Comments for My computer locks up and won't boot. What do I do?

Comment from Historylover on 2012-02-03

2012-02-03T09:36:38Z

After my computer has been turned off, I am finding that it won't restart. Just runs through the HDM1, Analog, Digital boxes in the top, left corner. After a while, it stops and just the pilot light on the monitor stays on. I have to try several times to get it to re-start with breaks between each attempt. I've tried checking all the cables, changing power points etc.

It's warrantied, has security and I don't add-on anything.

Any ideas what is causing this? I'd be very grateful if you could advise.

What is causing this?

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Comment from Keith on 2012-02-02

2012-02-02T12:07:51Z

I have FOUR PC's that won't boot up. All were working when 'put into storage' about 3 years ago. The fan starts, but nothing else, and no input to the monitors. Monitors all work with a different functioning PC, and mother board lithium batteries are not dead. Any suggestions? It can't be a coincidendal simultaneous hardware failure on 4 computers.

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Comment from Mark J on 2012-01-21

2012-01-21T22:14:24Z

@Daniel
You might try another antimalware program. One tool that often works when others fail is Malwarebytes Antimalware.
How do I remove a virus?

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Comment from Daniel Lee Troost on 2012-01-21

2012-01-21T17:27:43Z

Leo, I have Windows 7 loaded in my Sony Vaio Computer when purchased it from Best Buy 10/11/2010. I have Kaspersky anti-virus program loaded in my computer. I received an email from some xxx website source by accident when I opened the email not knowing what the email was and a virus attach itself into my system. I have tried to get rid of the email virus by using the Kespersky program and also tried optizating the computer. I still have the problem and virus, how do I get rid of the virus and get my computer to finish loading the Windows 7 during the startup process without shuting down the computer by pulling the battery out?

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Comment from Dunya on 2011-12-15

2011-12-15T15:19:39Z

Hi Leo , I have a windows xp , it does not startup right away I have to shut it down and open it manytimes until it works . it just hangs after windows logo and you feel you can work with it but nothing there you can move the mouse but no connection it is completely frozen PC and today it does not want to start or to work at allllll ... I have files that I want to save before I can format it . Please help me thank you

Wrote a new article for that: My machine won't boot, how do I get at the files on it?

15-Dec-2011

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Comment from Jeff on 2011-10-31

2011-10-31T19:00:10Z

I bought a computer in Korea and am now back in the US. Now that I'm back in America, it won't start. I thought it might be a voltage issue so I bought a step-up converter, but I'm still having the exact same problems. When I turn the power on, the lights come on and I can hear the fans, but nothing appears on my monitor. I'm not using the same monitor I used in Korea, but they're both LCD monitors and quite similar. Any ideas on how to get it to work? I've run out of patience.

I would start by trying another monitor, since that's one thing that's clearly changed.

31-Oct-2011

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Comment from Mark J on 2011-08-29

2011-08-29T15:28:53Z

@Pam
In that situation, I'd try a repair install from the
installation or recovery disks.

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Comment from Pam on 2011-08-29

2011-08-29T08:20:32Z

I have vista home premium 64 bit. When I turn it on windows will not start. I cannot open it to get to a log in.

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Comment from Alan Duggan on 2011-08-05

2011-08-05T17:40:48Z

I have a windows vista system and i downloaded spyware terminator and it completely ruined my computer, it keeps restarting, where do i go from here. is there any way at all to get it back working normally.

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Comment from Bengal cat on 2011-05-23

2011-05-23T16:33:40Z

Wow ! this is very Nice Blog thanks for sharing Information.....

Bengal cat

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Comment from Betty ironside on 2011-05-22

2011-05-22T17:59:31Z

My Dell won't load past 43 percent even in safe mode what do I do and what could be wrong

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Comment from Lisa on 2011-05-21

2011-05-21T13:31:08Z

I have a Dell Dimensions 4400 (running windows xp) I had taken the psu out of it to test it on another desktop pc and it is working fine. I reinstalled it into the dell and it was working fine that day but a few days later and without any warning it will only started into the safe mode options screen. However, it does not matter if I select to start in safe mode, any of the other safe mode options, last know good configuration, or select/ do nothing and let it start up --- all it does is to come right back to the black screen with the safe mode options to select from. There are no post beeps when the computer starts either. I have checked to make sure all the cables are firmly connected as well as the memory cards are firmly seated as well. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

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Comment from Anonymous on 2011-05-19

2011-05-19T16:01:23Z

I am sending this via aprevious comp. because my main (dell) has crashed and will not boot with just adark grey screen and a flashing dash sign in the top left corner. I think it was a virus following a (hoax?) virus warning.
Unfotunately I do not have the XP inst. disc. Can it be cured by the installation of a "cure" disc?

Unfortunately I don't know what you mean by a "cure" disk.

19-May-2011

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Comment from john Reynolds on 2011-05-12

2011-05-12T10:37:59Z

i have tried various things but my computer will not get past the bios menue and it wont load the opperating system. i cannot repare the system because it wont let me, i have tried doing theis from the windows 7 installed dvd and it wont load the drive either. please help.

thanks in advance.

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Comment from Russ on 2011-05-10

2011-05-10T15:12:48Z

My PC has black screen, NO POST, but fan & lights come on briefly. PS checked good at CompUSA. I've swapped RAM chips with no difference. How can I tell if its MB or CPU? (EVGA 630i/7150 MB and Pentium D945 CPU) Thanks, Russ

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Comment from Karen Garner on 2011-05-06

2011-05-07T03:30:33Z

I turned on my Dell desktop, which is only a year and a half years old, and I got a black screen with a message: boot files not available (or something like that). I turned off the computer, turned it on, and it booted up just fine. I have Windows 7. My service provider is Verizon. I use AOL as my windows internet explorer and I sign on to AOL every night to check emails and chat with friends. What do you think caused this problem? How do I make or get a recovery disk? I am not very high tech. I am disabled and home a lot and depend on my computer. I am an older divorced female. Thank you!

That typically, though not always, indicates a transient problem accessing the hard disk. That, in turn, could mean that your hard disk could fail soon. In your situation I'd make certain to be backing up and then see about getting a technician to diagnose the machine.

07-May-2011

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Comment from frank on 2011-04-30

2011-04-30T21:47:41Z

My computer freezes up when I boot from the windows CD I'm trying to wipe my hard drive but can't it keeps freezing up same if I try going in to safemode it freeze up even when I start it and trying to going into most to check cmos setting and the CPU temp it just freeze on everything I try to do on ir

It sounds like the BIOS isn't configured to boot from CD before checking the hard disk. Look into your BIOS settings for that option.

01-May-2011

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Comment from alyssa camille joyce cruz on 2011-04-25

2011-04-26T06:32:06Z

im using windows xp home edition.when i start it up, it just shows boot options and anything i choose goes back to the same boot menu options.i cant run in safe mode or any mode.its just goes back to the boot menu options.

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Comment from Austin on 2011-04-22

2011-04-23T01:51:07Z

My computer is a Windows SP3 computer. After updating it with the most recent windows updates (3 days ago) it will no longer work. When I start it up, it pulls up a screen that is explaining the BIOS and BIOS VIDEO shadowing statuses, stuff like that. It then proceeds to hang up about 5 seconds after turning it on. I can tell it to go to boot menu/setup, but it doesn't do it. It registers that I told it to, then the hard drive light turns off, and will not light up again. The only solution I then have is to turn it off using the power button. This leads me to believe that either the BIOS is messed up, maybe due to the windows updates (the computer is about 8 years old, so maybe some new software is conflicting with it) or the hard drive is fried.

PS: When I used to start my computer, it would make a couple of grinding noises, and then a triple beep, and then start up just fine. This had happened since the first day I had the computer. Now, it won't make the latter sound, but it'll make the first sound. it hasn't changed at all either.

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Comment from Chris on 2011-04-13

2011-04-13T21:50:07Z

My computer wont boot up, it will say ACER and then just go to a black screen, with a small blinking line in the corner, and stay there like that, it wont do anything, just beep when a button is pressed.

Please read the article you just commented on. It answers this question.

14-Apr-2011

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Comment from Tushar on 2011-03-07

2011-03-08T05:14:36Z

I use a Dell desktop with Windows XP swervice pack 3. This started today morning. When I started up the machine, it displayed the POST message, and then tried to boot into Windows, but the monitor keeps showing a blinking cursor. I went to BIOS and checked the drives. I can see 320 GB HDD and an ATAPI CD/DVD drive. i have HDD as first boot device and other boot devices are disabled.

I changed the first boot device to CD drive and booted from a windows XP SP3 CD. The setup started and I chose R for recovery console.
the recovery console can show my C:/WINDOWS directory. and it can list all my directories and files from root directory, so the files are there and my system can read them. But for some reason I cant boot into it. What may be the solution??

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Comment from Anita on 2011-03-05

2011-03-05T19:31:24Z

I'm using Vista and after the page loads to add my password the cursor blinks, but the pointer is frozen and sits in the middle of the screen and I cannot use it. What is the solution?

If it's ONLY the pointer (meaning you can type and Tab around on the screen with the keyboard) then I'd guess your mouse isn't connected or not compatible. If the machine is literally hung then I'd refer you to the article you just commented on, specifically "Other Hangs".

05-Mar-2011

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Comment from Amanda on 2011-03-01

2011-03-02T04:32:32Z

I could use some help if anyone has any ideas. My boyfriend has a desktop computer that seems to have gotten a virus. He managed to turn it on in safe mode once and was able to back up his files but now if you turn on the computer it goes to a black screen with a blinking underscore and that's it. ctr-alt-delete still will respond and restart but no f buttons work and it doesn't go past that. Can this be fixed? Please any help would be great.

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Comment from Dan on 2011-02-02

2011-02-03T02:51:57Z

I can't boot up. It hangs up with the screen reading Press for setup.

No mouse or keyboard will function. The DVD and CD do spin.

What could be wrong?

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Comment from William Middleton on 2011-01-21

2011-01-21T18:38:58Z

My computer won't finish the boot process. It hits the cd and dvd disk but not the flex and hard drive. I have changed the bios battery, changed out video card twice, remove and re-insert memory and power appears to be working. No signal gets to the monitor. I have got several suggestions to re-install windows and all drivers but I can't get to that point. I can't even get into setup.
Help!
Bill Middleton

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Comment from Seattle SEO on 2010-12-05

2010-12-05T10:15:03Z

my computer flashes on windows XP for a moment then gives me the black screen of nothingness. WOuld the Windows XP install then?

There's no way to know. It depends on what's wrong with the machine.

05-Dec-2010

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Comment from seo on 2010-11-23

2010-11-24T03:50:58Z

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Comment from Rob on 2010-11-08

2010-11-08T17:55:03Z

This happens ocassionally. I hit the power button on my PC, LED's flash, fans whirr but nothing happens. No beep from the BIOS nothing. I hold the power button down for 10 seconds and it just tries to restart. The power does not go down. The same cycle begins again until I physically cut the power. Then After many attempts it boots fine. Thoughts?

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Comment from thiru on 2010-10-29

2010-10-30T06:52:57Z

when i was using my pc while power failiure ubruptly there after my pc didn,t boot yet,it displays black screen.can u help me pls..

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Comment from Leo on 2010-10-14

2010-10-15T06:17:10Z

my computer freezes before starting up. i don't know what to do i cant press any F8 f9 f10 or bios please help it has a lot of memory and everything is working fine but just doesn't boot up. it doesn't beep either....

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Comment from Janina on 2010-10-04

2010-10-04T21:33:21Z

my computer flashes on windows XP for a moment then gives me the black screen of nothingness. WOuld the Windows XP install then?

