Computer freezes at startup! PLEASE HELP!

[suzyrockz]

my aunt gave me an old gateway pc she had. it runs windows me, 320mb ram, 60gb hardrive, and a athlon processor of 933mhz.
she gave it to me claiming it was broken. when i first turned it on, i realized that when it got to the desktop it froze. i managed to reformat it. but the same problem continues. it keeps freezing. any help?

[Dark Nova]

might be your ram, run a memory test found at memtest.org, put it on a floppy and boot from the floppy.

[GaryRouth]

Along with testing the system memory, you'll want to check a few other things as well (especially if the memory tests out OK).

See if you can round up a motherboard manual for that system. Gateway's support site is pretty good, you can use the system model numbers, or a customer ID if you've got one handy, to find information. If the motherboard's settings are off in the Bios, the system could be accidentally overclocked, and be freezing up (or even causing memory errors due to overclocking - or too-agressive memory timings) because of this.

Some Bios screens include an item called "Hardware Monitor", or "PC Health" (or some similiar wording) --> these screens usually offer the temperature and voltage readings for the motherboard, cpu, and power supply. Overheating can cause the system to "freeze". Check the temps, and you also may want to try things with the case off - to see if the cpu fans and system fans are spinning or not. Check the power supply's fan too. (Just this week I had a customer with a Win2k box whose power supply fan had stopped). A failing power supply can cause such freeze-ups. Lots of causes for this sort of thing.

Might want to grab a diagnostic for the hard drive, too. They tend to run from floppies, just like the memory diagnostics that DarkNova pointed you to. You can download hard disk diagnostics from the manufacturer's website (PowerMax for Maxtors, DataLifeGuard for Western Digitals, Sea Tools for Seagates, etc.).

You mentioned you reformatted. Did you use a WinMe version of Fdisk to setup the partition? Or? Did the system work continuously long enough for you to reinstall WinMe? And was it a WinMe operating system disk, or a "Recovery Disk" from Gateway?. If it was a recovery disk, and if the hardware has changed quite a bit, the recovery may be trying to install the wrong drivers for the newer hardware.

Lots to check on.
Best of luck
. . . Gary

[suzyrockz]

Well i ran the memory test like DarkNova suggested. And i finally thought it was fixed. It was working fine, so i figured hey, why not upgrade to win00, considering its a better OS then WinMe. The upgrade went smoothly and everything seemed to be A-Okay.

Today i turn on the computer and it happens again. It froze! This time it wont even get past the Login Screen.

Oh and Gary i did use the "recovery disk," it was the only thing on hand at the moment. The case is opened, the cpu fan and system fan are both spinning as we speak. Anywho i will go ahead and try a diagnostic for the HD.

AHHHH!!

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

Did the memory test out OK? Or did you replace/remove any modules? [I'll guess that it tested OK]

Were you able to enter the Bios Setup screens to view your temps & power supply voltages? Gateway usually has pretty good power supplies, but you can try testing it, or simply borrowing another (if you don't have another one around) of the same or higher strength & see if the freezing goes away.

Check the other Bios settings if you can, too. See if the cpu is detected correctly, if the memory and bus timings look right.

Did you install Win2000 as a "clean install", or did you let it attempt to upgrade the existing WinMe? If this is an in-place upgrade, and the hard-drive diagnostics, temps, timings, and voltages (or testing with another power supply) don't help the problem, try scanning for malware. If still no luck after that, and you have good backups of data & have program disks handy: you can zero-write the drive, run the drive diagnostics again, and if OK, try a clean install of Win2000.

. . . Gary

[P.S. -- have your firewall and antivirus running before reconnecting to any networks once you have Win2000 running. You'll want to go straight to Windows Update for Service Pack 4 and also for the Security Patch for a fairly nasty worm that showed up a few months ago & targets a vulnerability in Win2000. The Security Patch tries to close that vulnerability.]

[suzyrockz]

The memory tested out fine, as well as the HD.

It was a clean install of win00

In the Bios Screen, i did not see anything that showed the temp or voltage readings.

any other suggestions?

