BSOD

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I have a quick question, any advice is most welcome and appreciated.

Recently my pc has started hanging as it boots, the XP logo please wait just sits there for ever. Sometimes when this happens it does eventually load but more often I need to reset and then it will either load straight up or go to the start up options screen. It is only happening once or twice a week at most and the pc is on every day.

I have also had the blue screen of death three times now last week. The pc was just sitting idle with no programs other than internet running and I noticed it had

"windows has been shut down to protect the system a recent hardware or software upgrade may have caused this" blue screen and the last time it happened I got the message
"windows has been shut down to protect the system the following file appears to be the error" and on the blue screen there was a red box?

On each occassion a hard reset and the pc loads normally again? No software or hardware has been added to the system recently.

Win XP sp2, 2Gb ram, PentiumD 3.2Ghz,

 

Do you receive any error codes with the BSOD? These can be useful in determining where a problem lies.

When did you last do a successful virus/spyware scan? Could be something nasty corrupting boot files or other OS files.

It could also be piece of failing hardware? Hot CPU, failing RAM or motherboard, PSU putting too much power into the system, the list is endless! When did you last give your pc a good blow out and clean? A fluffy heat sink and fan will greatly reduce cpu cooling performance and make your pc misbehave!

 

yeah looking through the event logs I have loads of disk errors on a reasonably new HDD, it's SATA II 250Gb and the only HDD in the system. I have seen this on loads of XP machines with SATA HDD and never been aware it's actually a problem.
I dont believe this is the problem, the time/date dont match with the errors.
I move my pc regularly in order to connect a cable so i can link it to my pc and a while ago it wouldnt boot after, I reseated and reapplied the heatsink then and everything was fine.
Checking my hardware monitor the bios is detecting no problems.
Antivirus and Antispyware are updated and run regularly.

 

Never seen this before?

 

Are you moving the PC while it's on? That can really screw your hard drive. Why not just leave the cable plugged in. FYI, I have two SATA hard drives and I don't have any related errors in the event logs.

 

I wager it is a hardware problem.

RAM or MOBO are the likely culprits, CPUs rarely cause this issue presuming the fan is working and thermal paste was applied. PSUs rarely cause problems apart from dead PCs.

Check the electrolytic capacitors on the MOBO for bulging and oozing brown gunk. That is a dead giveaway that you have a capacitor problem. This capacitor plague is more common than you think and it causes exactly the symptoms you are seeing!

 

The fact that the PC started misbehaving after the initial move suggests that something may have been disturbed. I would suggest moving the cable to the PC and not the other way around.

I advised someone to order a Pre-built machine from a well respected supplier recently (couldn't compete with their pricing ) and after the courier dropped it off(no pun intended) it wouldn't boot! I removed the RAM and all PCI cards and it has been fine since.

Si

 

Hmmm, I missed that sentance - good point Boyce!

Also, did you re-apply the thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink?

 

Thanks for the advice,
I checked the Mobo for capacitor issues, dry joints etc and I found no issues. I have reseated the ram and PCI cards but it happened shortly after. I reseated the CPU heatsink and applied artic silver compound. On that occasion I was watching my CPU temp shoot up in bios so it was kinda obvious the crappy intel heatsink had popped off.
I need to move the pc to remove the monitor cable in order to install the tv cable. The system has to boot with this attached to display correctly on tv. If the monitor cable is in it will boot to that as usual. I can find no key combination or means to switch displays so I cant leave the tv in.
My machine is non-accessible from rear, hence the need to slide it forward.

 

What graphics card have you got? I'm pretty sure you can set it to do this with ATI cards, not so sure about Nvidia though.

 

If this option cannot be configured in the software, I would advise making up a Co-ax lead.

Buy as much cable as you need and two plugs. This way you can leave the machine where it is and connect the co-ax leads whenever you need them.

For a 2m lead you are looking at about £2 from your local Maplin.

Si