PC Startup Problem

[blackhat]

First of all, greetings to all the members of the forum :), as this is my first post here.

I have a problem during my pc's start up. When i press the power button of my pc, always the screen locks to the initial start up screen (Shuttle XPC logo only) and never proceeds to the system's initial startup screen (whith the BIOS enable option and hardware detect list). (Sometimes the screen dont display the XPC logo either).:confused: Only after 4-5 retries of restarting my system i finally have the system booted right. I would like to ask you for any suggestions to solve this problem. Any help is welcome.

Some info about my system: Brand new (I bought it 4 days ago) Shuttle XPC SP35P2 Pro, Intel Core2Duo 2.66GHz, Intel P35 Chipset, Intel ICH9R I/O Controller, EN8600GT VGA Card, 2 HDD SATA, 1 ASUS DVD-RW SATA. The system's hardware was configured by the technicians of the store i bought it from and not by me. It was delivered with no OS installed on it (i did the installation of the OS). The problem appeared from the first time i powered my system up. (I fianlly got to the BIOS after trying 3-4 times...) I suspect that there is something the technicians of the store missed here...

[Sylvander]

Video BIOS Message Displayed, Then System Hangs (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/vbios1x.htm)

Costs nothing to remove the [failing?] CMOS battery so as to use the BIOS's default configuration settings.
You can fit a known good CMOS battery if/when you succeed in getting the POST to complete. [Or manage to get access to the BIOS Setup]
You only need the battery to deviate from the default settings.

[blackhat]

Thanks for your reply Sylvander :)! I am going to give it a try as soon as possible!

[blackhat]

The problem is finally solved :D . After trying what Sylvander suggested me, and also other troubleshooting methods there was no solution. It turned out to be a bad motherboard:( . So the motherboard was replaced with a new one (as the previous one was at warranty) from the store i bought it, and now, having set it all up, the system works just fine ! :D

:cool:

[Sylvander]

Great! :)

Now...
As you move forward in time with changes taking place to the software [and possibly hardware too]...
At key points along the way...
Begin making image backups of your Windows partition [C:?]. :cool:
And keep a written log of all [significant] changes to software and hardware.

Then if at any time you so much as suspect that all is not well with the operation of the Windows environment [software]...
And you suspect there may be a software problem.
Just restore your latest good image of C: to take you back to the way things were when the backup was made.

The backup restored must [of course] match the hardware that was then in place.

[blackhat]

Thanks again Sylvander. :) I always keep a a good record of all my actions on the PC (HW installation, SW updates, and generally any change that i do at my sytem) writing everything down in a .txt file and getting screenshots where it is most handy, creating on a regular basis Restore Point and backing up my data into an external HD or other partition on the disk especially for that purpose. But i know that System Restore in XP isn't a concrete way to do things... I always made data backups (by copying my data), but never done image backups before for system restore :( (and i am very interested to do it now ;) ). Can this be done using specific software (like Paragon Partition manager) or is there any other way to do so?

[Sylvander]

1. "Can this be done using specific software"
(a) Yes indeed, and there are free imaging programs around if you know where to look.
e.g.
If you have a Seagate/Maxtor HDD fitted to your PC:
Acronis True Image renamed as the Seagate Disk Wizard. (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=DiscWizard&vgnextoid=d9fd4a3cdde5c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD )
That page was got to from here. (http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=136)
You install the program and make a bootable CD that can make image backups to a USB HDD [or whatever], and restore those.

(b) I like Image for DOS [IforD] (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/downloads-image-for-dos.htm) [it's my favourite], but it's no longer quite so inexpensive as it once was.
I use the older version; I believe the newer version is more sophisticated, but not sure whether Terabyte has yet made a version of the free TBIview that works with the new IforD.

(c) Acronis True Image [latest = version 11] is good (http://www.acronis.co.uk/promo/ATI/ati11home-001.html?source=uk_google&ad=ati&gclid=CK3l6Mvw_5MCFQoUQgodbTP7WA).
If you keep your eyes peeled you may be able to obtain a free copy of this.

(d) Paul Komski's page on HDD & Partition Imaging/Cloning. (http://www.paulski.com/zpages.php?id=1917)

[blackhat]

Thanks for the info Sylvander. I have 2 Seagate HDDs on my PC i am going to try the first option you recommend :) (but i ll have a look at the other options too).
Oh by the way, your Diagnostic charts are very useful:cool:

[Sylvander]

Let us know what you think of Seagate's Disk Wizard. :)

Which reminds me it's about time I made another image of my C: and D: partitions.
I have [almost] all my data moved off C: and D: holds personal data files and also those used by Windows and Programs on C:.

So I use the FREE version of SyncBack [working within Windows] to backup my data partitions [D: E: F:].

[blackhat]

I have just downloaded from Seagate's Download Site the DiskWizard and also its documentation (which seems very good and informative). I ll read it out and next week i will buy a new external HDD for back ups and use the Wizard. I ll post my comments when the job is done. I also did a fast search on Google about SyncBck, and it seems to be a very good tool (there is a freeware edition of it also:) ) If i have time i ll check them both and compare them, and post my comments :D

And now time for back up preparation :cool:

[blackhat]

Today, having set up and customized my PC after the solution of my problem i decided it was about time to do my first Image Backup of my system, as its is very stable now, no problems at all and have all the applications and data in place. Having 2 internal Seagate SATA HDDs and an external Seagate Freagent HDD for backups, i used the SW provided by Seagate (Disk Wizard) at its homepage and is available for downloading (available at: http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard).

So there's a list of keypoints about the software:

- Very good documentation (its something i always consider before using
any application).
- Very User Friendly
- Allows easy back up to an external HDD, CDs, DVDs.
- The default settings for backup are OK but can be changed easily to fulfil
the user's specific demands.
- Data compression: It has levels: None, Normal, High, Maximum, with
Normal as default. Size differences between Normal, High and Maximum are
not great. Size differences between None and Normal are considerable (ie.
a partition of 25.6GB with Normal compression --> 16GB while with Maximum
--> 13.5 GB) (Compression depends to the kind of files also)
- Allows quick restoration for the entire disk or for specific files in the image
backup. Restoration can be done or through Windows or by a special
bootable Recovery CD, which can be created by the Wizard.
- For a fast system the creation of a backup image desnt take too long (ie
26GB were done inabout 15-20 minutes with No compression which
the most time)
- Also includes the ability to transfer the system to a new disk and to add
a new HDD.
- The Wizard works fine with Seagate Disks. I believe that it will work fine
with any other manufacturer's disk as well.

Overall, i have to say that i am pleased with Seagate's Disk Wizard. I haven't used the restore ability yet (and hope not to do it :cool: - as this will mean that there would be a serious problem) in order to comment something on that matter, but i believe that there will be no problem if the procedures described in the programm's documentation are followed.

Hope you find the info useful :) !

Have a nice day :D :D :D

[Sylvander]

"I haven't used the restore ability yet"
What I do to test whether it will restore correctly:
Make an image of a partition...
Ideally one that losing the contents didn't matter...
Perhaps one holding a copy of some other partitions' contents.
Or else you go ahead and risk restoring an image of a partition holding the least vital contents.

So you change something about the partition contents.
Perhaps you make a new file, or move something to a new location, or change the name of a folder or whatever.

Then you restore the image and the contents should be back as they were when you made the image, not as later altered.

Try to do it in such a way that even if the restore failed there would be no loss [because it's only a copy (of another partition) your experimenting with].