# Windows Vista PC Shuts Down During OS Startup



## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

I've been helping my mother-in-law with a problem she started having with her PC. Whenever the computer attempts to start up, it will automatically shut off right when the windows boot screen appears or seconds after. The computer will not start up in Safe Mode or any other recovery mode.

I've validated that the hard drive is fine, and I've also replaced the power supply. The computer still continues to have this issue.

Any thoughts or suggestions on next steps? Is it potentially something more involved with the motherboard or processor?

Thanks all.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Brand and model of the PC?
Brand and model of the PSU you installed?

Enter the Bios and look for a hardware health page, not the reported temps for the CPU and system, along with the voltage readings for the 12v, 5v, 3.3v rails.


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## ExceedTS (Jan 15, 2011)

First of all reseat the RAM making sure when you put it back into the board that you keep it straight up and down. Ive seen too many RAM slots damaged from seating with a bit of an angle pressure. Download Memtest86 ISO and boot from the CD. Let it run for at least 2 passes. If it runs error free then we can assume that the RAM is ok. (if you have more than one stick of RAM: Try testing in Memtest86 one at a time to narrow down the fault). Now, boot into your windows vista install disc, click through the time zone settings, then click 'Repair' on the bottom left corner. Select your OS install then go onto CMD PROMPT. From here type CHKDSK /F /R. This will check the disk and file structure for errors and try to recover corrupt files. Because it restates at approximately the same point. It does sound like a file corruption but the RAM test is required first. Good luck.


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

PC Info:

Brand: eMachines
Model: T5254
OS: Windows Vista
Processor: AMD Athlon BE-2350
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 6100
Memory: 2 GB DDR2 Dual Channel

The new PSU is Corsair CX-430.

I confirmed that the RAM is properly seated which doesn't appear to be the problem, and per the BIOS, the hardware appears to be ok.

Also, I attempted to do a boot from CD to look at reinstalling Windows, and the machine shut downs right after it gets through the "windows driver load" progress bar and changes to the standard Vista load screen. This is pretty much the exact place the system shuts down when attempting a typical boot.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What are the temp and voltage readings in the bios?

If the temp and voltages are OK then it's probably going to be a failing motherboard.


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

Here are the stats listed in the health check


CPU Vcore: 1.26V
+3.3V : 3.31V
+5V: 5.00V
+12V: 12.17V
Voltage Bat.: 3.02V
VDIMM: 1.82V
CPU Tcontrol: 28C
Sys temp: 33C
I tried an old XP installation CD and it was able to get to the reinstallation screen. Could be because it's not attempting to load a GUI.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

E-Machines are infamous for PSU failure. If the old PSU failed it may have damaged other hardware upon failure. Try booting with NO RAM installed. If the Mobo is good, you should hear a repeated single beep from the Mobo speaker.
Try booting from a Linux CD. If no joy, I would bench test.

Remove EVERYTHING from the case.
Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! It can actually conduct electricity! 
Install the CPU and heat sink. 
Install 1 stick of RAM.
Install the video card and attach the power supply connection(s) to the card if your card needs it.
Connect the monitor to the video card.
Connect the power supply to the motherboard with both the 24pin main ATX Power connection and the separate 4 or 8 pin power connection.
Connect power to the power supply.
Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard. Consult your motherboard manual to find which two pins connect to your case's power switch. Then touch both pins with a screwdriver to complete the circuit and boot the system.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. Then assemble the parts into the case and try again. If the system now fails to boot, you have a short in the case and need to recheck your motherboard standoffs.

If the system does not boot after this process, then you most likely have a faulty component. You'll need to swap parts, start with the power supply, until you determine what is defective


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

Have already replaced the PSU.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

> I tried an old XP installation CD and it was able to get to the reinstallation screen. Could be because it's not attempting to load a GUI.


But the Vista installation DVD won't run correct?
Strange the install disks have about the same load on the system, try disconnecting the hard drive and rerunning the Vista DVD to see if it at least gets to the point of looking for a hard drive.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

I think this is the key:
"I've validated that the hard drive is fine"
Can I ask how?


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

Via a gwscan boot disk.


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

That's correct on the Vista CD. I'll give the hard drive disconnect a try and see what happens.


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

Just finished the test with disconnecting the hard drive and booting with the Vista CD. Still no dice. It shut down about 5 seconds later than it normally would have.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Have a look around the motherboard at the capacitors the tops should be flat, any signs of swelling/bulging/leakage or missing cans is a sure sign the caps are failing> Check the Capacitors on the motherboard for any signs of leakage, domed tops, missing cans.> Badcaps.net - How To Identify


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## Aygerinos (Feb 19, 2011)

I'll give those a look as well. I'm starting to think though that there may be a hard disk issue. Just for kicks, I allowed the computer to reformat the hard drive and attempt an XP installation since it would actually allow that to proceed when booting from the installation CD.

Once the reformat and initial XP installation was completed, the PC restarted as part of the process, but now when it gets done booting the BIOS, I get a disk error when it attempts to load the OS.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You can test the drive using the diagnostics tool from the manufacturer, if you don't know the manufacturer SeaTools for dos from Seagate will test most drives, Down load it and burn to a cd with a free program like Imgburn  or in win7 the built image burner works well, then boot from the cd


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## mmelville3 (Nov 6, 2011)

I had the same problem on the same model and I was able to fix it by replacing the motherboard. It costed about $45. It is a T5254 running windows Vista Home. It started to lock up at the windows boot screen. If you were patient and rebooted several times it would start and be usable. Then it began shutting down randomly while in use. It got worse and worse. Eventually when attempting to turn it on, the power light would go on, the fans would start, and then it would just shut off. After some internet research I discovered some bad capacitors on the motherboard. Several of the large canister looking ones had bulges at the ends. I ordered an ASRock N68C-S UCC motherboard to as a replacement. It has similar chipsets and all necessary connectors. I did not have to reload windows. I just replaced the motherboard, did CPU & memory transplant, connected the connectors, and started it up. The only issues I had were the CPU fan was running full blast all the time and the on board sound didn't work. I was able to fix both by modifying the bios settings. The CPU fan seems to run all the time no matter what, but you can reduce the speed in the bios. I changed it from "9" to "5". The audio was set to auto in the bios but I had to set it to enabled for it to work. The power supply was a problem with older eMachines. I researched the power supply for this model and it seems to be stable. I've only had it working for 2 days so I'll be watching for any power supply / mother board / hardware issues.


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