PC boots up by itself, Cannot start in Safe Mode

Hi everyone,
I'm new here. Have been trying to fix my PC for a while now but to no avail. Would really appreciate your help. Here are the details:

a) System: WindowsXP (Home Edition) upgraded to SP2
b) Protection: Norton Internet Securities 2005
c) Problem: My PC boots up by itself daily (now in the wee hours of the morning) and I cannot start the PC in Safe Mode. Everything else seems to work fine.
d) Further details:
- The hard disk is split in 2 (C: for programs and D: for data)
- The PC shop has helped us reformat the C: when this first happened (On top of spontaneous booting and not being able to start up in Safe Mode, PC also slowed down a lot and Norton Live Update could not run) in case there were viruses/trojans - also because they could not figure out the problem. We were then able to run the PC in Safe Mode again
- About 2 weeks later and PC is acting funny again (spontaneous boot up by itself and not being able to run in Safe Mode)
- When we shut down the computer, we usually click the Start button and then do the Shut Down from there, we do not turn the mains off (but this did not seem to be a problem with our last computer which ran on Win98)

Please tell me what to do.

Thanks in advance :confused:

See if this thread helps out.

And welcome to VirtualDr.

Sorry ... also why do you want to access safe mode?
Could you check that all drivers are installed on your PC right, and there are no conflicts. Not sure if you should run HighjackThis too, since it's a new install... but give that a try.

[EDIT]
Make sure in your system that no cable/objects are interfere'n w/ the CPU & VGA card fan or any system fan.
Check the settings in your BIOS ... heat & temp conditions etc.

Hi,


First thig to do is turn off the automatic rebooting. This will give you the blue screen with an error message. Take note of all the error message and post it back as it will help identify the problem
Right-click My Computer / Properties / Advanced / Startup and Recovery/Settings. Under System Failure, uncheck the Automatically restart check box

Since a reformat did not cure this it must be either
Overheating
Hardware problem
Memory chip etc

When does it reboot? Is it random or are you doing the same thing each time? Has it been running for a while before it reboots?

Also
Have a look in these places for errors

1. Right click My Computer / Properties / Hardware / Device Manager.
Look for "Yellow" errors

2. Control Panel / Performance and Maintenance / Admin Tools / Event Viewer / System.
Look for "Red" errors. Double click on error.
If there are a lot, some of them will be duplicates so just post one of each.
Take a note of the Event ID and also the Source and post them back.

Elaine

Quote:

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Originally posted by dunedin
Hi,


First thig to do is turn off the automatic rebooting....
:
Memory chip etc

Elaine

---

ooops forgot about the auto reboot option (scratching head ;-) )

as for a memory test... try this.
Note do all that 'dunedin' suggested then if all else fails run the memory test, 'cos it take a while, double check all you h/w connections and status.

HTH

Actually I think that neonewbie is saying that the PC starts itself from a shutdown state, rather than it's doing the auto reboot because of a Stop error.

If that is the case, go into the BIOS Setup (it should tell you what key to press during the POST when you boot the PC), and under "Power Management Setup" or similar, make sure the following are disabled (or anything else along the same lines, BIOS's are all different so it's not possible to be exact):

PME Event wake-up

Modem Ring

Wake on LAN

Resume by alarm

That should prevent the boot up by itself.

Ahhh....Sorry
Didn`t read it properly :rolleyes:

Elaine

wooopsiii... and it's all in the title :confused:

Sorry about that 'neonewbie' ... yeah 'SuperSparks' should be bang on the money with his response :)

Hi guys,
Thanks for your replies. SuperSparks - yes, the PC boots up by itself from ShutDown state rather than an autoreboot.

This is what I've done so far:
1) Tried the thread for starting up in 'Safe Mode' but it didnt' help.
- I don't see the BOOT.INI tab
- Tabs I see there are General, System.INI, WIN.INI, Services, StartUp
- Could not find /Safeboot either
- My reason for trying to start the PC up in Safe Mode was to run a Norton scan in that mode in case there were viruses/trojans not being sieved out in Normal Mode

2) Tried the automatic reboot suggested by Dunedine but there was no blue screen so I changed the settings back to what it was (with the Automatically Restart box checked in My Computer/Properties/Advanced/Startup and Recovery/Settings)

3) As for My Computer/Properties/Hardware/Device Manager there are no yellow errors

4) Under Control Panel/Performance and Maintenance/Admin Tools/Event Viewer/System red errors are as follow (please let me know if you need me to post the description) in chrono order starting with the most recent:
- Windows Update Agent Installation Failure
- Source: BITS, Event ID: 16391
- Source: DCOM, Event ID: 10010
- Source: W32Time, Event ID: 29
- Source: W32Time, Event ID: 17
- Source: NetBT, Event ID: 4311
- Source: DCOM, Event ID: 10005 (cannot start in SafeMode)
- Source: PlugPlayManager, Event ID: 11
- Source: Cdrom, Event ID: 7
- Source: Service Control Manager, Event ID: 7000