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Comment from morevisitor on 2010-06-12

2010-06-12T13:47:36Z

I think that it dose this every time I leave my webcam connected to the usb port. If I disconnect the webcam and hit the reset button it boots up in the normal way.
thanks for sharing us
[spam link removed]

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Comment from Gaurav on 2010-06-07

2010-06-07T13:38:08Z

I think that it dose this every time I leave my webcam connected to the usb port. If I disconnect the webcam and hit the reset button it boots up in the normal way.
thanks for sharing us. Sarasota Real Estate

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Comment from Connor on 2010-05-29

2010-05-29T23:06:17Z

When i turn on my Computer (Windows XP) A picure comes up showing COMPAQ but then stays there and does not even gi to the Windows loading screen...please help

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Comment from David warner on 2010-05-27

2010-05-27T19:29:08Z

have a problem with a Dell Precision 370. When it is turned on the only thing that happens is that the CPU fan winds up to high speed and nothing else happens. I have checked the cpu and memory and both are fine. I have disconnected the hard drives and DVD player so that it is down to basics.
Any help would be appreciated,Trailers for Sale

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Comment from Ram on 2010-05-27

2010-05-27T17:57:05Z

It dose this every time I leave my webcam connected to the usb port. If I disconnect the webcam and hit the reset button it boots up in the normal way.
Is there a problem and if so what can I do.

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Comment from gaurav on 2010-05-27

2010-05-27T17:54:55Z

About ten minutes into an FPS game, the screen locked and the computer shut down. Now when I try to turn it on, the cpu light, power light, and dvd drive lights come on

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Comment from Mike Boulton on 2010-05-14

2010-05-14T12:58:23Z

If you need to copy your files to an external hard drive so you don't lose any data you could try reading this article it worked for me. Then I did a clean install of my laptop after I copied all the files over.
Read this article

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Comment from Jasmine hernandez on 2010-04-20

2010-04-21T00:34:57Z

Hello, I need help! My computer recently caught a virus, and over the past weeks it has become very slow. It got to the point where it crashed, I press the F5 button at the start up to try and reboot, but it only progresses for about 10 sec. Then stops. Does this mean my computers disk info is lost? Is this even fixable? Please help!

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Comment from Ben Gossner on 2010-04-16

2010-04-17T01:49:29Z

About ten minutes into an FPS game, the screen locked and the computer shut down. Now when I try to turn it on, the cpu light, power light, and dvd drive lights come on. I can also hear the fan going. However, it does not move beyond this point ie. nothing appears on the screen and there are no death beeps. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please note that I am running Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit.

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Comment from Jim Gash on 2010-04-16

2010-04-16T08:10:10Z

On bootup my computer freezes when the ATI logo comes up. It dose this every time I leave my webcam connected to the usb port. If I disconnect the webcam and hit the reset button it boots up in the normal way.
Is there a problem and if so what can I do.

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Comment from Daniel Baker on 2010-04-15

2010-04-15T22:22:02Z

After installing Windows 7 Pro, 32-bit OEM on an HP Media Center machine (built in 2008), I would have to reboot around 3 or 4 times to get windows to load properly, but most times it would just come up to the splash screen just before the gui is loaded. So I used PE disc based off of XP-Pro to see if there were any issues with the install or anything else. After getting it to boot from the CD and verifying that things were indeed working, I had shut it down and rebooted it once more only to find that it no longer POST'ed for me. Removed all of the RAM and booted it up again to see if there was a hardware issue, but I did manage to get the BIOS error code that told me there was no RAM installed. Still no POST and I cannot boot from a CD anymore, not even attempt a new reinstall on a new hard drive... suggestions?

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Comment from Brooke Abercrombie on 2010-04-13

2010-04-14T06:24:46Z

Before my computer crashed it was not recognizing the CD drive. In fact, I was searching the internet for a solution to that problem when one of those false "vista security" malware apps took over internet explorer and then the whole system crashed. So, installing the CD ... not working. When I start up it asks if I want to start Windows normally or in safe mode, etc. No matter what option I choose, the screen ultimately goes black with a pointer in the middle of the screen and that's all I get. When I put a CD in the drive it doesn't recognize that there is a CD so it doesn't start there either even when I turn off the computer with the disk in the drive. I am stumped.

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Comment from Shane on 2010-04-09

2010-04-09T16:46:18Z

okay so my computer won't boot no matter what i try it still keeps on going back to the "select boot option menu". I have a working hard drive with another operating system on it, is there a way i can get my photos etc. off of my unbootable hard drive and on to a usb device or on to my working hard drive? your assistance will be appreciated - Shane

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Comment from tammy on 2010-04-06

2010-04-07T00:11:14Z

my computer turns on and doesnt boot with no beeps

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Comment from Giftson on 2010-03-14

2010-03-14T09:24:21Z

when i boot up my computer it passes the post but it just not boot up windows screen the monitor remains blank and when i try to format it with an installation cd it comes with with cd and then goes blank.
recently I changed my motherboard and from then the worked slowly and evently it crashed.

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Comment from Tijah on 2010-03-08

2010-03-08T11:28:36Z

My system served a message about the blue screen and since then my computer has not been able to boot, Pls, I would like you to help me out of this challenge.

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Comment from Lloyd on 2010-02-27

2010-02-27T17:31:39Z

Help I did a windows update and my system crashed microsoft knows about this. I don't have the installation disk. They are sending me one, but need to get to my files ASAP. Can anyone help me? They tell me I have to have the disk to get into the recovery software. Is there any place I can download this for free. Help please

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Comment from okello charles ebonga on 2010-02-18

2010-02-18T15:11:40Z

hi
My computer for past two week, it will alway give a option of pass word to enter,yet am not set PW. Please help me.

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Comment from Larry on 2010-01-30

2010-01-31T05:21:53Z

My computer boots up but once the desktop appears it seems to lockup. I am unable to open the start window or any files etc. Any idea of what the problem might be? I am running Windows XP. Oh I have defragged and run a virus check in safe mode and everything appears to be fine.

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Comment from Ted on 2010-01-16

2010-01-16T23:23:20Z

I apologize for leaving out specifics in the post above. The method described in the article utilizes a Puppy Linux liveCD to download and run Malwarebytes' via wine to scan/remove infections from your windows OS.

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Comment from Ted on 2010-01-14

2010-01-14T23:05:29Z

If you've tried all of the suggestions above and you believe the issue is related to malware. I know where your coming from as I have had the same issues in the past. Rather than re-writing the lengthy directions, have a look here:
http://www.nwitechsupport.com/2010/01/04/windows-will-not-boot-regular-nor-safe-mode-what-to-do

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Comment from Johann on 2010-01-07

2010-01-07T12:51:09Z

my laptop turns on but after the windows loading display the screen ask for a user(there is only 1 user at the display because only it only have 1 user...)...then after I click the user name, there is the need of inputting the password...but I haven't add a password on my laptop so the problem is why there is a need to input a password?..I don't know the password...
The problem started when my younger sister plug a usb the it hangs, then she restart the laptop then the problem started...Plzzz help me...

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Comment from zoe on 2009-12-30

2009-12-30T19:37:25Z

ive had my pc 4 about 7 weeks now, i was down loading something and since then my pc can be put on but nothing comes up on the screen, all i can here is it loading but nothing comes on the screen and its just black, what can i do if theres nothing at all on the screen?

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Comment from Diego on 2009-12-29

2009-12-29T20:40:28Z

when i turn on my pc it wont get past the xp logo loading screen, the loading bar just doesnt do anything, and when i boot my computer from the xp installation cd, after it loads it doesnt get passed the part where it says "setup is starting windows" so i cant access the menu to reformat it, run the recovery console or any other tools. In addition i tried safe mode, last known configuration that worked, and all the other options. What should i do?

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Comment from Robert on 2009-12-27

2009-12-28T02:07:31Z

I have a problem - my friends computer will not go past the screen that says checking file system on C: the type of the file system is NTFS

I scheduled a dsk scan - and when it came up it just gets stuck here - before it needed a hot fix and microsoft sent it and I ran it. then I checked for problems with AVG - but nothing. Then I tried malware scan and it got stuck at 15% everytime and the computer froze - What can I do now?

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Comment from james on 2009-12-25

2009-12-26T00:01:27Z

my computer will not boot up when i try to start even in safe mode it freezes. please help a malware named 'security tool' corrupted my computer, every time i tried to atack it it countered with this effect in the end. my system will not boot.

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Comment from Ritch on 2009-12-15

2009-12-15T19:35:23Z

my computer window don't want to start it keep saying that because of spyware the computer won't start that i should contact my dell company can some tell me how to fix that and can you also tell me the best spyware, anti-virus, trojan block protection out there thanks

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Comment from Rob Cundy on 2009-12-12

2009-12-13T07:49:16Z

My packard bell windows 2000 xp crashed yesterday. I powered off then on now its stuck on initial screen where all it says is press f2 to enter BIOS setup and f12 to network boot but won't let me press anything. Don't have installation cd. Somehow I just got on to, start windows normally etc screen. It installed windows and restarted but back on initial screen. What do I do?

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Comment from carla on 2009-12-12

2009-12-12T18:28:32Z

My computer will go on all the way up to the running bar on the bototm of the screen and it will just run and not turnon and then it will turn off suddenly.............idk whats worn with it?

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Comment from Erika Gunnerson on 2009-12-10

2009-12-10T20:27:13Z

My computer always locks up and won't boot,but these words help me what to do,and why it's locked up and not booting. At the top of this page, it has good words. What I do is when my computer locks up,all I do is to log out, and log back in. So those words help me. Thank you ask-leo.com!

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Comment from Keith on 2009-12-08

2009-12-08T18:20:50Z

Hello, My other PC in which my parents and sister use wont boot up to the login screen. I cannot access the bios and we tried booting from the disc. It goes through the procedure then freezes near the end of it. I need a way to wipe the drive without accessing it. Thanks

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Comment from Bart on 2009-12-03

2009-12-04T02:08:58Z

My computer starts does the memory check and after that, goes to a screen that gives me the options to go into safe mode, safe mode with networking, safe mode with command prompts, start with last known good configuration, and start windows normally. I cant find my windows start-up disc and was wondering if there was wondering if there was another way.

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Comment from Brianna on 2009-12-01

2009-12-02T03:56:15Z

I recently installed Windows 7 onto my computer. The installation took about six hours and when I went to turn my computer back on it froze. It now stays on the blue welcome screen every time it restarts. I can get into the safe modes, but if I try to reinstall Windows 7 on there, it won't work. I don't know how to make the real mode work, or even to use my backup discs without ruining my computer. At least tell me how to use my backup discs the right way to restore my computer to older setting without having to buy a new disc.

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Comment from Khalid Mahmoud on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T20:04:51Z

Hello, first of all i would like to thank you.
Now I got a Virus on my USB, and today, by mistake a clicked on one of the folders on the USB called "Passwords" it was obviously part of the Virus.
I had no Anti-Virus programme on. so all i did was shut down my laptop.
After 5 mins or so, i tried opening, it took me to the black page where i chose "Start Windows Normally" or "Safe Mode" i tried them both, and they both took me to a blue screen with some advice on the top such as "Check your BIOS for memory...etc" and at the bottom some Strange lettering and numbers, this screen lasted for about 2 secs, and then my laptop restarted,
Please please help me.
Thank you.

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Comment from Alan on 2009-11-23

2009-11-23T11:42:04Z

I've had this issue with three computers now and it's starting to annoy me. With the first the computer crashed and when i did the "one finger salute" and tried to reboot it nothing happened. The power would come on, the hard disk would whirr a little bit and nothing. The monitor doesn't turn on, the computer doesn't do anything else. I don't think it's the monitor because the computer makes no other sound and the H.D.D light does nothing to indicate that the other processes are booting up. I thought it was a motherboard issue so have since tried 2 other motherboards to the same affect which makes me question whether it is a motherboard issue at all. I'm running out of ideas so i'm hoping you could help me.

