[SOLVED] PC won’t start after windows logo

[danielkayliff2000]

My PC screen went frozen with a buzzing sound while playing a game division. Probably overheated so I manually shut it down with the power button as the screen is still frozen with the noise. So I restarted my PC and it showed my motherboard page etc then the windows logo with the spinning thing. The spinning thing lasted for 10-15 seconds before it freezes and both my monitor and computer shuts down. Then it restarted itself with the fans spinning really fast with lights still on but no signal to my monitor screen. So I thought maybe I should wait a while like 35 mins? And I restarted again but the problem still persists. Should I wait for a couple of hours before starting again or is some part of my PC damaged? PC noob here.

 

[nikoskostantopoulow]

You can try to unplug it for a few minutes or you can reset the bios.
If still it's not working then probably something got burned.

 

[photonboy]

You've given no evidence to suggest a thermal issue, and things getting "burned" are not common. In fact if something was "burned" chances are the PC wouldn't even boot up.

Resetting the BIOS is unlikely to do anything since it seems like an obvious hardware failure.

At this point I would:
1) DISCONNECT everything you can (leave CPU and other fans, DDR system memory)... not graphics card yet
2) run MEMTEST86 to test the system memory, part of CPU/mobo www.memtest86.com (run for a full pass)

2) remove the GRAPHICS CARD if anything looks wonky like case fans or GPU fans spinning to much (your graphics fans may be off completely) you can use the iGPU instead (i.e. most Intel CPU's) in which case connect to the motherboard

3) *it may be a software issue... if possible insert a spare drive and do a clean install using W10 USB stick (google Microsoft Clean install)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10

Have to go so can't comment further... good luck.

Note that BUZZING may be software issue causing audio to lockup. Sometimes that's system memory, or just data corruption which may or may not be caused by a bad SSD/HDD.

 

[TheSwedishMrBlue]

Perhaps you got dust in your system, try dusting everything out. Heatsinks and what not. If the problem insist. Try unplugging everything (USB, Headphones, ect..) Only keeping the cable to the monitor (And PSU of course) and try booting. You could also try to run in Safe-mode and check your system health, virus and so on.

 

[photonboy]

Update: I didn't mean it was an obvious hardware. That was a mistake.

Anyway, I've fixed systems where the issue was caused by two different reasons:
1) Hardware failing but still working causing Windows to lockup. I've even see hard drives result in similar issues, or

2) Software issue such as something in Windows getting corrupted or the actual game being buggy which causes a "LOOP" in software that can do things like overload the CPU with instructions which results in a constant NOISE because there's insufficient CPU processing power to talk to the audio device.

TROUBLESHOOTING such issues is always best done by removing or disabling as many hardware things as possible. I always keep a used SSD (HDD will work) so I can load Windows 10 to see if a basic install works fine (can boot or whatever the issue is).

We have something called the "HALF SPLIT" method in troubleshooting. If nothing on the screen then "half" is the PC and half is the Monitor. Thus replace one side and see if it works. Oh, new monitor works now? Then it's the old monitor.

We do this sort of with a SOFTWARE vs HARDWARE comparison. For software, ideally get a clean Install of Windows. If it works then it's 99% likely a software issue, but do understand a FAILING HDD or FAILING DDR3/4 memory can corrupt a Windows installation over time.

*It is NOT common to get a sudden audio buzz and boot failure because of thermal issues. It makes little sense because a CPU uses much less power for basic bootup so even a basic heatsink should work.

Also you aren't completely locked up so the CPU hasn't actually crashes the system. Modern CPU's downclock if necessary to protect themselves but if they overheat sufficiently still they just crash the system to protect themselves.

And the GPU isn't too hot since you can see something on the screen. So it's not temperature related IMO. It's also not power related likely since you're issue is booting into Windows not crashing though sometimes you get very odd issues due to power being borderline.

Summary:
IMO the most likely problem is in order:
a) software corrupted
b) Windows drive failing
c) DDR3/4 memory failing
d) motherboard or other

MEMTEST86 is the easiest place to start actually since you can just create that USB stick and boot to it. Either change boot order or just disable the internal storage drives unhooking both cables each.

*To be clear, here's how your system boots up. It's important:
1) PC OFF
2) Start PC and it runs a POST (Power On Self Test) to diagnose issues. If it passes it then starts to load Windows

3) Windows starts loading... if boot loader fails you should get an indicator so you're probably past that
4) Windows keeps loading and will then load in Antivirus

I really don't think it would be a non-Windows application that prevents Windows loading. It's very likely again to be some corrupted Windows software or corruption of code due to bad Windows drive or system memory (again run MEMTEST86).