[GaryRouth]

When you went in the bios setup, did the date and time seem OK? Sometimes the little Bios battery needs to be replaced after five or six years, and can cause odd problems (one symptom is that the date is wrong in the Bios, and settings don't stay put). The nice thing about replacing these little batteries is that they only cost about $1.50. Look for a little coin-type battery, it will likely be the 3v CR-2032 type, usually available at your local computer hardware store (CompUSA, BestBuy, Circuit City, etc.).

If you can round up another power supply to test with, that's a pretty strong suspect, since the memory and hard drive tested OK. This is really the most likely culprit so far.

And if it runs well enough to check for viruses, that can't hurt to try.

You've eliminated a lot of things, so I think you'll have some success pretty soon.

. . . Gary

[P.S. -- did you have the Bios Antivirus turned off during the reinstall? If not, enter setup, turn off the Bios Antivirus, and try the Win2000 install again: or run a repair install - but you first might want to try the power supply angle.]

[suzyrockz]

Now that you mention it, when i installed win00 i remember clearly that i had to adjust the time because it was WAY off. I returned to the bios screen and the time is now about 2 minutes off and the date is correct.

i just finished trying out the power supply. the only power supply i had laying around was one of 145W from an older pc. from the moment the computer turned on and made it to the desktop screen, IT FROZE.

i also discovered a funny noise coming from the pc everytime it freezes. I had heard it before but hadn't realized that it only happens when it freezes. And unfortunately i can't stick my head inside the case i couldnt pin point where exactly it is coming from.

...and the brain fart continues.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

See if you can round up a power supply with a wattage of 250 to 300, you'll only need to borrow it for as long as it takes to boot to that spot where it's been freezing up. If all seems OK with a known-good supply, a nice Sparkle, Antec, Enermax, Fortron Source, etc. might keep things running for around $30 to $40. I think CompUSA has the 350wt Antec power supply on sale this week for $34. You probably won't need 350 watts, but it's a nice supply (and quiet too!), and you could use it for a long time to come.

Since you're running with the case open: start up and see if the noise is coming from the power supply. That's a pretty likely scenario.

. . . Gary

[P.S. --- might as well try changing the Bios battery, too. It shouldn't lose time that quickly. And the battery only costs $1.50!]

[glc]

I think it might be the hard drive. Run diagnostics, Gary has addressed that in one of his posts.

[suzyrockz]

Unfortunately i live in one of the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita, so im not sure if they have re-opened the only CompUSA around here. Bestbuy would be my next option, but at the moment it's swamped with people trying to buy refrigerators and other home appliances. =\

The pc's stock power supply is one of 250w.

When i used the power supply of 145w, the computer made the same noise. It was because i was so close to the opened case that i was able to hear the noise clearer, and i doubt it was the power supply because it was sitting right next to me.

GLC - I ran a diagnostic on the hard drive, and it tested out fine.

So for the time being im going to "hustle" and try to find a better power supply to test with.

[GaryRouth]

Good luck, I know your area was hit very hard & suffered a great many tragedies. I hope you've been spared as much as possible.

Is the power in the area pretty steady now, or is it a little irregular, with surges and blackouts (or "brown-out-sags")? Such surges could have damaged components on the motherboard (along with possibly harming the power supply too). If you don't have a surge protector for the computer at the moment, and if the power is a bit unsteady in the area, when you go to the computer store for the little coin battery (the $1.50 CR-2032) for the Bios, pick up a little surge protector (~$5 to $10, depending on strength), just to help protect things.

It would be great if you can find a friend who has upgraded their power supply (some folks do when they put in a newer mb/cpu/video card - because these newer parts require more power than the older parts) = they might donate their old supply to you.

Take care
. . . Gary

[suzyrockz]

Actually this computer was no where near a power socket during the storm. Re-call, my aunt gave this pc to me, it had been in a closet for quite some time now. Id say about 6-9months.

The power in the area i live has been steady for about 3/4 weeks now (THANK GOD!). Yes, i have been spared. Sadly i have many friends who were unfortunate.

...anyway im still on the hunt for a free-bee power supply.