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Comment from roman on 2009-11-21

2009-11-21T15:13:46Z

i basically have the same problem that a lot of other ppl have,which is dat my computer only wants to start up on a black screen n only safe mode appears 2 b the only way 2 get it 2 work.like some other ppl i have missed placed the start up cd's dat came wit my dell laptop.can some 1 help?

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Comment from Clifford on 2009-11-15

2009-11-15T18:17:42Z

i have a desk top with vista about a 2004 i am locked out when i power up it goes to a black screen saying user password and i have tried turning it off and pushing f12 and f2 and f8 and nothing the same thing and the same screen.

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Comment from Andrea on 2009-11-01

2009-11-02T01:53:46Z

I shut the computer off and tried to restart it but when I did it stopped at the windows screen and the loading bar just keeps cycling. It stays on the black screen and shuts down and does that all over again. I have tried replacing the hard drive with a new one but it does the same thing. What could be wrong??

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Comment from Marisa on 2009-10-23

2009-10-24T01:10:11Z

I installed SP1 and my computer never worked again. I could not reinstall the OS because my disk drive did not work. So I ordered new restore disks and an external optical disk player. I finally got the disks in and set the bios to boot using USB and reinstalled. But alas it did not work and I tried numerous ways to reset the bios with no luck so now my computer, laptop, is at a technicians until next week when they can get to it. My beef is how can Microsoft do this to so many people. I am not the only one who was left with no means to get working because of Microsoft SP. It not only is loosing me money but it also is costing me to get what was a perfectly good, relatively new computer to turn on.... I am really pissed off and I want to know why anyone even needs the SP and why Microsoft just sends it out in important updates with very little information or warnings? I think that Microsoft should have to give some sort of retribution for causing something like this to happen. Then, last night I see the commercial for Windows 7.

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Comment from Kyle on 2009-09-27

2009-09-27T11:21:54Z

When i restart my computer most of the time it will display the logo and the f functions like normal than screen will go blank. Than at the top left corner a - will flas for long time than will say operating system not found. I will than have to restar comper either by powering off or ctrl alt del over ans over unill it atarta normaly. I have done a complete reboot to manufacture state and it still does this. Any help?

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Comment from Christian Rodriguez on 2009-09-14

2009-09-15T00:04:47Z

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Comment from Sarah on 2009-08-25

2009-08-25T20:23:48Z

My computer is brand new. It is a dell inspirion. I turned it on a few days ago and was surfing the web and it started saying I had a trojan virus infecting the files in my computer. I decided to just try to restore the thing cause I didn't know what to do and it froze so i turned it off. Now everytime I turn it on the black screen comes up saying it failed to boot, it wants me to insert the Windows Installation disk and repair it but when I put the disk in nothing happens.
Can you help me!?!

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Comment from Deana on 2009-08-23

2009-08-24T02:03:00Z

Hello!
My IBM laptop started freezing, so I would shut it off and turn it back on, but then it started freezing on the 'loading Win XP' page, to the point that I tried 19 times before it loaded my desktop. It would work for a little while and then freeze again. I took out my HD and put in a different one from my mother's identical laptop, and it did the exact same freezing thing. A couple days later, we tried it again, and it was fine for 2 days! Now, it's freezing again, so I did the Windows recovery with chkdsk /r and then fixboot. It found and repaired errors. Windows then booted normally to the desktop, but then froze the second I moved the mouse. I shut it off, turned it back on, and the screen now stays completely blank, without even the 'IBM' screen that comes on first. The HD lights don't come on whatsoever. Is it the motherboard, considering that it did this with 2 different HD's? Thanks very much.

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Comment from Daniel Quinn on 2009-08-23

2009-08-23T17:05:30Z

Hello, I have recently been given an old computer with no cd-rom or harddrive. I have installed a ide harddrive and a ide cd rom. I have entered the bios and the new drives are showing: the harddrive as 1de1 primary and the cdrom ide2 as primary. The bios is set to boot from cd-rom first and then harddrive second.
However when I boot the computer it lists the devices and then says, "Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk And Press Enter"
I am trying to install Microsoft Windows Professional.
The componants are: ASUS P4SGX-MX Motherboard
Intel (R)Celeron (R) 2400Mhz Processor
Cache memory 120k
Memory installed 224Mb
Asus dvd-rom E616
Hitachi HDP725025GLA Harddrive

Thanks

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Comment from Ken Howard on 2009-08-13

2009-08-13T09:47:01Z

My Dell laptop will not boot and wants to start in repair mode. Nothing happens an it keeps looping into the same repair mode.

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Comment from DeVonna on 2009-08-12

2009-08-12T14:44:22Z

I have read all of this and more about the recovery console BUT...my cd drivr is broken and
1.doesnt even open right now
2.doesnt read cds

I have tried cleaning it and making sure nothing is loose but it just doesnt work. I have many priceless pictures and videos on my cpu and i just want them on a safe flash drive or memory card...but i cant do that without a cd drivr that works...

so my question is: it there a way to get/use windows xp recovery console WITHOUT a cd drive?

Not that I'm aware of - at least not easily. How about just replacing that CD drive?

12-Aug-2009

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Comment from Jess on 2009-07-27

2009-07-27T21:34:07Z

A while ago i used my laptop to download some music and then switched it off. when i went back to use my laptop again about a week or two later, i switched it on and it asked me whether i wanted to 'launch startup repair (recommended)' or start windows normally. repair leads to a page that says windows is loading files then just freezes and starting windows normally leads to the usual startup screen but the loading bar just keeps going so either way i cannot use the laptop so any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks.

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Comment from chris on 2009-07-22

2009-07-23T00:57:00Z

I was looking at a email sent by a friend of mine when my computer froze. I shut the computer off and tried to restart it but when I did it stopped at the windows screen and the loading bar just keeps cycling. Can you tell me what the probem might be? I have all my childrens pictures in there and I would do anything not to lose them. Please help me if you can.

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Comment from Helpful Hand on 2009-07-21

2009-07-21T22:19:08Z

Try unplugging all external hardwares (Printers, Scanners, Phones, iPod). Unplug anything connected through a USB (except the keyboard and mouse). I had this problem happen to me, but I called Dell, and they told me to unplug my external hardwares (my ipod) once I did it continued to boot up and is now working perfectly.

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Comment from jazz on 2009-06-23

2009-06-23T13:30:35Z

My laptop cannot start up. It only says cannot find operating system and totally stays on that screen :s
Heeelp please

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Comment from robert legnon on 2009-06-15

2009-06-15T23:48:09Z

cant start computer just keeps looping in safe mode. tried all options in safe mode but it wont even get out of safe mode. i havve xp on a gateway

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Comment from Alex on 2009-06-12

2009-06-13T04:27:52Z

MY computer when I turn it on doesn't do anything, The green light on the DVD/CD constantly flashes but nothing is displayed on the monitor. After about 5 minutes the computer shuts itself off. Do I have a Bad hard drive, or other problems?

There's simply no way to know without looking at the machine. Could be any of a hundred different things. Probably time for a technician.

- Leo
13-Jun-2009

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Comment from Brooke on 2009-06-12

2009-06-13T00:25:08Z

when i start my computer up the gateway icon comes up then it goes to a blackish blue screen the cursor might flicker but other than that...nothin....please help me!!

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Comment from ashley miller!! on 2009-06-03

2009-06-03T18:28:05Z

well u should call before u do anything

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Comment from clive flaherty on 2009-05-29

2009-05-29T11:06:51Z

Hi, my Dell 5150c won't boot up at all when I hit the on button, the light/button which usually goes green, just flashes orange, my external hard drive comes alive as does the monitor, which then goes into standby after a few seconds.
Any idea's?

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Comment from Tina on 2009-05-19

2009-05-20T03:35:55Z

i just took out my 25ogb harddrive out my computer to put it in a new desk top but now the old computer wont boot up need help asap if u can help my plz hit me up ty

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Comment from teresa nicholls on 2009-05-15

2009-05-15T20:08:27Z

this is for my husband but his system is not staying on and freezing so using my email add.His system freezes Sometimes after only a minute of startng up,sometimes just resets on its own have wiped hd and re installed but the problem still persists its driving him insane can anyone please help oh hes already run it through reg cure and virus checker

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Comment from william on 2009-05-02

2009-05-02T09:27:29Z

when i switch on my computer(CPU)the power goes up but no action taken on the monitor however monitor still on as well. i have changed different monitors.

pls advice.

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Comment from Mike on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T13:57:17Z

i have a toshiba laptop and installed a new harddrive but it won't load Vista and it loads Xp but then tells me no HD. The old HD crashed and won't work should i change the cmos battery

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Comment from tiffany on 2009-04-27

2009-04-28T06:45:54Z

acer desktop. all was fine until i created a user account for my friends son. the first program he tried to run kept crashing with *app* errors and java errors, now it hardly boots at all and well it does, it hangs when i click on anything, and god forbid i double click on anything. i can still use the wifi for my laptop though, if that has any corrolation . i have since gone ahead and deleted his profile, thinking that could be the glitch. anyone had this problem or similar?

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Comment from Ted Zettel on 2009-04-18

2009-04-19T04:04:42Z

computer wont go past e screen say's press f2 f10 wont let me do anything???????????????????

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Comment from gilbert cahill on 2009-04-10

2009-04-10T23:44:53Z

the lights are on. no noise on start up .no screen no nothing. i suspect mother board. can you help.

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Comment from Rob Schlintz on 2009-04-10

2009-04-10T22:51:14Z

my computer locks up when play Movie Player, and Netflix player, I have windows Vista, 1GB Ram, even when took out of box it locked up on me first day had to hard boot it.
My instinct thinks either Vista uses up most the RAM, computer runs out of RAM for the Video Players, or my Video Card.

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Comment from Curtis on 2009-03-25

2009-03-26T01:53:48Z

My computer wouldn't boot, there were no beeps at all. I took to a professional, they said the reseated the RAM and it worked (I had tried that too). That worked for a day, then same thing. I got it to run again, i took everything apart, even the CPU, cleaned it, put it all back together, and voila i am back up. Would a motherboard or CPU issue be sporadic like this? I have a sony VGC-RB38g.

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Comment from Greg Cooper on 2009-03-13

2009-03-14T04:02:24Z

I have a problem with a Dell Precision 370. When it is turned on the only thing that happens is that the CPU fan winds up to high speed and nothing else happens. I have checked the cpu and memory and both are fine. I have disconnected the hard drives and DVD player so that it is down to basics.
Any help would be appreciated,
regards Greg

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Comment from Lewis Frank on 2009-03-11

2009-03-11T12:06:05Z

I have a Toshiba Satelite u205 laptop for about 3 years. It has been fine until 1 day when I try to log on, it logs me off. There is no cd, built in recovery. Tried to reformat hard drive,no good. I log on,system logs me off.
Any suggestions?

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Comment from Junior on 2009-03-01

2009-03-01T17:19:37Z

Yes I have a custom built pc with an athlon processor running windows xp pro. with service pack 2. I can start up with the xp installation cd and everything starts up like in the format stage, it loads all the files and then after that, it's telling me that it cant find any hard drives on my computer. Windows can't continue, so I'm even unable to format. I have 3 green lights in the back instead of 4. The 4th light is red. I replaced the ide cable and changed the hard drive and still the same thing. I try'd my old hard drive in another computer and it loads all files and it would format. btw, when it boots I get a cmos error too. Does anybody have a understanding of what might be going on here? Thanks Sincerly, Junior.

