Computer booting issues.

[zircon]

Earlier today, my desktop PC, which was working fine, had a video lockup as I tried to load Team Fortress 2. The game started to load and my video mode changed, then a window popped up and changed the video mode back to my desktop. Then it seems like my video card got stuck in a loop, continually changing between the modes. Eventually, even as I tried to ctrl+alt+del and alt/tab back to my desktop, my monitors eventually both went black. The computer sounded like it was still running just fine, so I don't think it froze, but then again, I don't know.

Anyway, I restarted, and when I did, I noticed the computer was hanging after boot. The Windows XP loading screen (green loading bar) showed up, and then after that, my monitor went black. This normally happens for roughly 30 seconds. However, this time, it took at least 5 minutes. Finally, my desktop started to load as normal, except even after 10 minutes, all I could see was my wallpaper and the mouse. It was as if the desktop and explorer simply did not load. I could open the task manager and see processes running, but did not see anything out of the ordinary. I ended up closing explorer (which seemed to be frozen, requiring an "End Now") and trying to reopen, to no avail.

I then tried restarting on my XP64 partition, which is much 'cleaner' - no good. Likewise with safe mode, which simply hung on the list of .dlls after a few dozen were listed on the screen. I tried turning off my computer for hours and then booting later in the day, but again, I'm basically locked before the desktop loads, rendering my computer nonfunctional.

What happened?

WORTH NOTING: It's extremely hot right now. The computer was running all weekend with core temps a good 15c above normal (at idle, they typically run at about 30-32c; according to CoreTemp, they ended up at ~50 idle.) I wasn't experiencing any instability, but because the ambient temperature in this room is so high (a good 75 degrees at least, I'd estimate, if not more - there's no airflow and no air conditioning with outside temps of 95+) I suspect this may be the cause.

[Katsurugi]

I don't have any suggestions but this: check your hardware. RAM is often an issue when it comes to errors when booting up. Either one of the sticks is fried or it's just not sitting right. If RAM is the problem, then your situation is probably the former, rather than the latter. For right now, I would leave the RAM in there (assuming you have more than one stick), but I would take it out and then put it back in, just in case. If you have working sticks lying around, that would be ideal. But technology moves so fast that even if I do, they're not compatible with the mobo!

Also check your power supply as well. I've had a similar sort of issue where the power supply would be fine for getting to the Windows boot screen, but the computer would shut down before actually loading the OS (which takes significantly more work than displaying a green load bar). Sniff around and try to detect the smell of burnt electronics. Also try to see if the fan inside the power supply spins after turning on the computer. It should be the first thing that happens (unlike the processor fan which apparently has some delay on my computer).

If this is the case, you can double check the prognosis by going to Circuit City or Best Buy and buying a power supply there and return it the next day. It'll run you about 40-60 dollars depending on the wattage. A high quality one is not necessary, but you would need one that can support your graphics card, processor, etc. If you are unsure about what wattage you need, go here:

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

If you want my opinion on what happened, it sounds like your video card tried to pull more power from the power supply than it could give. As for heat, your computer's idle temp, 50 C, is actually higher than 95 F. I wouldn't blame it on the weather, Andy. ;) Personally, I feel that relatively high temperature of your computer would only affect the longevity of the parts rather than their immediate performance. If it's not the hardware, then I'm not too sure where the problem is.

[HalcyonSpirit]

I'm 99% sure this is a hardware problem.

Do you have another computer you can access, yours or a friend's? If so, you might want to try downloading a copy of Memtest86+ (http://www.memtest.org/) and running it on your computer. If there is a problem with the RAM (or a part of the motherboard dealing with the RAM), it'll likely catch it. You won't have to take anything apart or pay for anything to do this simple test, so I recommend doing this first.

If that doesn't catch any problems, then we're probably looking at an issue with another part of the motherboard, the graphics card, or the power supply. It could be a hard drive issue as well, but that's a lot less likely. Like Katsurugi said, you can check the power supply by just swapping it out with a new one, which won't cost too much. The motherboard and graphics card, though... those will cost you quite a bit, because as far as I'm aware, there's no way of testing those short of buying a new one without special testing equipment. As for the hard drive (the unlikely possibility), you can try swapping in a new drive as well.

I doubt it's a software issue, but it you want, you can try downloading a version of Linux (I recommend Ubuntu) and running it off of the CD. If it is a software issue (unlikely, since it's having problems with both partitions), rather than a hardware issue, it should run fine. A hardware issue, however, will cause problems (except if it's a hard drive issue, since it won't run off the hard drive).

[Nutritious]

I'd agree it sounds hardware related. What processor(s) are you running? I've had similar problems when there was an issue with my core fan/heatsink. I ended up buying a $30 replacement and dropped the temp drastically. Also cured the instability.

The thing about running memtest, though (if I remember right), it's going to push your processor pretty hard as it's running. Therefore, if you have a heat issue, it could continue to have problems during the test.

[zircon]

The problem appears to have fixed itself? I managed to finally boot into safe mode on the desktop and run a scandisk on my main OS drive (C:)... restarted, and everything was dandy. Maybe a corrupt part of the boot sector, or something.

[Nekofrog]

Just as an FYI, Intel procs (of the core2duo nature) won't start to show the immediate result of overheating until they get around 75c and up. When I built my quad core, I hadn't seated the heastink properly at first so it was running at 70c idle. It took a push up to about 95c and then finally shut down automatically, so you shouldn't have THAT to worry about.

[phill]

Intel chips have a nice feature where the hotter they get, the slower the clock speed goes, you know, to protect themselves without nuking your system completly. If it gets to 95C without running like a bitch...you might want to make sure that the feature is working (bios should tell you)