BleepingComputer.com: possibly motherboard issue

You know, I had disabled that splash screen on someone else's computer once, and it was easy... but, I didn't remember how I did it. So, off to google I went.
Found a few sets of instructions... including editing the boot.ini file.
But one mentioned the startup utility through msconfig, which I'm used to so I went there.
Directions said to put a check next to; noguiboot
While in there I noticed another option... bootlog. I googled that to see if it was what it sounded like, and it was. So I checked that as well.

Restarted the computer. I had my digital camera recording the screen in case anything interesting went by. It took several minutes... Just checked... after 2 minutes it got to the login screen. He has it set to type in a password to get into windows. Originally we did that to prevent his brother from using it as he was causing issues back then. Now he doesn't need it but he likes it that way. And then another minute before it was actually in Windows... so, just about 3 minutes total boot time. Slow slow slow..... slower than it should be anyway...
Anyway... I was expecting to see all the loading data but, nothing happened. Loaded the way it normally did. Do I need to also check the /sos box? Or, is there another way to skip the splash screen? I thought I did it correctly with the directions I got... The directions that mentioned editing the boot.ini file mentioned adding /sos but the directions that mentioned using windows startup utility did not mention that option.
The only thing recording the startup helped with was something I only barely noticed before and never bothered to mention.
20 seconds into the boot it flashes quickly enough I can't read the whole line each time;
press F11 to start recovery.

Anyway... I checked the bootlog that I had it create and not all the drivers were loaded. I can show the whole file if need be but I figured, if this will help at all, that you'd only need to see the drivers that did NOT load... in case it helps... here it is.

Quote

I've just about had it with this one. I'm going to poke around a little more but by Wednesday of this week, he's getting his computer back whether it's running better or not.
Well, it is in a sense running better... graphics card plus an extra 512mb of ram... plus a few things cleaned up here and there. Just wish I could have fixed it a bit more than that.
If you have any brilliant ideas let me know... but, I'm a bit under the weather today so I'm not sure how much I'll be messing with it.

Edit: It seems, to me, that the sound issues are more prevalent when the computer is working harder. Including startup. The startup sound crackles. The sound isn't as bad if noticeable at all when barely anything is running. That said, it shouldn't crackle at all... and, it seems like at times the computer is working harder than it should under the given conditions.

This post has been edited by millipede: 14 March 2011 - 04:31 PM

Sometimes no matter you do, the only solution is to start from scratch.

Even the most advanced computer technicians have to draw a conclusion, that an operating system is so full of corruption that its is better to just re-write the whole thing.

The system has some age on it, the hardware as well.

The file system has probably been changed considerably since the original install of the operating system.

There are files that were installed by programs that are no longer installed that are still on the hard drive.

The addition of many programs and their deletion over the years leaves orphaned files scattered around the hard drive and in the windows registry.

The windows registry is one amazing file structure, it is a tree with many branches extending deeper and deeper and deeper into an array of folders and registry keys.

Editing the registry can have performance impacts, an over fragmented registry can have major performance impacts.

You just can't win no matter what you do when the operating system has witnessed so many programs coming and going, so many crashes and upgrades, so much wear and tear.

I think you have come a long ways with this system to be honest with you.

You have made an old system purr a little faster than it did before you laid hands on it.

I am not trying to write a novel here, but I think you need a every now and then.

I personally feel you've gone far and beyond what most other people would have gone and for that I must congratulate you!

If the owner ever decides to format and re-install the operating system, everything will be fresh and new and the system will perform a lot faster.

But I truly believe you gave it your all and that is all you can do at this point.

It is like an old car, you can patch it up and fix it up, but under neath, it is still the same car.

That is why eventually a person just buys a new car and moves on.

Bruce.

OMG I typed that out above and found ONE typo!

I am shocked!

Usually when I re-read a post I make, I'm like "OMG what the hell did I just say"?

But it made sense and I am shocked.

Bruce.

Thanks for looking Bruce, and for your help. Thanks everyone.

I will probably try to talk him into letting me reinstall windows sometime soon. One of his fears was that he'd lose some data. But, if it is hardware and it just dies one day, he'll lose it all. So, I'll probably start some backing up for him while I still have it.

Ha on the typos... Thanks for firefox, I don't make as many mistakes as I could. And over the years, I've corrected a few mistakes that I made often.
I do, however, sometimes look back and wonder what I wrote because sometimes I start typing and before you know it, I've typed out a book. Happens on facebook ALL the time. I'll have a thought on someone's status, start typing and before you know it, multiple paragraphs. I recently had someone say they didn't know that you could put that much in a reply.

Well the sad part is once you are done with this system we may not see you in the forums as much.

It happens often, but I would like to see you hang around the BC forum board and offer any help you can to the other members here.

You must have learned something from the trouble shooting you have performed on this computer.
Perhaps you can make regular appearances in the forum to help other people with the skills you have developed.

Bruce.

One last note to add:

It was certainly a pleasure working with you and I hope to see more of you in the future.

Kind regards as always.

Bruce.

Thanks for the thoughts Bruce...
I'll be honest... I can't make any promises about the future... Sometimes I get involved and go all in... sometimes, too much so. After a while, sometimes things don't work out so well and I leave. It's all quite uncertain though. I may, if I remember, try to stop by and look around once in a while....
for now... I still have a few other topics going......

Oh, I returned his computer today... So far, it appears to be working at least as good as before I got hold of it. It's hard to think of it this way but, it could have turned out worse...

Thanks for the update and I hope he is happy with it.

He will eventually decide to reformat and start over at some point, but for now it is like his OS and he are like old friends and he hates to part with it even if it is old, tired and slow.

Bruce.