bootup freezing

[neonext]

i have a system that freezes every single time i boot up. it can usually make it past windows startup, but it is sometimes sooner than this and sometimes later. sometimes it will freeze a second or third time. sometimes it wont boot up at all. i have been ignoring it but lately it's been getting a lot worse and a lot more annoying.

i dont think it's overheating because i had just cleaned the fans a month ago, and it seems to not freeze once you get it going

any ideas?

[Andrew]

Well, I'm not sure but a format could fix it. Have you tried safe boots to see if it freezes then? Could be a virus or some spyware crap.

What version of windows?

[neonext]

xp pro. i'll try the safe mode thing. i'm pretty sure it's not spyware, the computer is completely seperate from the internet, because it has all my development stuff on it. that also means i cant do a format, at least until i'm inbetween projects. i just hope i dont lose all my work

EDIT: it sometimes freezes on the very first screen, before windows even starts to load. sometimes, but rarely, it will freeze long after i've booted and it wont even get the first screen after a reset

[Cyborg]

Could it be faulty memory?

[gryphon]

think it probebly is. Or re-install Windows.

[d3m0nger]

Haha.

noobs  ;D

Thats not faulty memory, if it was your pc wouldn't even load at all.

Just format, prolly some driver/virus being an asshole.

[erjin999]

If it is happening before windows, then its nothing to do with windows. If it freezes that is.

Look for hardware problems.

Haha.

noobs  ;D

Thats not faulty memory, if it was your pc wouldn't even load at all.

Just format, prolly some driver/virus being an asshole.

If it were a driver or something, then safe mode would work, which I doubt would here, because its starting before the OS.

neonext, try safe mode.

[Cyborg]

A computer can boot with faulty memory.

That's why you have programs to check for faulty memory...

[desert_storm]

I heard that microsoft is starting to get down on people to use illegal copys of windows.....  and that they send basicly a virus into your system so that you can't start your computer, it won't even start to load windows.  are you using a legal version?

[Cyborg]

I doubt that is the case.

[neonext]

no point in trying safe mode when it freezes before i can even get to that point. after it freezes, i'm having trouble just getting it to the first screen where your memory is checked. it still seems like it is overheating, but it always happens the first time i turn on my computer. at no point is this computer ever connected to the internet. it has nothing to do with windows because it freezes before the windows bootup process even starts. it's definitally a hardware problem.

edit: when it stops booting i cant even get the power LED to turn on, maybe it is a power problem?

[gryphon]

I heard that microsoft is starting to get down on people to use illegal copys of windows.....

[neonext]

i have just transfered the hard drive to another computer. everything works fine now. it really sucks not having my best computer anymore, so i still would like to fix the problem eventually. i'm beginning to think i just need a new heatsink, because it's always burning hot after just a minute or two of use, and these problems seemed to have occured more often since i had removed it for cleaning a month ago

[gryphon]

could be. Did you put cooling past or something back on it when you refitted it ?

[neonext]

no, as i did not have any at the time. i ordered a new fan and some cooling paste, hopefully that will do it

[erjin999]

To help diagnose if it is a heat issue, if possible, run the computer without the side cover and in a place with good ventilation. putting a desk fan or something like that, or keeping it near a window might help. It may still crash, bnut we would expect it to be noticably better before it does.

It should take longer to crash, and it should boot up more often.

The reason I said about using safe mode to show Avatar that it was a hardware issue.  :-X

While you are there, you may want to make shure all your cards, including memory, is re-seated correctly.

Try touching the heatsink while its running, preferably when its just crashed. Thats not for the faint hearted, but can give you a good idea of how hot it is when it does...maybe you wont want to do that... ;)

Have you checked the graphics card heatsink/fan ? Could that be getting hot ?

Good luck and keep us posted.

[neonext]

i made sure everything was seated good, and i checked every fan. it could be the graphics card (gForce 3), but that fan seems fine... although I'm not sure about the temp of it. it seemed in my final testing that it is heat related, because i let it cool down for awhile, came back and  booted it up and let it run doing just normal desktop stuff. as soon as i have something running that would eat up a lot of cpu (like a game), it would freeze after a couple minutes. perhaps it used to freeze the first time booting up because loading windows takes a lot of cpu use? it makes sense that i would have difficulty booting after a freeze if the processor is overheating, and the heatsink for it is always burning hot after a very short time. i'm going to replace it soon and see if it works, if not then we can try to figure out what else is wrong :-

[erjin999]

WEll, to tell if it is CPU or graphics should be easy.

To see if it is CPU, do something CPU intensive, easiest is to ZIP a huge file/folder (ok, not huge huge, just say ~300 Megs). If that doesnt crash it, run Emperor or any other 3D game on full graphics, something that will make your card lag. Either one of those crashes it and you should have a fairly good (although not completely definate [disclaimer;)]) idea.

Good luck dude.

[gryphon]

no, as i did not have any at the time. i ordered a new fan and some cooling paste, hopefully that will do it

You are kidding me. . . no cooling past ?

Boot your computer and go right into the BIOS. Leave it there for 15 minutes. . if you make it.

[neonext]

You are kidding me. . . no cooling past ?

There is some but i doubt there is enough. there appears to be a lot of contact. i've been building computers for 10 years but somehow overlooked the importance of it - i guess i just never needed additional paste before. that leads me to a question: how much is good to put on? if you cover more of the surface, will you get better heat reduction?

[erjin999]

A reasonably thin layer, dont wack it on, it will hinder not help. A thin layer, should be enough.

[Cyborg]

While you're at it, buy the Arctic Silver cooling paste. It's good. I buy it myself, and even though you could say it's expensive compared to other cooling pastes, it doesn't cost that much, and it works very well.

[Kiyouta]

Could be the Power Supply. My computer would freeze randomly in Windows or during the POST screen. Replacing the PSU fixed it. :)

[erjin999]

The fact that you mention that the LED doesnt light up when it happens, on some occassions may mean that it is a power/mobo problem.

Need more info !

[neonext]

got the new heatsink today, and now things are even worse. i cannot get the computer to even begin to start. cant even get to the cmos screen. i'm really starting to think it is a power supply problem, because the first time i started it up it ran for a few seconds and completely shut off on its own. could a faulty mobo cause this? also the power LED wont turn on, and it used to sometimes and thats when i knew it would boot up properly, but i cant get it to come on at all anymore. however, there is an LED on my mobo that turns on whenever i have the power cable connected to the board. most of the time everything sounds like it is starting up (fans are spinning, hard drive being accessed), but sometimes nothing turns on at all. i tried a different, older power supply but i cant see the wattage or anything on it, and it didnt help. i dont want to have to go through the process of replacing the mobo if i dont have to, and i wouldnt be too thrilled about buying a new cpu, so i am really hoping it's a power supply problem, but i want to be sure, so please help narrow down this issue :-