Computer woes

[pne]

For some reason, my computer hangs on the very first screen for a long time—where it just says "Pentium 4 with HyperThreading" or whatever, before it even shows the "starting Windows" screen.

That Pentium screen used to flash by in about half a second; now it seems to be there for about a minute.

I'm not sure what I could have changed in the past two weeks or so (it was fine until then), especially since I presume it would have to be something in hardware, rather than messing up Windows config or something.

Maybe some component is dying? RAM is taking a while to settle down to a stable state? The computer is having trouble contacting the hard disk?

Comments

[angelsk.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the HDD may be starting to die. As much as I hate it, my computer is doing that too. but I'm trying to ignore it. Try SMART tools, they can tell you apparently.

[jordik.livejournal.com]

Have you tried booting in diag mode? If it is a low-level windows error you should see some indication there (check for anything that takes longer than usual to start).
If the error occurs before that, it is hardware. If you have SMART-capable HDDs, make sure your BIOS checks this option. Try setting your BIOS to recommended (failsave) values.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Have you tried booting in diag mode?

No; how do I do this? (I'm using Windows XP Home, FWIW.)

If it is a low-level windows error you should see some indication there (check for anything that takes longer than usual to start).

I'm not sure whether it's a Windows thing at all, since what takes so long happens before I get the Windows logo on the screen, which I presume is when the OS starts loading. (Or does it do stuff before it puts up the logo and the little "progress bar"?)

If you have SMART-capable HDDs, make sure your BIOS checks this option.</i< I may have to look into how to get into my BIOS; I've never done so on this PC, I think. Do you know whether SMART analysis tools are available generically, or only for certain manufacturers' hard drives? (I'm not sure what's in my PC, though I vaguely think it might be a Seagate.)

[jordik.livejournal.com]

I am not sure diag mode exists on Home -- press and hold the left CTRL key once your BIOS boot/memory test is complete. It should list multiple start up modes for Windows, including normal and safe mode. One of them should be called "diagnostic mode". This is a normal startup with a debugger/break attached, allowing you to see what services and drivers boot, and possibly hold them.

To get in your BIOS, your system should report a key once it boots. It is usually [DEL], [F6], or [F8] (try these as soon as your system boots). If you see a motherboard logo immediately after booting, press [ESC] to remove it and check if you see the key being reported. Typically it is shown after the hardware report (which lists your harddrives and PCI cards), but before the quick RAM test.
Your motherboard manual should also tell you what key to press.

Any modern HDD should have SMART or something similar, I believe.
Most SMART tools under Windows cost money, but I've heard SMART-Monitor (http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/SMART-Monitor.shtml) is a good free tool.

[pne.livejournal.com]

If you see a motherboard logo immediately after booting

Well, I see a processor logo immediately after booting.

press [ESC] to remove it and check if you see the key being reported.

Tried that; no (visible) response. Nor for [DEL], [CTRL], [F1], or [F2].

I didn't remember about [F6] or [F8]; might have to try those next time I boot.