XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeff
  • Start date Start date
J

Jeff

Guest
Hello everyone,

I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.

However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).

If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
with no issues.

I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.


Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
perfectly)...but just in case...

It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
Asus A8N32-SLI MB
2 GB Corsair memory
EN7900 GT TOP
2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA



Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.


"Jeff" <Jeff@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:56A15BC1-F18E-4477-ACC5-0A039A1A3F73@microsoft.com...
> Hello everyone,
>
> I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now
> whenever
> I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts
> back
> up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
>
> However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and
> no
> other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to
> work
> fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
>
> If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> with no issues.
>
> I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean,
> it's
> well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
>
>
> Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> perfectly)...but just in case...
>
> It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> 2 GB Corsair memory
> EN7900 GT TOP
> 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
>
>
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
>
>

Boot into Safe Mode, then use System Restore to return Windows do a point
before this problem became apparent.
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

The date and time was 9/23/2008 12:09 PM, and on a whim, Jeff pounded
out on the keyboard:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
> I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
> up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
>
> However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
> other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
> fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
>
> If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> with no issues.
>
> I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
> well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
>
>
> Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> perfectly)...but just in case...
>
> It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> 2 GB Corsair memory
> EN7900 GT TOP
> 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
>
>
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
>
>

Hi Jeff,

Did this happen prior to SP3? Have you updated your video drivers lately?

You could try using a log file to see where it is hanging on the boot
process. Open MSCONFIG to the boot.ini tab and select /bootlog. Then
inspect the file after a hang to see if you can narrow down what is hanging.


--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
 
RE: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

"Jeff" wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
> I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
> up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
>
> However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
> other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
> fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
>
> If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> with no issues.
>
> I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
> well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
>
>
> Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> perfectly)...but just in case...
>
> It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> 2 GB Corsair memory
> EN7900 GT TOP
> 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
>
>
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
>
>

Hi Jeff,

What you describe sounds like a cpu heat problem. I've had a similar
experience where the problem was exactly alike.

Perform below steps:
1. Check the cpu temperature in BIOS before booting, this goes for both step
2 & 3.

2. Reboot system instantly, and see if this boots up the system correctly,
if not perform step 3.

3. Wait 15-30 minutes before booting your system up again.

--
Regards
Oni
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.



>>
>>
>
> Hi Jeff,
>
> Did this happen prior to SP3? Have you updated your video drivers lately?
>
> You could try using a log file to see where it is hanging on the boot
> process. Open MSCONFIG to the boot.ini tab and select /bootlog. Then
> inspect the file after a hang to see if you can narrow down what is
> hanging.
>
>
bootlog is selected, did a search on my C: and no file is found. Where
should it be? Is it called bootlog.log?
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

The date and time was 9/23/2008 2:03 PM, and on a whim, Meebers pounded
out on the keyboard:

>>>
>> Hi Jeff,
>>
>> Did this happen prior to SP3? Have you updated your video drivers lately?
>>
>> You could try using a log file to see where it is hanging on the boot
>> process. Open MSCONFIG to the boot.ini tab and select /bootlog. Then
>> inspect the file after a hang to see if you can narrow down what is
>> hanging.
>>
>>
> bootlog is selected, did a search on my C: and no file is found. Where
> should it be? Is it called bootlog.log?
>
>

Should be c:\bootlog.txt

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

It's been happening for a while. Not sure where to pick for restore and if I
go back too far, I am likely to screw up programs that have been
installed/running since then.

"Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:

>
> "Jeff" <Jeff@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:56A15BC1-F18E-4477-ACC5-0A039A1A3F73@microsoft.com...
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now
> > whenever
> > I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts
> > back
> > up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> > black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
> >
> > However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> > fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and
> > no
> > other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to
> > work
> > fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
> >
> > If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> > with no issues.
> >
> > I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean,
> > it's
> > well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
> >
> >
> > Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> > perfectly)...but just in case...
> >
> > It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> > Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> > 2 GB Corsair memory
> > EN7900 GT TOP
> > 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
> >
> >
> >
> > Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
> >
> >
>
> Boot into Safe Mode, then use System Restore to return Windows do a point
> before this problem became apparent.
>
>
>
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

To be honest, I am not sure about the timing with SP3...I think it's likely
it started then, but not sure.

As for your logging suggestion...the problem is that when it doesn't boot, I
ain't gonna see a log...when I hit reset a few times, then when it actually
does boot, that will overwrite the boots that never made it up...right?

