difficult start on cold puter

I have a Dell Dimension 9100 Pentium D XP SP3.

The computer is quite a few years old but has a new hard drive and updated ram and runs very well for all my needs.

Recently, when I leave the computer off, say overnight, it takes a while to get it started. It freezes early during POST but usually after a hard restart (or 2) it finally cranks up and works fine... it's like it needs to warm up like an old car.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

replace the cmos battery on motherboard. looks like watch battery

 

Hi my friend , download this tool

http://majorgeeks.com/Hard_Disk_Sentinel_d7520.html

checking your hdd's status , how much free space do you have in your hdd ? You should download and checking your ram's status using this tool

http://majorgeeks.com/MemTest_d350.html

you need at least four hours to test your memory !! :wave

 

I solved this very problem, along with an occasional spurious restart, by replacing three, slightly bulging, 3900µF, 10V electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard of my old Shuttle. When tested, the capacitors all measured between 900µF and 1500µF. It's fortunate they were bulging because I never would have gone through the trouble of removing and testing each and every one of the dozens of electrolytic capacitors on that board.

Such capacitors depend upon an oxide layer which degrades over time, especially if the computer has spent a considerable amount of its life turned off or in storage. Powering up the computer partially restores the oxide layer after a short while and may get them doing their job but they will only get worse.

 

I second this,you can also try disabling 'quick boot/post' in bios but leave quick memory check enabled.

 

Okay will do, but in the past (on older systems) when the battery has failed I get a start but with a prompt to enter the date etc.

What process is at work here if I can get a start and no prompt for date etc?

 

Thanks. Will give them a go but seems to me that the problem is well before the hard drive comes into the equation.

 

Yikes. This is WAY above my pay grade. I'll have a look and see if any are bulging (going to replace the CMOS battery anyhow) but might need a real man to fix this... or would it be simpler to buy a new MB?

 

It's easier than you think. Many, but not all, motherboards will have a cluster of 2, 3, or 4 large, can-shaped components with XXXXµF XXV printed on them. If the tops of them aren't flat, they're probably in need of replacement. You can buy replacements for a few bucks and soldering isn't all that hard. If you've never done it, you probably know somebody who has.

OTOH, some of us are hesitant to talk about soldering and similar topics. It's part of the "Engineer's Rules for Dating". Those who do are very often found unattached.

 

okay. first step look for bulging caps and go from there. Thanks again

 

A bad CMOS battery can cause lots of problems, similar to you describe. Buy a new battery and see how that goes. Replacing capacitors is way above my pay grade but if everything works after a little power then the battery is probably at fault.

Go with simpler first.

So "first step" is replace the battery.

 

Changed CMOS battery with no change. Definitely spotted swollen capacitors on the motherboard. Will probably opt for new computer since this one is 6 years old and I wonder what else will go wrong. Also time to upgrade to win 7... so can do it all at once for cheeper.

Thanks all for your help.

 

Are you checking power supply ? Maybe is old enough !! :wave