My pc is hanging

Hi everyone, my pc hangs always at the very first screen, which
is the compaq screen with the bright red compaq letters, and the
hour glass below. It is always there for about 15 minutes and then finally moves to the next screen and loads the OS xp. what could be the problem, I have switched hardrives and the same thing happens.
thankyou

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Plantwiz

ricktea wrote:

Hi everyone, my pc hangs always at the very first screen, which
is the compaq screen with the bright red compaq letters, and the
hour glass below. It is always there for about 15 minutes and then finally moves to the next screen and loads the OS xp. what could be the problem, I have switched hardrives and the same thing happens.
thankyou

Well aside from the obvious that it's a Comcrapq...

Could be a few things.

1. Heat issue. Have you blow out the dust bunnies? Do all your fans work?
2. PS - same dust bunnies. Fan may have died so the PS isn't cooling and therefore overheating/ now the system is suffering
3. CPU - HS/Fan combo? Could be or could have sustained some damage from the above two items aka heat.
4. Is your system plugged into a UPS? Surge protector? Or just the wall?
5. How old is the system?
6. When did this begin to happen?
7. Any changes just prior to noticing this lag? New drivers? BIOS virus? etc...
8. Have you run any diagnostics or turned off most startup features to see if this helps? Are you running Norton (which is a dog IMNSHO) or any firewalls (software) etc.. that can slow down your boot?
9. Have you run/do you maintain an AV?
10...ect...

Little more information about the system and how it started to get to this state in the event it is system related.

Otherwise, stay away from Compaq's and HP's. The fact that it is a Compaq makes me think it's no newer then at least 4-5 years old.

Are you sure it's slowed and you just haven't gotten used to a newer system at work? :P No, no Compaq's and other cheap systems do die out...they are built to be disposable.

sprkymrk

Is it trying to boot from the network? Check the bios or compaq diagnostic partition (what is it for Compaq these days, F10?) and make sure PXE or network boot is not included in the boot order.

jescab

My guess is to do what sprky said, sorry plant.

bighornsheep

ricktea wrote:

which
is the compaq screen with the bright red compaq letters, and the
hour glass below. It is always there for about 15 minutes and then finally moves to the next screen and loads the OS xp.

Is this the compaq splash screen when you first turn on the computer during POST? My compaq laptop had issues *like* what you're descibing, a BIOS update fixed the problem. however, it wasnt 15 minutes though, maybe like 10.

The problem the bios update resolved as I remember was that it was having an issue because I added a module of "non-hp" memory. In any case, if you're talking about the BIOS splash screen, try a bios update.

Plantwiz

jescab wrote:

My guess is to do what sprky said, sorry plant.

Hey no problem

It could be that someone changed the boot order adn added a network to it (it doesn't sound like a networked box....but now we really don't know that as he hasn't returned).

*********
It would be nice if when people post and ask for help if they figure it out they say so, and if they haven't at the very least MONITOR their thread for feedback....we all have jobs this is merely after hours stuff

TeKniques

I agree about the probability of a network boot device. Had a similar problem and that was the culprit.

ricktea

thankyou all for your help, I am not connected to a network, it still hangs at the very first screen, for 10-15 minutes. what bios does compaq use and where can I get it , this is an older p111 machine,
can I flash the bios from windows, how. thankyou

Plantwiz

ricktea wrote:

thankyou all for your help, I am not connected to a network, it still hangs at the very first screen, for 10-15 minutes. what bios does compaq use and where can I get it , this is an older p111 machine,
can I flash the bios from windows, how. thankyou

The thought that you are NOT on a network but that your system BIOS is looking for the network to boot from is why the guys are commenting that you should check this....I agree.

Your comments here have me a little concerned with just how much experience you have at this point and if you are willing to sacrifice your system or not while you work on it. With all due respect, if you haven't flashed the bios, entered the bios or don't know how/what getting into them can do....I'd really recommend you find a Tech who can help you through.

It's not hard, but if you don't know the BIOS running on the system in front of you, I'm not real confortable suggesting 'playng' or even flashing the BIOS without someone nearby to help walk you through the process.

There are instructions usually where you get the bios update on how to flash as some have a utility packaged that make it super easy, others may be a little more 'old' fashioned. You'll download the file, create a boot disk and follow the instructions. AGAIN, I STRONGLY recommend you do a little more reading on it or better yet find someone locally to assist you...maybe even look at the whole 'hanging' problem.