Computer slow starting up 1

[Cijebi]

I have an HP Pavilion that's been having trouble starting up. Once it starts it works just fine. I haven't changed anything inside lately and I'm running Win98. I'll turn the computer on and the lights will flash but nothing else will happen for approx 5 minutes or more. The monitor will show No Signal Input. After a bit of time I'll hear a loud thumping noise coming from the speakers and then everything starts just fine. As I said before, once it starts I have no more trouble - everything works fine. Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this? I'm guessing something is going bad, but what? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[cdogg]

Do you see the POST screen during bootup?

1) If you are able to get into the BIOS, disable the floppy and CDROM from the BOOT DEVICE list. Just make the hard drive the first in line and see if the problem still occurs.

2) If so, try disconnecting the floppy and all IDE devices (except the hard drive) internally. Try it again.

3) Also in the BIOS, see if there is a "fast boot" option that might have gotten disabled by accident. Without fast boot, the pc will thoroughly run a RAM check every time you power on. Though this wastes more time, I doubt it's wasting 5 minutes! But hey, we should look at everything!

4) If you have more than one stick of RAM, try them individually in the first slot to see if either has gone bad.

Let us know what you find...


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[oldbear]

The loud thumping is interesting....is your hard drive spinning up immediately when you turn the machine on? Can you give more detail of what is happening with everything inside the computer...like floppy ..what does it do? the cd-rom...the hard drive..etc. Is your power supply fan staying on or is it stopped and then coming back on indicating the PS is shutting down...do the lights stay on the entire time before booting? try to provide more detail..and yes it does sound like something is going bad.

 

[Cijebi]

Thanks for your help - I took off the cover today so I could see what was happening inside the computer once I turned it on and I'll detail it as best I can. When it is turned on, the front LED lights start flashing (in a continuous on and off pattern). I could see that the fan was trying to turn although it too was struggling (the blades wouldn't actually turn but sort of moved back and forth). From the way the lights and the fan were acting it seemed like power was going on and off. Nothing else was on - definitely not the HD nor the CD and the monitor just had the No Signal Input message. This all continued for approx 5 minutes with absolutely no sound coming from anywhere in the computer. Then that strange thumping sound came from the speakers lasting approx 1 min and increasing in loudness (fan was still struggling and lights were still just flashing while the noise was on). I tried to see if it was the HD or anything else inside the computer making the noise but it only seemed to be coming from the speakers. Anyway, as soon as the thumping sound subsided the fan and the HD both kicked on, the LED lights were now steady and POST screen came on. From then on it was as if nothing had happened, the computer worked fine, no crashes, no slow downs. This same exact procedure has been going on for about a week except it's taking longer for the computer to kick on (it used to be 1-2 minutes and now it's more like 5 min.). Once it kicks on, though, the computer works just fine. I'm really thinking it's the power supply dying but I've never had one die before so I can't be sure. Does anyone agree with this? Also, assuming that it is the power supply - this is an old HP Pavilion with a 110W power supply (it's really just a spare computer, but one I need to keep), would I have to replace it with the same wattage or can I go higher? What would determine the power supply wattage I can use? Don't know if it helps, but the motherboard is an ASUS DB98XV (originally put in by HP). Again, thanks for any help!

 

[dmplatt]

I would try the power supply. If, as you state, the fan struggles,as do the L.E.D.'s and H.D, then all kick in and run fine, sounds like a failing PSU. Actually, power supplys can be the leading cause for many computer problems.
Hope this helps.

 

[Cijebi]

Thanks! That's just what it was. A new power supply did the trick.