Long post (no pun intended) but troubleshooting helps if you understand the basics.

 

[photonboy]

To simplify, if possible do this:
1) run MEMTEST86 for a full pass. if no errors continue (if errors test each stick one at a time. see mobo manual for correct slot with one stick)

2) create W10 Install media on 8GB+ USB stick (4GB may work): https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10
a) insert USB stick on working PC
b) download and run the W10 media creation tool
c) choose "other PC" then choose W10 64-bit
d) wait to download and finalize

3) unhook/remove everything you can on current PC
4) add a spare HDD or SSD
5) boot to W10 then install Windows (skip using a login email/pw)

6) if it boots problem probably was SOFTWARE but sometimes hardware that is failing works with basic drivers but has issues with the proper drivers (which unlock more functionality)
7) Install the appropriate drivers (video, audio) and a game or benchmark etc to ensure things seem stable

8) If stable you need to reinstall Windows IMO or restore a backup Image if you have one (I use Acronis True Image), or try to REPAIR the bootup (select the W10 Install stick in BIOS to boot to it, select REPAIR when prompted and follow instructions. Can Google for more info.

It's actually a bit confusing but quickly: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/repair-master-boot-record-mbr-windows

So type these in order:
bootrec /RebuildBcd
bootrec /fixMbr
bootrec /fixboot

You may already be past the boot issue stage already. I'm not sure on those exact details but it's worth trying to see if you can get back into Windows.

*also, if your system made a RESTORE POINT you can try that... it's one of the options in REPAIR. Any programs installed after that date will be missing but not data.

I think you can keep hitting F8 on bootup and you may get to the Windows repair window as well. You could try doing that quickly and see if a Restore Point helps.

9) So at this point if you've now uses MEMTEST86 without errors and W10 clean install works fine (ignoring bootup repair or Restore Point for now) then it's almost certainly corrupted software. I'd reinstall Windows but try to repair bootup to get data off and plan it out carefully.

If clean install had issues then I'd say it's a HARDWARE issue. At that point it's mostly SWAPPING parts but I'd rule out the CPU and DDR3/4 memory since we ran MEMTEST86 (not 100% but close). At that point I'd swap these parts in order:
a) Graphics Card (or remove and use the CPU's iGPU if you have one)
b) Power Supply
c) motherboard (real hassle so process of elimination before this)

10) remember if data was corrupted but MEMTEST86 passed your Windows drive may be defective. Run a diagnostic (not 100% though).

11) Finally, make sure to buy a tool like Acronis True Image and automate a backup of the Windows partition. Here's my basic setup which backs up my Windows SSD to an HDD:
- weekly
- Incremental
- 1x chain (one full plus four incrementals)
- auto delete of older backups (all but the latest chain)
- 2nd highest compression (highest takes too long with minimal space savings)

That gives me at least FIVE backup points so that covers over a MONTH. If my drive fails, can't boot, or just get unfixable software issues I do this:
a) insert the Acronis Restore USB/CD/DVD (only if you can't boot but you should make one and put it aside.. I think the FREE version still allows you to make the same tool which works but not certain)

b) RESTORE the entire backup or just the BOOT parts
- I just had a problem with Windows when I came out of SAFE MODE and my PC won't bootup. It tells me my WINLOAD.exe is bad... I used Acronis and selected my last backup, but then didn't select the main (largest) part of the backup so that the BOOTUP files etc only would be overwritten. That WORKED!

I did decide to do a CLEAN INSTALL after which I'm still recovering from though then I'll make another backup which I will NOT allow to be deleted in case this happens again (errors can sneak in over time which you don't notice but are still problematic but I can't keep every backup).

*I'd PRINT THIS OUT then follow it unless your issue is solved.

 

[danielkayliff2000]

Sorry for the late reply guys, apparently the computer fixed itself. I’ve waited like a couple of hours before starting the PC again and it booted fine this time, all though I went through “Your PC didn’t start correctly” bla bla and went though advanced options to boot normally. But really thank you guys for your help especially the guy with the long post. Anyways I’m guessing either the PC didn’t start last time maybe it was too hot and needed a cooldown? Idk I’m not that good with computers haha. But thank you guys so much for your time.