Boot up Stalls

Hello,
Lately, my computer sometimes stalls on boot up. It gets to the Welcome Window and freezes. Restart doesnt work. I have to power down, and restart. Sometimes, this works the first time. Other times, it takes two or three times. No error notes. I have tried System Restore twice. Didnt work. Any help greatly appriciated.

WinXP Pro
Soho Dragon+
AMD 2000+
256MB Ram

 

Try start~run~cmd followed by chkdsk /r (answer Y(es) when it asks about doing the deed at next reboot) and then reboot.

Stand alone system or on a network?

 

Stand alone system.
Ran chkdsk/r. Still hangs up on the Welcome Window. I have to shutdown and restart to get it to finish the bootup. Some times, more than once.

 

Have you installed any new hardware or software recently?

Try sfc

Start > Run > cmd sfc /scannow and have your XP install disc ready.

sfc - system file checker, retrieves the correct version of the file from %Systemroot%\System32\Dllcache or the Windows installation source files, and then replaces the incorrect file.

If you want to see what was replaced, right click My Computer > manage, expand event viewer > system.

Go the MS Update page and reinstall any patches or updates that are lost.

HTH
Johanna

 

Dang. Was hoping the chkdsk would clear things up. Johanna's suggestion for trying sfc /scannow is the same 2nd thing I'd have suggested.

If that doesn't help either, you might want to try a couple of registry tweaks that won't cure anything but should hopefully show you exactly where things are hanging so we stand a better chance of finding a fix. You will probably have to create one or both the values below. For troubleshooting, set verbosestatus to 1/one (enabled) and DisableStatusMessage to 0/zero so you will see the verbose startup. When you have the problem fixed, you can set verbosestatus back to 0/zero.

Registry Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
System

Value Name: verbosestatus
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = enable versbose status)

Value Name: DisableStatusMessages
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = enable (default) 1 = disabled)

 

Went to Start>Run> typed in cmd sfc /scannow. Got a window,
C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe ??

 

Sorry, should have been more clear. After Start > Run
type cmd and click okay.
In that window, cmd.exe, is where you type
sfc /scannow *note the spacing!

Have your cd ready.

I apologize for the confusion.

Johanna

 

In the cmd.exe window I typed in sfc /scannow * hit Enter and got this. Cannot get it to run sfc /scannow *. Can you tell what I am doing wrong?
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Ray>sfc /scannow *

Microsoft(R) Windows XP Windows File Checker Version 5.1
(C) 1999-2000 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved

Scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Mi
crosoft versions.

SFC [/SCANNOW] [/SCANONCE] [/SCANBOOT] [/REVERT] [/PURGECACHE] [/CACHESIZE=x]


/SCANNOW Scans all protected system files immediately.
/SCANONCE Scans all protected system files once at the next boot.
/SCANBOOT Scans all protected system files at every boot.
/REVERT Return scan to default setting.
/PURGECACHE Purges the file cache.
/CACHESIZE=x Sets the file cache size.

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Ray>/scannow
'/scannow' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Ray>[/scannow]
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Ray>sfc /scannow *

Microsoft(R) Windows XP Windows File Checker Version 5.1
(C) 1999-2000 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved

Scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Mi
crosoft versions.

SFC [/SCANNOW] [/SCANONCE] [/SCANBOOT] [/REVERT] [/PURGECACHE] [/CACHESIZE=x]


/SCANNOW Scans all protected system files immediately.
/SCANONCE Scans all protected system files once at the next boot.
/SCANBOOT Scans all protected system files at every boot.
/REVERT Return scan to default setting.
/PURGECACHE Purges the file cache.
/CACHESIZE=x Sets the file cache size.

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Ray>scannow
'scannow' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Ray>

 

sigh... no asterisk *

Johanna
who never meant to make this so hard in the first place...

 

Sorry about the mixup on the asterisk. Ran sfc /scannow it fixed the problem. Computer boots without any stall on the bootup. I want to thank everyone for their help. Thanks again

 

Whew! Glad it's fixed. Thanks for posting back with your results.

Johanna

 

Just call me buttinsky after the fact, but on this machine, just typing sfc /scannow in the Start/Run window will run sfc.

Question is though, when sfc is finished, what if anything has happened to your updates? The update site install history only tells you what was installed, not what is installed. Darn poor way to run a website.

Going to the update site will not help as it determines what you previously installed, does not scan current installs. The install history site tells you that. It says these installs may or may not be on your machine.

An MSFT tech told me that the sfc program did not uninstall any updates, that it checked the machine's current files and if they were updated versions they would not be replaced.

But, I have many qualms about believing all that I'm told by MSFT tech support.

I would really like to get this issue settled. Does anybody know for certain exactly what sfc means when it says it will "restore files to their ORIGINAL version? Does it wipe updates?

Martin

 

Yes, no, maybe, sorta, sometimes on the updates.

If a file that came with a patch/update/whatever happens to be bad, it may well be replaced with an older version from the CD.

But a file that is good and is simply a more recent version won't be replaced just because it's newer.

 

Hey Newt: Thanks for the very difinitive answer. I have no difficulty with the "no" part, just the "yes,sorta, sometimes and maybe. "

As the update site is not very helpful, is there someway to determine which updates fell into the "yes" category and need to be re-installed? Can I conclude that since the updates that qualify as security patches were never on the orignal CD, they cannot be replaced by sfc?

Last time I checked there were some 70 or more updates for XP Home. Installed updates appear in the "add remove programs" on the local machine. Are these entries removed if sfc replaces a corrupted update file?

What the heck is a person supposed to do??


Martin

 

If the problem is bad enough to justify sfc, restoring the updates is a minor thing. And Newt is right:

The truth is no one has a clue, not MS or the average user, what is being replaced, left alone, newly corrupted, etc...

I am going to post a new thread about creating the care free computer. I used to have anxiety about stuff like this. I used to worry that my fixes might be doing more harm than good, and that if my comp crashed, I would lose my stuff and my mind over it. Not anymore! I will explain in the new thread how to have a "Who cares?" attitude that is liberating and exhilarating, and allows me to practice and play without any fear of the consequences. A catastrophe is only going to cost me some time, nothing more.

Johanna

 

Johanna: Is Your new "carefree computing" post up yet?? Anxiously awaiting a solution to all my computer anxieties.

Martin