winxp startup problem: shows winxp logo and reboots

[alexmelo]

Hi,
Running WinXP SP2, Athlon 2600 Barton, 512 MB RAM, Nvidia FX 128 MB
I need help for this problem.
Everytime I start Windows XP, after I had shut it down for a few hours, it boots up to the WinXP logo and then suddenly reboots to the BIOS routine and then displays that screen with options for safe mode, last known good configuration, start normally, etc. I always choose "start normally" and then it completes the boot. This cycle repeats 2 times.
Whenever I reboot the computer, after I am running it, this problem doesn't occur. Boots perfectly at once. Again, it only occurs after the computer has been shutdown (switched off) for a few hours. This is consistent. Happening for months now. Did several in place reinstallations, following MS and various other advices. No solution. Formated HD and installed from scratch. No solution. I noticed that a BSOD just flashes very quickly when the logo screen disappears and the BIOS screen returns.
Thanks for any help.

Alex

 

[bcastner]

Start, Run, sysdm.cpl
Advanced tab, Startup and Recovery - Settings
Uncheck 'Automaticly restart'

This should let you read the Blue Screen the next time.

Some questions for you:

. Are your video drivers up-to-date?
. How do you turn off your computer? Do you do a Start, Turn off Computer, Turn off, and then let the machine shutdown by itself?
. Do you have any USB devices connected, like a scanner, printer or other external peripheral?

Start, Run, eventvwr.msc
Do you see anything odd in the Event Viewer around the time of a problematic startup? Anything marked with a Red symbol that suggests a problem? If so, report back with the details of the error message.

 

[bcastner]

I should note that the first thing I would do if this were my computer would be:

. Start Recovery Console:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/q307/6/54.asp&NoWebContent=1

. In Recovery Console do a chkdsk /r

 

[alexmelo]

Thanks for replying.
1. Video drivers are OK and MS certified. Everything is MS certified. I even changed the video card recently, to this GeForce FX 128 MB, thinking the previous one, a GeForce MX 64 MB could be the culptrit. It was not. Same problem.
2. I turn off the computer correctly. As you say, letting the shutdown by itself. Never had a shutdown problem, like an unexpected reboot, a long delay, etc.
3.I have 3 USB devices connected: a HP scanner 5490, 2 HP printers, 970CXi and 3820. Also, a Belkin USB hub, 4 ports. Microsoft Intellimouse was in USB, I changed it to PS2 also thinking it could be the culprit.
4. In eventvwr, the only thing is a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark for Applications, Userenv, event ID 1517. No remarks in System.
5. I had disabled "automatically restart" in control panel in the past. The BSODs I got never led me to a solution. Advices for BSODs, even in the MS knwledgebase, are very vague. Can be anything, like a driver, a piece of hardware, a software, and the actions suggested are useless, not practical, and don't pinpoint to a definitve solution.
I disabled once more and after 3 hours away from home, switched the computer on and I got: "Page fault in non paged area". (0x00000050), (0x83B44354), (0x00000001),(0x006AF57A), (0x0000000). Switched off from the BSOD by holding the power button, restarted,got the options screen, "started normally" and it is OK.
6. I forgot to say: before SP2, I had SP1 all the time. No problems for some time. One day the problem began. I have a vague suspicion that the culprit was something installed from a regular "Windows update" after SP1 and before SP2.
7.I'm considering to format the HD again, install Win XP as from the shelf, then SP1, then move directly to SP2 (have the full download of both SPs), without any Windows updates. Also thinking on some incompatibility with the AMD processor.
Many thanks again

 

[bcastner]

A stop 0x50 error indicates that requested data was not in memory. An invalid system memory address was referenced. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop message, as may other hardware problems (e.g., incorrect SCSI termination or a flawed PCI card). From the AUMHA forum.

I suspect your scanner:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310869

But do a driver verifier:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp&NoWebContent=1

And a RAM test:

http://www.memtest86.com/#download0

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

This also can be from leaky capacitors.

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Feb/bch20030207018535.htm

Or a marginal power supply unit.