5) In the BIOS settings under PC Health stats are as follow:
- Chassis Intrusion --> Disabled
- CPU temp --> 58C/136F
- System temp --> 98C/110F
- CPU Fan speed --> 3750RPM
- NB Fan speed --> 0RPM
- Vcat --> 1.334V
*3.3V --> 3.392V
*+5.0V --> 5.062V
*+12.0V --> 12.473V
*-12.0V --> -12.56V
- Battery --> 3.056V
- +5V SB --> 5.066V

6) In the BIOS setting under Power Management Features I see:
- ACPI Standby State --> S1/POS
- Recall VGA BIOAS at S3 Resuming --> Disabled
- Power Management/APU --> Enabled
- Suspend Time Out (Minute) --> Disabled
- Power button function --> On/Off
- Restore on AC/Power loss --> Last State
- Set up control for events
- Set Wake Up events
*USB device wake up from S3 --> Disabled
*Resume on PME# --> Enabled (SuperSparks: I've 'Disabled' this - is this the right thing to do?)
*Resume on RTC Alarm --> Disabled
*Keyboard Power On function --> Disabled
*Mouse Power On function --> Disabled

7) Checked the Motherboard details: MSI865me Neo2 for P4

8) I'm running Windows XP Home version SP2

9) I'll check again this next morning post the changes to see if the PC boots up by itself again and get back to you.

Any ideas about the Safe mode? Or should I just not be so bothered about not being able to start up in SafeMode?

Thanks heaps!

9) I've noticed in the last few days that the PC comes on sometime between 12midnight and 6am (I'm not sure of the exact time as I've learnt to ignore the sound of the CPU and sleep despite the PC turning on). The rest of the day I'm at work but PC is off when I get back from work, so I guess it did not boot up

Yep, hopefully disabling "Resume on PME" should cure you phantom starting up problem.

Go into the My Computer>Tools>Folder Options>View tab, and in there select "Show hidden files and folders", and uncheck "Hide protected operating System files".

Then find the boot.ini file in the root folder of the C: drive, right-click and choose Properties and remove the read-only attribute. Then double-click and it will open in Notepad. A standatd boot ini looks like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

Modify it thus:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safemode with Networking" /safeboot:network /sos /bootlog

ie by adding this line:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safemode with Networking" /safeboot:network /sos /bootlog

And then reboot the PC. You should then get an option on each boot to go into normal Windows or Safe Mode.

Hi SuperSparks,
In your last post, does it mean that after the change I will have to keep selecting between the option to boot up in Normal or Safe each time I start up the PC.

Or does it mean that I will have to hit the F8 or F5 key as per normal to have the option?

Also I remember seeing the first 2 lines and not the Safe mode line in the mentioned folder.

Thanks again

ps. Re the BIOS for trigger at PME events, could you please tell me what these PME events would be.

.

[EDIT]

Sorry PC stalled on me... could't get it right.

Any way PME (power-management event) are located in your BIOS under power managment, it depends on your BIOS model what features they have.

Is that what you mean.

Also right click My Computer | Properties | automatic updates tab ... set this to manual, it may be booting up your PC.

Hi,

Quote:

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after the change I will have to keep selecting between the option to boot up in Normal or Safe each time I start up the PC

---

Yes you will

This is another way to get access to Safe Mode since F8 does not work for you

Elaine

Hi neonewbie,

Are you having problems with the functions keys as well at the moment?

What type of Keyboard are you using... is there a function key on it, also is it wireless?

In your BIOS set the USB option (if it's a USB keyboard) to either support legacy devices or something like boot 'keyboard and mouse'... try the latter first.

Hi everyone,
Will try to answer your questions:

Aerodyne:
a) I'm using the Logitech MXDUO (wireless keyboard and mouse)
b) I don't quite know where to look for the legacy settings on the BIOS but as for Power Management - Startup on Mouse and Keyboard are Disabled
c) I don't think the problem of starting up in Safe Mode is related to my keyboard because when I brought the CPU down to the shop, they could not get it to start in Safe Mode too when using their regular wired keyboard
d) As for My Computer | Properties | automatic updates tab, it is currently set at Automatic. I thought this would only update automatically if I was connected to the internet - is this not the case? I'm running on a 56k dial up for my internet access and it is not left running for 24hours
e) Actually I was wondering what events these would be - in relation to Power Management Events

Dunedine (Elaine):
a) Is it critical for me to need to start in the safe mode using the function keys?
b) Once I've run NAV in the safe mode, can I change the system back to normal boot (without having the system constantly asking me whether to start in Safe or Normal each time I boot up) just by deleting those values added?
Events

Regards

I think it is advisable to be able to access Safe Mode as it can provide ways to fix errors/crashes. Without it a reinstall and loss of your data will be far more likely.

