
the startup sequences in reboot and hard boot but cannot remember all the
differences.

 

[Guest]

This is a reply to myself in the hope that it will ring a bell for someone.
The essential difference between pressing the restart button and doing a full
power down is that the latter turns all the attached hardware off, including
the spinning of the hard drives. I wonder if my boot drive (which is only a
few months old) is having trouble starting up?

 

[La Poste]

Greeting from (old) Europe as your old Rummy used to say...
It seems to me, from previous readings and browsing on the web, that this
flashing cursor gives you a short period of time to intervene in the startup
process, ie press the F2 or F8 or F4 key.
No room for blasphemous thoughts.
Relax, and take it easy with a glass of crispy, herbal tasting, cold French
Chardonnay
Best of luck.
Bill G. is not guilty for once!
JL

 

[Guest]

There is no "short period of time" about this. If I do nothing it stays
there blinking. Maybe I should try a few function keys but that does not
sound right to me?

Bonne chance!

 

[Guest]

I should have added that, as I live close to the Napa and Sonoma valleys, I
can sample our own chardonnays, some from vineyards that are French-owned.

 

[La Poste]

Cheers Barrie!

I should have added that, as I live close to the Napa and Sonoma valleys, I
can sample our own chardonnays, some from vineyards that are French-owned.