[brn2rnjk1]

I am running windows xp (SP2). Recently, I am having intermittent starup problems (freezes on the black "windows" screen). It appears that at times it is looking to boot from the cd drive (since I see that lighting up). If I shut down and reboot, usually works (and CD doesn't light). I have tried going into BIOS and changing the order of the boot up look, but this hasn't helped the problem.

Any thoughts and help is greatly appreciated.


Thanks

[mphenterprises]

Hi BRN and welcome to the PCWorld Communities. :D




First, I have changed your Discussion title to give a clearer indication of your question. For future reference, please be as descriptive as possible in both the heading of your Discussion as well as the post itself.

Now, I do not believe this is a CD Drive issue or BIOS issue. The light coming on simply indicates that the BIOS recognized and accepts the drive. each hardware component goes through this process and each hardware component should respond in this way. Since the computer makes it to the Windows XP screen, I believe your issue is with the Operating System itself. I have some questions for you:

- How long has this issue been occurring?

- Is this a manufactured computer or a custom computer?

- Besides the BIOS adjustment, what other troubleshooting techniques have you tried?

[brn2rnjk1]

It has been happening for months. The computer is about 4-5 yrs old and is custom. I thought BIOS because when it doesn't boot, the CD light is constantly going on and off like the computer is looking for a boot disc (not just a quick check of the cd drive). When I restart and the problem doesn't happen, the CD light just goes on quickly once.

[mphenterprises]

Okay, you did not answer the last question:

Besides the BIOS adjustment, what other troubleshooting techniques have you tried?




As a test, disconnect the optical drive from both the Power Supply and the motherboard and then restart the computer. If the computer hangs at the Windows splash screen, there is an issue with your Operating System. If it goes start through and completes a restart, the optical drive may be defective. Do a restart without the optical drive several times over the course of the day to get an accurate gauge of this problem.

In addition to this, please answer the above question so we can eliminate any other steps you may have already taken.

[snorg]

Probable cause is lack of C drive maintenance.
Restart PC in safe mode, after safe mode had fully loaded restart.
Do an error check on C drive, with a check mark in the "automatically fix system errors" box.
Restart
Defrag C drive
restart


let us know how it goes.

[brn2rnjk1]

I haven't tried anything else other than trying to start up with "last known good configuration", but the problem keeps reoccuring. I will try the disconnect/reconnect.