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Old 07-23-2004, 05:25 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Unhappy Computer freezing WHILE booting?

hey, I'm having an unusual problem with my computer. When the computer is booting up, it passes the "Compaq" logo and the Windows XP splash screen fine, but when the screen is supposed to go blank briefly after the splash screen, 2/3s of the time the computer doesn't pass that point.

This has only started happening since yesterday. It occurred right after I had installed a new modem into the system. I had also switched around some PCI cards to try and fix a freezing problem I was having before. I'm not sure if this is related to the problem, but I know it has been happening since I installed the modem. I tried removing all of the PCI cards (including the modem) except for the graphics card, but the problem persists. Also, I checked the hard drive LED when the screen changed from the xp splash to the blank screen (just before it is supposed to go onto the log on screen) and the LED basically stops by the time it gets to that blank screen--it may flicker every few seconds or so but that's it. When the computer boots up normally, though, the LED flickers throughout the boot. At least every other boot has been giving me this problem. I end up having to manually shut down the system and reboot again when it happens.

PLEASE help
thanks
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Old 07-23-2004, 08:59 AM   #2 (permalink)
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This has only started happening since yesterday. It occurred right after I had installed a new modem into the system. I had also switched around some PCI cards to try and fix a freezing problem I was having before
IRQ conflict

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I tried removing all of the PCI cards (including the modem) except for the graphics card, but the problem persists. Also, I checked the hard drive LED when the screen changed from the xp splash to the blank screen (just before it is supposed to go onto the log on screen) and the LED basically stops by the time it gets to that blank screen
Reset the BIOS to failsafes

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At least every other boot has been giving me this problem
Is the memory ok?
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Old 07-23-2004, 03:31 PM   #3 (permalink)
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I checked for IRQ conflicts in Device Manager, but there weren't any.

What does resetting the BIOS to failsafes exactly do, and how would I go about doing that?

The memory is fine. I even tried switching each memory stick to different slots. I've had the memory sticks for quite some time now. One has been in the computer since I bought it (2000), while the other is about a month old. I don't believe their are the cause of the problem.
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Old 07-23-2004, 11:43 PM   #4 (permalink)
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You can't be sure about the RAM until you test it. Try http://www.memtest86.com/
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Old 07-24-2004, 02:00 AM   #5 (permalink)
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What does resetting the BIOS to failsafes exactly do, and how would I go about doing that?
When you boot up your computer at the beginning it says something like Press F1 or Press F2 or Press Delete to enter setup. Press that button and there should be an option to enable Fail Safe settings.

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You can't be sure about the RAM until you test it
In BIOS you can also have the option of performing an extended memory test on bootup
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Old 08-03-2004, 03:19 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Praetor
When you boot up your computer at the beginning it says something like Press F1 or Press F2 or Press Delete to enter setup. Press that button and there should be an option to enable Fail Safe settings.


In BIOS you can also have the option of performing an extended memory test on bootup
The extended memory test didn't make any difference. I couldn't find any settings that referred to "Fail Safe" so I wasn't sure how to activate fail safe settings. I was able to access the Compaq startup menu (This is probably where the bios settings are) but it didn't show anything about fail safe settings. I read somewhere that failsafe settings are not the optimal settings and it may degrade the performance of the machine. Please tell me what I should do, whether it be this and/or something else. Thanks.
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Old 08-03-2004, 05:17 AM   #7 (permalink)
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I couldn't find any settings that referred to "Fail Safe" so I wasn't sure how to activate fail safe settings. I was able to access the Compaq startup menu (This is probably where the bios settings are) but it didn't show anything about fail safe settings.
Well what options are available?

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I read somewhere that failsafe settings are not the optimal settings and it may degrade the performance of the machine
Well right you are but you're not concerned with performance right now are you....after you get it working you can start to tweak the BIOS
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Old 08-06-2004, 07:26 AM   #8 (permalink)
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Here are the BIOS options:
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Old 08-06-2004, 08:20 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Have you tried compaq instant support their pretty knowledgable and if worse comes to worst you should have that partition on you harddrive to revert your computer.
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Old 08-06-2004, 12:42 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
I couldn't find any settings that referred to "Fail Safe"
Use the "Set Defaults and Exit" option under "Main"
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