Desktop doesn't boot (sometimes?)

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by DrMaestro, Dec 1, 2009.

  1. DrMaestro

    DrMaestro Private E-2

    I have an interesting problem. Everything was fine for me until 2 days ago when I had a boot problem. The fans were working but the monitor was in a sleep state and harddisks weren't working. I shut down the system then it restarted, self-resetting three times in the first few seconds, then it booted normally without any problems. I opened the case and clened excess dust. The system was O.K. for a day however, the next day I had a similar problem, (no monitor, no harddisk, fans working) but this time the power light blinkeda few times. After a few reboots, it worked again. Today the problem persisted longer (it didn't boot for 20 minutes despite lots of resets, but 45 minutes later it booted normally). I suspect a hardware problem, however when I am able to boot normally everything works fine, no resets, no hardware problems at all. Do you have any suggestions?
     
  2. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Greetings, DrMaestro...

    These intermittents are the toughest types to troubleshoot, aren't they?

    I think you're right - sounds like a hardware going bad situation...I'd suggest doing a Memtest on your RAM, check any S.M.A.R.T. readings for your hard drive, temp checks on CPU and hard drive, re-seat your RAM and all connectors, maybe even take the case covers off and turn the case upside down (don't laugh - I've seen it happen - a loose bit of metal underneath a motherboard can do some really weird stuff!)...
     
  3. WarriorBlake

    WarriorBlake Private E-2

    First poster here. Trying to find a home base for a computer repair forum so I'm starting here.

    I'm having similar trouble with an HP laptop running Vista over the phone. Computer was fine 3 days ago but it will either go through BIOS and hang or not even show BIOS start up at all. Got it to go to the repair option to check the start up and everything came back normal and the computer booted.

    Next day it would reboot several times after about 3 seconds. It will randomly turn on and when it does all is well till you turn it off.

    I second Caliban's solution that it sounds like hardware problems. Reseat RAM, drives, etc. and do a memory scan. Also if you have plugged anything in recently, even a mouse, unplug it since it might cause problems. You never know with computers how picky they are.
     
  4. DrMaestro

    DrMaestro Private E-2

    Hi,
    Thanks for the replies. I tried Memtest as you suggested (it was the easiest one :) ) It ran without a problem for 20 minutes and then gave 160 errors and froze. I have hard resetted it and am running it again (I am using my laptop to write this message). I'll inform you if I get the same results. Do you think that the problem is related to the memory (or is it possible that another error occured, froze the system and as a result I've got a memory error)? I assume that I'll have to remove one of the memory banks (I have 2 banks of 1024 MB DDR2 400 Kingston rams) and repeat tests to determine if a module is faulty. I am using Windows XP and if I have to change my rams I would like to increase my capacity. If I am not mistaken I can only use 3 GBs with XP. So, can I buy a 2 GB module and use it with my 1 GB module? (would it be a problem to have 2 different sized rams?)

    Thank you very much
     
  5. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    As soon as you get an error, you can stop the test and assume that YES there is a problem with your RAM.
    The memory test only tests memory - you did load it before windows, correct?
     
  6. DrMaestro

    DrMaestro Private E-2

    Hi,

    Yes, I ran memtest from a floppy disk while booting. As I said in my previous post, I ran the test again. This time it did three complete tests without any problems. Can I still assume that the ram is faulty? Should I try it with only 1 memory bank or go and buy new ram?
     
  7. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Hi, Doc...

    Well, since the RAM passed this time, have your original symptoms changed or gone away?

    As far as replacing the memory, if it were my machine, I'd run those tests 'til the cows come home, to make sure they're good - and I'd still go buy some more RAM...

    ;)
     
  8. collinsl

    collinsl MajorGeek

    Personally I would take the RAM out, reseat it and run the test for at least 12 hours, if not 24. Just to make sure.

    Just FYI, 32-bit opeerating system can use up to 4Gb of RAM, 64-bit ones can use up to something crazy like 256GB. Xp comes in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
     
  9. DrMaestro

    DrMaestro Private E-2

    Hi,
    Just a few updates: Memtest worked O.K. for 9 passes and I didn't see any errors. However, as it gave an error on my first try 2 days ago, ı decided to change the rams. I have a Gigabyte mainboard with DDR2 and DDR3 sockets, so I went and bought 4 gigs od DDR3 ram (I am running Windows XP 32 bit edition, so I knew that the system would only be able to use 3,2 Gigs of it, however I didn't want to buy 2 different sized rams for 3 Gigs). I also changed my UPS (which wasn't working anymore due to a battery problem). The system didn't cause any problems yet but I'll tell you if I recieve another error. If I don't, I can only blame the rams.
     

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