"Terry R." wrote:

> The date and time was 9/23/2008 12:09 PM, and on a whim, Jeff pounded
> out on the keyboard:
>
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
> > I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
> > up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> > black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
> >
> > However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> > fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
> > other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
> > fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
> >
> > If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> > with no issues.
> >
> > I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
> > well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
> >
> >
> > Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> > perfectly)...but just in case...
> >
> > It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> > Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> > 2 GB Corsair memory
> > EN7900 GT TOP
> > 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
> >
> >
> >
> > Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
> >
> >
>
> Hi Jeff,
>
> Did this happen prior to SP3? Have you updated your video drivers lately?
>
> You could try using a log file to see where it is hanging on the boot
> process. Open MSCONFIG to the boot.ini tab and select /bootlog. Then
> inspect the file after a hang to see if you can narrow down what is hanging.
>
>
> --
> Terry R.
>
> ***Reply Note***
> Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
> Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
>
 
RE: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

It's a good suggestion...

I just wonder that there is no erratic behavior until I reboot...so if the
CPU was too hot, wouldn't I be getting errors or lock-ups? I have let it sit
5-10 minutes when it hasn't been booting right and that didn't seem to be the
problem, but I can do a little more checking for this.

Thanks.

"Oni" wrote:

> "Jeff" wrote:
>
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
> > I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
> > up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> > black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
> >
> > However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> > fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
> > other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
> > fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
> >
> > If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> > with no issues.
> >
> > I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
> > well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
> >
> >
> > Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> > perfectly)...but just in case...
> >
> > It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> > Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> > 2 GB Corsair memory
> > EN7900 GT TOP
> > 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
> >
> >
> >
> > Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
> >
> >
>
> Hi Jeff,
>
> What you describe sounds like a cpu heat problem. I've had a similar
> experience where the problem was exactly alike.
>
> Perform below steps:
> 1. Check the cpu temperature in BIOS before booting, this goes for both step
> 2 & 3.
>
> 2. Reboot system instantly, and see if this boots up the system correctly,
> if not perform step 3.
>
> 3. Wait 15-30 minutes before booting your system up again.
>
> --
> Regards
> Oni
>
>
 
RE: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

Actually...on further thought (I just posted a reply)...

It ALWAYS will go into Safe Mode, which would invalidate it being a heat
problem, I think.

"Oni" wrote:

> "Jeff" wrote:
>
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
> > I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
> > up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> > black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
> >
> > However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> > fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
> > other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
> > fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
> >
> > If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> > with no issues.
> >
> > I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
> > well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
> >
> >
> > Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> > perfectly)...but just in case...
> >
> > It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> > Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> > 2 GB Corsair memory
> > EN7900 GT TOP
> > 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
> >
> >
> >
> > Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
> >
> >
>
> Hi Jeff,
>
> What you describe sounds like a cpu heat problem. I've had a similar
> experience where the problem was exactly alike.
>
> Perform below steps:
> 1. Check the cpu temperature in BIOS before booting, this goes for both step
> 2 & 3.
>
> 2. Reboot system instantly, and see if this boots up the system correctly,
> if not perform step 3.
>
> 3. Wait 15-30 minutes before booting your system up again.
>
> --
> Regards
> Oni
>
>
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

Run msconfig.exe while in Safe Mode, then disable each and every task under
the Startup tab and check if this solves the problem. It's probably best to
physically disconnect your machine from the Internet while you're performing
this test.


"Jeff" <Jeff@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:75BDBA27-84F0-4E9E-96BB-534B83858D08@microsoft.com...
> It's been happening for a while. Not sure where to pick for restore and
> if I
> go back too far, I am likely to screw up programs that have been
> installed/running since then.
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:
>
>>
>> "Jeff" <Jeff@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:56A15BC1-F18E-4477-ACC5-0A039A1A3F73@microsoft.com...
>> > Hello everyone,
>> >
>> > I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now
>> > whenever
>> > I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts
>> > back
>> > up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes
>> > to a
>> > black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
>> >
>> > However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to
>> > work
>> > fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log
>> > and
>> > no
>> > other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to
>> > work
>> > fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
>> >
>> > If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe
>> > Mode
>> > with no issues.
>> >
>> > I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean,
>> > it's
>> > well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
>> >
>> >
>> > Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
>> > perfectly)...but just in case...
>> >
>> > It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
>> > Asus A8N32-SLI MB
>> > 2 GB Corsair memory
>> > EN7900 GT TOP
>> > 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Boot into Safe Mode, then use System Restore to return Windows do a point
>> before this problem became apparent.
>>
>>
>>
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

