CPU Powers Off During Boot

[Doogle]

Strange problem, PC will power off about 5 seconds into booting XP SP3. However, booting in Safe Mode works OK. No recent hardware or software changes have been made, I've performed a System Restore which hasn't made any difference.

All ideas welcome !

EDIT: bit more info. Changed the Display Adapter - no difference. PC will also not boot from CD or DVD, (Linux and Windows) just gets a little way, and then powers off.

[Ram2Curious]

I am so much used to this problem. Any one of the following could be the cause.

1. The OS is corrupted, may be due to a virus. Reinstall OS. (Recommended Solution)
2. Problem with the motherboard. ( Most likely if it does not boot at all. )
3. CMOS Battery.

[Doogle]

Many thanks for the response.

1. The OS is corrupted, may be due to a virus. Reinstall OS. (Recommended Solution)

Problem is that I can't boot from CD or DVD, it just powers off about 5 seconds into the boot process, so at the moment re-install is not an option.

2. Problem with the motherboard. ( Most likely if it does not boot at all. ).

That's the 'funny' thing - it will boot ok in Safe Mode

3. CMOS Battery.

I'm not seeing any BIOS messages about invalid date / time / configuration that I would expect to see if the Battery was duff. But I'll try changing it anyway. (The BIOS says that the Battery is OK)

I'm just in the process of building a Windows-PE disk to see if that will load.

[Ram2Curious]

I'm just in the process of building a Windows-PE disk to see if that will load.

Yes, i would do that. Give it a try.

[Nightwalker83]

I was thinking maybe a system file is corrupt and in that case doing what R2C suggested and reinstalling the operating system might fix the problem.

[Doogle]

Well, I've just about run out of ideas. If someone can suggest something I've missed, I'd be very grateful.

What I've done so far:

1. Replaced the Power Supply
2. Replaced the Memory
3. Replaced the CMOS Battery
4. Disabled just about everything in the BIOS (eg USB hubs, Parallel and Serial Ports) except for the IDE and removed all additional hardware from the chassis (leaving only the Display Adapter). I've also locked the configuration in BIOS
5. Disconnected everything from the IDE Bus except for the DVD I'm trying to Boot from and removed the Power to the devices
6. Scaned the Hard Drive for Virus (nothing found)
7. Performed a chkdsk /f on the Drive (no errors found)
8. Attempted to load Windows-PE from the DVD
9. Attempted to load Linux from the CD Drive
10. Performed countless System Restores - all of which worked OK - going back to August last year
11. Changed the Display Adapter
12. Cleaned the CPU's Fan (I'm also running with the covers off in case it was a heat problem)

I'm not seeing any POST Messages or hearing any Bleeps on power up (except for a Floppy Disk faillure when it's disconnected from the IDE Bus)

Results are the same, it gets a little way into the Boot process and then powers off. However, I can still Boot in Safe Mode from the Hard Disk and it will run for hours, so I don't think it's a problem with temperature.

I'm concluding that I've got a 'funny' hardware problem that, for reasons unknown (to me at least) does not manifest itself when running in Safe Mode. I'm guessing that there's a conflict of some sort which is causing the Hardware to switch off.

So I suppose the question is, what doesn't Safe Mode do that Linux, Windows XP and Windows-PE do do with respect to enabling / disabling hardware / loading drivers ?

Or, have I missed something obvious ?

[TheBigB]

If I had to guess, you have a corrupted driver.
You might want to try reinstalling drivers for the motherboard and graphics card.

By the way, it crashes 5 seconds into the 'loading' screen or the logon screen?

[Ram2Curious]

1. Replaced the Power Supply
2. Replaced the Memory
3. Replaced the CMOS Battery
4. Disabled just about everything in the BIOS (eg USB hubs, Parallel and Serial Ports) except for the IDE and removed all additional hardware from the chassis (leaving only the Display Adapter). I've also locked the configuration in BIOS
5. Disconnected everything from the IDE Bus except for the DVD I'm trying to Boot from and removed the Power to the devices
6. Scaned the Hard Drive for Virus (nothing found)
7. Performed a chkdsk /f on the Drive (no errors found)
8. Attempted to load Windows-PE from the DVD
9. Attempted to load Linux from the CD Drive
10. Performed countless System Restores - all of which worked OK - going back to August last year
11. Changed the Display Adapter
12. Cleaned the CPU's Fan (I'm also running with the covers off in case it was a heat problem)

All the Hardwares are Tested and seems to be OK.

I'm not seeing any POST Messages or hearing any Bleeps on power up (except for a Floppy Disk faillure when it's disconnected from the IDE Bus)

At this point, it makes us feel that " Motherboard " is the suspect.

Results are the same, it gets a little way into the Boot process and then powers off. However, I can still Boot in Safe Mode from the Hard Disk and it will run for hours, so I don't think it's a problem with temperature.

This confirms that the problem is related to the OS ( virus or drivers ).

So I suppose the question is, what doesn't Safe Mode do that Linux, Windows XP and Windows-PE do do with respect to enabling / disabling hardware / loading drivers ?

Safe Mode is a diagnostic mode. In this mode there will be a reduced functionality. It does not load all the available drivers, but loads only the default drivers for the normal functioning of the OS. And drivers like the video card driver or the sound card driver will not be loaded.

Normal Mode makes an attempt to load all the drivers essential for the configured OS. Fault in any one of the softwares (eg. Antivirus Software) that loads during startup along with the OS, stops the OS from loading in Normal Mode.

Test the system with the " Last Known Good Configuration " option.

The best option would be to use the Safe Mode and try to check all the Applications that load during startup.

Good Luck

[jdc2000]

Check the motherboard for bulging or leaking capacitors.