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Comment from marlon on 2009-02-22

2009-02-22T14:47:59Z

When I turn On my pc, It acts like it is booting. No screen comes up and no sounds are made, but tha hard drive starting up, and tha prosscer fan running. The keyboard does not turn on eather. After I turn of tha pc five times, I get tha pc to boot up right. I dont know what is cuasing this. If i get tha pc to boot, it runs fine. What could cause this?
Posted by: Daniel at February 3, 2009 6:18 PM

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Comment from Ed Byrne on 2009-02-20

2009-02-20T22:24:59Z

I am having a similar problem. I was moving items on my desk and the power got unplugged. I plugged it back in and when I try to boot up my IBM NetVista on XP Pro I only get this message on a black screen "Press F1 for Setup Press F12 for Startup Device Menu" When I do, nothing happens!! Please help,
Ed

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Comment from Keith Leitch on 2008-11-29

2008-11-29T23:48:12Z

Hi, Leo,

I have a booting issue that doesn't quite fit any discussed above. My computer boots, and boots just fine, but only if I am standing by on a restart to press the F8 key, and then select "Start Windows Normally". If the computer is left to restart on its own, it simply hangs before the splash screen. This is a hassle for a Media PC that needs to be restarted daily.

I am hesitant to use the Recovery Console or other tools, as I have worked hard on my HTPC, and Microsoftware has a reputation for "Taking Over" and "undoing work". I am not sure it would help in my case, anyway.

I'm impressed with many of the answers you have provided. Although I am a "Lurker" until today, I have made use of a number of your insights, and even extended many. I hope you can help.

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Comment from aiglet1 on 2008-10-04

2008-10-04T23:27:04Z

help my house got hit by lightning and it gets to serup and load bios then it goes back to the load and setup screen again how can i get it to load the os

After a lightning strike my first guess would be a hardware problem. Take it to a technician for diagnosis.

- Leo
05-Oct-2008

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Comment from Ngoc on 2008-08-05

2008-08-05T13:48:49Z

My computer boots up, beep twice then it said a boot file in my C:\Window\system can't be found or it has been corrupted, and it asked me to use the Window XP disc to repair the file. I used the CD which I got from my computer manufactor to restore and repair the system, after that it started up. I turned it off on that day and the next day when I started it up again, it gave me the same message.
I'm really frustrated now. I don't know what wrong with it. Do you have any idea???

Could be so many things. My gut reaction is to suspect the hard drive. I'd be tempted to run SpinRite on it, if you don't mind paying for that.

-Leo

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Comment from eric on 2008-07-26

2008-07-26T13:03:30Z

Wish I could help but I can't get any myself.
Computer kept freezing, then decided to not even boot.
I had a few instances where there was no reaction at all, no power nothing,then I got power to everything and it would not boot or show bios info
nothing on my screen as well.

I had it in for two days with some techs and they reckon they tested everything and nothing was wrong.

I figure it is a mainboard problem and for sure the bios is stuffed, but how do you fix this if nothing boots?
The dvd drive spins but will not load anything because of the bios problem.
At the moment I have it in pieces and have a new board ordered.
Setup was
Vista 64bit Business Edition
M2N32SLI Vista premium motherboard
8 gig ram (brand new) but problem was there before this purchase.
Gainsward Video Card
2 DVD DRives
WD hard drive
WD 2nd hardrive for storage
2 external 500gig WD drives
1 TB Sata Raid External
Athlon 64bit 6000+ processor
620watt Corsair power supply
Creative Audio card SFX

The new board will be a Gigabyte GA-MA 790FX-DS5

Any comments?

This system is a little over 12 months old, so as far as warranty I have no idea whether the old board is covered.

I am no genious but any help would be appreciated.

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Comment from Sarah on 2008-07-11

2008-07-11T23:13:55Z

I have had my hp laptop (windows xp) for about 2 and half years now. It has only crashed once and i had to completely reinstall windows with a cd. It has been maybe a year since that and the other day I noticed that the same blue screen came up after the windows logo. It said that it was checking for disk corruption. Now the last time this happened, after the blue screen came a black screen with some options u could choose (i do not remember exactly what they were) but with every option that you chose, it would restart the computer and would go back to the same black screen. but in this case once the blue screen disapeared, the windows log-in came up. i successfully logged into windows and ran my norton full system scan and nothing came up. I also made sure to update my norton securtity and i updated the computer with the microsoft update. I am confused because the computer seems fine. Do you think that the computer detected something and was able to fix it?

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Comment from duckbert on 2008-06-23

2008-06-24T03:15:53Z

Very good article. I notice I missed hard drive diagnosis on a similar article i've been assembling.

http://www.ryanknell.com.au/docs/computer_wont_boot.html

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Comment from T MULLING on 2008-06-16

2008-06-16T23:28:05Z

same problems as nikki above, besides not being able to find my xp disk what can I do?
I restarted my computer(I am using Windows XP), and now it wont boot at all. I tried booting in safe mood, and every other mood, but nothing works. Help.. please... I dont want to loose any of my work on my computer. If anyone has any ideas, please Help!! I'd appreciate it!!
This is what the screen says:
Windows hardware or software change might have caused this.
Try Last known configuration to revert most recent settings that works.
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last know good configuration
start windows normally

it will keep restarting itself to this screen... nothing else.. and I tried every mode, but nothing works, keeps going back to this screen

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Comment from Leo on 2008-05-03

2008-05-03T22:36:05Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Actually that's pretty easy: that kind of temperature
sensitivity is almost guaranteed to be a hardware problem of
some sort. You will need to get your laptop repaired.

Thanks,

Leo

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uuG/G8kjnngZ2wLR1Md1KYM=
=mVEX
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Comment from loo on 2008-05-03

2008-05-03T08:44:48Z

what if my laptop can boot only in cool temperature but cant boot again after i have been using it for a while (if i restart it). If i wait until it cool down (sometime take hours!) it can reboot again!

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Comment from Mike Williams on 2008-03-28

2008-03-29T04:41:55Z

Here's another way when you just need to get in and copy your precious files from a PC that won't boot Windows:
Shut down, remove your bad hard drive and put in another one. Install Windows on the new drive. Shut down and install both hard drives, make the new one the Master and the old one the Slave. (If you don't know what this means, get some help). When you reboot the PC, the new drive will be C: and the old bad drive will be D: or E:, etc. You can then use Windows Explorer to copy files from the bad drive to the new C: drive. If the bad drive is really corrupt (unreadable file segments, etc), you might need a utility that can try to copy your bad files, because Explorer isn't good at this. Just google "copy bad files" and you'll find recommendations, some free.

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Comment from Nikki on 2008-03-06

2008-03-06T16:34:18Z

I restarted my computer(I am using Windows XP), and now it wont boot at all. I tried booting in safe mood, and every other mood, but nothing works. Help.. please... I dont want to loose any of my work on my computer. If anyone has any ideas, please Help!! I'd appreciate it!!
This is what the screen says:
Windows hardware or software change might have caused this.
Try Last known configuration to revert most recent settings that works.
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last know good configuration
start windows normally

it will keep restarting itself to this screen... nothing else.. and I tried every mode, but nothing works, keeps going back to this screen

before I restarted my computer.... my friend had tried to sign on to msn... but I had lost my connection, so I restarted my computer.. and *BAM*.... my computer just wouldn't restart!

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Comment from ade on 2008-01-11

2008-01-11T10:14:01Z

LEONE....what you describe sounds like a hard disk failure.

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Comment from Leone on 2008-01-06

2008-01-06T13:43:56Z

I was using my computer, and i rebooted.
When i rebooted it got to the initial gigabyte screen (not the black one with all the stats) and just hangs, eventually it went from that to no power at all and the HD light flashes constantly and i can hear like a ticking noise inside, any suggestions?

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-11-06

2007-11-06T23:31:54Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

When my machines spend that long at the Dell logo screen on boot up it's
typically because the BIOS is doing an extended memory test. On many BIOS's
there's an option to do a quicker test - perhaps that setting got reverted in
the change?

Leo

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AN+L+XZpsedK5lok7Qq7djE=
=XMzE
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Comment from matt pfershy on 2007-11-06

2007-11-06T18:09:02Z

I have an HP machine that the power supply went bad on. I replaced that and now it is booting up. When it gets to the blue/white HP screen it gets hung there for 30-60 seconds. I thought that it could have been the hadr drive but the IDE test came back fine. The RAM has been reseated. I have tried to change the boot sequence and tried to use a USB external CD drive to reformat the HDD. It will not find it. It just boots into Windows XP after the 30-60 second delay. It used to boot right into windowns. Is there something that I can check on the motherboard that may be causing this issue?

thanks

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Comment from Ethan Wade on 2007-10-16

2007-10-17T00:19:32Z

My Brother's Desktop computer won't start up. My brother was playing a 3D game when it froze(this computer never frezes but crashing happens often)
after that it just booted till it got to the hardware list screen(the one that you get when you start up)then stoped and the next time I tried to start it up just the fans and a black screen no blinking of the hard drive light or floppy disk drive, how ever the cd-rw drive seems to work fine.
I have checked all the power supply and data cables.
I think it's the mother board or the power supply.
Im not sure what his system is
but it has a 900mh AMD prosser

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Comment from Pete on 2007-08-26

2007-08-26T20:03:39Z

Im having an booting error and, as far as I know, it's some kind of crash depending on an sudden shut down of my computer, that I made. I kept holding in the start/shutdown button, and it just went down. I believe that it is a shutdown command, and that my computer is programmed to do so when I hold the button down. And now, when I try to boot the computer, I get to the black screen with booting alternatives such as "Start in safe mode", "Start in normal mode", "Start in safe mode with command prompts" etc. When I select one of these and hit enter, the Windows XP loading screen comes up, and when it disappears, the computer reboots. And it don't matter how many times I try, or which one of the options I select, it always gets back to the same black screen. I can acces the BIOS menu and advanced booting options and all that, but no matter which one of the advanced options I choose, I always end up on the black screen with booting options. There is one thing I can do though, that not makes the computer reboot, and that is "Inactivate automatic reboot on system failure" and then I get a blue screen with alot of text and the message: UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME. And all I can do from there is to reboot the computer again and go back to the black screen. Any suggestions?

Thank's in advance

Pete

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-08-16

2007-08-17T01:19:56Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Hitting your computer is never a good idea and now you know why.

You probably knocked something loose.

If you're technically profficient, you can open the computer and make sure that
all the plugs are seated properly, and that the memory and expansion cards are
all pushed into their slots properly.

If you don't understand that, or it sounds too scary, it's time to take your
machine to a technician.

But stop hitting it.

Leo

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Comment from Mateen on 2007-08-15

2007-08-15T15:47:33Z

hi, im really having a really bad problem with my computer, first of all i'll tell you the details, my computer won't start up property all i hear is the fan and nothing else i don't even hear the beep no more.....i have a clue that might be the cause of this problem...this all started out when i hit my computer accetendy and the computer just froze and stop responding. This happened to me before...i fixed the problem just by hitting it really hard =P and magicly it just started to work again....but now it doesn't work no more....=(
Can Someone plzzz help...meee sorry for the spelling errors im kinda on a rush right now...

Thanks
Mateen

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Comment from 804-skater on 2007-08-07

2007-08-07T18:37:48Z

well if any one has the problem when they start there comp. and hangs on a black screen. u might need to buy a new RAM.....it worked for me

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Comment from John Polchowski on 2007-07-19

2007-07-19T15:49:58Z

Hi, I'm having a hard time finding anyone else with this same problem. My PC is stuck/frozen at the Black screen where you can select the system to "Start in safe mode", "Start in normal mode", "Start in safe mode with command prompts" etc... When I select one of these and hit enter, NOTHING happens, it just sits on this screen. A friend of mine who is more of a PC expert was able to get into the Bios, use the XP disc and scan and repair the system. He said it did repair and fix what it needed to fix. But when restarting the PC it still gets stuck/locks up at the same black screen with the load "normal,safe" command prompts. It won't go past that screen. He thinks that perhaps when I downloaded the latest version of Acrobat reader the other day I may have messed up the registry somehow. Any thoughts?

