XP hangs on startup

[Jaffa159]

Help!
I have a problem with XP. (at least I think its the software!)
After a recent hdd failure I replaced with a new drive and a new install of XP pro, which appeared to work for about a week. Then for no (apparent) reason the machine started to hang just after the start screen came on (black with XP splash and blue moving bar) at first I thought it had crashed and kept rebooting, but after leaving for about 5 mins it finally booted up to the normal start. during the hang period no hdd activity (noise or lights). On occasion this now reboots and does a post, only to repeat, it appears to randomly hang or restart.
Tested the RAM (1GB) with memtest utility and is OK. stripped out all of the periferrals firewire, usb pci cards, still the same thing. Alternative borrowed hdd with xp pro works OK.
After many hours, late nights frustration etc etc.. I would appreciate any inovative suggestions
Thanks

[HyperTF]

Welcome to PCMech,

Could be a number of problems ranging from software to hardware. Had you installed anything which may have caused it? (software?)

Given you say the problems also occur during POST (resets) might question the power supply... what brand power supply are you running and wattage?

If it is overclocked, then bring it back to normal settings.

Have you tried booting into Windows in safe mode? press F8 when the computer is going through POST. You could also try logging the boot process then if you manage to get into XP you can view the file... actually, i never thought before you could view the bootlog text file through DOS...(sorry, thinking out loud!)

You could attempt to perform a system restore if it gives you the option through the boot menu.

Also have you made any alterations to the BIOS settings? If so It might pay to revisit the settings and/or reset the BIOS.

[glc]

It's possible the new hard drive is defective. Test it with diagnostics from the hard drive manufacturer, most of them have them as free downloads.

[Jaffa159]

I may have resolved the problem, the suggestions that you made gave me the incentive to try a little harder and look a little wider. I replaced everything in turn with component that I could trust from another machine including the power supply ( which I tested with a volt meter tester thingy - and it looked particulrly dodgey this may have been giving a little variation in the power supply, like an inverted spike.)
However the final solution was on the HDD. Using Partition magic I noticed that 8Mb of the 80GB drive had been formatted /partitioned as a seperate drive without a drive letter and with different cluster sizes from the main drive (512k compared with 4K). Once I had resized the clusters and combined the two partitions into a contiguous drive it seems to boot properly.
Two things that I dont understand are how did it happen in the first place and why would a portion of apparently blank HDD cause such a major problem? I guess it will always remain a mystery.
Once again many thanks for the suggestions and I hope I have now fixed the problem!!!!

[HyperTF]

How did it happen? not really sure but I think it was going to regardless! what partitioned the hard drive in the first place? I have seen the Windows Installer process do this nearly every time (the 8MB space)
This 8MB partition is still a bit of a mystery to me, I see it all the time, though it doesn't normally cause problems. I am of the belief that this 8MB space is somehow in use by the HDD itself, hopefully one of the wiser members here will explain this to me also
I actually thought it had something to do with the HDD's cache, why? because many new drives come with 8MB cache, my theory might be right up the creek but it is the only thing I can come up with!
Your fix to the problem is very interesting, would not have thought of it myself, but if it works hey! I only hope in that case my theory is wrong about the 8MB space :S

[glc]

The 8mb should have stayed unpartitioned space. Perhaps the fact that it became a partition is what caused the problem.

[HyperTF]

hey glc, has the 8MB space got anything to do with the HDD's cache?

[glc]

I read somewhere once what it actually is - I don't remember where, but you should leave it alone.

[Statica]

I believe the 8MB space is reserved for upgrading to a dynamic disk.

[ITlover]

Iam also having a similar kind of problem ,recently I installed winxp 2005 on my system but few days after ,it started hanging.
During boot up(when the blue bar appears moving on the screen), the system hangs and I have to reset my computer inorder to start it again but even after that the system hangs.
When I inserted my winxp cd ,it and booted up from a CD-ROM still the same problem.

Iam not facing the problem of auto restart ,only the problem of hanging.

Any suggestion?

Regards

[HyperTF]

Was there any piece of software you can think of that you might have installed which may have caused the problem. Was it a clean install or an upgrade?

Press F8 just before Windows begins to load and see if you can get in using any of the modes (i.e. Safe mode)

[ITlover]

Yes Hyper TF, it was a clean install, I first formated my c drive completely before installing winxp. First I installed winxp 2004 ,then I upgraded winxp2004 to winxp2005.
The hanging problem started after upgrading .

I'll try to run the windows in safe mode.

[Jaffa159]

ITLover - I have not got rid of the problem, but I did find a workaround.
the problem occours when the USB printer is connected !!! therefore I boot up with the printer cable pulled out and then plug it in when needed.
Not satisfactory but it works for me for the moment.

[HyperTF]

sounds like a possible device conflict there, check Device manager to see if there are any alerts showing with you printer or any other device

[Jaffa159]

HyperTF - thats the problem, no conflicts, it never gets to boot up with the printer attached. However I've just thought of something while I have been typing this - I cant remember whether I've checked the device manager with the printer attached after booting in safe mode. (tried so many different alternatives its difficult to remember what I have or have not tried!!) I'll do it next time I boot up and let you know.

[DiScO]

Do you have WinXP SP2 installed?... Also do you have a scanner installed?

A friend of mine came across the same problem, and he searched the Microsoft knowledgebase with these key words: Windows XP rebooting

Came up with this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;873161

(Something to do with the drivers for the scanner)
Anyways, this started for him after installing SP2.