Why do I need to press"OFF" and hold it while disconnecting the power in order to avoid the computer crashing at the "loading

ianjefferys

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In order to ensure my win7x64 games computer will complete a start beyond the "loading windows" point (the monitor goes black and the computer just runs on and on!) I must close the computer pressing the "off" button and then disconnect the power plug for at least 30 secs while holding the "off" button down. When I reconnect the power the computer loads fully but slower than normal.
I have run Windows repair and several "cleanup programs plus minimised the startup.. Nothing helps except this peculiar (net tip) procedure of powering down and starting!
What can I fix??
thanks.
Ian J
 

ianjefferys

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Dear HND..
I found the time absolutely correct and will check the battery later but feel it is well over 3 volts to be able to hold the time correct.
I am now positive that the only way I can start right through the starting widows gap is to do whatever the "Off Switch" holding thing does when I dis and re connect the power. Very very puzzling! a standard start just causes the monitor to fail to register the continuing loading of windows and to go blank. A restart with repair does nothing more than repeat the stopping point although the loading of windows "appears" to be continuing!..... really puzzling as no-one has any answer to it.
thanks,
Ian j
 

himnextdoor

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Hmm, very odd, isn't it? I've simply never come across this before.

I am trying to work out what the process you have to execute is actually doing.

Are you overclocking at all?

If so, you should reset CMOS or 'Load safe defaults' in BIOS.

Have you reset BIOS yet?

It could be that the process you are carrying out temporarily loads BIOS defaults by force.

If so, then that would suggest to me that there is a problem with how BIOS is set up on your machine.

When you do get it started and it is running, does a 'restart' of the machine result in the same 'black screen'? Or does it restart successfully when 'warm'?

Have a look in 'Device Manager'. How many graphics adapters are displayed under 'Display Adapters'?

Have a look at your 'Installed Programs' list - how many graphics adapters are here?

I would disable any unused devices in BIOS, too.

If your motherboard has on-board graphics then you should make sure that the default graphics setting is PCI-E' rather than 'On-board'.

Also, have you tried turning off your monitor when you shut down the computer then turning the monitor back on again when you want to start Windows?

You have probably already tried these things but I will try to think of more that might help you when you respond to this.

Good Luck.
 

ianjefferys

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Thankyou for your thoughtful summation and suggestions/queries.
It is not overclocked and runs at 1333. The bios settings etc were set back to safe defaults or similar.Yes I have tried turning the monitor off and using the startup to restart it. Graphics are Ge Force gtx 660. all updated and rest with Ge experience. No problems ever. ONE display adapter. A restart when running OK results in faulty startup. Only when the PC haws been OFF for the night it may start straight through the "starting windows" screen but usually it stops until I do the hold down "OFF" while pulling the power plug trick!
The PC was made for me about 3/4 years ago and still is relevant to today's games...running FarCry 3 at high settings. Still does.
I checked the heat ratings and the cpu was 40C and all other results were within lower end tolerances. I have run just about ALL the possible repair or discover programs i can find in the freebies Plus Ashampoo 9 and Windows repair and so on and on!
But the system still mostly hangs at the starting windows point.
I despair...it is also slow to load...much slower than usual.!
I must point out that I am 81 years old and have been playing SP games since 1999. I am not an IT person but have picked up quite a working knowledge over the years. This has me flummoxed!
Any help from anyone would be appreciated.
regards,
IanJ
PS my next step (if it gets worse) is to dump it and finally get a laptop that will play games satisfactorily while I hope to enjoy emails and whatever!
 

himnextdoor

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ianjefferys

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Dear HND,
You are excelling yourself!
I have deleted more programs and items from the list than I would ever have under threat of death but the system seems happy enough. It did eliminate Avira but that is now reinstalled and lots of seeming duplications are gone. The PC still staggers and I am going to pursue the Mobile broadband supplier next to make sure they aren't glitching something....but the startup trick still needs to be done.....However I did discover that (I hope) what I have to do, in fact, is merely to switch the PC power off at the plug switch and wait a few seconds to switch it on and succeed in passing the dreaded "starting Windows" screen. Time will prove that one...but even without the eliminated superfluous programs it seems happy otherwise. I shall continue to implement your advice progressively and let you know if it electrocutes me in retaliation! :)
regards,
Ian J
 

himnextdoor

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Dear Ian,

Thank you for your kind words.

And please do keep me updated on your progress and if I can help you with anything at all, I would be only too happy to.

In the meantime, please do take all possible precautions against being electrocuted and let me offer you this as a tip:

Don't attempt computer maintenance whilst taking a bath.

Brr! It sends a shiver down my spine every time I think about it.

Kind regards and good luck sir.

Philip W.
 

himnextdoor

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Actually, another thought occurs to me.

You say that disconnecting the power from the wall can help the situation.

Well, I'm wondering - The PSU (Power Supply Unit) supplies a number of voltages to the system. The 12V supply powers the fans, disk drives, graphics cards, etc, and there are a couple of lower voltages for the CPU, RAM and other low-voltage digital electronic sub-systems.

When you press your power button, you send a signal to the motherboard which in turn sends a signal to the PSU which responds by powering up the system.

And when you shut down, you are sending a signal to the motherboard which in turn sends a signal to the PSU which responds by powering down.

Now what I'm thinking is that when the motherboard sends the 'off' signal to the PSU, the PSU fails to shut down completely.

This means that even when the machine appears to have shut down, the PSU is leaking a low voltage to the motherboard because it hasn't switched off properly.

So when you switch the computer back on again, part of the motherboard is 'pre-initialised' and causes the error you observe.

But by unplugging the machine, the low voltage is discharged in a short time and when power is restored, all parts of the motherboard initialise together.

Does that make sense?

I think that the answer to this problem is a replacement power supply.

What do you think?
 

ianjefferys

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DEar HND,
I eventually had an "expert" check the computer...No answer.... The computer now refuses to connect to the net (I am posting on a new laptop!) The power problem went away on the old one and the overall result was no net. I backed up and installed a new OS (still win 7) and all problems with the net connection remained.... probably indicating a modem or signal fault...two new modems later I deduced that my outside aerial supplemented signal had/was degraded due to heavy vegetation growth everywhere whereby the bouncing signal I was receiving was just diluted to a nothing rating. This meant that I swapped over to Telstra 3g (soon to be 4G with a new tower 500 metres away) and my reception, though crappy.... became good enough to enthuse me to wait for the 4G tower in a month or so.
All in all I have had a confusing shitty expensive time and have reinstalled all my SP games and the old OS on the old computer and play offline for the moment!
I wish all computer owners a happy new year and a better set of circumstances than I have had in the last three months. may 2014 be a simpler year to own (now) two computers... and thanks to HND for your attempted help.
You will note my stupidity has not diminished by reading my latest question!
Ian J