Booting Up Problem

[Kelvin]

I recently bought a new PC running Windows XP. The problem is that it takes 4or 5 attempts to boot up, I usually at first get a striped screen then an error message which is blurred and hazy. When it does eventually work I get a message from microsoft saying that the computer has recovered from a serious error and to send an error log. I took it back to the shop and they tried it 100 times without a problem so I have tried changing the hardware to no avail. Any suggestions??

[JackRegan]

Hi Kelvin.....just a thought...did you get a new monitor when you brought your pc and did the shop use thier own monitor to test your pc.....this is sounding monitor related and perhaps the pc is booting up first time but the monitor is not displaying anything.....i would check that your monitor is ok...set up correctly and plugged in properly....lets us know how you get on...good luck

[Kelvin]

Hi Jack, I've tried two different monitors & the problem persists. The experts at the shop think it's a hardware problem but I've disconnected everything in turn to test this and still get the same thing. The only cure is to physically unplug the PC from the mains socket and plug it back in again , merely switching off & on doesn't work.

[j2buttonsw]

Can't you ask the "experts" precisely what hardware problem there is? And why they can't fix it? By hardware, I think they mean mainboard/CPU/RAM/HDD fault type problems. Or am I wrong? Do you have any spare bits for diagnostic tests? Intermitent faults are very hard to fix: was it fine in their workshop but as soon as you plugged it in at home it went bad? What about your home power sockets, have you tries a different one of those (or mains wire/power surge protector etc etc).