Thanks
John

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Comment from Mike Rod on 2007-07-16

2007-07-16T19:31:51Z

>> Cannot boot up computer

My pc cant boot up. I have tried to install a new copy of XP and I cant after a XP loads all the driver and reboots I doesnt comple the instalation , I have tried to Repair XP, new Hard Drive, Memory, disconect all the components, new CPU but nothing I still get a blue screen and is not the Blue Screen of Death, because I dont get any errors, it just take me to a black screen there I have all the opcitons if I want to use safe mode, last , normal....... after taht it doesnt matter wich you u select i takes you to a blue escreen with the mouse pointer only, I cant even do Ctrl+Alt+Del I have to shuted down my self. Can some one help me plz... Thanks!!!!

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Comment from Helen on 2007-07-08

2007-07-08T14:41:59Z

Hi i have a time 2000 laptop which was working fine then the screen froze and I couldn't shut down using the alt,ctrl, del task manager as it didn't come up. I turned the machine off by holding down the power switch left it a few minutes and now when i turn it on all I get is a couple of beeps a flash of a green light by the on button the fan whirling but nothing else the screen is dead. Is it heaven for this notebook, i had heard freezing is sometimes useful.

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Comment from vitalis musungui on 2007-06-03

2007-06-04T06:00:11Z

on my opinion you should get a flopy disk with a windows start up o operating system.this wil help your computer to start if it doesnt show anything.after it has finished,remove your floppy and insert your windows xp cd,then restart your computer and follow the instruction from your cd.

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Comment from Kleinbaas on 2007-04-19

2007-04-19T12:38:20Z

There are a number of reasons your PC might not boot (Viruses, Missing/Corrupt Files, Bad Sectors/Damaged Hard Drive etc) but what I would do 1st of all is check if your PC will boot from a Bootable CD (the PC does not boot from the Hard Drive - just from the CD! and you can run programs from the CD to change passwords, scan for viruses, check and fix the hard drive, recover files, etc).
You may then be able to fix the problem (using the tools included) or at least determine if it is a hardware or software fault (if the PC boots from CD it must be Windows or the Hard Drive that is corrupt, if it wont boot from a bootable CD its probably another hardware fault. i.e. Motherboard / Memory)
You can get a Bootable PC Repair CD or a Bootable Bart Disk at www.discmaster.info
click here: http://www.discmaster.info/UK/tools.htm or here: http://www.diskmaster.info/USA/tools.htm
Hope this helps!

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Comment from Arthur on 2007-04-05

2007-04-06T02:33:15Z

My Windows won't load at all,when I switch on my computer normally it will show the Intel Motherboard
sign/wallpaper and after that it wil go directly to the windows logon loading.Now what happened is it still shows the Intel Motherboard sign but after that the screen will go black but not black as if total shutdown but black colour that the screen projects and then on the top left there is a small horizon blink..now it happens before but 30 seconds after that it will still load the windows xp now,even waited for 2 hours and the windows still won't load.What is actually the problem here? my hardisk,my windows xp or my motherboard?

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Comment from Leo Flores on 2007-04-01

2007-04-02T02:27:48Z

Hi:

I had some troubles with my LapTop, and I want to share my experience... The computer just didn't boot, the screen was black and I couldn't even see the "IBM" logo when turning it on... The only thing I did is cleaning the RAM card, and voil�!... Good luck... By the way, my lap was a ThinkPad T41...

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Comment from Dennis Post on 2007-03-23

2007-03-24T02:58:23Z

Today my computer will only start and then goes to a black screeen with a blinking cursur in the upper right of the screen....My computer has been running slow lately so I have been rmoving un needed files (none that have anything to do with the system)...I've tried to boot into safe mode, but it won't go there either...It sometimes gives me an error message that says Keyboard error and then its followed by the blinking cursur....I even used two other key boards and got the same message (sometimes) I've been working on this all day, trying different start up disks and boot disks/floppies....still nothing...It's a two year old Dell deminsion 8400 with windows xp home edition with service pack 2, p4, 250 gig hd, 1 and 1half gigs memory.
Anyone have any ideas out there....could sure use some help on this one....contact me directly if you like at [email address removed - post responses here - Leo] ...good thing my old computer still works...
Thanks all! and yes, I did read the top article!

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Comment from compute tech on 2007-03-17

2007-03-17T23:41:23Z

get a new power supply. get at least a 300 watt

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Comment from Robin Gray on 2007-02-02

2007-02-02T10:58:53Z

I had the problem when i started windows the screen went blank after the windows logo screen.I tried everything windows recovery (did'nt work computer hanged half way through ?),safe mode unpluged the power supply and still nothing.
BUT when i pressed the restart button again windows froze after the logo screen,so i just left it to read a few articles on THIS page and voila the login screen came typed in password and everything started normaly.
My advice is if the screen goes blank after the logo screen leave it for a few minutes (around 5 for me).Don't know hwy it did that but doing nothing solved my problem.

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Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-11-28

2006-11-29T01:19:46Z

Sounds like a hard disk failure or some other hardware related issue. I'd take it to a technician for repair.

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Comment from Nik on 2006-11-28

2006-11-28T13:03:30Z

My mums computer now without any provocation is asking for a boot disk, i used my computer to make one but theres a I/O error or something like that. Theres also a horrible noise coming from what i think is the heard drive, it's a mixture between a click and a scrape and the speaker on the base unit of the case is beeping everytime it scrapes.

Help, she won't stop using my computer...

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Comment from Art Vandelay on 2006-11-13

2006-11-14T05:04:29Z

Thought this might help someone.
I just had an error where the computer wouldn't boot at all. It would power up and passed POST but the monitor wouldn't display anything. I thought it was a video card issue, turned out to be a bad RAM stick. Put in a new stick and it works fine now.

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Comment from Steven on 2006-10-03

2006-10-03T14:32:32Z

Hey Leo,

I have a pretty solid understanding of computers. About every 6 months to a year I reformat and just wipe the slate clean. I recently did this, reinstalled all the drivers, updated my OS to XP (had 98 and then the XP upgrade disk) then simply started to intsall my programs etc. I come in the morning to find my computer is off, I go to turn it on and as it boots up I get a series of "beeps" followed by the computer turning itself off. I hvae no clue why the computer wont' even boot into bios or windows and am looking for some ideas on where to start. Any advice would be greatly appricated.
Steven

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Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-09-21

2006-09-21T16:41:26Z

If nothing's changed, I'd be looking at hardware on a 9 year old computer - perhaps a dying power supply, memory that's failing, who knows. I suspect it'll be hard to get replacement parts - or a tech who'll look at it, but that's the direction I'd head.

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Comment from Rich K on 2006-09-21

2006-09-21T12:14:10Z

I been using windows NT4 sp6 for years on cad program, computer is probably 9 years old, never had a problem but now it locks up occasionally on all programs(pdf's,opening jpeg,websites,cad program). I have to use the reset button, control alt del is also dead at that time. I've run latest Mcafee and hijack this but everything is evidently okay. Any suggestions?

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Comment from crystallize on 2006-08-26

2006-08-26T20:48:05Z

I have about the same problem as Joe.

Sometimes I managed to boot the computer but but not others.

I don't either even come to the post screen.

I've tried to trouble shoot, I also tried with replacing the graphic card, how ever it didn't do any difference.

All the fans and harddrives seems to get started
(I get a green power light and red hdd light) on the front of where the start button is which seem to indicate something is starting) and cpu starts (I've checked inside) but the monitor refused to start and I don't think the windows started to load either.

I have found a way to start the computer and that is to turn everything off, also the monitor. Do a clear C-mos and then put everything on and then re-boot, then it starts...

Unfortunately I have no money to buy spare parts for a long time now and I would be very grateful for any advice.

The motherboard doesn't have give any bios beeps when trying to boot at all, it just goes black.

But when I manage to start it it stays started and I have no problems ones it have started.

When I get money in some 2 months I'll try to replace the power supply and if that doesn't work, the monitor.
My monitor is actually some 10 years old so I wouldn't be surprised if it was that !

But I still really would like some input if anyone could help me .. please

I have a AMD64 3000+ CPU
a ASUS K8V-X mo-bo
Ati Radeon 128mb graphics
256 ddr400

/maria

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Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-07-19

2006-07-19T17:05:18Z

There's no way to diagnose that from here. It could be just about anything. If the article you commented on didn't help, then I suggest you take the computer into a repair technician.

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Comment from Sam on 2006-07-19

2006-07-19T16:57:06Z

hey,

i was in the middle of something and my computer froze and then i could do nothing so i tried to restart, but now it does not restart, the fan and i think the hardrive is wroking, so can u tell me what could be wrong the motherboard or something else, please try to help me out because this is the only computer i have

PLEASE HELP, if u can

Thanks

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Comment from Joe on 2006-07-16

2006-07-16T21:52:54Z

Hi,
I was on a particularly demanding game when there was a sudden power-cut at 11pm. Afterwards, when i switched the pc on, All that happened was the cd-drive span and the screen stayed blank. I thought maybe the power-cut seriously damaged some of my hardware (Is this likely?).
So i kept trying to boot up. I kept trying and after about 15 minutes it somehow recognised the card and windows booted up...hurray! Everything was normal, and i ran system checks and everything seemed to be ok. I went to bed, reassured by the success.
Then, the next day, when i joyfully switched on the pc, the same old frustrating blank screen problem happened again. I swapped the video card for one of my old ones...and that only worked after about half an hour.
I really really need to know what kind of problem this is...
The most important question is: Is this a mainboard problem?
Thanks in advance for any help.

My PC:
GA-7ZM Mainboard
AMD Athlon 1Ghz processor
Ati Radeon Celestica Gold Edition SE 128mb
2 x 256MB PC100/133 RAM
1 x 128MB PC100/133 RAM = 655MB RAM in total
Built-in RAM

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2006-07-15

2006-07-15T23:46:03Z

There are so many possibilities, but without seeing the machine, it's hard to say. Just about any peice of hardware could be at fault. In your shoes, I'd take it into a technician.

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Comment from martin on 2006-07-14

2006-07-15T06:24:48Z

my pc is sick.please help .
i turn on my pc and i get nothing no screen , the fans go round, the hard drive goes round becaues you can hear it , i cant get into the bios and the processer is stone cold.
please can you help me ? martin

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Comment from lee on 2006-04-27

2006-04-27T10:12:15Z

responce to mike.....you need to put sum more ram into you system then it will boot fine

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Comment from Leo on 2006-03-25

2006-03-25T20:19:49Z

There's a technique I mention in this article: http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_find_out_what_program_keeps_popping_up_in_my_taskbar_and_disappearing_before_i_can_click_on_it.html that you might try. Use a video camera to capture the message that flys by.

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Comment from yaser on 2006-03-25

2006-03-25T20:07:36Z

i am using a Dell inspiron 4000 and when i start my laptop it goes to the loading screen, where it says windows xp home edition with the green bar laoding, after that a blue screen pops up and is gone in a second, so i can't read what it says, then my computer starts again and the samething happens again and again. what should i do, i need help.

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Comment from V.N.Nandakumar on 2006-02-15

2006-02-15T13:22:52Z

Hai All,

This problem is mainly due to your RAM, please try removing the RAM from the slot and fix it back again, your problem should be solved.

Regards,
Nandakumar
India

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Comment from Leo on 2006-02-06

2006-02-06T23:55:45Z

Have you run up-to-date anti-virus software?

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Comment from hey on 2006-02-06

2006-02-06T20:23:48Z

i got a virus that when ever i boot up in the cornor it says windows envorment locked and threatens if i dont pay them 10 dollars it will take up hidden space on my harddrive turning it into a pulp..so recently i tried to save something and it says i have no more hard drive space "0" space to be exact please tell me how to rid this thank you.

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Comment from billy bob torntin on 2006-02-02

2006-02-02T21:32:13Z

the bottom line is when your baking a cake, you need to take your sweet time, therefore the cake wll be sweet like me! another thing that has come to my knowledge, is that we need to bring p1 and p3 style connectors back, thats right people, iam talking about the legendary "at" board of doom. now what do you think of that?

