[dwolnie]

This is a rehash of a topic I had posted before, but I still can't seem to resolve it. On a cold-start, my computer stops before Windows loads and lists details about internal hardware and that it is detecting my keyboard, ect.. It asks me to press F1 to continue, and when I do, it boots up normally. The moderator had earlier suggested I check my BIOS to see if anything was not selected properly in it. Everything seems to be OK, and I even tried to default it back to normal entries. This has not worked. Can I do a reinstall of XP without wiping out everything else? My daughter would kill me! If I do that, will I have to reinstall driver updates and hardware? Thanks

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Usually if BIOS is asking you to press F1 to continue, its because it wants to tell you something that may require attention.

There's no need to repair XP or anything like that because the problem is generated before Windows loads so it wouldn't make any difference.

What does your screen say when it tells you to press F1 to continue?

[Neil Jones]

Usually if BIOS is asking you to press F1 to continue, its because it wants to tell you something that may require attention.

There's no need to repair XP or anything like that because the problem is generated before Windows loads so it wouldn't make any difference.

What does your screen say when it tells you to press F1 to continue?

[Murray S.]

Howdy:

Try changing out your CMOS battery.. Sounds like it is losing it's setting !!

Murray

[dwolnie]

Sorry about the lateness of a reply, but I've been remodeling the bathroom. Thanks for the tips, but I have already replaced the CMOS battery, and it did nothing to fix the problem. As far as what it says is the following:

Copyright 1996-2001 Intel Corporation
GB85010A.18A.0066.P15.GB85010A.1
Intel ® Pentium ® 4 Processor, 1.60 GHz
384 Mg System RAM
Fixed Disk 0 : Maxtor 5T040H4
(UDMA = 100MHz)
Fixed Disk 1 : WDC WD800JB-00FMA0
(UDMA = 100 MHz)
ATAPI CD-ROM Compaq CRD-8484B
ATAPI CD-ROM LG CD-RW CED-8120B
USB Mass Storage Device : HP
Legacy Keyboard – Detected
Legacy Mouse – Detected
USB Legacy – Enabled

Press F1 to resume

When I press F1, it then continues loading, and brings up the normal screens. No other problems.

[wannabe1]

Hi dwolnie...

Usually there is a setting in BIOS that will allow you to disable "Halt on all errors" or something similar to that. Sorry I can't be more specific, but all versions of BIOS are slightly different.

Hope this helps...

wannabe1

[dwolnie]

Thanks to all for the help. I've tried defaulting the BIOS and checked all the settings. I even tried to update the BIOS from Compaq's website, but it won't work. It says that the program can't be accessed in DOS, and gives me 2 choices: Cancel and Ignore. Both exit me from the upgrade. Would repairing XP from the installation disc work? The one I bought was to upgrade to Home Edition, and not a full-blown OS that I can tell.

[wannabe1]

dwolnie...

The Upgrade disk will work fine...I've used them many times. Be sure to follow the instructions carefully. If you have SP2 installed on your machine and it is not on the disk, you will have to remove it (through Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel) or the repair will not complete.

Let us know how you do....

wannabe1

[dwolnie]

Should I remove any hardware that I have installed since I last upgraded to XP?

[wannabe1]

dwolnie...

It would be a good idea to remove any flash drives or card readers and USB hubs, but should not be necesary to remove anything else. I usually remove all external hardware, including printers, scanners, and such when I do this procedure just to avoid any problems which might occur. Some other techs prefer to leave everything hooked up just to make installation of these hardware devices quicker. If you want to be sure, though, unplug everything except the monitor, do the repair, and then connect your devices one at a time afterwards. You will not have to uninstall or remove anything inside the case.

wannabe1

[dwolnie]

Should I remove any hardware I installed before I ugraded to XP?

[wannabe1]

It's really not necesary to remove anything other than flash drives or card readers...they can be seen as attached drives by Windows and can cause problems. Other than that and keeping the information in my last post in mind, just go for it!

wannabe1

Edited by wannabe1, 17 November 2005 - 05:51 PM.