Random startup problem

[Aardvarkly]

I have a home built desktop PC running Windows 7 Pro (64 bit) that has been running extremely well for several years now. Lately, just occasionally it will snag during startup. By this I mean when it gets to the point showing the blue sky background and the message in the middle says "welcome" it just stays at that point. Eventually the screen goes black with just the cursor showing (slightly larger than normal size). I can use Control/Alt/Delete to bring up the task manager but nothing can be done to promote the full startup sequence. I have discovered that if I cut the power at the power supply for a split second it will boot again and present the basic Command Line screen with the option to repair or start in Safe Mode or Start Normally. I choose Start Normally and it boots up with no further bother. I am wondering if there is something going on causing this hiccup that I might be able to fix. It's no big deal really but apart from that my installation runs faultlessly. Any ideas?
Thanks in Advance

 

[Aardvarkly]

Hello out there. Can I assume no one else out there has encountered this problem? It is getting a little worse now but only becomes more worrying now because my backup computer has gone belly up while trying to load the update pack. I'm in the process of doing a full reinstall but now the activation tweak doesn't work. Ho hum................

 

[diz]

That's unexpected.

By the way, you don't need to power off your computer to bring the boot menu, you just have to press F8 many times very quick just before windows is about to start loading.

But I don't think it will letting you boot normally, since the improper shutdown down does someting to fix your problem. Try F8 and choose safe mode.

when you are stuck in the black screen with the cursor, execute task manager, take note of the process running, if explorer.exe is running kill that process, open the file menu, run new task : "explorer.exe" and let us know if it's working.

Once you boot normally into your windows account, you can try a few things:

- run "msconfig" and disable all startup programs, and non-microsoft services.
- you can also try creating a new user, and see if the problems is only with that specific account.
- run "sfc /scannow" to restore original protected files to his original status.
- run "chkdsk /f /r" to fix posible disk errors.
- make sure your antivirus is updated.
- download and execute autoruns ( Autoruns for Windows - Windows Sysinternals | Microsoft Docs ) , look for suspicious entries and disable them.

 

[Aardvarkly]

Thanks for the suggestions Diz. I will try them all in due course.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

I know I replied to this thread once, but it seems to have disappeared.
So, I'll try again.

About 40 years of PC repair experience tells me that when a PC does not want to boot up, reliably, that can often be traced to a CMOS battery that is no longer at full power (3.0vdc or better).

Recently, I tried to boot up a desktop eMachine, that I don't use very often, and it failed to boot.
After installing a NEW battery, it still failed to Boot.
So I did what I've done many times before.....I pulled out the two RAM sticks and cleaned the edge connectors, with alcohol on a soft cloth. After re-installing the ram, and turning on the power, the little ol' PC booted up just fine. Happiness can be a successful fix on a failing PC.

Happy Computing, Mate!
TM