Member Avatar for abenjen

First off, I blame myself for this one. But in my defense, our computers are all on the same circuit (independent of the rest of the house) on UPS backup and decent surge protection. Mainly due to we have 4 computers and a laptop in the house. (1 work computer, 1 play computer, 1 "family' computer, 1 that is just my daughters, and the laptop).

I went to bed about 3am last night, just as some storms were getting bad here. Normally, I remember to turn off the circuit to the computers when the storms are rough. This time, unfortuantely I forgot to do so, and our Windows XP computer (the "Have fun while working" computer) was left on.

Our XP computer is set to stay off after a power failure.

This morning I came down, booted everything up. Everything is normal except for the XP machine.

That one... it gets into Windows just fine. Then after a few seconds the screen gets really weird, the keyboard is unresponsive, as is the mouse. You can't make out what is on the screen, but ctrl-alt-delete does nothing, and doesn't even make the cpu twirl like normal. the system just stops at that point.

Booting the computer up in safe mode works. I removed the last few things installed on there, and changed the video from the card back to the on-board. Same issue.

CHKDSK found nothing.

I am running:
HP Pavilion Intel Celeron 2.20
2gb ram
GeForce FX 5500 heavily overclocked

Anyone have any ideas other then "reformat and reinstall"? As of right now, while i can get into safe mode, i can't access the internet from it, and can't see anything wrong.

Anything I overlooked?
Thanks in advance!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by sittas87

Dani AI

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Good troubleshooting from and useful pointers from and . The thread covers initial diagnosis; the notes below add a compact, practical follow‑up checklist for anyone who finds a PC acting up after a power event and wants to be thorough without redoing the whole OS.

Start with preservation: make a full image of the system drive while the machine is stable, and copy important data to separate media. Then run offline hardware checks from rescue media: a thorough memory test, the disk vendor’s diagnostic tool and a S.M.A.R.T. read. Also review Windows system logs for driver or I/O errors so any recurring failures are documented.

Do a careful physical inspection with power removed. Look for signs of overheating or electrical damage (discolored PCB, melted or brittle insulation, bulging/leaking capacitors, loose connectors) and take photos for warranty/insurance. Check fan wiring and power cables for chafing; a failing PSU or a partially shorted connector can cause odd freezes that appear only after the OS loads drivers and powers devices. If anything looks suspect, either replace the part or test by swapping in a known‑good PSU/fan/cable rather than guessing.

After repairs, monitor voltages and temperatures for several days with a hardware monitor and run light stress tests only if hardware appears healthy. Test the UPS and replace surge strips after a significant surge—MOV-based protectors degrade once they absorb a hit. Finally, keep a small spares kit (fan, PSU, SATA/IDE cable) and an up‑to‑date image so recovery after a future event is quick. These steps complement the software checks already suggested in the thread and prioritize data safety and repeatable verification over an immediate reinstall.

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Member Avatar for fmc-tech

try this:
Boot to Safe mode and Run

sfc /scannow

Member Avatar for fmc-tech

You may also want to try a system restore

Member Avatar for abenjen

system restore didn't work - i went back first a few days, then a month. Same problem.

Safe mode still works, so it has to be something with either a service or a startup application. I'm going through the lists now.

Member Avatar for sittas87

Hi
Reset the cmos for a hour or so and start the pc up.see if that's of any help

Cheers

Member Avatar for abenjen

I reset the CMOS, no luck.

Finally got it working though. Here is what i found:
Somehow (i will not pretend to know how this could of happened) the cooling fan had charred wiring and a little melted plastic. I removed the fan, put in a new stock fan. There was some melted plastic on part of the motherboard, away from the components but pretty close to the ram. I cleaned it up, air-dusted the entire thing, rebooted, and the computer came up splendidly.

Member Avatar for sittas87

Well done.
Please mark as solved

Have a great day:)
Cheers

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