System not booting when cold

[tastim]

I can't determine what could be causing this..... but whenever I get home from work at night, my computer does not boot up the first time I switch it on. The fans go on, the CD drives seem to be getting power and everything... but the computer doesn't seem to boot. Then I hit reset, and it boots right up.

What's weird is this only happens when my computer has been off for a long period of time.... like right now, I could turn it completely off and back on 20 times and it would boot up perfectly every time. But when I get home from work the next day, no boot.

Aside from this, my system runs flawlessly... this isn't that big of a deal to me but it does bug me and if it's a simple fix, I'd like to fix it..... I'm not about to start swapping out parts to fix this... but anyone have any ideas?

EDIT: System Specs:
Athlon XP 1800+
Soyo Dragon-Lite KT333
512 MB PC2100 RAM (EXCELLERATE, SAMSUNG brand chips)
80GB Western Digital 7200 rpm HD, 8mb buffer
MSI GeForce Ti-4200, 128mb
Hercules Muse Sound Card(second release)
NetGear 10/100 PCI NIC
Plextor 12/10/32A CD-RW
Lite-On 52X CD-Rom

Running Windows XP Pro-Corp<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by tastim on 11/26/02 10:49 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[FUGGER]

Ive seen this problem a few times before, it is the video card in previous cases.

Try a different one and see if it resovles the problem.

You are limited to what your mind can perceive.

 

[tastim]

That was my inclination.... as in the system is actually booting but the card is just not sending out a signal to the monitor..... wish I still had one of my older cards to try out.... if this is the problem, guess it will just have to wait till ATI drops their ridiculously high prices or Nvidia or comes out with something new and worth the money =\

 

[Willamette_sucks]

that could be it, or it could be your power supply. i had a similar problem, i was overloading the 3.3/5.5 volt line on the PS so it was a no go on a cold boot, i fixed it by plugging my dorb3 into the mobo (had it off a 3.3/5.5v line for some gay reason), so if its not already plugged in there, you could do that, or your ps could just not be powerful enough, or it could be the vid card thing. your PS should be AT LEAST 300W, and of good quality. (PS i have 10 case fans so that definately helped nudge the 3.3/5.5v line over the edge). the thing is if youre overloading a line, and continue to do it for a long time, ull ruin it, luckily i figured it out before that happened, not that your case is the same neccessarily.

The first LAN party I went to was at a PETA convention. They booted me when I shot a crab in HL!

 

[andlcs]

I had the same problem turning on my computer w/ my GF2 GTS card. Now I am using the old Viper II and I don't have this problem anymore.
W/ the GF2 i was overloading the +3.3V rail (my PSU only supports 8A!!! And my MOBO can't suply the necessary amount of current!! 2 problems...)
Maybe your PSU and/or MOBO cannot suply enough current when you turn on.