Computer Crashing On Startup

[Tylinos]

Earlier today, I booted up my computer as normal, and about two or three minutes after loading the desktop, it crashed, without causing a blue screen. I started it back up and checked the Event Viewer, but there weren't any warning messages from around the time of the crash. A minute or so later, it crashed a second time. When I later tried to boot in safe mode, it crashed at the end of the list of loading drivers before ever booting into Windows. I haven't tested it since then.

The problem probably isn't related to overheating, as I use Speedfan on there, and made sure to keep an eye on it between the first and second crashes. The core temperature was around 40 C. I also already used compressed air on it just a month or so ago. I don't think it's malware related, as I haven't downloaded or done anything out of the ordinary lately.

The computer is a Compaq laptop (yes, I know, it's old, and that may be part of the problem) running Windows XP with Service Pack 3. Some parts, including the hard drive and AC adapter, have been replaced over time, so not everything is as old as the main computer itself.

I do have a hard drive enclosure I can use to try testing the hard drive on another computer, but I won't be able to get to it until later tonight. In the meantime, is there anything else I can try doing, or looking into? Is there anything else I should test?

 

[Laptop_Nerd]

Hi,

When you say your laptop crash, do you mean it turns off automatically and you have to power it back on? Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try.
- First is to remove the battery off the laptop then plug in just the AC adapter and observe if the laptop will still shut down by itself.
- If it shuts off automatically try a different AC adapter that has the same voltage and observe it again.
- If it will not shut down automatically that means it's the AC adapter that is faulty.
- But if using a different AC adapter will result at the same problem that means it's a problem with the motherboard itself.
- Another test would be to load the laptop in BIOS and if it will shut down by itself again that confirms it that it's the motherboard but if it will stay on I would suggest reinstalling Windows.

 

[Tylinos]

Yeah, it turns off and I have to turn it back on manually. It doesn't restart itself like it would when it blue screens.

Right, so, some potential good news: I removed the battery like you said, although I just assumed that wouldn't help any. However, I've had the computer on for over thirty minutes now backing up files to a flash drive, and to my surprise, it hasn't crashed yet. Could just be a fluke, but I'm not taking any chances. If it does end up working fine from here on, thanks a ton. I honestly wouldn't have bothered trying that myself, since it seemed too good to be true. Looks like I was completely wrong there.

Anyway, if it does end up still crashing after this, I'll post an update and try the BIOS suggestion. (The only other ACs I have that work with this are dead, so that's a no-go.)