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Booting up problems

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by yho1014790

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My name is Yvonne.

I am an online teacher.

Recently my computer has been having trouble booting up.

The other day, my computer would only boot up in Safe mode.

I then took my computer to a Computer Tech company who worked on it for 2 hours; charged $150 dollars and the computer is still having problems booting up.

And when I start my computer in the morning, the screen would turn itself on and start booting several DOS screens and then it would turn itself off and start booting those same DOS screens again.

Eventually though the computer did start up.

What do I do about this computer? What's wrong with it? What should I do?

I am definitely NOT a techie and I feel that the Technicians did not fully fix the problem!

12 replies

by pringles86

Did they say the problem was fixed when they gave it back to you?

If they did, I would try taking it back to them and saying that they need to fix it for free or give you a refund...

If that doesn't work...

What are the DOS screens saying? Are they the same messaged each time? And by DOS screens, you mean it opens new black windows once you are loaded into Windows, or when your computer first starts there are DOS commands? What version of Windows are you using?

by brit0n

Yvonne, Sorry about your problems. I suggest you go and get your money back or hire rent-a-mob to go and close that place down that charged all that money!

Now to help with the computer.... When you switch on, your computer (BIOS actually but don't worry about it) finds something technical on the hard disk which gets things going (boots). The "thing" that gets going is an Operating System (OS) like say Windows XP Home Editon or Linux Ubuntu or something.

Please let us know what your Operating System is. Until we get that, we are stumbling about in the dark.

If you are running a version of Windows earlier than Windows XP (your reference to DOS screens suggests that you are), have you added more memory recently and did the problems start after this?

If you haven't, you might get a techie friend to remove and replace your RAM modules - they may have come loose.

If you have and you now have more than 1GB, Microsoft states that there is a problem with that. Let us know and we can tell you what to do about it. if pre-Windows XP version of Windows is ALL you are running, remove memory to have 1GB or preferably less and then think about upgrading to Windows XP - there are some cheap offers around.

Let us know.

by yho1014790

I am operating a Windows XP system Home Edition 1985-2001.

When my computer opens, I don't know what the technical term is for the window that shows when the computer boots up.

I just know that this window which has words on it, but not webpages, and I think it says Bios...I can't remember...it's before the Windows Welcome word...anyway this is the window that won't boot up properly.

The computer starts...a window opens...then the window closes and opens again and again..I wish I knew the techie terms to describe this window.

Before this phenomenon, caused my computer to start in Safe Mode.

The Computer Tech did fix that problem. The computer eventually booted up to my regular desktop with my icons on it.

Now I'm afraid to turn off the computer because I'm afraid it won't start up again.

I called the Computer Techie and they told me simply to turn off my external hard drive to boot the computer.

I will call them Monday to see if they will take back the computer to see what else is wrong with it and not charge me extra. But you know now that I've paid for their service, I worry that they may not be so keen on helping me since I am no longer willing to pay them any more..!

by brit0n

OK thanks for the reply.

First of all, the thing you call a window is actually just the BIOS posting it's information in going entering into the boot process. Unless you are getting a BIOS management screen (usually blue with a menu at the top and some information telling you what it is), then the BIOS is getting the hardware to move on to the operating system. If you ARE getting that BIOS management screen, it would stay there and you would probably know what it was!

So the screens of information you are seeing, probably in white text on black background are merely some reports on what is happening. When they disappear and then seem to reappear, this is usually Windows XP trying to start and failing. Often, if you watch very closely, you will see that the white text on black didn't actually change - Windows merely blanked it out for a while but it was there when Windows gave up.

If you WANT to know what is on those screens but they flash past, you can try to hit the Pause key (top right of keyboard). That will usually stop everything until you hit some other key and will not affect anything except make it all wait for you. But you probably don't need to know what that text is.

Randy_Y50 suggested hardware and your tech people said disconnect the external drive. Have you tried that AND made sure anything that doesn't need to be plugged in is unplugged? Unplug EVERYTHING you have plugged into USB ports except keyboard/mouse (unplug webcam, USB memory sticks, even the leads that you might keep plugged in with nothing on the end like a digital camera connector).

If that still doesn't help, get into Safe Mode and try to Restore your computer to a time when it was working. If that works, read some Help to see what else you have to do (like reinstall any programs/devices you installed since that Restore point).

If THAT doesn't work, use Safe Mode to undo that Restore operation and try another Restore point and repeat.

If that doesn't work, get in Safe Mode, undo the last (unsuccessful) Restore operation and then click Start - Run. Then type msconfig and click Run. Select Diagnostic Startup. This will achieve much of what Randy_Y50 was suggesting. It will only allow the most basic things to load but more than Safe mode allows. If while you are at that System Configuration Utility, you click Help and read a little, you will see that you can restart in Diagnostic Startup Mode over and over - don't USE the computer if it starts OK, simply change the settings on the Startp and other tabs in that Utility, making a note on paper to try starting with different things until you FAIL to start again. Once you get there, disable the thing that is stopping the boot and enable the rest. If it restarts, you then know what is wrong. (This is all much clearer if you read those Help explanations of the Diagnostic process.)

Once you know what is stopping your computer starting, you can come back with more info OR tell your tech people THEY should have done that!

by kenogami

I had the same problem with my computer. After trying everything, I decided to start back at the hardware. I disconnected all my drives except C: drive. Then I started the computer back up. It worked. I started putting the other drives back on until I found the problem. It was another drive that was faulty. This solved my problem. I hope it can help you.

Randy

by brit0n

Yvonne, you don't need to be a techie.

Unfortunately, noone tells you that these sites sometimes move fast. And you are probably having to borrow a computer or use one at school to post. But above all, when you post, remember to check the notify me by e-mail box so that you know when someone replies.

Hope you get something sorted out. Let us know if you fix it! Otherwise, give us some more info - SOMEONE here will have a way but after a while, you will get too many answers to handle lol

by yho1014790

I tried to restart my computer today and it went into Safe Mode again.

I will try the System Restore resolution that you guys suggested.

I don't dare try to plug or unplug anything because I don't know where all those wires go to and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep track of what I plug or unplug since I have no idea where each wire leads to. The wires all look so messy!

Hopefully the System Restore works!

by brit0n

Before doing anything more, make sure you have unplugged any USB devices especially flash drives - they can cause all sorts of problems and it's better to get rid of them while you solve the problem in case they are just "another" problem.

If you can't find a Restore point that works, undo them as you try and then undo the last so that at least you are only where you are now and not in some unknown earlier state. Then try the MSCONFIG method to disable as much as you can and then, if it reboots, enabling things you need (and know what they are). That will act as if you had unplugged the disabled ones without actually doing so.

Once you find which (hopefully only one) driver/hardware is causing the problem, you have some useful info to ask again here and in the meantime the computer will be working even if something you need isn't!

Good luck!

by brit0n

Read the last part of my post entitled Hardware.

Basically, click Start, then Run, then type msconfig and click Run.

You presumably have to do that in Safe Mode but that is fine. Msconfig allows you to stop windows loading selected things (Safe Mode loads a minimum - msconfig allows you to select things to ALLOW again to see which is stopping the boot).

If you can read Windows Help files in Safe Mode, read up msconfig.

Microsoft describes the process better than I can in their knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

Let us know if that makes sense.

by nath.satyendra

hi,
The problem seems uncommon but the solution is quite simple..get a good C.D. of Windows xp service pack 2 or 3...format the drive ..and install a fresh copy of windows on your system..it should do well..once ur installation is over go for a good antivirus software (Mcafee is reliable)and load it on ur comp..it should work well...don't worry..it will help u..

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