Computer can't reboot unless off for a while

Technology and Gaming Help and Support
#1

I got this problem with my computer… If I try to reboot it just after I shut it down, it will freeze either just before the Windows XP logo fades in, or just when it starts to fade in (i.e. it’s almost invisible).
It just freezes there, and I have to force it off.
The only way to get it to boot is to let the computer off for a while, like 5-10 minutes, then start it up.

What could be causing this?

It seems as it could be a temperature issue, but wouldn’t it just crash down in the first place if it was too hot?

Everest shows temperatures as following:
Motherboard: 52 C
Aux: 63 C
GPU: 65 C
HDD : 36 C

Specs:
Lenovo 7393 27U
Pentium D 2.8GHz
2x 512MB RAM
nVidia 7300GT 512MB
400W Power supply, Coolmax CXI-400B
Mini Tower
Windows XP Pro

Only non-stock things are the power supply and the GPU

The case and all the vent holes are clean from dust, just cleaned it last week… and clean or not it was doing the same thing. Computer is quite loud too, dusty or not.

:fffuuu:

Edit: not sure if this should be here or in Help & Support… whatever.

#2

I forget how XP started up, but if you can get it to run in safe mode (or fiddle with launch options and the boot menu and stuff) before the logo shows up, you may want to try that.

The problem might just solve itself if you leave the computer alone for a few days.

#3

I had the same problem some time ago. At random times, at the boot screen, the Windows XP logo stopped fading in for about 5-10 seconds and then it keeped going. I never had this problem again since I got my new PC. I have no specific idea of what’s the cause of this problem, but I heard that it could be due to the RAM. I’m not sure of this, though.

#4

Safe mode does the same thing.
Also, mine freezes completely, for an infinite time. it was like that for a couple of hours once.

Hmmmmmmmm LOL this is weird. Just found out I was missing my boot.ini file… I noticed lately the BIOS telling me ‘invalid boot.ini’ at the start, yet it still boots. But this is not directly related to my problem since I had the problem way before this boot.ini nonsense.
How the hell did I lose that file… wtf.

#5

prolly antivirus mistaked it for something else , get xp sp2 , it doesn’t have issues like this

#6

I have a similar problem, my fan is clogged with dust so my computer overheats when I play demanding games:[

#7

I highly doubt your boot.ini would be missing, if it was your computer wouldn’t boot at all.

I think your bios might be the problem, it’s not loading the bootloader correctly.

#8

My installed copy is SP2, and I got the SP3 update.
And it was doing this way before the SP3 days.

Also, yes my boot.ini WAS missing… My BIOS said ‘Invalid boot.ini file’ or something like this. There was no boot.ini file in C:, and attempting to change the boot settings from the System Properties thing gave me a ‘boot.ini file is missing’ message. I’m guessing the BIOS still tried to find a boot partition, which is probably not that hard since I have only 1 drive.
But anyway, the boot.ini thing has nothing to do with this issue, really :stuck_out_tongue: I made a new one, and i don’t get the invalid boot file message anymore, but the freeze at startup is still happening.

#9

Yes, this does belong in Help and Support. [COLOR=‘Red’]Moved.

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.