PC Takes Ages To Boot PC doesnt boot at all until hours later when I tried to switch it

[Yano 0]

Hey all,A computer noob here when it comes to the technical stuff..would really appreciate it someone sheds some light on what's going on. My pc was working fine until several weeks ago, when the time/date doesn't update itself everytime I boot my computer and I had to manually update it. A week or so after, my pc refuses to boot properly until F1 is pressed. Finally, the day came when my pc couldn't be powered on like usual. I'd jam the switch a million times and nothing happens until say, 15 minutes later, when the pc starts to come alive again. Unfortunately, the waiting time has now increased frm 15 minutes to approx. 3 hours I really have no idea on how to resolve it. Did a search on google and saw that it might be either processor fan, ram or bios or something Please help!!

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

Things to take note of:Are there any beeps when it won't boot? Beeps are warning messages from the motherboard, which you could check with the manual to figure out the problem possiblyIs any power getting to the motherboard when it wont boot? If there are any lights on the backs lit up, you know its an issue with the computer itself... I've had problems with faulty powerbars before that made it look like the computer was messed but really the powerbar was just dieing.If you have any old computers, you could try swapping compatible parts out to see if it will boot with the dif hardware. Then you could figure out if a single component is fried.Open the case and make sure everything is connected firmly. If a power cable is loose inside it could cause boot problems.Those are general tipcs for what could be causing it to not boot... but really since there were problems beforehand I'd almost say something on your motherboard was dieing... since the internal clock was getting screwed up before the booting problems even occurred. I'd say wait it out, reboot as rarely as possible and wait to see if anyone else knows the issue. OTherwise, off to the tech shop you go heh

[Yano 0]

Hey Jeigh,Thanks for responding! It seems like something in my comp is really dying Now even the soundcard doesn't seem to be working Instead of the usual Window alert sounds, all I hear are beeps coming from within my pc. Guess I'll do as what you have suggested: open up the pc..check..and wait out and see if anybody else knows the issue.

Edited March 9, 2006 by Yano (see edit history)

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

Are the beeps comming when you are in windows proper, or just when it won't even boot? Since, as I mentioned, beeps on failed boot attempts are special warning beeps.But yea if all these things are going wrong at once it's probably a motherboard issue or a power supply issue (if your power supply is dieing and not enough power is getting into the comp, everything would act unpredictably)Good luck

[wutske 0]

I think your motherboard's getting a bit old .The fact that it can't remember the date/time is mostly caused by a dead CMOS battery, changing that could fix that little problem .The F1 problem could be the same because all settings are now lost due to a bad battery, but it could also be cause by a faulty/corrupted BIOS.If the soundcard is onboard, then the board is probably dying. Just for safety reason, ever tough about making some back-ups ??? You never what else dead hardware can kill (faulty PSU could overvolt or short a pc if it realy wants to )

[yordan 10]

Just a stupid question : did you try booting from the Windows install CD ? Just try booting from the CD and see if the computer starts until the point where it asks you if you want to install Windows.If you can boot from the CD, then, somewhere this means that roughtly the motherboard is still alive.Also, in order to do this test, you should remove "almost" all removable devices : all your PCI adapters other than the graphic display, remove the Ethernet boards, everything plugged in the USB ports.RegardsYodan

[iGuest 3]

when i switch my lap top on it takes ages

PC Takes Ages To Boot

 

Hi I have a hp compaq 6715b when I have got it left on I don't really have any problems with it at all but the problems have just started to arrise now ,when I switch my laptop off then want to switch it back on again it takes what seems like forever to come back on again all so the sound has started crackling aswell has anyone got any ideas ,thankyou

 

-question by louisa ingram

[iGuest 3]

when i switch my lap top on it takes ages

PC Takes Ages To Boot

 

Hi I have a hp compaq 6715b when I have got it left on I don't really have any problems with it at all but the problems have just started to arrise now ,when I switch my laptop off then want to switch it back on again it takes what seems like forever to come back on again all so the sound has started crackling aswell has anyone got any ideas ,thankyou

 

-question by louisa ingram

[iGuest 3]

Replying to YanoHi dudeIf your pc dosent remeber the time when turned off for more than 5 minutes the cmos battery is dead and needs replacing . It is located on the motherboard and without it the bios information is lost and goes back to factory settingsHope this helps-reply by adrian

[Spyda 0]

Some more RAM might be beneficial. My Vista laptop took ages to turn on so I went ahead and got a 2gb RAM chip and took out the old 1GB ram chip. It runs so much smoother... I LOVE IT

[Soviet Rathe 1]

