New installation Windows 7 keeps hanging

[fyrestar]

Hi all,

First time poster on this forum but Im hoping someone can help.

I recently built a new PC for myself, all seemed to be going well until I put windows 7 on then the fun began.

The problem I am experiencing is that the OS will hang at start up which is any point from when the cursor can be seen on the screen right up until the desktop is almost loaded.
It only seems to happen if I leave the PC off for a few hours then turn it on, it hangs, turn it off then turn it on again and its fine.
Windows realises there is an issue with start up but cant resolve it so thats not much help either.

I have a feeling that it may be hardware related

For the life of me I dont know why, Im pretty sure all the hardware is compatible (could be wrong though) and only bought all this kit last weekend so can return any of it if not suitable.

Right now there is only windows 7 and the MOBO drivers disk installed along with the latest updates from Microsot and the MOBO Bios is right up to date.

Please see my list of kit below, would really appreciate any guidance or help as I cant see what the probem is.

Asus M4A785TD-M EVO, AMD 785G Chipset, DDR3, AM3, mATX
320GB Hitachi Deskstar SATA2 16MB HDT725032GLA360
TP-Link Super G & eXtended Range 108M Wireless PCI Adaptor
Arianet S001 HTPC Media Centre case - Black - mATX with 450W PSU
LiteOn 4x Internal BD-ROM Blu-Ray - bare drive with software
G.SKILL DDR3 1600 PC12800 4GB (2GB x 2)
AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 545 3.00GHz (Socket AM3)
Microsoft WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM 32 BIT OEM

 

[seekermeister]

Have you run the Adviser on it?

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...90-7659-4BD9-9E51-2497C146AF15&displaylang=en

 

[richc46]

If you feel that it is hardware related.

Go to device manager to checke drivers.
Type memory diagnositic in search and take the test
Go to event viewer and look for errors
Check the performance monitor.
Go to task manager to make sure that all memory is recognized and being utilized.

To make sure it is not software
Go to cmd in an administrator account and typ
sfc /scannow
You can also run a repair install with the windows DVD. Boot from the DVD and select repair.

 

[chev65]

It's sounds like your having a cold boot issue of some type. Sometimes these problems are related the power supply. In your case I'd say that could easily be the problem. I would say that your correct about it being a hardware problem.

Your power supply looks a bit weak for your system. I certainly wouldn't attempt to run your board with a 450 watt power supply. The reviews are showing a much higher output PSU than one your using. I would go with something closer to 750 watts for your system depending on the GPU that you are running.

 

[Night Hawk]

Welcome to the Se7en Forums! fyrestar

richc46 maybe onto something there if you saw a bad install of Windows where you can elect an upgrade repair install choosing the upgrade option when running the installer while booted in Windows. You may also be facing a device driver issue like for video causing Windows to hang.

When running into initial locks at startup one option upon a restart is to press the F8 key at the end of the post tests to bring up the boot option menu. Select the "Last configuration known to work" option there to see Windows perfotm a workaround of it's own to reach the desktop.

That can help a bit more then the system file checker at times as seen here with the recent 7 install on a new drive where Windows simlpy hung at the logo screen on startup. since then no further startup problems have been seen.

 

[gregrocker]

If it is a startup issue as suspected (I'd go with PSU also), then it should reveal itself at moment of Startup in Performance event log found here: Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools\Advanced Tools.

Google the likely error in full to study it's source, or post it back here in full.

 

[Night Hawk]

One thing to add to that would be the last option seen at the bottom once you are in the Advanced Tools section there. You can use the System diagnostics tool to generate a system health report.

(that tv tuner card again! )

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'd agree that the single most likely hardware issue would be the PSU.

It sounds intermittent and could be a short of some kind.

Do you have access to another PSU you can swap in temporarily?

Recheck your manuals to ensure that all connections on the mobo were done properly.

Here is a general guide to troubleshooting a non-booting system. It doesn't exactly apply to you, but may give you some insight.

