XP boots to blank screen with pointer only.

[Jumbo]

Dell 5150, XP Home+SP2 and all patches. Bug free as far as I can tell.
Avast, Ewido 4, Spybot etc.

About one in five times this computer boots up to a blank screen with only
the pointer. Reboot usually fixes it and everything is available as it
should be.

I have checked Google but am probably not asking the right question,

Startup items have been kept to a minimum and no wallpaper is used.

It's not life threatening or a major issue but I would dearly like to fix it
so that every bootup is successful.

TIA

Jumbo

Silver Surfer

 

[Malke]

Dell 5150, XP Home+SP2 and all patches. Bug free as far as I can tell.
Avast, Ewido 4, Spybot etc.

About one in five times this computer boots up to a blank screen with only
the pointer. Reboot usually fixes it and everything is available as it
should be.

I have checked Google but am probably not asking the right question,

Startup items have been kept to a minimum and no wallpaper is used.

It's not life threatening or a major issue but I would dearly like to fix
it so that every bootup is successful.

Since you mention the "pointer" I'm assuming that Windows actually boots but
you don't get the login screen (if using it) or the desktop. The computer
does find the operating system - it doesn't stop before Windows boots at a
black screen with blinking cursor?

You say "about one in five times" so it isn't one in five times exactly? The
reason I ask is that random failures like that are usually caused by dying
hardware. I would swap out your power supply for a known-working one and
see if that solves the issue. If it is a reproduceable exactly one in five
times issue, then you'd need to see if you have some software that is
periodically set to do something at startup.

Malke

 

[Jumbo]

Since you mention the "pointer" I'm assuming that Windows actually boots
but
you don't get the login screen (if using it) or the desktop. The computer
does find the operating system - it doesn't stop before Windows boots at a
black screen with blinking cursor?

You say "about one in five times" so it isn't one in five times exactly?
The
reason I ask is that random failures like that are usually caused by dying
hardware. I would swap out your power supply for a known-working one and
see if that solves the issue. If it is a reproduceable exactly one in five
times issue, then you'd need to see if you have some software that is
periodically set to do something at startup.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

Thank you Malke,

Yes it is random not regular and I do suspect a software item in the
start-up sequence but although I've used Winpatrol to check start-up items I
can't identify one that could cause XP to bootup but not load the tray,
start menu and icons.

There seem to be many more processes running than are listed in Winpatrol
although of course they are all listed in Task Manager, currently 46
processes including OE6, Firefox and Task Manager.

Jumbo

 

[Malke]

Yes it is random not regular and I do suspect a software item in the
start-up sequence but although I've used Winpatrol to check start-up items
I can't identify one that could cause XP to bootup but not load the tray,
start menu and icons.

There seem to be many more processes running than are listed in Winpatrol
although of course they are all listed in Task Manager, currently 46
processes including OE6, Firefox and Task Manager.

As I said, random indicates hardware, not software. So my first t-shooting
step would be to do as I suggested and swap out the power supply. This is
easy - you don't even need to remove the current power supply to test. Just
disconnect it and connect up a known-working psu on the outside of the
case.

If you want to examine startup processes, then do clean-boot
troubleshooting:

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Naturally, you will also want to know that the machine is virus/malware-free
although I would start with the hardware.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke

 

[Jumbo]

As I said, random indicates hardware, not software. So my first t-shooting
step would be to do as I suggested and swap out the power supply. This is
easy - you don't even need to remove the current power supply to test.
Just
disconnect it and connect up a known-working psu on the outside of the
case.

If you want to examine startup processes, then do clean-boot
troubleshooting:

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Naturally, you will also want to know that the machine is
virus/malware-free
although I would start with the hardware.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

Thank you Malke this response is very helpful.

Jumbo

 

[Malke]

Thank you Malke this response is very helpful.

You're welcome. After you've done the troubleshooting, if you need more help
post back with the results.

Malke

 

[Stevo]

When you get the screen, try Ctrl+Shift+Esc or Ctrl+Alt+Delete to ope
task manager. It runs apart from explorer wich is the Start Bar
desktop, and all windows

If you can get it, check and see what programs are running, if any.
Also check running processes

Stev

 

[Plato]

Dell 5150, XP Home+SP2 and all patches. Bug free as far as I can tell.
Avast, Ewido 4, Spybot etc.

About one in five times this computer boots up to a blank screen with only
the pointer. Reboot usually fixes it and everything is available as it
should be.

A background app. that you or dell installed is causing the problem.

 

[Jumbo]

A background app. that you or dell installed is causing the problem.

Thanks for all help on this enquiry.

Jumbo