The date and time was 9/24/2008 8:53 AM, and on a whim, Jeff pounded out
on the keyboard:

> To be honest, I am not sure about the timing with SP3...I think it's likely
> it started then, but not sure.
>
> As for your logging suggestion...the problem is that when it doesn't boot, I
> ain't gonna see a log...when I hit reset a few times, then when it actually
> does boot, that will overwrite the boots that never made it up...right?
>
> "Terry R." wrote:
>
>> The date and time was 9/23/2008 12:09 PM, and on a whim, Jeff pounded
>> out on the keyboard:
>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
>>> I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
>>> up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
>>> black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
>>>
>>> However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
>>> fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
>>> other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
>>> fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
>>>
>>> If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
>>> with no issues.
>>>
>>> I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
>>> well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
>>>
>>>
>>> Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
>>> perfectly)...but just in case...
>>>
>>> It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
>>> Asus A8N32-SLI MB
>>> 2 GB Corsair memory
>>> EN7900 GT TOP
>>> 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
>>>
>>>
>> Hi Jeff,
>>
>> Did this happen prior to SP3? Have you updated your video drivers lately?
>>
>> You could try using a log file to see where it is hanging on the boot
>> process. Open MSCONFIG to the boot.ini tab and select /bootlog. Then
>> inspect the file after a hang to see if you can narrow down what is hanging.
>>
>>
>>

Then I would get into the habit of starting each session using F8 and
choosing a logged session, and then after a failed start, not using the
logging again until Windows comes back up. Then you will have a log of
the failed boot. After inspecting it, rename it to bootlog1.txt and so
on until you have a few failed logs to inspect. You should be able to
see if it's the same driver by where the logging stops.

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
 
Re: XP Boot Issue, Strange Problem.

Ahhh...that makes good sense. Thanks Terry. I'll try that.


"Terry R." wrote:

> The date and time was 9/24/2008 8:53 AM, and on a whim, Jeff pounded out
> on the keyboard:
>
> > To be honest, I am not sure about the timing with SP3...I think it's likely
> > it started then, but not sure.
> >
> > As for your logging suggestion...the problem is that when it doesn't boot, I
> > ain't gonna see a log...when I hit reset a few times, then when it actually
> > does boot, that will overwrite the boots that never made it up...right?
> >
> > "Terry R." wrote:
> >
> >> The date and time was 9/23/2008 12:09 PM, and on a whim, Jeff pounded
> >> out on the keyboard:
> >>
> >>> Hello everyone,
> >>>
> >>> I am having a very strange XP reboot issue...I have XP SP3 and now whenever
> >>> I need to reboot (I usually keep my machine on all the time) it starts back
> >>> up...gets to the normal XP screen (with the moving bar) and then goes to a
> >>> black screen and just stops. No error, no beeps, nothing.
> >>>
> >>> However, every so often it will actually boot up and then continue to work
> >>> fine...until I need to reboot again. There's nothing in the Event Log and no
> >>> other noticeable error....all data is good and all applications seem to work
> >>> fine on boot up (when I can finally get it going again).
> >>>
> >>> If I hit F8 when booting, it seems to always be able to get into Safe Mode
> >>> with no issues.
> >>>
> >>> I have had this PC humming along for a long time, it's kept very clean, it's
> >>> well maintained...no bloatware, no wacky crap...etc.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Not sure if h/w matters for this (again, been running for about a year,
> >>> perfectly)...but just in case...
> >>>
> >>> It's an AMD Dual Core 4200,
> >>> Asus A8N32-SLI MB
> >>> 2 GB Corsair memory
> >>> EN7900 GT TOP
> >>> 2x Seagate ST3300622AS-RK Barracuda 300 GB SATA
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Any thoughts would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
> >>>
> >>>
> >> Hi Jeff,
> >>
> >> Did this happen prior to SP3? Have you updated your video drivers lately?
> >>
> >> You could try using a log file to see where it is hanging on the boot
> >> process. Open MSCONFIG to the boot.ini tab and select /bootlog. Then
> >> inspect the file after a hang to see if you can narrow down what is hanging.
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
> Then I would get into the habit of starting each session using F8 and
> choosing a logged session, and then after a failed start, not using the
> logging again until Windows comes back up. Then you will have a log of
> the failed boot. After inspecting it, rename it to bootlog1.txt and so
> on until you have a few failed logs to inspect. You should be able to
> see if it's the same driver by where the logging stops.
>
> --
> Terry R.
>
> ***Reply Note***
> Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
> Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
>
 
Back
Top