Cold boot ok; warm boot locks up

[gifpaste]

I have Win XP SP3 and I can cold boot into windows fine, but if I have to restart for whatever reason (I want to, hardware install, windows update) the loading screen of windows freezes and the computer reboots. Sometimes it will do this 4 times in a row before getting back into windows.

However if I power off the computer, wait 30 sec or so, I can boot into windows the first time, every time.


I recently also installed Win7 on the computer and have the same problem. If I'm in win7 and restart so I can go back into XP, it freezes. If I want to switch to win7, it freezes on the laod screen. Both require me to poweroff and to a cold boot to get back in.


Ran MemTest and it found no errors

 

[jackschmittusa]

My guess is thermal expansion of some component. Starts fine when cold and contracted, manages to either maintain electrical contact when warm but will not re-establish contact when warm, or only responds correctly to Windows polling it when cold, the polling only being done at boot.

Try pulling ram and cards and reseating them.

edit: I guess it might be a failing psu as well, but you provide no info about it. All psus lose some of their capability over time (some cheap ones much faster than good ones), and all work better when cool. An old cheap one may no longer have the guts to boot when it is already warm.

 

[gifpaste]

Sorry,

PSU = http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005 bought Jan 09.
MB = http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128323 bought Oct 06


I'll try reseating cards/connections. Would reseating the CPU be of any help?


edit: by polling do you mean, windows goes around all connected hardware and gets their status?

 

[jackschmittusa]

Psu is new and a good one so I would not suspect that.

Polling is the os interrogating the components for various reasons. It was once used to even see if a component had any work to schedule for the cpu. At boot, the os interrogates components on their status, capabilities, model numbers, etc..

I doubt that reseating the cpu would help as its electrical contacts usually do not suffer oxidation nor does it suffer from "thermal creep" (the process of of a component working slowly out of a socket as it expands and contracts from turning on and off) since the socket and heatsink clamp it tightly.

 

[Matt1970]

Look for bloated (Rounded top) capacitors on the motherboard.