Vista freezing after startup

[PTR Hoar]

Any guys out there gen'd up on vista HP?

The problem is i have just built a new system with vista home premium (64 bit) as the OS, when i first got the machine up and running, no issues. Downloaded some updates, got mcafee security on etc etc. Then on Saturday morning it just refused to run properly, after about 45 seconds to a minute after you get to the login screen, it freezes and the only option i have is to power down and back up again. It doesn't happen in safe mode. I installed an updated display driver this morning and it ran fine until my wife tried it tonight and the same thing happened again. I would have prefered to hold out for windows 7 but the old PC died on me.....

Any help would be appretiated. DT_Xtremez_27:

 

[pie sandwich]

If you have managed to update all the drivers correctly then I would rule those out, are you running the latest version of the BIOS?

Also have you checked the voltages for your CPU, GPU and RAM in the BIOS and compared them to what they should be.

 

[PTR Hoar]

Haven't checked the BIOS version tbh, checked all the voltages and they're fine. I still dont think its a coincidence that the problem surfaced after a windows update, tried a system restore and it worked but then i dont exactly want to go without updates, concidering it's a brand new PC!

 

[bombdasand]

happened to me last week, when it boots up, start it in a mode called start up repair, and it will sort out the issues.

took about 5 mins to scan and repair and all me files are still there

 

[R_Squared]

If the Start up repair doesn't help, it could be heat issues or a RAM failure.

Even if the system runs fine in Safe mode that may be because it is stressing the CPU less or not using the RAM space with the fault in it.

Sometimes an update can be the cause and other times it can be a coincidence that acts as a red herring diverting you from the actual cause.

 

[PTR Hoar]

Tried the startup repair, done the ram test and checked the mobo and cpu temps. Nothing out of the ordinary, since it was freezing i thought it might be heating issues but then earlier in the day i was playing Red Alert 3 for like 4 hours and no issues which leads me to think its a software, not hardware fault. Damned magic box!

 

[R_Squared]

If the Temps are all good and the RAM is good then it is more likely to be a corrupted file then.
Any idea what the latest updates were? Any DirectX updates in there? Do you allow Vista to update your hardware drivers?

 

[PTR Hoar]

no idea what the updates were, i went into msconfig in safe mode and disabled all the startup files, works ok. Just going through enabling them one by one and seeing where the culprit lies!

 

[R_Squared]

I'm sure Vista keeps a log telling you which files have been updated recently, although restoring them to an older version may prove more difficult.

 

[PTR Hoar]

well after pratting about till the early hours of the morning it would seem that the offender was a driver for my PCI wireless network card (i'm sure that was listed as one of the windows updates too) i'm not speaking too soon though, as i was sure that i got it last time aswell!

 

[R_Squared]

tis ever thus.

Good luck with sorting the problem. I always allow the automatic update system to automatically download updates, but I always vet them myself before installing now after spending days trying to sort a problem caused by a dodgy download a couple of years back.

Auto updates can be a bit of a mixed blessing sometimes.