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2006-01-13

2006-01-13T18:54:00Z

Quite possible, but almost impossible to diagnose remotely. You might try removing unneeded peripheral cards first - try booting with as little hardware plugged in as possible - that could tell you if it's some other component. But if you have the resources, go ahead and swap the powersupply. Otherwise you may be looking at taking it to a technician for diagnosis.

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Comment from mamichula on 2006-01-13

2006-01-13T18:45:39Z

My computer will not completely power on. It will go on for at best 5 seconds and then power off. I have to reset it just to try again and i still havent been able to access anything. Ive been told by some friends i might need a new power supply. Does anyone out there agree? Thanx

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Comment from Doug Erwin on 2006-01-12

2006-01-12T19:46:45Z

When the power goes out my computer will not immediately reboot. I get a blue screen the first 3-4 or 6-7 times I reboot. Then it finally boots up normally with no problems. If I do a normal shutdown or restart, no problems, only if power goes off or machine unplugged.

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Comment from Leo on 2006-01-07

2006-01-08T04:46:49Z

Jamie: you want this article: http://ask-leo.com/flashing_my_bios_failed_how_can_i_recover.html

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Comment from Jamie on 2006-01-06

2006-01-07T03:06:31Z

Updating BIOS has left my 'system halted' due to an incompatible processor. I can not safemode to boot from disk. Really, It won't do anything,not ever reboot--just powers on & off. How do I fix this?!

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Comment from Leo on 2006-01-04

2006-01-05T05:05:33Z

Ramon: only thing I can recommend is that you get a Windows CD. Sounds like you need to reinstall, or at least perform a repair install.

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Comment from ramon baranco on 2006-01-02

2006-01-03T03:50:52Z

well i dont have windows xp cd and i have those boot floppy disc my computer makes a little noise before it goes to a screen were its says somthing about corrupt file sysem32 i forgot the rest but i tried the boot disks and i really cant find out what to do please help hope you understand

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2005-12-19

2005-12-19T18:55:52Z

Juan: sounds like something besides the hard drive or motherboard was hurt. Did you use the same RAM or install new ram on the new motherboard? I's also suspect the powersupply. After that - I'd start swapping other removable parts one at a time to see if any of them make the problem go away. Or take it to a repair shop.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2005-12-19

2005-12-19T18:49:24Z

Ven: sounds like you have the wrong type of memory stick, OR your computer requires it in pairs. You'll need to check with the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard.

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Comment from Juan on 2005-12-19

2005-12-19T18:39:51Z

Hi Leo,

I have a home built system I built over a year and a half ago. About 8 months ago, my 2 yr old spilled milk down the top vent, resulting in my having to replace motherboard and hard drive. Ever since then, I have experienced lock ups while booting up system but only if I have a DVD or a game in the drive. The levels of lock up vary in that sometimes it will ask me for a boot device, or it will ask me to run set up, but mostly, it will load completely into windows and user accounts, then lock up while loading all the software on desk top. This will only happen if I have a cd or dvd in drive. If not, it will run perfectly. What really bothers me is that although this problem is too frequent, it doesn't always happen even if I do have a disk in the cd-rom. I've tried formatting several times, but the problem is always the same. I've even tried swapping out the cd-rom with another computer but the results are the same. I'm running windows xp professional. How can I determine the cause of this anoying problem?

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Comment from Ven on 2005-12-19

2005-12-19T11:54:12Z

Hi. I just got an other stick of ram and when I put all 3 sticks in my pc won't start up at all. The fans spin but the screen won't come on.

It works fine with 2 sticks in any slots but 3 sticks in all 3 slots it doesnt boot up.

The only time it works normaly with all 3 sticks of RAM is right after I restarted my CMOS and skip the error msg that my CMOS settings are set to deafault but then when I restart again it doesnt work

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Comment from Leo on 2005-12-17

2005-12-18T03:09:59Z

If you restored the hardware to the way that it was when it was working, than the likely conclusion is that the motherboard's been damaged somehow - probably static. You may need to have a technician evaluate it.

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Comment from Amir on 2005-12-17

2005-12-17T16:49:07Z

Hi Leo,

I have a problem where as soon as the windows logo boots up, the PC restarts. This happens in all modes of booting - safe mode, last known good configuration and normal mode.

The problem happened after I took out a graphics card to check it after some graphics problems - I replaced and switched on but the above re-setting started. I've replaced the graphics card but that hasn't worked. I've also tried using the XP disc to enter recovery mode but that hasn't worked either. Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this problem?

Thanks

Amir

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2005-12-16

2005-12-16T17:59:12Z

Your bet bet is to track that down with your mobile provider, OR check for on-line discussion forums specifically for that provider.

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Comment from Kushal Sharma on 2005-12-16

2005-12-16T09:03:38Z

Kushal: I am using GPRS internet via my mobile, when I try to connect I get the error "The PPP link control protocol was terminated, this did not happen before, I am using windows XP professional RAM 384 40 GB HDD.

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Comment from Leo on 2005-12-12

2005-12-13T06:54:22Z

Carl: I would start by removing the Ram you added and seeing if that makes the problem go away. If it does, then even if it's the "right ram", there's an issue related to it being installed.

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Comment from Carl on 2005-12-08

2005-12-08T12:46:20Z

Hi, my pc won't boot up, it just beeps a few times and the monitor isn't recieving any signal! ... i'm on Windows XP Home SP2

I installed a new dvd-rw last night, i installed powerdvd that came with it and everything was fine ... i then installed the Nero 6 suite that came with the dvd-rw and my whole computer froze and the screen turned into a rainbow of different colours all over the screen ... i reset my computer but it then wouldn't boot up at all!!! ...

can anyone please help sort it without loosing all my data? cause i have loads of important stuff stored on my hdd!

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Comment from paul on 2005-11-22

2005-11-22T20:09:28Z

you have probely damaged your ram with ESD (electrostatic discharge) you will have to buy some new ram for you pc i recomend taking your opld ram with u. also leave ur pc pluged in but turnd of at the switch. before removin the casin of the ram tuch ur pc case on the metalic surface for a minute to release any ESD make sure u insert it the right way and in the right slot!!!! x

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2005-11-07

2005-11-07T16:25:28Z

Absolutely. I would plan on that hard disk dieing soon. Backups are important even when it's working, but get it backed up and checked out asap.

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Comment from Ryan on 2005-11-07

2005-11-07T16:05:19Z

Hi, I hope you guys can help me out!

I have a DELL machine with a master and slave hard disk configuration. Recently upon booting the sequence of events has gone something like this:

* I power up;
* Very strange beeps that are presumably codes, but very fast and rasping so I can't make out the pattern;
* NVIDIA graphics details displayed on screen;
* DELL logo displayed and short wait whilst my RAM is enumerated;
* Short clunky disk access noise (HDD I assume?) and "Operating System Not Found" message displayed;

My machine was ex-business second hand and runs XP Pro - so consequently I lack the system disk or recovery console mentioned above.

My system is currently functioning - this is the bit that scares me - I turned off and rebooted my machine several times, getting the same beeps and errors until on the 6th go there were no beeps and XP started. I read somewhere that this could mean my HDD is getting stuck and needs to be rapidly replaced and/or backed up before it fails completely. However, this would imply that my problems have occurred when the HDD fails to spin, and would it still make the clunky access noises I heard if this were the case? Please point me in the right direction here, I have a lot of data to back up and if anybody thinks I have an imminent HDD crash on my hands I really need to prepare!

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2005-10-27

2005-10-27T15:50:13Z

If you're certain that the RAM has been seated properly in its sockets, then it sounds to me like you've damaged your motherboard. Might be time to take it to a technician.

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Comment from Fester on 2005-10-25

2005-10-26T03:59:22Z

My brother bought some ram for his computer which turned out the speed was to high for his so he gave it to me. I took out my old ram and it didn't say anything on it so I tried to install the new ram. Nothing happened I hit power it would turn on and nothing would appear on the screen it would just give me the monitor test. After a minute the computer would just shut off so I reinstalled the ram it came with and it is still doing the same thing power up , with nothing appearing on screen, and shut off within a minute. Any idea what could be wrong?

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Comment from mikesg on 2005-10-21

2005-10-21T17:22:27Z

I have never seen a 586 or higher processor that would fit in backwards.. so I doubt that is the case. Sounds like either he bent the pins on the processor, or either he generated an electrostatic discharge while touching the computer parts that may have either damaged the system board, or the processor itself. Make sure you have the power supply cords plugged in properly. (some motherboards have an extra square plugin with a four prong square connector with yellow and black wires coming from the power supply.) Unplug all hardware.. hard drive ..floppy and CD Roms... Then try to boot and see if it gets to the bios screen. Unplug all drive cables from the drives, and all usb devices... the only thing that should be plugged in at this point are the Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor. No drives should have ribbons. Try to boot to the bios and if that fails.. check the pins on the processor, or make sure you didn't plug in a processor other than the original. If you still can't boot the machine, either the processor is fried, or the motherboard took an ESD surge. (It may benefit you to make sure all AGP/PCI or in some cases ISA cards are securely plugged in.... if so... then remove them and try to boot again.)

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Comment from KitDreamer on 2005-10-18

2005-10-18T21:25:19Z

Rahul Lukhan:
If you TRIED to put the P3 chip in the Celeron socket, you might have damaged it.

Or you might have put the Celeron chip back in, backwards. Just a couple thoughts.

Did you remember to earth yourself before tinkering about with the static electricity sensitive components inside your PC first too?

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Comment from Walter Wego on 2005-10-18

2005-10-18T15:46:37Z

Sounds like you either need to scan for spyware:
http://ask-leo.com/spyware_how_do_i_remove_and_avoid_spyware.html

or run the system file checker:
http://ask-leo.com/what_is_the_system_file_checker_and_how_do_i_run_it.html

or both.

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Comment from A.K. Sewnundun on 2005-10-05

2005-10-05T16:41:10Z

Comment on my previous posts:
Installed a different heatsink+fan (+arctic silver5 thermal compound) which lowered my CPU temp down to 38c idle. The problem still remains though.

Because I've tried to disconnect multiple devices and replace my videocard and RAM (have an old vid-card and RAM that previously worked on the exact same PC config I'm running now), I think the problem's source is the motherboard: I'd forgotten that I previously flashed my videocard (using atiflash).

Also: recently I have encountered the following error messages: "..BIOS checksum error.." and: "..X800 XT.." (the last is the name of the vid-card I flashed, I actually have a regular X800 Pro installed).

So I'm now planning to flash my vid-card back to the original bios which I saved on floppy (IF i can get trough POST) and if that doesn't work, buy a new motherboard. What do you think?

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Comment from A.K. Sewnundun on 2005-10-03

2005-10-03T18:48:32Z

P.S.: Please note that my CPU temp is 72Celsius IDLE!!! (which is NOT good, I know, dont know what to do about it though).

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Comment from A.K. Sewnundun on 2005-10-03

2005-10-03T10:32:28Z

Ok, so my PC powers up, then nothing. The HD-led burns (green) for a while, after which it does absolutely and completely nothing. It cant be a POST problem, cause there are no beeps. I read elsewhere that it might be a +12v problem (too many devices connected to it), but when I disconnect some devices, it still wont boot.

Fyi: this problem started accuring when I flashed my motherboard BIOS to the latest version. I dont know how, but sometimes I do get it to boot (all the way into Windows), but after a while, it locks up again; anyway I flashed the BIOS back to its original version (I had saved the old BIOS), but it still keeps locking up and I have to unplug my ram and my videocard, leave them out for a while (1-2 hours) before I can successfully boot again.

So, any ideas on what is wrong (could it be some BIOS settings, cause I put most of them on auto/by spd/etc)?

Thanks for your reply in advance.