Remove/disconnect everything but:

1) Motherboard connected to power supply.
2) CPU plugged into the motherboard (with heat sink and fan connected)
3) Power connected to the power supply and Power supply switch connected.

Disconnect all add-in cards, and drive cables. Disconnect power cables from back of drives.

Power up the system.

Does the computer beep at you? (due to lack of memory)

If it doesn't... one of three things is bad:

a) CPU
b) Motherboard
c) power supply

IF so, Add memory.

Repeat.

Does computer beep at you again? (due to lack of video card)

Add Video card, connect monitor to system.

Repeat.

Do you see video on monitor?

Add Hard Drive.

Repeat.


Basically; add components (critical to trivial) to see if/when it stops working. That may give you an idea if that component is toast.

If it still doesn't react, pull the motherboard from the case and lay it on a non-conductive surface like cardboard or wood, next to the case (you still need the power supply, and while you don't technically need the power switch, that's easiest.) If it does boot in this configuration, there was a short in the case. Look around for loose metal and re-assemble.

The power supply is a dumb device. If the circuitry works enough to give it an "on" signal, that doesn't mean that the motherboard is doing its appropriate voltage regulation and actually powering up all of its components.

 

[Night Hawk]

Another thing to try would be reseating the video card as well as memory to insure those are down fully in their slots. Since video problems software or hardware related can often cause locks something may be lifted up and need to be reseated down fully.

 

[Tepid]

Honestly,, you need to run full system diags.

This could any of the above or none of them....

You need to run Mem Tests (they should run for no less than 4 to 6 hours)
HDD Tests
Video Tests
Any Mobo diags you can find for that mobo

And yes, the PSU could be faulty. you should take it to a shop that can test it.
It is also possible that it is not enough power, but some people put too much power in their systems.
It all depends on what you have installed... in the system above,, personally,, I would drop anything less than 550W, and I would go with a better name,, Corsair, Antec, In-Win, etc.

Power is a strange and wonderfully nightmarish thing. It can present you with problems that aren't really problems. but replacing the PSU fixes everything.

 

[Night Hawk]

You'll notice the supply listed there was included with the case. ut oh! It's not the wattage so much with only a single hard drive in use if you are running stock but the quality of supplies tossed in on package deals for cases! Tepid does a valid point there about getting into a good name supply over the low quality typically seen with cheap supplies included.

When mentioning power supply wattage that brings to mind the power supply calculator seen at Antec Power Supply Calculator

With 5 sata HDs, two optical drives, and a tv tuner card tossed into the mix here the recommended is 587w minimum using that with a 700w OCZ supply in use. Even running this one stock I left a little extra to cover things a bit.

For a new build seeing problems nothing can be ruled out until the actual problem is traced. That will mean going back over everything! Once you can rule out one of the things mentioned already you have to go onto the next.

 

[Tepid]

When mentioning power supply wattage that brings to mind the power supply calculator seen at Antec Power Supply Calculator

With 5 sata HDs, two optical drives, and a tv tuner card tossed into the mix here the recommended is 587w minimum using that with a 700w OCZ supply in use. Even running this one stock I left a little extra to cover things a bit.

PSU Calcs are nice and all, but I advise always adding 100 to 200 W over what they recommend.

I generally don't use them.
I use a deductive reasoning....

Old Systems ran on about 350W just a bit prior to 2000. After 2000, it was in the 450W - 500W range for a long time. You never really needed more than that. Now, with the Video Cards on the market, more than one HDD, and all the USB crap we tend to use. 550 is minimum for a system using on-board graphics, one HDD, a DVD RW, and a few USB devices.
you start adding stuff like higher end video, extra HDD's etc, add about 50W to 100W per Internal device to be sure you are leaving head room. ie, Video Card (550 + 100W= 650W minimum), if it's a Hard Drive or Optical drive, only add 50W. Not exactly per HDD, but maybe 50W per 2 HDD's or Optical Drives.

