Computer Start up

[Bazile]

My computer is taking ages to boot up - 5 minutes plus
There is a message saying :-



In processor : AMD Athlon ( tm ) XP 22004
memory testing :262144kok

Memory frequency for DDR266
Detecting IDE Drives ......





Any suggestions please ?

Thanks

[plowter]

Does your computer boot up or does it stop at 'Detecting IDE drives'?

If it stops at IDE drives it sounds as if it can't find or can't activate your hard discs.

If you're happy to take your PC apart, disconnect and reconnect the internal drive cable and boot it up again.

[Everhelpful]

Wish I had,mine takes exactly 7mins.22seconds to boot up!!

[Everhelpful]

Forgot to say I have tried every Start-up method ever devised,virtually nothing to load on start-up,but still takes that long.!!

[bentaxle]

I had the same trouble and and a fellow named chris on answerbank asked me to stop adproxy loading at start up and its turned my pc into racer i cant thank him enough

[Nottm_George]

I have thie same problem of the computer running slow, is ccleaner for someone with limited knowlage safe and easy to use as I don't want to do somthing stupid.

[Nottm_George]

Thanks for that I'll give it a go.

[Bazile]

Thanks folks for responding

Plowter
When you turn it on , it STOPS at 'detecting IDE drives' for over 5 mins , before it continues to boot up


neildownx
At the bottom of the page where it says detecting IDE drives - it says press F2 to enter set up
However when you press F2 , nothing happens

At the top of the page it says - Phoenix -Award BIOS V6 .OOPG . An Energy star ally

Can you assist further ?

bentaxle
What do you mean by ' stop adproxy loading at start up '
What exactly do you have to do ?

neildownx
Can you download CCleaner and from where ?

[plowter]

If you PC boots up that's good news. It sounds like it's having problems checking the hard disk, this could be just a glitch or a warning sign. I'd strongly suggest backing up your important documents, just in case.

Does you hard disc make any unusual whining or screeching noises? If so it might be worth running error check on the hard disk.

Have you added any hardware to your PC - such as an additional hard disc or DVD drive? If so you might have disturbed one of the cable.

There are various tweaks you can make in the BIOS (or setup) as neildownx suggests. If you're not sure what to do, dig out your computer manual and look up the BIOS setup.

To get into the BIOS wait until it has checked the IDE drive (it'll say something like checking IDE drives ...done) then press F2 about twenty times. You might have to try this a few times to catch the right moment. You should then be able to enter the BIOS Setup and look for the Fast Boot setting.

There are other useful maintenance tips for when you've got the system to boot up.

CCleaner, originally called Crap Cleaner, can be downloaded from FileHippo.