Vista not booting

Lucero_2

All of the above is exactly the same as starting in safe mode with the exception of one or two services. There is little point in labouring down this road any further.

I can tell you what the problem is (i believe), and the hard drive test will confirm it.

First, let me clarify:

You start from cold, you get the POST screen, then the screen goes blank and nothing happens? Correct?
You then press C+A+D and the computer restarts fine.

This is a cold boot issue. The whine you are hearing is potentially a capacitor which is struggling to get up to temperature to work correctly. It's not discharging at the right time and therefore causing the computer to hang. By the time you've hit C+A+D, the cap is up to temperature and behaves normally.

This will be confirmed by taking the side / top off and unplugging just the power to the HDD.

Simply, there should be two screws at the back (maybe 4 depending on age) These secure the cover to the PC chassis. Once removed, the cover will lift / slide / open off. Then you can see the entire inside of the PC. The HDD will be located somewhere near the front, trace the power cable to it (4 wires terminating in once socket) and pull the socket out.

T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.

[FONT=&quot]From cold - the screen remains absolutely blank. There is a sound like something accelerating. The flashing light on the (oldish) monitor switch - which indicates that the monitor is on standby - stops flashing briefly. There is a small (sharpish) hiss sound. The acceleration sound gives up with a sort of groan. The monitor switch resumes flashing.
The only thing that alters on the monitor during the entire process is the switch light - the screen remains entirely blank.
As you say it's only 4 or 5 screws - easy enough really.
Once I've pulled the socket out of the hard drive - power up my PC and listen for the whine sound? Or does my description in this reply alter your diagnosis?
[/FONT]

T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.

There is one query re the capacitor. However long is left for the capacitor to get up to temperature - even if I go to make a coffee - whatever temperature the capacitor is at my pc will not start until I hit C + A + D

espresso

Lucero wrote: »

The whine you are hearing is potentially a capacitor which is struggling to get up to temperature to work correctly. It's not discharging at the right time and therefore causing the computer to hang. By the time you've hit C+A+D, the cap is up to temperature and behaves normally.

free4440273

espresso wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Lucero_2

espresso wrote: »

Hardly. It was a known issue on Pentium 4 Abit Intel boards, documented and recalled. Other boards of similar ages have had similar problems from the same chipset.

espresso

Lucero wrote: »

The whine you are hearing is potentially a capacitor which is struggling to get up to temperature to work correctly.

Absolute rubbish!

It's not discharging at the right time and therefore causing the computer to hang.

More rubbish!

By the time you've hit C+A+D, the cap is up to temperature and behaves normally.

Even more rubbish! You obviously have no basic electronics knowledge, so why make an idiot of yourself by posting such crap.

Lucero wrote: »

Hardly. It was a known issue on Pentium 4 Abit Intel boards, documented and recalled. Other boards of similar ages have had similar problems from the same chipset.

You are simply waffling now. This problems has nothing to do with "capacitors getting up to temperature to work correctly", so why don't you limit yourself to responding to threads where you have enough knowledge to make a useful contribution.

..............

Lucero_2

Again, you're wrong. I have an engineering degree thanks, majority electrical including fourier transform, I know exactly how PCs work.

In 2002, I had an abit motherboard, it was recalled by the manufacturer for a cold boot issue, one which I suffered with. The PC wouldn't boot from cold. Once up to temperature, a CAD would let it boot normally. Abit posted a detailed description to the issue which was defective capacitors, which whined and refused to work from cold.

I got a brand new board. So yeah, I'm clearly talking rubbish.

espresso

Lucero wrote: »

Again, you're wrong. I have an engineering degree thanks, majority electrical including fourier transform, I know exactly how PCs work.

In 2002, I had an abit motherboard, it was recalled by the manufacturer for a cold boot issue, one which I suffered with. The PC wouldn't boot from cold. Once up to temperature, a CAD would let it boot normally. Abit posted a detailed description to the issue which was defective capacitors, which whined and refused to work from cold.

I got a brand new board. So yeah, I'm clearly talking rubbish.

You may well have an engineering degree but it is painfully obvious from what you have posted that you do not understand how capacitors are used in electronic circuits, so yes you are "clearly talking rubbish"!

Edit: Welcome to my ignore list.

Lucero_2

Really? So, I don't know that a capacitor charges and then discharges, because that's exactly how they work. However, when cold, a failing capacitor sometimes won't release it's charge, hence the issue.