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Comment from Leo on 2005-09-11

2005-09-12T04:30:34Z

It sounds to me like perhaps you have a harddisk problem. Something's certainly broke - as you already know.

My temptation would be to boot from a stand-alone boot floppy (I believe bootdisk.com has 'em), or perhaps something like knoppix (stand-alone Linux on a CD). Both should at least be able to read your hard disk and get your pictures. Once you've recovered what information you want and can off that disk, I'd be tempted to reformat - perhaps even running GRC.com's SpinRite hard disk utility.

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Comment from John on 2005-09-10

2005-09-11T05:37:29Z

Hi Leo,

I'm really hoping you can save my PC! I've read through this post and also the Lsass.exe post, but can't find the solution in either location.

I am running XP Pro w/ SP2, and all of a sudden, today it won't boot up. If I don't put an XP CD in, it will boot all the way (from the hard drive) until it gets the Lsass.exe object not found error message with the 'OK' dialog box. Clicking 'OK' will cause a reboot. I tried to boot into safe mode, but after successfully selecting that option, it will hang before it boots successfully. (it hangs while the text based 'progress bar' is less than half way through). Booting into safe mode with command prompt will hang when the progress bar just completes. Choosing the boot into last known config will cause a reboot before it even finishes booting. so none of the advanced windows options seem to work.

Since I have my XP installation CD, I have also tried to boot from the CD. I was really hoping that I can do a repair install, and it starts out normally by deleting a bunch of files, and then generating a list of files to be copied. However, in the middle of copying the necessary files (~48% done) it stops being able to copy files. It asks you to check to make sure that the right CD is in the CD tray, etc. I have checked that my installation CD is not damaged (I successfully installed with the same CD on a different machine, except that I couldn't activate it of course). I have browsed the content of the CD and found the correct files (with the .XX_ extension, as well as a cabinet file) in the directory. So I'm pretty sure the CD is okay. Anyway, I hit 'Esc' to skip the file to be copied, but all subsequent files are also not 'copyable'. Hitting Esc repeatedly to attempt to skip all the files then causes the 'Windows is forced to shut down to prevent damage' screen.

I can get into the recovery console, but for some reason it won't recognize my administrator password, so I haven't been able to try salvaging things via command line. I have tried many combinations of my admin passwords to no avail.

I just want to boot into Windows ONCE so I can salvage some recent family pics from the last few months that I hadn't backed up yet.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Comment from Leo on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T16:00:19Z

It could be so many things. I'd follow the steps in the article.

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Comment from sumit on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T10:56:30Z

hi
my comp won't boot it shows a blue screen after windows logo & that's all nothing it does after that . No bootin takes place even from the cd after that what should i do .? do u know what is the problem is a wild ram problem or some thing like that? plz help me soon

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Comment from Leo on 2005-09-04

2005-09-04T22:54:24Z

It sounds like the game is causing the video card to go into some irrecoverable state. I would look for updated drivers from the video card manufacturer and see if that doesn't help.

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Comment from dee on 2005-09-03

2005-09-03T15:12:22Z

Hi Leo. My son's computer has been periodically locking up on some games, and then won't boot. We get the Aware beeps that the BIOS can't find the video card beeps, but can't get past the flash to black screen to do anything. I have tried Control-alt-delete to end task and shut the system down, unplugging the CPU and letting it sit for a minute before plugging it back in...that kind of thing. What do I do now? Thanks for all the help. d

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Comment from Leo on 2005-08-05

2005-08-06T06:09:37Z

My best guess would e the cmos battery. Does it have the correct date and time in the bios setup? If not, or if it resets to the same out of date date and time, then it's almost certainly the battery.

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Comment from Eric on 2005-08-04

2005-08-05T01:35:30Z

Hi Leo
In a post Paul made on July 1, 2005, he describes almost the same problem I am having. I run Win2000Pro on a Gateway mfd in 2001. One day, when booting up, I got the message that my hard drive could not be found. So...I had a new 200 Gig hard drive installed and the old HD cloned to the new HD. I got it home, started it up, I get the Gateway emblem followed by a black screen and flashing cursor in the upper LH corner; nothing else! Restarting the machine gets me all the way through boot up, but many times it cannot find my printer unless I unplug the printer USB cable and plug it back in. Am I having a CMOS battery problem or a BIOS problem? What's your best guess about this situation.

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Comment from Leo on 2005-08-03

2005-08-04T00:43:07Z

You're right: it doesn't look good. I'd take it in to a repair technician, myself. Could be the mobo, could also be the power supply. Could be something else. A tech should be able to diagnose pretty quickly with the machine in hand.

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Comment from Jason Vol on 2005-08-03

2005-08-03T22:43:46Z

Recently I think my computer got hit with lightning. I was sitting near it and hear this wierd little popping sound and not more than a second later heard thunder crack. Well i had everything on a surge protector except the modem so i figured it entered there. But when i turn on the computer, it turns on but doesnt make the little noises when it boots up or even boot up at all. Nothing comes up on the screen either. Also usually if u hold the power button for 5 or so seconds the computer will turn off, but it doesnt do that either. I firgured it was a hardware problem but was praying it wasnt my mobo but its doesnt look good,. Can you help me? thanks.

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Comment from Leo on 2005-07-11

2005-07-12T03:04:24Z

Boot from a Windows XP install disk, and have it format the hard disk as part of the installation.

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Comment from paolo on 2005-07-09

2005-07-10T05:55:19Z

hi, i just bought my friends' computer and i want to take all her files out off that computer and reinstall everything. What do i do? How do i take all her files out off that computer?thanks...

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Comment from Leo on 2005-06-02

2005-06-02T20:38:20Z

Well, you can install the OS on top of the existing install, and you *should* keep your existing programs and so on ... that's how an upgrade install is supposed to work. But I'm hesitant, simply because of the problems you're experiencing. It could be as simple as a bad sector on the hard drive that happens to be in the boot image, for example. A reinstall would fix that, of course. If you can run a chkdisk surface scan that might be an intersting thing to try first, or some of he other non-destructive hard disk recovert/test tools (this article has more: http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_fix_a_bad_sector_on_my_hard_drive.html).

I think in your situation, after the hard disk check, I would a) attempt to backup the contents of the hard drive if at all possible (booting from floppy if needed) and then re-install the existing OS before further confusing the situation with an upgrade.

Good luck!

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Comment from Paul on 2005-06-01

2005-06-01T13:34:44Z

Hi Leo:
Saw this website when I was running into problems and hope you can help. My computer does the POST, but then just goes to a blank screen with a cursor on the top left corner (no beeps and no ability to do safe mode). it happened all of a sudden (ie working for 1-2 years, now this). i'm using win2000 pro.

i've ran diagnostics on the hard drive and memory, swapped out the the memory modules, and nothing comes back with a problem. i've gone into win2000 recovery and ran emergency recovery, and also fixed the mbr. nothing changed.

my question is this:
i have a feeling that if i take the computer into a diagnostic place, they will simply tell me that i have to reinstall windows. i am hoping for a better answer than this so that i keep my current programs and settings intact. is there anything that i can do in the recovery console to correct a system file? if not, can i simply buy winXPpro, upgrade to this, and i'll keep my current programs and settings and the boot will now be fixed?

Thanks!

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Comment from Leo on 2005-05-31

2005-05-31T18:13:58Z

For something that dead, the next steps are all technician diagnostic things - time to open up the machine :-). Unplug it first. I would check the power supply - which typically just means replacing it. Another thing might be to carefully blow the dust out of the machine and reseat or push all the cards firmly into their sockets. If that doesn't do it, then I'd start removing expansion cards one at a time until the symptom's changed. (This needs to happen with a known good power supply, though - removing a card can cause a failing powersupply to appear to work - for a while.) Swapping memory cards is also on the list.

And if all that's greek to you ... then it's time to just take the machine to a hardware technician to diagnose it for you.

Good luck!

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Comment from Debra on 2005-05-31

2005-05-31T18:05:42Z

Leo: I have a Compaq presario PC. It would crash intermittently (and unexpectedly) but then would reboot and everything would be fine. Lately, though, once it crashed, it would not reboot. I turned it off and after a while it would work again. Now it just sits there. No beeps, nothing. No script on screen. No lights on the keyboard. No logo. Nothing. Only the green light indicating the computer is "on".

What's the first thing to do other than check the power? Can you give me a checklist?

Thanks!

Debra

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Comment from Leo on 2005-04-30

2005-05-01T04:53:39Z

Are the databases for the anti-virus and anti-spyware scans also being updated? I too would be tempted to reinstall Win98, if so.

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Comment from richvet on 2005-04-30

2005-04-30T16:43:02Z

Hi Leo,
I should have mentioned that I have McAfee Virus and the SpyWare Doctor which I use EVERY day. The last thing that I downloaded was the Spyware Dr. 2 months ago, and I paid for that. I find that my computer is much slower doing things besides locking up. Even when I write an e-mail, it tends to lock-up. I'm temped to reinstall my W/98 again, but I don't want to have to reinstall progams that I have. My last posting was on the 28th. Thanks again for your help!

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Comment from Leo on 2005-04-28

2005-04-29T02:31:16Z

I would start with an up-to-date virus and spyware scan.

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Comment from Richvet on 2005-04-28

2005-04-28T23:35:13Z

Good Day, and Thank You for your help.
My problem has to do with my computer locking up or freezing up. I have W/98 and use IncrediMail for my e-mail. This has been going on for about two weeks now. I can be online 5 mins. or 50 mins. It happens whenever. My computer also will not shut down, I have to shut it down. Please help me.

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Comment from Leo on 2005-04-14

2005-04-15T03:57:19Z

Given what's changed, I'd triple check all the connections to the powersupply, and perhaps even the powersupply itself. Do you get any "beep" codes from the boot process? That can also lend some clues as to what might be going on. Normally if the CMOS battery goes, the machine will still at least attempt to boot and will show something on screen. Finally, it's certainly possible that some static has toasted one or more of the boards. You might try removing all non-essential hardware from the box (even hard disk cards) and seeing if the video returns, or borrowing the video card from another machine. Good luck!

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Comment from daylan on 2005-04-14

2005-04-15T03:41:21Z

hi and thanks in advance, hope you can help! My Compaq PC was working great until i took the motherboard and all components and switched them to a new case, now it powers up i hear hard drive engage , only problem monitor doesnt engage on, checked connection(FINE) checked Video card(FINE) checked my connections on hardware inside (fine) only thing i can gather from your articles is that it may be because i had the battery out of it and it lost its memory or what ever im probably wrong but i have no more ideas to fix this problem

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Comment from Leo on 2005-04-05

2005-04-06T02:54:28Z

What version of Windows?

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Comment from Tony on 2005-04-05

2005-04-05T16:53:53Z

My compaq Deskpro 2000 tries to boot...and goes to "black DOS screen" and reads 32345 (Ram). A few minutes later it goes to WINDOWS welcome page with blue bar moving at bottom of page, then locks up after five stolls across. It goes back and fourth from "black DOS screen" with ram listed, to Windows welcome screen. I can get to a DOS prompt, which allows me to install and open disks. How can I fix this problem? Can anyone help?

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Comment from leroy hess on 2004-12-22

2004-12-22T20:29:40Z

To fix the master boot record use fdisk from your operating system and copy it to a floppy.Boot to the dos prompt insert this floppy and type FDISK/MBR and hit enter. This worked on my computer when it would not boot.
Good luck!

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Comment from Clive on 2004-11-19

2004-11-20T02:15:46Z

It's been a long while since I originally installed XP for the first time when I had a K7T Turbo LE as my main motherboard. Do you know what BIOS you are using as I recall Windows XP installation problems back in 2002 (or so) and recall you had to flash the BIOS to the latest version at the time.

