Computer wont boot

[rico14d]

Hi,

On a friends computer i recently installed office XP.
On the next reboot the processor speed is shown at the top of the screen and at the bottom it shows Press DEL to enter setup and it just hangs there.

Pressing DEL does not do anything and none of the 'lock' lights work. I tried disconnecting key + mouse and rebooting and exactly the same happened.

Here's the spec of the pc
Windows XP
AMD XP1800
96mb ram

I was due to put some more ram as the computer absolutely crawls.

Anyone have any ideas?

Rich

 

[ski]

That system needs at least another GB of RAM, assuming that the MB can handle that much.

 

[youngnetworkadmin]

Sounds to me like something might be burnt out on the motherboard, before you take it anywhere I would first try a differnt keyboard and mouse and also check to make sure there is nothing in the ports and that nothing is bent in the plugs, What operating system was it running when it crashed and are you sure that there wernt any viruses on the machine. If there is nothing on there that you want i would recomend a total reformat of the hard drive and that might take care of your problems as well, the other thing is that it might just need more ram because in todays world 96 megs of ram is a very little amount. Well I hope that some of this might help you... and good luck

 

[dglienna]

Do you have a USB device that is a 3-in-1 Printer? I've seen computers that think the device is a boot device, and locks up at the same spot. On one Dell that was new, there was a setting in BIOS. In another that wasn't new, there was no option. The only choice is to unplug (or turn off) the printer when booting.

David

 

[paparazi]

rico14d
Try pressing F8 and start in safe mode! once into desktop you can use system restore.

But this PC SERIOUSLY needs at least another 128mb to run XP (384mb plus recommended)
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[cyberspace]

paparazi is correct with the RAM reccommendation, ski has gone a bit overboard to say that it needs at least another GB, that isn't the case.

Windows XP can run quite happily on a system with 256MB RAM.

I would also reccommend trying to boot into safe mode, or inserting the Windows XP Disc and using that to use the recovery console, if you can get that far!

'When all else fails.......read the manual'

 

[rico14d]

Thanks for all your replies people!
We've managed to solve the problem rather simply.

My friend had access to an extra machine and tried to use it with his mouse/key etc and it got the same error, just with a different processor speed showing.

I told him to remove everything from the computer and it turns out it was the usb modem causing the problem.

After speaking to NTL he removed the power lead from the modem for a few seconds and tried again and all worked fine.
I still cant believe that something on the usb could cause an error this early in booting!

I knew everyone would comment about the RAM, i was shocked myself when i saw it too! 512mb should do it.

 

[MCesic]

I had AthlonXP1.4 with 128MB/266 runnin' WinXP SP1 and worked fine, not very fast for some serious work, but vy fine for normal using (even mediocre games and SW). Then I added another 128 and this worked VY FINE ( ) except for some big PC Games or other bigger software like Matlab or similar. Now I have 512MB/400 and work good for everything that Athlon can run.

So, I think it's up to particular user to see how much RAM he needs..

Glad to see your problem "easily" solved tough..


greets,
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