"System boot failure"

[Berzerker]

Hey all, I need some help. I have a relatively new, sporadic problem...On cold start-ups, when my computer has been off for a few hours, I get a "System boot failure".

The first time it happened I did a hard shut-down and turned it back on - it booted up fine...so I've continued with this method, but of course I want a permanent fix.

I've thought that perhaps it was a loose HD connection, but it seems to me that the HD would fail more often than just cold starts. Now I think that it is mechanical trouble in the HD- maybe the disk is having trouble starting to spin, but once it gets going it's OK.

Maybe I'm nowhere in the ballpark

Thanks for your time!

 

[mudskipper]

Well, here's the deal....

Yeah, it could be hard drive--but I won't promise that!! I have seen this type of problem be motherboard, hard drive, power supply, and others as well. Heck, it could even be RAM or any other part.

Heck, once (on my own computer), after a restart, my hard drive would not detect. Believe it or not, I changed EVERYTHING, only to find that swapping the CPU fixed it. Believe me, that we the ONLY thing that I didn't think it would be!

Bottom line--get out the test parts and start playing with it. Good old troubleshooting is your friend on this problem! IMHO, you should try in this order (both due to probability and ease of replacement/testing):
Hard drive
Power supply
Motherboard

Oh yeah--don't forget that it could easily be a different IDE device (especially on the same cable) that causes the HDD to crap out on you!

Good luck!

Mudskipper
-----------------
Groucho said it best- "A four year-old child could understand this!
Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"

 

[Berzerker]

Thanks for the help, Mudskipper! I'll track it down. I also understand that it could be the CMOS battery starting to die...

 

[mudskipper]

Yeah, that is also possible! Funny, that the little things often slip my mind. If it is the CMOS battery, then when the error happens, your date should be reset in the CMOS setup. Might be something to keep an eye on, for sure!

Keep posting back so that we can help you through it!

Mudskipper
-----------------
Groucho said it best- "A four year-old child could understand this!
Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"

 

[Kofy]

I've found that when in doubt the 1st thing I will check is the cables/cabling in the box. more trouble arises from cable issues than you can imagine. and nearly every A+ instructor in the world tells you that the 1st thing to check is ALWAYS the cords/cables.