boot up problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter holowkam
  • Start date Start date
H

holowkam

Here is my problem:
This happens about once a month after about 20 boots or
so.........

When booting up I get a black screen that says press F1 to reboot
(which obviously doesnt work) or F2 for setup. When I go to the BIOS I
notice that my CPU doesnt recognize my CD-ROM or Floppy Drive. After I
play around with control-alt-d- (I think some command a friend of mine
told me) and try rebooting a few times then it recognizes them but
still wont boot. Then after I perform an automatic IDE configuration
(which i dont even know how I do but I keep pressing buttons and it
works eventually) then it boots up. My question is........is that a
sign my hard drive is failing? What else could it be. Once it finally
boots up it will be fine for about a month or so untill it happens
again. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm running XP on a Dell (3 years old)
 
the problem is probably the cmos configuration is lost. It might be related
to the motherboard or since this is an "old" system the cmos battery.
try changing that battery and try again. Once you place a new batetry you
will ahve to configure the cmos one more time and that should be it.

look for more information on your specific system at dell's website
Rafael
 
Hi, holowkam.

Even if Rafael's suggestion of a new battery does not work, it seems clear
that your problem is in your computer hardware and BIOS, NOT in Windows.
All the problems that you describe happen before Windows even begins to
load.

In addition to the official Dell support, you might get some help in the
peer-to-peer Usenet newsgroup alt.sys.pc-clone.dell. Lot's of experienced
Dell users hang out there. (They might know even more than your friend.)

RC
 
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