okay, i have another occassional problem with my computer that's been bothering me. what happens is that occassionally, when i boot up my computer, it does all its self diagnostic test and right before the windows xp bootup screen is supposed to come up, the computer crashes, and i have to manually reset the computer. now, i can load up safemode just fine when the computer is having this problem. also, recently, i've discovered that by unplugging the computer from the outlet and replugging it, i can get the computer to boot up normally again. so what is the most likely culprit that can cause a computer to have this type of symptom?? power supply?? memory?? motherboard?? other??

 

do you shut down your computer properly every time? also this might happen if you have deleted some file necessary for win xp (intentionally or unintentionally)

 

& you can also stop the self diagnostics thing, I think it gives you 10 seconds to cancel it

 

Let me see if I understand your problem correctly:
1. Sometimes your computer would finish the POST and then "crash" while loading up Win/XP. What do you mean by "crash"?
2. If you reset the computer (I assume after the "crash") you can boot up in "safe mode". Does that mean it would still not boot up in normal mode?
3. If you unplug your computer (again, I assume after the "crash" and you have turned your computer off), then your computer would boot up normally.

So does it mean that when your computer "crashed" after POST, and you reset it, it will keep crashing -- it is repeatable and behaves the same way everytime -- until you unplug it from the outlet and plug it back in. Then it would boot normally.

First question: Does the "crash" happen when you first power on your computer? Or does it "crash" only after it has been running for a while and you reboot it?

Second question: Have you made any hardware modifications to your computer recently -- added another hard drive, replaced the graphics card, and so on?

The more you tell us, the better we can help you.

 

If you haven't added any new hardware lately, then it could be a dying power supply.

Before anything else though, open your computer case and spray everything with a can of pressurized air. Dust buildup inside the case can cause funny symptoms like that.

 

Also, what are you referring to by "Windows XP bootup screen"? Are you talking about the Windows XP logo with the progress bar beneath it, or are you talking about the logon screen?

 

I think he's talking about when the computer scans your HDs after it wasnt shut down properly (you know that blue screen), but I might be wrong

 

yes. the one with the logo and progress bar.

 

1. after the POST, the screen clears momentarily right before the winxp logo and progress bar comes on. when my computer crashes, it is at the blank screen. in my case, crash means the computer freezes up and does not respond to any keyboard/mouse input. i.e. i cannot reset using alt-ctrl-del. also, there is no HD activity when the computer crashes.

2. yes. after crash i can boot into safe mode, but trying to boot into normal mode will continue to crash.

3. yes. i've just started using this strategy, and for the 3-4 times i've done it, it worked every single time.


first question: the crash happen when i first power on the computer.

second question: for the past year or so, i've installed an SATA HD, an ATA HD, a DVD burner, and changed the power supply. i can't precisely recall if the symtom i am describing began before or after these installs.

 

precisely. although i remember in a couple of occassions, i would repeatedly reboot and after a series of consecutive crashes (probably 15 or more) i'm able to get the computer to boot up properly. also, to make it even more clear, these crash episodes do not occur on a regular basis. probably once every few weeks or so.