Hey guys, I've got kind of a weird issue that I've been unable to resolve thus far. I'm hoping someone might have some info that'll help!

I had my computer stored away recently (warm, dry, safe storage) and prior to that it seemed to be running just fine. I hooked it back up, about 3 months ago and since then I've been having issues with the PC freezing at startup.

The problem is VERY specific and I know how to work around it and get it to start up, but it's annoying and here's why...

When I shut down my computer or restart it, it freezes 100% of the time. The ONLY way to get it to actually boot up is to wait an hour or so (with the pc turned all the way off) and then turn it back on. 100% of the time it boots up just fine after waiting.

It's kind of a weird issue, but I hope I'm not alone.

I'm running windows xp on an IBM built computer 2.4 Ghz 512mb ram xp home edition. I have attempted scanning for viruses, defragging, and cleaning my registry. All of which made my PC function much better, but did not resolve this problem or even make it a little better.

Any help you can offer is super appreciated!

Dustin

Oh btw it's freezing up at the system check screen, prior to the windows start up screen, if that makes a dif!

Try getting another 512 MB of ram, Windows XP requires a lot of resources at boot. If anything is in your boot up that reserves ram between restarts it could freeze until its completely unloaded. More ram could help this. I don't think it will completely solve it.

I had my computer stored away recently (warm, dry, safe storage) and prior to that it seemed to be running just fine.

More RAM is not the solution in this case.


How old is this machine?

Laptop or Desktop?

... it's freezing up at the system check screen, prior to the windows start up screen...

The CMOS battery may need replacing. Is the time/date OK?

Post back with your answers and any further questions.