1. You are viewing our forum as a guest. For full access please Register. WindowsBBS.com is completely free, paid for by advertisers and donations.

Boot, OS does not load until 2nd power up

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by martinr121, 2004/04/30.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. 2004/04/30
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/07
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    0
    Good Morning All: A day or so ago I said this system is rock solid. I should have known better!

    On three occasions, intermittantly, when powering up from power off, OS does not load.

    Power comes on, fans spin, power LED lights, but no HDD activity. No video beep. No video. No boot. Machine just sits there with blank monitor screen. :eek:

    Hit reset button, HDD activity LED lights up. Stays lit, that's it, no OS, only blank screen.

    Power off, power back on, machine boots normally. :confused:

    Bios?? MOBO?? PSU?? AARRRRGH!

    Martin
     
    martinr121,
    #1
  2. 2004/04/30
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    Yesterday, I had a similar experience. When I powered on my backup harddisk (which is in a mobile rack and can be powered off) and started the computer, it hang.

    I toggled the power switch on the back and made a renewed attempt. This time, Windows did a disk check on G:, a FAT32 partitionon the backup harddisk, found no errors but returned a BSOD with this message: STOP:c000021a Unknown Hard Error.

    I toggled the power switch again, powered off the backup harddrive and restarted. Everything was normal.

    I suspected that my DeathStar had finally lived up to its reputation. I ran an IBM Drive Fitness Test, advanced mode with full surface scan but it returned a healthy verdict. I powered it back on and started the computer ...... :confused: ...... and all was normal. I ran AIDA32 and HDD Health and they too returned a healthy verdict.

    I restarted the computer a few times and on one other occasion, it hang when shutting down. I had to toggle the power switch.
    Today, the computer started as it usually does and everything is okey, the backup harddisk is on-line now as I print.

    Could there be a connection to the recent batch of Windows updates?

    Anyone else having similar experiences?

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #2


  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2004/04/30
    noahdfear

    noahdfear Inactive

    Joined:
    2003/04/06
    Messages:
    12,178
    Likes Received:
    15
    I hate to even suggest it Martin, but have you checked the event logs for clues? ;) Was this behavior from a powered down overnight cold startup or from a few minutes shut down where components were still warm?
     
    noahdfear,
    #3
  5. 2004/04/30
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    I am going away from home this weekend but may be able to check in.
    I had a look in my log and two entries for yesterday may have a bearing:

    Device\Ide\IdePort0 not ready for access

    Driver found a control error on \Device\Harddisk1\D

    The above are translations from swedish!

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #4
  6. 2004/04/30
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/07
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hey dave, Hey Christer:

    Yes Dave, Today's boot from cold start after overnight power off shutdown. Other events also cold boots after shutdown power off for varied periods of time. checked event viewer, no references in either Apps or System. Like the power on never happened.

    Christer, guess what, I just bought an exterior HDD enclosure, USB 2/Firewire, using USB2, self powered by power adapter. Problem started shortly after using this drive. Origanlly did a system backup with Drive Image on it then unplugged it. Did a couple of other things with it, unplugging power after each use as it has no power switch, :( ,and purpose of drive is isolated backups. This may be a clue?? :)

    Is Bios trying to boot from unplugged drive? Event occuring only after remote HDD used then disconnected?

    Going to check boot order in Bios, I think I have "Other Boot Device" set to enabled, this may have something to do with it.

    Will take several configuration tests to confirm is this is the cause, but even if identified, what's the fix?? I don't want to leave the remote drive running, as I said, reason for drive is isolated backups.

    Martin

    Edit 1. Coincidences? I got to go out of town too. My Dad is very ill, go sit with him in hospital. Will try to connect to board from south Florida.
     
    Last edited: 2004/04/30
    martinr121,
    #5
  7. 2004/04/30
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/07
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    0
    Well, I have confirmed that the external drive is the cause of the problem. If the drive is connected (USB2) while Windows running, then disconnected, while Windows running, same session, shut down power off, power up, no boot. If drive not connected during Windows session, no problem. If drive connected, machine shut down without disconnect of drive, no problem.

    Shut down after connect disconnect with windows running, this time got an error message in event viewer, application:

    Event Type: Warning
    Event Source: Ftdisk
    Event Category: Disk
    Event ID: 57
    Date: 4/30/2004
    Time: 9:42:48 AM
    User: N/A
    Computer: CATASTROPHY
    Description:
    The system failed to flush data to the transaction log. Corruption may occur.

    For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
    Data:
    0000: 00 00 00 00 01 00 be 00 ......¾.
    0008: 02 00 00 00 39 00 04 80 ....9..€
    0010: 00 00 00 00 0e 00 00 c0 .......À
    0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
    0020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........

    Don't know if this error report refers to this problem. :confused:

    Work around: Do not disconnect drive with Windows running, disconnect after complete shut down. Or, leave drive connected all times, not a satisfactory solution considering intent. Or, on boot use power on switch, power on, power off, power on. :(

    Anybody think up a fix?? Ideally: Connect drive, use it, disconnect, power off shutdown later, Power on, have no boot problem?? :D

    Martin

    Martin
     
    martinr121,
    #6
  8. 2004/05/02
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    I have done a bit of research by ghosting back to pre the latest batch of Windows Updates. During all of this, both harddisks were on-line.

    I reinstalled all updates, which had been saved to my harddisk and restarted the computer between each of them.
    No problems detected.

    I connected to Symantec and did a Live Update. I was prompted to restart after the first session but not after the second. I did that anyway. I also installed the most recent Live Update Engine.
    No problems detected.

    I had Norton Protection for Messenger disabled and like I did a week ago or so, I reenabled it.

    The next time I decided to restart, it hang during the "Windows is shutting down" screen. I had to toggle the power switch but restarting the computer went as it normally does and I have restarted a couple of times more, just to check.
    No problems but on the single one occasion.

    The symptoms weren´t exactly the same (less serious - Windows didn´t do a disk check ending in a BSOD) as the previous time, it just hang on shut down but restarted normally.

    I believe that I have ruled out the Windows Updates but I´m not sure if I have proven that Norton was the culprit. I don´t understand how and why reenabling Norton Protection for Messenger could cause the problem but it appears to have.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #7
  9. 2004/05/07
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/07
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    0
    Christer: I'm glad you solved (or at least know the cause of) your problem. This machine will not boot unless I first use "Safely remove hardware" to remove the portable drive. I'm working on it.

    Martin
     
    martinr121,
    #8
  10. 2004/05/08
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    Hi Martin,

    Keep us posted!

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #9
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Accept Learn More...