If you can clear up the problem with NAV and Safe Mode is available with F8 again, then you could delete the line you added to the boot file. You will not have to chose between Safe or Normal Mode then.

Elaine

Hi,
Work's been crazy (my work pc crashed and all data lost) so my silence.

Anyway, the great news is that the computer has stopped booting up by itself (from shutdown state) for the 2nd morning in a row.

I'll try adding the lines to see if start up in Safe Mode is available. As it is when I hit the F8 or F5 keys at start up, I'm brought to a selection to start in Normal Mode, Safe Mode etc. and when I choose Safe Mode the reboot gets interrupted midway and the error message says that the startup in Safe Mode was interrupted because of some hardware/software changes...

regards - I'll post again after adding the lines to see if it helps

worth to look at as well for the BIOS_

Quote:

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- Restore on AC/Power loss --> Last State

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I would set this to OFF.. have seen systems startup after a power glitch with this set to on..note not a complete black or brown out but a .2 sec or less outage or drop.. even mains noise.. motors starting/shutting down will do this..

I would recommend that it is safer to disconnect the mains when the pc is off.. some systems (with monitor in standby) will consume about 10W while in the off (standby) state.

in a situation like this where the PC won't boot onto safemode I will use a remote scann tool.. either plug the HDD into a clean system and scann with a fully updated Anti Virus (ide-USB adaptors are wonderful tools) or by useing a Pe-Build OS disk with stinger and McAfee AV .. both helpful..

Quote:

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why do you want to access safe mode?

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If you can't enter safemode, you have a possable malware problem.. that is why you will bother with fixing the problem first.. it is also how you can change bad setting that stop your system from booting in normal mode.. also deletion of some temp and TIF files are easiest in safemode

seems a lot of forum members (not exclusive to VDr) have dismissed safe mode as a legacy of the past and some members now (few viciously) defend Not useing safemode in the diagnosis and repair of a PC.. as well will defend the keeping System Restore enabled during parasite and Virus Removal..

Hi guys,
I'm back - finally had the chance to change the boot.ini settings. I have this additional text for [operating systems] at the end /NoExecute=OptIn

Removing that and not did not make a difference. And this after i added the line for the PC to boot wint Safe Mode with Networking.

What happens after I hit the function keys, is that I have the option to start in the Safe Mode but as the PC reboots, it gets interrupted and I get a message saying that " We apologize but Windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this..."

Any ideas what to try next?

Wondering how I can use a remote scan tool - by connecting a laptop to the hard disk and running a virus scan from the laptop?

Looking forward to your suggestions as to how to fix this problem.

Thanks

Hi again,
Went through the Event Viewer to see if there is any errors with regards to starting in the Safe Mode and found this:

Source: DCOM
Category: None
Type: Error
Event ID: 10005
Description: DCOM got error "This service cannot be started in Safe Mode" attempting to start the service EventSystem with arguments "" in order to run the server: {1BE1F766-5536-11D1-B726-00C04FB926AF}

Does this mean anything?

No that message is just telling you that a service couldn'r run under Safe Mode, it's normal, and nothing to worry about. The Noexecute=optin is a switch added by SP2, there was no need to delete it, but it won't have any effect on this problem either way.

I really thing the only option left now is an over-the-top reinstall. Boot up with the XP CD in the drive and let Setup run. Go past the "C" and "R" repair options by presssing Enter just as if you're doing a clean install and you'll eventually get an option to "Repair an existing installation". That's the one you want. If it asks about formatting you've gone wrong, so start over.

You'll get to keep your existing apps & settings, but you need to re-install SP2, Windows Updates & any unsigned drivers afterwards. NOTE: Be aware that you'll lose any protection from Blaster / Sasser type worms. Don't go online without a firewall, whether the built in Windows one or 3rd party.

How to perform a re-install of WinXP

Repair XP


NOTE: There is always an element of risk, so make sure that you have any important data that you cannot afford to lose backed up first.

Hi Supersparks,
Thanks for your reply. My hard disk is split into 2 drives (C: for programs and D: for data). Does this reinstalling of Windows XP equate the formating of my C:?

When this similar problem occured, we brought our PC down to the shop and the guys there did a reformat of the C: (not too long ago - end January this year).

It took only 2 weeks for this same problem to recur. I'm wondering what the cause possibly is.

Do you think it's software or hardware related?
There's not much on my PC, just:
1) Norton Internet Securities 2005
2) Spybot S&D
3) AdAware
4) Logitech basic camera
5) Regular bottom of the range Creative speakers
6) Software for Nikon camera
7) Software for Canon 905D printer
8) Software for Canon scanner
9) Software for Logitech MX DUO keyboard and mouse
10) Adobe Photoshop
11) Microsoft Office 2003
12) Adobe Acrobat and WinZip

Thanks