How do I prevent my computer from freezing up?

When I turn my Compaq Preasrio on, it stops and freezes when it gets to the screen that says COMPAQ. Why is that and what can I do about it?

This question was answered on February 18, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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This could be happening for (2) reasons:

1) A bad or corrupt sector on the hard drive

2) A virus may be present in the Master Boot Record of your hard drive.

Reboot in Safe Mode: Press F5 for Win95 - Win ME; Press F8 for Win 2000 & XP

If your computer boots properly in Safe Mode, run an antivirus scan to see if there is a virus present If there is, the anitvirus program may be able to delete the virus and correct your problem, thereby allowing you to boot properly under normal circumstances.

If there is no virus present, and it booted properly in Safe Mode, then check the hard drive connections to make sure they are in tact and have been connected properly, then check your power supply.

If you have the same problem with booting up in Safe Mode, then again, check hard drive connections as well as power supply.

If nothing works, you may need to replace your hard drive.

About the author

Posted by Student of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on February 18, 2004

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