WIN XP & BIOS Boot Problem
 

Mrs Fairing's PC will not boot Win XP. We haven't loaded any new hardware or software for several months. Indeed the only thing we did in the interim was go away for three days! We get the splash screen and the progress bars but it shuts down after about 15 secs. I have been able to run Win in safe mode with the command prompt. I have tried to change the BIOS to boot from a CD but although I can navigate across the BIOS tabs I cannot access the sub menus with the enter key so I can't change the boot order. I have tried running the repair routine from the Win CD but it hangs with the response that some software installation is incomplete but there is no clue to the offending application. I managed to run a virus scan in safe mode but it didn't flag any issues. Any bright ideas anyone?

Rgds

Not to solve your problem, but if it is intractable, get in in safe mode & transfer any valuable data off the machine as a precaution.

If you can run in safe mode you should be able to roll back to last known good.

If not try running CHKDISK, but do what Parapunter says first.

Parapunter & green granite

Thanks for the advice. I've tried CHKDSK and rollback but neither helped. I think I'll use what access I have and take Parapunter's advice.

Rgds

FBF.

Much easier to get your data of by buying a USB drive caddy, putting your drive in it, and connecting it to another machine.

You could also run any tests on the disc like that. (Although nothing suggests that there is anything wrong with the drive).

Once you have the data safe, put the drive back in, and while the case is open check that every card and cable connection is fully home, and try a normal restart.

Cycling temperatures and vibration loosen connections.

If no go, then as GG said, safe mode and system restore should work if it's a software problem.

The other thing to try would be the 'recovery console'

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced users

And then install a free Linux based operating system such as Ubuntu... and say goodbye to IT problems forever. lol

fbf - you may wish to scroll through http://www.pprune.org/computer-inter...p-problem.html - NB we are still waiting to hear if McAfee was the culprit there.

All sounds a bit drastic. Is your keyboard on a usb or PS/2 connector (don't understand your bios issue). Found this

You can bypass all the programs in your Startup folder on an as-needed basis. To stop XP from loading any programs in the Startup folder, hold down the Shift key during bootup. No programs in the Startup folder will run, but the items will still remain there so that they will start up as they would normally the next time you boot.

What about Windows updates? AV updates? Firewall updates? Application updates?

Sounds like it could be a failed update.

Again, struggling to understand why you can't manipulate the BIOS configuration. Mr O asks a pertinent question about whether the keyboard is USB / PS2 - can you use the keyboard at all during POST? If so, are you sure you should be pressing enter rather than space / tab / arrow etc?

If you can boot successfully into Safe Mode, the probability is that the problem lies with a device driver or service that would otherwise be loaded.

A significant culprit for boot-up problems is installing hardware drivers via Windows Update - a real no-no IMHO, especially video drivers.

In addition to LKG (which you say you have tried), have you tried System Restore (available in Safe Mode, assuming you have had SR running)?

As others have said, get your data off as the priority, then sort the hardware / software problem.

I would try to get the system booting from CD as the first step, to be able to run Windows Install Repair (not recovery), i.e. select install, then repair existing installation. That is non-destructive and maintains your existing user accounts and settings. OK, you'll have to re-apply all SPs and patches since the CD installation media date (hint - slipstream SP3!).

SD

Thanks to everyone who responded. In an attempt to sort out the BIOS, I removed the CMOS battery for a few minutes and replaced it. After doing that the PC wouldn't even power up at all so I admitted defeat and took it to a professional. It turns out that it was a failing power supply. It was failing when I had my BIOS problems and it was probably coincidental that it finally died when I fiddled with the battery. All is well now. Thanks again for the advice.

Rgds

I'd like to 'borrow' the thread (good news, FbF) and ask the experts a question on the same topic:

Some may recall that I swapped out my IDE C drive for a SATA drive, and all was ok. Now, with increasing frequency, the BIOS is 'forgetting' the hard drive boot order, requiring access by me to 'remind' it. APART from a possible failing CMOS battery, is there anything else that can cause this?

I've seen problems with impending HDD failure manifest themselves as a drive spinning up too slowly and not appearing in the BIOS on initial boot-up, only appearing after a hard reset.

I've also seen PSU problems manifest similarly, with HDDs taking longer than normal to spin-up and one or other (or both) not being detected in BIOS.

Both of these can affect the drive order in the OS, although granted it's usually because one is missing!

AFAIK, the CMOS battery is really only there to keep the RTC up to date - the BIOS code and data is all in flash or EEPROM nowadays.

SD

BOAC

The thread is all yours. I'll pay you to haul it away :)

Just a thought, BOAC, I seem to remember that you have lotsa drives now installed. Are you absotively posilutely certain that your psu is big enough?

Pretty sure, yes, but that would not affect boot up hard drive sequence, would it?

Anyone have a rough and ready power/drive ratio?

Sorry, I was sort-of linking to SD's earlier comment
. If the psu is just a little iffy, this may be relevant.

Or not, of course.

when you say forgets the order, does it still show all the drives but in the wrong order ? I had a dodgy molex (good title for a song that) which caused all sorts of issues -which, if you have been man-handling things may just be relevant-and getting the jumper wrong on drives on pata cables (even after double checking....). Not a bad idea to check all the drive connections.

In that case no idea. You do seem to have a badly behaved machine there.

Have you tried setting a Hard Disk Pre-Delay in the BIOS features?

It allows you to force the BIOS to delay the initialization of IDE devices for up to 30 seconds. The delay allows your IDE devices more time to spin up before the BIOS initializes them.

:ok:

Mac - I'll have a look next time I boot, but I have an oldish machine and I'm not sure it has that in BIOS. In any case, it is a SATA drive I normally boot from.

Anyone know where the boot drive sequence is held?

Looks like you may have company

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- K8N-DL forgets Boot order after power loss from wall

Kind of points at the battery. Worth a shot, although we never heard from phillyb again:D. Thanks MR O

OK Found the problem - it had sneaked in a 'Load Default CMOS settings' without telling me - the clue was in one other setting I had changed a while back had 'reverted'. Next task to find out why..............

BOAC, recent experience (yesterday) re-reminds me that a duff bios battery will also let it forget the date. This on a four month old machine - it was forgetting date and boot order.

So if your machine is not forgetting the date, it's not the battery.

Duff IDE cables have been a problem, but I've not had a SATA cable do that. Having said that, the plugs aren't that spiffing - got a loose one?

Thanks, bog - you mean it isn't Sep 3rd?

I have to admit that as a relative 'newcomer' to SATA I find the connectors disappointing - very little progress apparent over the years of computing.

I guess the boot order could have 'suffered' with a dodgy Molex taking out an IDE.

Just to close this 'diversion' of mine - it is confirmed that a dodgy Molex is the cause of all my woes. It drops a drive off line and the boot order is then rogered. All I have to do is identify the 'occasionally loose' connection which is proving elusive.

OK, we won't mention post #24 then:)

Thank you:O