Power down problem

Okies.. trying to explain this is so hard… so bear with me I'm running A7N8X-E Deluxe M/B Radeon 9600 Vid Card 2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP 1G RAM The problem occurs when the computer is shut down. Upon reboot, the following happens; 1) The computer restarts and I get the message that Windows wasnt shut down properly. (It makes no difference in the sequence if I say restart Windows normally or restart with last known config) 2) It will then boot into the Windows start up screen but at some point will freeze (the time varies here - but will always freeze requiring a restart) 3) Will get past the Windows screen to the blue screen but the mouse pointer will freeze in the middle of the screen requiring a restart 4) It will now boot up to the desktop and work just fine without any problem at all. I am at the point where I do not want to turn the computer off for fear it wont boot up at all. If I reset during normal use to clear the cache and such, there is no problem at all. This only occurs when the computer is turned off. The longer it is off, the more restarts are required and we may go through steps 1,2 and 3 more than once each. Any clues or advice would be grarefully received. Thanks Ladie Jas

I had a similar problem, but on top of all that the computer had a file that would cause it to shutdown without warning. That problem was caused by a sasser virus. If not caught and fixed it can crash your hard drive. I'm not real sure how to fix it or if it can be fixed yet, but it's very advisable to back up your hard drive and prepare for the worst.

Have you recently installed any new hardware or software?

Apparently your machine is rebooting without giving you any Error Code or BSOD information?

The following with prevent automatic rebooting, and will cause the machine to display the Error Code that relates to the problem provoking the reboot.

How to disable Automatic Restart in XP

You may be encountering a feature of Windows XP's Startup and Recovery system. By default, this system specifically configures Windows XP to automatically restart itself after encountering a system failure error.

These system failure errors are usually isolated and occur randomly. As such, the best way for the operating system to deal with them is to automatically restart.
However, you can disable the automatic restart behavior. Follow these steps:

Go to Start/Control Panel/System/Advanced/Startup&Recovery(Settings).
In the System Failure section, deselect the Automatically Restart check box, and click OK.
To enable the changes, click OK in the System Properties dialog box.
This change configures the system to halt after encountering a system failure error, which allows you to investigate the problem error in more detail. You will then have to manually restart the system.

After you've completed the above, you will probably gain additional information about your machine when it shuts down.

Please post the Error Code information that is displayed.
(post the exact and complete message(s))

You may also receive some important information from Event Log.

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance,
then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or,
open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, click Event Viewer.

Again, post complete messages of any item you may identify in Event Viewer.

Best Regards

The error log is filled with this message that all correspond to the approximate times of the shutdown/reboot problem. The device, \Device\Harddisk0\D, has a bad block. I find this confusing as I have recently run diags on the H/D's, one was doubtful so I replaced it and the passed with flying colours. Thanks Ladie Jas

Ladie Jas

I find this confusing as I have recently run diags on the H/D's

Did you use "drive state" diagnostics from the Hard Drive Manufacturer?

You can also use the Windows Check Disk utility which is best run from Recovery Console, as follows:

Check Disk in XP

Set the order to boot from the CD Rom 1st and the Hard drive 2nd.

Put your Windows CD in the tray, then "Exit with Saving" the settings (far right tab)

1. Boot with your windows CD
It will take some time as the CD loads various files

2. Type R to Enter the Recovery Console
3. Enter the Administrator password (if there is one)
4. Type: chkdsk c: /r and press Enter << 5. Once completed (if no errors of unrecovery) Type: chkdsk c: /p and press Enter
6. Type: fixboot c: and press Enter
You’ll get a script asking if you are sure you wish to write a new boot sector to C:, Type y (for yes)
You’ll get a script stating that a new boot sector has been written.

7. At the prompt, type (exit) to Boot Normally

Next, Run your "System File Checker" to determine if there are missing or corrupted files in your operating system causing these "freeze" symptoms.

In Normal Mode:
Start - Run - (type)sfc /scannow <—- please notice the space between "c" and "/"
Have your XP installation CD handy as SFC will call for it to copy and replace any missing or corrupt OS files.

Best Regards