Puzzling boot (or lack of boot) problem

[John H. Power]

I rum XP pro with the latest service pack on a fairly powerful computer. Here is what happened.

1. If the computer has not been running for awhile it boots up no problem and runs fine.

2. If after it boots up I re-start it the only thing I get is a "no video" message then my screen goes blank. No boot screen. Nothing.

3. I then turn it off for about 15-20 minutes and turn it back on and it will start but only after I get that option screen in which "start Windows normally" choice is highlighted.

If I try to re-start it again it will not re-start until I once again let it sit.

What could be causing this? Power supply? Defective RAM; Video card? I have never seen a problem like this before.

Thanks for anyone who responds.

Moderator - I met to post thins in the general hardware forum not this sub-form. Could you please move it to that forum. Thanks

 

[sahabcse]

Just remove and reconnect the RAM, HDD connectors and restart the system

 

[John H. Power]

I will try that. Thanks. But why would it start after a "rest" but not after a re-start? If there was a connection problem wouldn't it fail to start every time?

 

[OldSchoolPC]

Not a lot to go on given the information, but sounds an awful lot like the symptoms of excessive heat. If your computer is over 2 years old or older and hasn't been cleaned, (compressed air) then that may be the problem. The dust makes more heat and slows or even stops the fans. Also make sure that there is enough space above and behind the computer for heat to escape. But it could be a different hardware issue such as your video card failing.

 

[John H. Power]

No luck

 

[John H. Power]

It was the graphics card.