On startup, my PC hangs after first Windows 98 welcome screen - but only if the PC has been switched off for a period. (If I shutdown and then restart soon after it is fine.) I get round the problem by switching on and off, it gives choice of safe or normal mode etc; I choose normal and it starts fine. But it's annoying to have to do that!

Put your Win98 bootdisk in. Go to the DOS prompt and type "sys c:" That will copy your system files to your HD.

I'll try that, thanks

I don't think "sys'ing" the drive will matter as it does eventually boot. It sounds more like the hard disk isn't spinning up quickly enough for the O/S.

Check in your bios for a setting which delays the boot giving the hard disk a chance to spin up. I forget what the setting is actually called, but it should be pretty well self evident once you see it. Probably under Advanced Settings?

Thanks. I've been all through my bios menus and there seems to be no delay option. I have AMIBIOS version 1.24h, although my motherboard (GA-6VTXE) manual says the board has version 1.24e. It's annoying because the manual shows an 'IDE Boot Delay' option but I get 'Interrupt Mode APIC or PIC' instead. This is the only difference I've found between the bios options in the manual and on my screen! It seems doubly odd because as 'h' is after 'e' I would expect version 1.24h to have more not less than 1.24e. Is it possible to change the bios version - or does that mean a new motherboard?
To eliminate other possibilities I've done a complete reinstall of Windows 98, but the problem is still there.
Is the diagnosis that the disk spins up too slowly for the O/S consistent with the following facts:
(1) The system only hangs when left off for a significant period (eg overnight), but does not hang when left off for a short time (say half an hour).
(2) When it does hang, it shows the Windows 98 screen - presumably it must have got that from the hard disk so the disk must have been spinning?
Would a new hard disk fix the problem? Or are there are more ideas out there?!

Interrupt Mode : PIC, APIC - This BIOS feature is used to enable or disable the motherboard's APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller). The APIC provides multiprocessor support, more IRQs and faster interrupt handling. However, it is only supported by newer operating systems like Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Older operating systems like DOS or Windows 95/98 do not support this feature. Only select APIC if you are using a newer operating system like Windows XP. Select PIC if you are using an older operating system like DOS or Windows 95/98. (Your case.) If it's currently set to APIC, change it to PIC and see if the problem stops.

A bios can be "flashed" to a newer version (if available) but this should only be done if you have a specific "problem" which can be overcome by new bios features. ie; Recognizing newer large hard disks etc. If your bios currently performs correctly, you should leave it alone.

"The system only hangs when left off for a significant period (eg overnight), but does not hang when left off for a short time (say half an hour)."

Based upon the information thus far, this sounds like it could be a hard disk "spin up" problem. ie; the drive goes into a "hibernation" state from which it can't "wake up" without a fresh boot. This may or may not be induced by current settings.

Download the appropriate drive manufacturers disk diagnostic tools. Click on the downloaded image file to create a boot floppy for these tools on one of your floppy diskettes. Boot the machine with the floppy and run the full diagnostics.

If you don't know what kind of hard disk you have, download and run Everest Home Edition. You can create a report with the report wizard (all pages) and save it as an HTML document (or plain text). This program provides links to your hardware makers websites for support documentation, drivers, etc.

Post back with any new developments.

Thanks again. I tried the diagnostic tools and it reported all is OK. I also checked and found the maximum switched off time to avoid it hanging on startup is around 30-40 mins (but seems not to be exactly the same each time). But suddenly this evening I now have a worse problem - the PC will not start at all. It happened just after changing a bios setting, but it was a change back to a previous value. Furthermore:
(1) I can no longer get into the bios.
(2) I've tried inserting a startup diskette, but even then the system will not start.
All bad news, unless these bigger problems make it easier to identify the original one? Could replacing the CMOS battery help?

Even if the cmos battery is dead, when you power up there's power for the bios. If the settings were lost because of a dead battery, it would default to factory settings on power up. Not being able to get in is not good news. This is the communication bridge between your motherboard and your hardware components. (CPU, memory, video, hard disks, floppy disks, CDROMS, etc.)

The motherboard may be cooked, or the power supply may be shot. Do you have another power supply of the same type (AT or ATX) which you can try on the motherboard?

I didn't have a spare power supply so decided to take the machine to a professional repairer. He said it was the motherboard and that it is difficult to find a new one for a Pentium 3. So I've ended up ordering a whole new unit. Rather an expensive solution to what began as a small irritation! Anyway I won't have to worry about Windows 98.
Thanks again for the help - in some ways it is frustrating the PC failed completely before we got to the solution of the original problem; if anyone else has the same problem please continue this thread...
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