That is just a rough over view, it's not an exact science, but if used with a bit of logical reasoning, it gives you a good overall estimated wattage required.

Look at my specs,,, personally, If I added another 2 HDD's I would add another 50W to 100W (so 800W to 850W PSU).

Hope that helps and is not too confusing.

 

[Night Hawk]

That's what ended up being the case here with the 700w supply being 113w over what that showed. Once the next build is up and running then I can crank things up on this one for a bit to see just what it will handle. But I also have to look at the first board for this one simply quitting in 3 days time when first built!

RMA time!

 

[chev65]

Well I'm glad you guys agree with my original assessment. 450 watts isn't even close to enough no matter which way you cut it.

 

[Tepid]

Not completely... We don't know what Video is being used,, On-Board or other.

I used the calc listed above,,,, (I personally don't trust these,,, but)

I chose High End Desktop Board
Original Posters exact CPU
4 x sticks DDR3
1 x BluRay
1 x High Speed Sata HDD
1 x GTX 295 Video card
4 x USB devices
2 x 120MM Fans
which = 373W

For me, I still wouldn't put less than a 550W in there,,
but if the calc is right and his PSU is fine,, then it shouldn't have a problem powering his system.

However,,, these are all assumptions.... and the problems talked about here very well could be PSU related.
But they could also be all the other things mentioned as well.
These types of problems are not (unfortunately) a straight forward answer and hopefully we aren't getting off track.

So, I apologize for taking us on a side tangent about PSU's.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Does anyone even bother to actually measure the power used by a system at idle or under load?

Whatever became of that radical idea?

Never mind what a calculator says.

Try checking what a few systems actually use.

 

[seekermeister]

Some calculator do not take into account surge requirements, and if there is any time that a surge is likely, it is during boot.

 

[Night Hawk]

Surprizingly some will end up with a 450w that will take a beating and last while larger supplies while simply quit on you too soon. A great deal has to do with the quality as well as what you see for amp on the rails. You can have a higher wattage supply that gets pulled down due to poor regulation while some lower powered supply holds steady.

When first building this case I went for a supply that was actually a bit more then what was needed for two HDs, a pair of optical drives, and a tuner card as well as the video and sound cards. When expanding by adding in a larger storage drive plus one more for testing 7 plus buying a second lager storage drive you can see 5 over 2 satas made up for that.

The first golden rule with any new build is having a good supply to cover your needs plus! That's the ground work as well as adequate cooling for the intended build. The problem with the combo case/supply included deals is seeing some low powered supply tossed in as one thought for not providing enough power.

Getting back to the subject however the supply is still only one item to consider when seeing problems with a new build. A bad cap on the board or bios programming issue can also cause problems as well as not having set the dram timings correctly for the memory installed.

 

[Tepid]

ram timings correctly for the memory installed.

Which is something I did not consider but can be highly likely.
I had a system that had problems till I tweaked the voltage on my RAM.
Then it was perfect.

Does anyone even bother to actually measure the power used by a system at idle or under load?

Whatever became of that radical idea?

Never mind what a calculator says.

Try checking what a few systems actually use.

Not really,,, there is almost no point to doing that anymore.
I will say that 1200W PSU in a system with either Crossfire or SLI and a couple HDD's maybe a few GIG's of ram is totally a waste of money and over kill.

But, when building a PC, you really need to know what you are doing and do your homework.

I also say you get what you pay for.

But I think we are getting off track and the OP hasn't even come back to say anything else. Yet.

 

[Night Hawk]

This is why I suggested a look at the dram timings to see if those are set correctly since memory problems can seem like bad ram when all you might need is a change in settings. Personally to get to 4gb I went with a pair of 2gb dimms rather then populating all four dimm slots with 1gb dimms.

Some boards are known to be hassles when all slots are used. The OP will still have to get to us here to let us know what can be ruled out and what still needs to be looked at.