Computer shuts down during bootup process

I have a 3.5 year old Desktop running Windows Vista. I have been having problems for a while where the computer will stop during the bootup process. It will get to the Windows splash page with the progress bar at the bottom and then just completely stop.

I can boot the computer into safe mode without a problem. Normally after anywhere from 4-6 tries the computer will boot normally and it not a problem, as long as I don't have to restart it.

I thought it was possibly a corrupt driver that was loading during the bootup process, so I decided to back everything up and reformat the computer. But that has not solved the problem. I also plugged it into the wall to verify, it was not the surge protector that was causing a problem (too simple a solution).

I have not made any recent hardware changes either. My only thought is that I may need to replace the power supply. I would like to get any feedback on this, before I replace it

Any thoughts as to what is causing the problem would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Greetings, paulthed.

The fact that you can boot into Safe Mode leads me to believe that the power supply may not be your problem.

You might take a closer look at what drivers and programs are starting with Windows, as these are the main difference between Safe and Normal modes.

 

You are randomly suspecting things without facts. For example, is it the power supply? Power supply could have been defective for months or years and still booted the system. Then become progressively worse. To exonerate or suspect any of the many power system parts (supply is only one) requires a 3.5 digit multimeter.

Nobody with extensive hardware knowledge will reply if you do not first provide useful facts. Your replies will only be as useful as the hard facts and numbers that you first provide. For example, three digit numbers from the meter from each wire between the power supply and motherboard: purple, any one red, any one yellow, and any one orange.

Did you view system (event) logs? Windows stores failure information. Then Windows was working around that problem.

Many systems provide options for booting. Often selected by pressing the F2, F5, F8 or some other key when the BIOS executes - before Windows even tries to load. One option may list every driver as it loads. IOW the system would stop on a driver that failed. But again, that does not mean the driver is defective. That means a numbers of suspects all related to that driver - both hardware and software - can be considered. Find a problem long before trying to fix anything.

All computer manufacturers have comprehensive hardware diagnostics that verify hardware integrity. If a computer comes from a more responsible manufacturer, then he provided those diagnostics for free on the hard drive, CD-Rom, or web site.

 

going by the fact that the OS gets handed off after POST.. I would think that you have some OS issues.

You can boot into the recovery console and perform a repair installation. After that, try to boot into windows normally. Should fix your problem.

 

delete this one