PC boots to not shut down properly screen but won't go past it!? Help!

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

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1 Aug 2003
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833
My parents pc is for no apparent reason refusing to boot up? :confused:

Everything appears fine when its switched on except it goes to the dos screen that says the machine was not closed down properly and then gives you choices of how to proceed, boot normally, safe mode etc.

However any option I pick just results in the screen going blank and then the pc returning me to the options screen? Almost like it resetting itself? :(

I've never encountered this before. Does anyone know how I can fix it or am I looking at a reinstall of xp home? :mad:
 
Thanks for the reply.

I guess it's not getting to windows. I get just past the point where it says:

verifying dma....

And then I get the screen saying - Windows did not start successfully etc etc, please select a mode to start in.

:confused:
 
Check the power supply levels in the bios. Only reason i suggest this is because PSU's can cause also sorts of boot problems and it only takes a few seconds to check, easy way to remove this from the equation if its not that.

Secondly have you checked for loose cables?

Tried clearing the CMOS?

Checked the memory sticks are not loose?

The possibilities are nearly endless, so its always best to check the most obvious things first, such as those above.
 
first thing id do is reset the cmos, its a small jumper youll need to bridge on the motherboard. refer to its manual for guidelines.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

To clear reset the cmos my aopen xcube manual says I should remove the atx power cable from the motherboard, is this actually needed?

Also I don't have to switch the machine on with the cmos in the clear position do I? AFAIK I just place the jumper in the clear position for a few seconds then turn the machine back on?
 
Yep just for a few seconds, turning it on can cause damage I read, but I dunno how true that is.
 
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