Freeze Only When Booting?

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by davidbacsik, 24 Feb 2008.

  1. davidbacsik

    davidbacsik What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    150
    Likes Received:
    0
    I did my first PC build this Fall, and I'm very very happy with the setup, except for one problem. The PC, after being "plugged in" (The power supply has a kill switch which I turn off at night because it has a light), will freeze twice during Windows startup, then start up normally, and be very very stable. I dual boot XP twice, one partition for desktop use and one for music-making, and it doesn't make a difference which I boot into. I find it very odd that this happens consistently. It only fails twice until it boots sucessfully, then I can turn it off (leaving the PS kill switch on), and turn it back on without any problem. I have no idea what's causing this, and I was wondering if there was an obvious cause for such behavior. I'd be happy to dig out specs if they would help.
     
  2. UncertainGod

    UncertainGod Minimodder

    Joined:
    18 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    26
    Sounds like a power (warm up) issue or could be as simple as being in need of a bios update.
     
  3. davidbacsik

    davidbacsik What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    150
    Likes Received:
    0
    Mmm. I think I'll try flipping the kill switch and letting it sit for an hour or two, and then trying to turn it on. Thanks.
     
  4. IAmATeaf

    IAmATeaf Minimodder

    Joined:
    9 Jun 2006
    Posts:
    382
    Likes Received:
    1
    What PSU do you have?

    Have you run Prime95 on it to see if it's stable?
     
  5. Peter187

    Peter187 What is a Dremel?

    Joined:
    21 Jun 2006
    Posts:
    134
    Likes Received:
    3
    Stop turning you PC off at the kill switch and see if this helps, put T-shirt over the light at night for a few days.
     
  6. eeevan

    eeevan Dremel Master

    Joined:
    21 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    313
    Likes Received:
    5
    I encountered a similar problem awhile ago. Do as the above quote states, but flip the main power switch, then fully unplug the power connector - let sit for a couple hours.
     
  7. davidbacsik

    davidbacsik What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    150
    Likes Received:
    0
    Alright, the problem persists. I have not touched the kill switch for about a week now, and every day, when i boot for the first time, I get the freezing. After that (for the rest of the day) I can turn it on and off as much as I please. It seems to be a "hasn't been touched in a long time" issue. I have a Hyper brand PSU, and will try to run a stability test this weekend. Does Prime95 specifically test power, because I ran system stability tests when I built the system, and they went for a full 16 hours before I threw in the towel.

    Thanks for all the suggestions.

    P.S.
    eeevan: Are you saying that you:
    1) Shut down PC from Windows
    2) Hit main power switch on front of computer
    3) Flipped kill switch on power supply
    4) unplugged power supply

    And that fixed the problem? I don't think this will work for me, because I moved the computer from room to room (doing that sequence exactly), and the problem persisted after the move. Nice for you, though. :D
     
  8. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

    Joined:
    25 Mar 2003
    Posts:
    6,244
    Likes Received:
    102
    Have you tried refilling the antifreeze tank?


    J/K :D



    Take a look at the capacitors on the motherboard. See if any of them are round at the top (should be flat).

    Do you have a spare motherboard to test with? If you do I would suggest that.
     

Share This Page