Blue Screen BEFORE windows 2K starts.

Important QUESTION -

My DELL COMPUTER : Intel P-3 600 w/ 256 memory, 5 yrs old, Win 2K Pro. -
is (was?) a really great machine. It has a 64 mg Nvidea graphics card, and
the computer is faster than most P-4's I've seen.

ANYWAY - The computer has recently been CRASHING on start-up. Not windows
start-up, but at the system Bios start-up, before any of the software
programs have a chance to load. Just the "DELL" logo.
Then goes to BLUE SCREEN and locks-up.

I have done a complete virus check system scan and it says my computer is
clean, BUT could there be a virus that got into the BIOS software?? - AGAIN,
the crashes ocurr upon hiting the start button and you get BLUE SCREEN.
Is it time to buy a New computer?? Any ideas of could be causing the
problem?
Would really like to know.

Thanks in Advance - WebbMan

 

Welcome to the board WebbMan.
Your problem could be hardware or software (driver related). If you post the exact BSOD (blue screen) error here, we can probably give you a very close educated guess as to the cause.

But some things to try...

Is the BSOD before the BIOS has properly done its configuring and testing, or is the BSOD happening just as Windows attempts to load, straight after the BIOS has fully posted?

I'd suggest removing all internal cards not needed for booting as well as all external devices, except graphics card, mouse keyboard and monitor. Reseat (with the power off. ) the graphics card.

Have you tried to boot into safe mode? If you can, then try to uninstall any drivers for your graphics card and/or remove it from the device manager. Reboot windows and let it detect and install the graphics card. If windows boots normally, then download new NVIDIA reference drivers for your graphics card and install them.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_61.77

 

Thanks for the PM WebbMan,
If the PC freezes and then blue screens during the Dell splash screen, it possibly indicates a graphics problem, or other hardware/software problem.
It's going to be a process of ellimination. As it only occasionally freezes I would then update the graphics drivers as a first option. The reference drivers from the NVIDIA link on my previous post should be fine. On my Leadtek Ti4200 NVIDIA card I prefer the reference drivers. Alternatively you can go to the manyfacturer of the graphics card's web site and use their drivers. They may be tweaked and repackaged or the same as the NVIDIA reference ones.

Have a look in the event viewer for any clues as well. Errors should be recorded there for these crashes? Start/Run and in the box type eventvwr.msc

 

Thanks PAUL



Thanks PAUL -
Will do -
Your excellent assistance is much appreciated -
WebbMan