I had to install verion 3.1 of the BIOS. IT listed:
"-Fixed problem wherein system cannot install WinXP when using other K7T series board except K7T Turbo2"

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Comment from Leo on 2004-10-15

2004-10-15T16:33:55Z

9 times out of 10 problems with standby are related to the BIOS on the machine. Check with the manufacturer to see if there is an updated BIOS for your laptop. I'm also assuming you're running Windows XP ... earlier versions of Windows (95, 98, Me) were less than reliable on standby issues.

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Comment from Arnold on 2004-10-14

2004-10-15T02:09:50Z

Hi,
When I take a break from using my pc I always put it on standby mode. But then when I moved the mouse again to put it to work my pc doesn't boot properly. So I end up unplugging the power cord and plugged it again. And then I shut down my pc at the end of the day but when I turned it back on the next day it boots but the mouse doesnt work. So im back unplugging the power cord and plugged it again. Pls. help me. Thank you so much

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Comment from Ivon on 2004-10-10

2004-10-11T04:55:01Z

I have a network (obydomain) When I log on to the domain the acoount works perfectly fine but after restarting the computer, when I try to log on the domain with the same user accout I get this message that account is disabled n can't go futher. I checked my account on the server its workign fine n I can log on to other computers with the same username. Please help me in this case.
Thanks & Regards,
Ivon

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Comment from Leo on 2004-10-08

2004-10-09T01:49:43Z

Paul: if you can't even boot DOS from a floppy, it certainly sounds like you have a hardware failure, and I'd persue diagnosing that.

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Comment from Paul on 2004-10-07

2004-10-07T20:44:20Z

one more detail:when I press on the "on" button to shut down my computer savagely (that's the ony way I found) it emits several beeps which I THINK (not quite sure) may be this: 1 long, 3 short Conventional/Extended memory failure

Thanks again for your help...

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Comment from Paul on 2004-10-07

2004-10-07T20:22:27Z

Hi,

first thing: my operating system is windows 95 not XP as reffered to in the article

So here is my problem:

Once I start my computer and I get "Windows 95 starting" all right, I get a big screen with Java written on it and a this moment the computer freezes.
Now if I press escape I will have the "windows 95 starting" message again but nothing will happen (not F8, nothing)
The bizzarre thing though is that I always have a little dash "_" clicking but nothing happens.

I tried with several boot disks: Dos6.22, windows 95a, windows 95b. None of them worked and I never had a C:\ prompt or an A:\ prompt although I heard the floppy drive read the disk.

I also tried F8 which works when the message "windows 95 starting" appears BEFORE the Java Screen.
Problem is:once I press enter (any entry), F5 or any combination (shift F5) my computer freezes.

Additional note on safe mode:

when I select safe mode I get the Java Screen and the computer will not "react" any more.
By pressing "escape" I have access again to the Windows 95 startup menu but the keyboard will not respond ALTHOUGH there will always be a flashing dash "_".
In addition there will be a message: "Windows is bypassing your startup files" .

I guess that's all I've got to say...

Thanks for your help...

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Comment from Leo on 2004-10-06

2004-10-06T16:26:12Z

Certainly sounds like hardware, I agree. Exactly what, I'm not sure. First step might be to run memtest86 ( http://ask-leo.com/d-memtest ) checking memory. Other than that. Because it could be so many different things, I'd start swapping hardware. My initial reaction is the motherboard or maybe the powersupply, but really it could be anything at this point.

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Comment from tan jin hao on 2004-10-06

2004-10-06T11:26:20Z

forgot to mention: when it hangs, no beeps, sths a white screen appears or a black screen with uneven dash characters appearing, most of the time blank or hangs in BIOS setup menu. usually power lights are loading like normal, however when com hangs with all cdrom and power LEDs lit up together, i can't even off or restart my computer by pressing the buttons on the casing.

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Comment from tan jin hao on 2004-10-06

2004-10-06T11:17:43Z

hello, i've read the article above, but i hope i get a more specific answer for the problem im facing.

my com has some serious booting problems. at times i have to restart my computer from 4 to more than 10 times to see the winxp logo appear. when this constant hanging happens, it even hangs while im inside the BIOS setup menu.
sometimes i get either one of the following warnings while booting (and hangs after that):

1. wrong cmos settings (i have no idea how to correct this)

2. dram timing too tight (i've set the DRAM frequency from auto to 400 recently, but it doesn't really solve the problem 'tho i don't see this warning anymore)

here's my com specs which i think relevant:

pentium 3.2 Ghz
1 gig DDR400 RAM
50 gig master harddisk (15 gig left)
10 gig slave harddisk (3 gig left)
256 MB ATI radeon 9600 graphics card

all the above are just bought less than 3 months ago except my 2 harddisks, i transferred them from my old pc.

i suspect this is a hardware problem, but i don't know which one, pls help thanks, im very frustrated abt it already.

btw, i realise my computer isn't running as fast as expected. in fact some of my friends said it runs much slower and less smoother than theirs with lower specs. even though i have my antivirus software and winxp updated, and not have more installed programs than them. one of the obvious problems is computer loading very long when i attempt to open or even rightclick media files > 50 meg. sounds like a read/write problem to me, which again voices down to possible hardware problems.

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Comment from Leo on 2004-09-01

2004-09-02T02:38:37Z

The article you just commented on has my recommendation - in this case sounds like a hardware issue. You'll probably need to take it in to a PC repair shop.

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Comment from warren on 2004-09-01

2004-09-02T01:30:32Z

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I hit the power button on the front panel nothing happens. No lights, no power, nothing.

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Comment from warren on 2004-09-01

2004-09-02T01:27:17Z

I am trying to fix a friend's PC that quit booting about a week ago. It would not power on at all so I swapped the HDD into my system as the slave. I did a virus scan and ended up removing about a dozen different virii. I switched it back to master (in my system still) and it booted into windows xp just fine. I put it back in the original system and it still didn't boot. What happens... I plug it in, flip the power supply on... the fans all spin once and... NOTHING! I've checked and rechecked every connection, every hardware item, and basically just everything I can think of. Could this be anything other than the power supply? Maybe a bios issue resulting from one of the virii? Thanks for the help Leo, you are the very best!

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Comment from Leo on 2004-08-30

2004-08-31T00:14:21Z

Best I can offer is the information in the article you just commented on. It sounds like your copy of Windows has been corrupted, and you'll need to repair or reintall.

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Comment from Nate on 2004-08-30

2004-08-30T16:31:29Z

Hello

Yesterday i had a power failure at my house. after the power was restored i turned on my computer and it blue screen 5 seconds after the login pictures showed. the time is exact cause you have enough time to click the piture before it blue screens. i have disconnected everything and still the same thing. it will reboot and once its back to the pictures blue screens and start over again. any ideas? system was working fine before the power outage

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Comment from Leo on 2004-08-29

2004-08-29T16:20:01Z

Can you be more complete about the error message? "is no drivers installed" - what's the exact wording of that message?

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Comment from Sharon on 2004-08-29

2004-08-29T14:10:04Z

Please can you help me, i tried to install a kids game on my home coputer but after the install, the computer crashed and has not worked since, at first i wasnt getting anything on screen but now after running my windows start up disc i am geting to my screen, although when i try to run any programme's it will not let me, i get an error messege that there is no drivers installed, i cant run my unti-virus to see if there is a virus, so i dont know what to do, just now i am useing another computer but i want to know if there is any way i cant sort my old one, i am on windows ME, its a pretty old computer but it was working fine untill i installed this game, and now it will not let me remove it, help please if you can. regards Sharon.

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Comment from Leo on 2004-07-27

2004-07-27T15:41:57Z

I'd contact Dell. That sounds like something that is happening in the BIOS before Windows ever starts. I'm not familiar with it.

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Comment from James on 2004-07-27

2004-07-27T12:39:04Z

When I boot up my Dell Optiflex running Windows 2000 Pro I just get a black screen with a flashing bar in the top left hand corner.
If I press Alt/Del/Ctrl and F12 as it restarts, I can choose to boot from c drive which works fine and takes me into normal windows startup.
Please tell me how can I get back to normal start up?
I have no other problems.

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Comment from Leo on 2004-07-23

2004-07-23T20:29:29Z

Jessica and Patrick both: my gut feel is that you are experiencing hardware issues. I'd recommend getting a local technician to look at your machines.

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Comment from Patrick on 2004-07-22

2004-07-23T00:18:59Z

I started up my system today as normal. My internet was slow then my mouse started to hang up, then finally froze. I checked the connection-fine. So I restarted and when I do all I get is a black screen and one beep every 2-3 seconds. I am a complete novice so any advise would help. Thnx in advance!

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Comment from jessica on 2004-07-22

2004-07-22T21:07:04Z

I have a problem.... I have Windows ME and i think that my computer crashed. i cannot turn it on without it going to a screen where it asks me to pick from normal mode, safe mode, or step by step confimation. All which leds me to a screen where it is all black with only a cursor blinking in the corner. I have tried to reboot it by simply just placing the recovery disk in but it seems when the recovery disk is done and the system itself is trying to reboot their is always a problem ( like Cmdist or something of that sort goes worng and shuts down the rebooting process)i have also tried by typing in the format command to clean my hard drive up but i am not sure if i am doin it right so Please any help would help me out soo much ..thanks

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Comment from Maribel on 2004-07-21

2004-07-21T15:18:34Z

I was given a custom built computer running under Windows 98. Had problems sporadically but consistently when running games (children's educational software) from CD. The computer would lock up and sound a steady beep.

Tried to resolve by replacing the fan, increasing memory and upgrading to Windows 2000. Even formatting hard drive and starting from scratch after suspecting a virus....Still locks up. Not sure what to try next.

thanks!!!

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Comment from Leo on 2004-07-03

2004-07-03T17:18:47Z

Then I'd try the steps in the article: safe mode, and then running system file checker, or if that doesn't work booting from the installation CD.

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Comment from Anonymous on 2004-07-02

2004-07-03T06:08:11Z

oops Win XP pro

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Comment from Leo on 2004-07-02

2004-07-03T05:22:19Z

You didn't indicate which version of Windows. My expectation is that you'll need to boot from CD-ROM and attempt to repair, or reinstall, the operating system from the installation CD.

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Comment from Mike on 2004-07-02

2004-07-03T04:54:07Z

My PC hangs just after the windows logo and I get an error stating that "lsass.exe Application Error
The application failed to initialize properly(0xc0000005). Click OK to terminate".

After clicking OK the screen remains black except for the cursor is visible but the system won't load any further.

Any ideas what I can do.

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Comment from Leo on 2004-06-29

2004-06-29T16:02:53Z

I'm sorry Simon, but I don't understand your question at all. Can you clarify?

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Comment from simon on 2004-06-29

2004-06-29T12:24:41Z

changed the advanced cmos setting disable the 32mb and my system is not booting some cracking up on the monitor

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Comment from Leo on 2004-06-23

2004-06-24T03:56:29Z

I'll bet it's not actually mail you sent. This article might help explain: http://ask-leo.com/archives/000065.html - it's currently a very common situation, unfortunately.

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Comment from Joyce on 2004-06-23

2004-06-24T02:50:26Z

A friend emailed me and stated that her Cox antivirus protection sent back that it intercepted an infected email from me to her computer. I find this difficult to believe as I have Norton Anti-Virus protection with email, Norton Internet Security auto-protection, etc. I manually check for updates every couple of days, also. I scan my computer daily, and the report never shows a virus found. I also have McAfee Firewall protection and Webroot Spy Sweeper engaged. Is there a way to find a virus and rid the computer of it, if there is one, other than to scan with Norton? Specifically, this is what she sent to me:

An email was sent to you that we have identified as containing a virus.
Below find the details of the infected message:
>
From: JoyHa3@aol.com
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 08:54:18 -0400
Virus Name: W32/Bagle.aa@MM!vbs
Infected Attachments: 000002b2.EML, /Nervous_illnesses.vbs

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