[corin]

We suffered a short power outage yesterday (11th Aug.) now my XP Pro PC is very slow to boot up taking
approx. 7.5-8 mins to arrive at desktop. Same happened on re-start, then tried System Restore to previous
day (10th) on completion informed that 'Your computer cannot be restored to 10th Aug.' - 'No changes
have been made to your PC'. Also tried restore to earlier date - same result.
Has my PC suffered permanent damage because of power cut ? Not sure if Sys. Restore is a false alarm,
more concerned about time to boot up. Corin

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Once the PC is booted up, open a Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f and press Enter. Respond with a Y when asked if you want this to occur at the next boot.

Reboot, let chkdsk run, see if that fixes the problem.

More info here: How to perform disk error checking in Windows XPk

[Ztruker]

Once the PC is booted up, open a Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f and press Enter. Respond with a Y when asked if you want this to occur at the next boot.

Reboot, let chkdsk run, see if that fixes the problem.

More info here: How to perform disk error checking in Windows XPk

[corin]

Many thanks for your message Ztruker, chkdsk seemed to find a few errors but not on screen long enough to read.
As a matter of interest, chkdsk:/f would not work or chkdsk:/r. Told address was incorrect !
It will run again on reboot. Another comment, the majority of time when booting is with the initial
B&W dos screen which stays for abt. 5 mins, does this give any clues as to what the fault might be.
Corin

[Ztruker]

When you entered chkdsk /f from a Command Prompt or Run box, you should have seen this message:

>chkdsk /f
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by a
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

That is where you should have responded with Y then rebooted to have chkdsk run.

As for the long initial boot time, has it always done this or only since the power outage?

[corin]

Thanks for your reply Ztruker.
When I enter chkdsk/f or chkdsk:/f am informed windows cannot find it, check spelling etc.
Got into chkdsk with the windows page you sent me.
The long bootup time is only since power outage.
When booted up performance is nearly normal, a bit sluggish in FF, in fact the appearance
of FF has changed, themes have gone, homepage has changed. Poss. reinstal FF would fix that
minor detail.
Corin

[Ztruker]

There is a space between the word chkdsk and the /f or /r.

Try booting to Safe Mode with Networking (F8 at boot time). Does it boot quickly or normally again?

[corin]

My mistake Ztruker didn't notice the space. Just carried two reboots chkdsk /f then r.
Will try safe mode next time.
Thanks for your time with this problem.
Corin

[Ztruker]

No problem. Let me know how Safe Mode goes.

[corin]

Eventually got into safe mode after abt 6 min wait with the initial DOS screen.
Wasn't sure what to do in safe mode so ran MWB and CCleaner. Then restart, back
to the DOS screen for the usual wait eventually arriving at desktop.
What I don't understand, in the past have had to unplug power for a frozen
screen or mouse. That did not cause the ill effects being suffered on this occasion
caused by a short power outage. Using protected extension lead to guard against
'spikes' in power supply. If I am stuck with this, not really a major problem
as PC still working after all!
Thanks again for your time Ztruker.
Corin

[corin]

Eventually got into safe mode after abt 6 min wait with the initial DOS screen.
Wasn't sure what to do in safe mode so ran MWB and CCleaner. Then restart, back
to the DOS screen for the usual wait eventually arriving at desktop.
What I don't understand, in the past have had to unplug power for a frozen
screen or mouse. That did not cause the ill effects being suffered on this occasion
caused by a short power outage. Using protected extension lead to guard against
'spikes' in power supply. If I am stuck with this, not really a major problem
as PC still working after all!
Thanks again for your time Ztruker.
Corin

[corin]

Oops, how did I manage that - sorry

[Ztruker]

Most likely there was disk write activity going on when the power drop occurred, leaving the file system in an inconsistent state (euphemism for corrupted). This can also happen if you press and hold the power button if the system is still running but not responding to mouse or keyboard, though usually when that happens the system is stopped (no disc activity) so dropping power doesn't cause a problem.

You should get a UPS to protect you from power problems like this. I have a APC UPS that I use to protect my two desktop systems. They give my about 10 minutes when the power goes out, more than long enough for me to safely shut them down.

[corin]

You are quite correct in stating that disc activity in process when power went, will seriously look
at UPS system for PC. Familiar with these systems on a larger scale being an engineer.
Bootedup this morning (15 Aug.) initial B&W screen present for 4.5 mins, so a slight improvement
arriving at desktop in 6 mins, just a little boring detail to report.
Thanks again for your valuable assistance and time helping out a silver surfer, what would us
old'uns do without you experts ??
Corin

[Ztruker]

I wonder if you may have hard drive or memory damage from the power drop. It would be a good idea to test both as either one can cause long boot times.

Test Memory:

Download Memtest86+ (you want the 2nd one Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)). Unzip it then create a CD from the iso file using your CD burning software. There is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do this easily.

Boot the CD and run for at least 3 complete passes unless it shows errors sooner than that.

Test Hard drive:

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics

[corin]

Just an update, booted up this morning (thurs. 25th) and all seems well,
DOS screen there for abt. 10 secs. Win Logo in abt.45 secs. Desktop in
90 secs. Have done nothing to rectify the earlier situation, this was
all on it's own. Time heals, even PC's
Thanks again for your help Ztruker.
Corin