I have recently run into a problem with my pc and for the first time I'm stumped. My pc is running on windows 2000. I noticed one day that I turned on the power and the pc didn't even begin to boot for 5 minutes. it gave me nothing but black screen. Gradually over the next few days I would get the same black screen but for longer periods. I also noticed that while running windows my clock would reset and my bios always changed. I fixed this by replacing the cmos battery. So my bios and clock's running fine BUT....as the days went on EVERY time I turn on my pc as I said would do nothing for a period of time. it went from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to an hour and now it takes about 4 hours just to start the boot. When it does boot windows runs fine, I checked to make sure the memory was displayed correctly and it is. I have a 128 stick of ddr ram and a 256. I ran AVG and defragmentor and scandisk. Now when I turn my pc on...all the fans are running my harddrive makes the typical clicking noise as if it's doing something but the screen remains black for a few hours before the system actually starts to boot up. I have no idea what else to do. I have one backup restore file that I created about a year ago and I don't mind having to use it as a last resort However I'm just trying to figure this out now before something like this happens again.
anyone have any suggestions? It would be GREATLY appreciated.

Couple of questions and a suggestion.

1> You have Virus protection?

2> have you tried shutting down unneeded programs running in background.

3> try removing one stick of memory and boot if same replace and remove other.

4>when you say HDD is clicking has it always done this and is it load?

Sorry I haven't replied. Took me forever and a day to get my pc to work long enough to post this. 1 I have virus protection. 2 I have shut down all uneeded programs. 3. I've done that with both sticks....same problem. 4 MY hdd always does that. It's just the regular busy/loading sound. Another symptom I've noticed lately is that sometimes when it does work properly, for no reason at all...the whole thing freezes up. no ctrl+alt+del. nothing. It hasn't started booting at all for about a day now.

Sounds like it may also be a heat issue or Mother board going bad.

I had windows melinum and had similar problems. I formated several times until I was told the OS was causing the problem.
Went to XP and it was fine.
Have you tried a reformat?

Haven't tried that yet. My dad got a copy of xp, but I can't get into the system to even use it. I've taken out each stick of ram to start it up....nothing. Used one HD to start it up(the one with the os on it)....nothing. I've used the other HD by itself as well......nothing. It hasn't actually started at all lately. everything seems to be in order...I took it apart and checked for any damage, seems fine....all fans run. it just refuses to boot at all now. Just black screen. I think that either A the MB is in fact bad or B the processor is shot. could be both for all I know. Is there a way to check that before actually buying new parts or am I going to have to risk it and buy a new one lol. I seriously appreciate all the help though guys. Just trying to narrow down my options. The last time it was functioning at all was 2 days ago. No matter what I tried or how long I've waited I can't get it to boot up. I'm using a laptop right now.

Always check your psu first.Since it supplies power to the board and processor it can have many symptoms. If you havn't already, take it out, bring it into a shop and have it tested. Also psu testers are cheap. If you havn't tried a post with no drives connected you should. For me it is the first step in trouble shooting.

I have actually just recently replacedmy psu. Thing is.....the stuff started happening afterwards now that I think about it. I'll check that out. I'm gonna take my HD and put it in a friends pc to check it. If it boots...then I really think I have either a fried proccessor or a dead MB.