Ok the clock thing is simple. open up the cover on your computer and look at the mother board (the mother board is the very large circuit board) look for a small flat battery that looks like one of the larger hearing aid batteries. then just take something small like a hair pin and pop that battery out (don't worry you wont hurt anything) also be careful that you don't touch the motherboard itself especially with your skin because your bodies natural static can mess it up.then look at the set of numbers and letters on the battery and go to walmart and buy a new one then just pop the new one in. Ok that's fixed...... :PThe only thing I can suggest for the other problems other then messing with the hardware is reinstalling your Operating System. (Note: this will completely whipe your Hard Drive so make sure to back up your files) At this point they suggest you disconnect everything from your computer except the power cord, the monitor. and the keyboard and mouse (but I never do)Insert your Operating System disc and power on your computer.Tap F11 as your computer initially powers on until your hear a beep then you can stop.Select Boot From Disc (or cd)wait for it to load the hardware then press F8 to accept the terms of serviceBased on your operating system the options will be different but it might say "to continue to install a fresh copy of windows press esc" it might be different but select the option to install a fresh copy.you will see a list of hard drive partitions. select C: and press enter.If available you should format using NTFS file system. if you don't have that option then select FAT32 and continue.the next 30 minutes or so you will probabilly not have to do anything. it will be going through the install process which takes a while. but you should watch it.the rest is pretty simple. if this does not fix it then I'm afraid it's the computer itself :PCheers good luck!!

[takerraj 0]

Ok the clock thing is simple. open up the cover on your computer and look at the mother board (the mother board is the very large circuit board) look for a small flat battery that looks like one of the larger hearing aid batteries. then just take something small like a hair pin and pop that battery out (don't worry you wont hurt anything) also be careful that you don't touch the motherboard itself especially with your skin because your bodies natural static can mess it up.
then look at the set of numbers and letters on the battery and go to walmart and buy a new one then just pop the new one in. Ok that's fixed......

The only thing I can suggest for the other problems other then messing with the hardware is reinstalling your Operating System. (Note: this will completely whipe your Hard Drive so make sure to back up your files)

At this point they suggest you disconnect everything from your computer except the power cord, the monitor. and the keyboard and mouse (but I never do)

Insert your Operating System disc and power on your computer.
Tap F11 as your computer initially powers on until your hear a beep then you can stop.
Select Boot From Disc (or cd)
wait for it to load the hardware then press F8 to accept the terms of service
Based on your operating system the options will be different but it might say "to continue to install a fresh copy of windows press esc" it might be different but select the option to install a fresh copy.

you will see a list of hard drive partitions. select C: and press enter.
If available you should format using NTFS file system. if you don't have that option then select FAT32 and continue.
the next 30 minutes or so you will probabilly not have to do anything. it will be going through the install process which takes a while. but you should watch it.

the rest is pretty simple. if this does not fix it then I'm afraid it's the computer itself

Cheers good luck!!

Hmmm.... seems like you know a lot about this hardware stuff. Recently I bought a second hand computer from a relative who is very much interested in selling it. Here is the configuration

RAM : 1 GB/ DDR2
HDD : 500 GB
Processor : Core2Duo 2.4 GHz
Motherboard : DG31PR
Monitor : Dell LCD 21 inch
Speakers : Creative 2.1
Intex UPS

Everything for $300. Is it worth that much?

[mahesh2k 0]

300$ that's cheap, so which brand you opted ? HCL ? or acer ? I think these are the only two with less prices in market. Or you assembled on your own ? That way price will come down for sure.

[Soviet Rathe 1]

Hmmm.... seems like you know a lot about this hardware stuff. Recently I bought a second hand computer from a relative who is very much interested in selling it. Here is the configuration
RAM : 1 GB/ DDR2
HDD : 500 GB
Processor : Core2Duo 2.4 GHz
Motherboard : DG31PR
Monitor : Dell LCD 21 inch
Speakers : Creative 2.1
Intex UPS

Everything for $300. Is it worth that much?

That computer is worth a lot more then $300 if it is in good condition and runs well
1GB of ram is really good. my computer only has 512MB RAM
Your Hard Drive is worth over $200 itself.. 500GB is insane!! are you sure that's what it is?
Your 2.4 Ghz prosesser is very good since most computers have 1.8 or around that. (mine has 3.6 Ghz)
The monitor and Speakers are also very good is they are in good condition

I'd say if everything works and it is in good condition you should be able to get around $700

on the other hand if it is custom made computer (made yourself) then it will indeed decrease in worth by a few hundred.

Cheers
Edited November 4, 2009 by Soviet Rathe (see edit history)

[takerraj 0]

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! My deal is a good one. It's an assembled PC, one of my relative sold it for $300 only. I decided to buy it when he told me that he is going to sell it to somebody. I convinced him and made him to give that PC to me. I am very much satisfied with it. It's in good condition too. @Soviet Rathe : Yes, it is 500GB, Seagate.