[Computer Not Restarting Or Booting Properly]

Thanks for your help shanenin. In doing some research this morning it appears that this problem is quite common with the Gateway GT4016 after a couple of years use. I didn't read anyone saying they fixed the problem though, just people mentioning that it was either the power supply or the motherboard, which we've already determined here.

I definitely don't trust taking it to a place like Best Buy though, what might be a power supply issue will quickly turn into a new hard drive and everything with a place like that. They always find things wrong that weren't a problem before. No offense to any Geek Squad employees.

[Computer Not Restarting Or Booting Properly]

You could bring it to my shop in Rochester MN, we do free estimates :-) Kidding aside, if it was brought to me, the first thing I would do would be to try a new power supply. You could buy a power supply for about $20. It is an inexpensive and easy thing to do. The supply I listed is cheap, but I have used at least 30 of that brand with great luck(none have been DOA or have come back to the shop).

With the amount of money for gas it would take to get to your shop I could probably buy the best computer out there.

What would your shop for example charge to replace someones power supply? I realize every shop will have different prices, but that would at least give me an estimate should I decide to take it in.

[Computer Not Restarting Or Booting Properly]

Thanks for the responses.

I almost think I'd be better off to buy a new computer since just a tower by itself isn't all that expensive, and I could upgrade in the process to something newer. I'm not sure how expensive it would be to fix the issue with this one, but I'm not so in love with the computer that I absolutely have to use this one, I'm definitely open to having another one.

It's a shame though because all in all it's been a decent pc.

[Computer Not Restarting Or Booting Properly]

If you haven't cleaned it out in some time, you should do that.

Hi, thanks for responding. I did that already, unfortunately it didn't help.

Also, I would look at the power supply and motherboard, also the hard drive. Either of those things could be taking it's final turn in life, so get ready for some repairs in the future I think...or even a new PC

Is there anyway I could somehow check either of these things to get an idea if one is going bad? Something I can visually see, or actually test?

What's frustrating is I just bought this computer in 2006, so it's not very old. And it's been working fine until this.

[Computer Not Restarting Or Booting Properly]

Let me get some specs out of the way first, feel free to ask for others;

Gateway GT4016 desktop PC

Windows XP 2005 Media Center Edition

Avast Anti-Virus 4.8

Comodo Firewall 3.0.25.378

Mozilla Firefox browser

Ok so here's my problem, about 2 months ago my computer starting having these problems. Whenever I restart the computer it won't restart, it goes through the process of restarting, but when it's time for it to reload it won't, it just sits there after the screen goes blank, I have to actually unplug it and plug it back in so it will restart. Even then though it's not so simple because my other problem is the computer won't boot right half the time, I turn it on and it powers up as you can hear the fans but it won't completely load, you see nothing on the screen and the light on the power button doesn't come on. I have to unplug the computer once or sometimes several times in order for it to finally turn on.

What is my problem? Power supply going bad? Motherboard problems? Or something entirely different?

[Windows No Longer Prompting]

Thank You Pete.

[Windows No Longer Prompting]

Hi everyone, not sure if my last question was missed.

I was wondering if I can safely uninstall combofix? Thanks.

[Windows No Longer Prompting]

Also, Kelly's Korner has what seems to be an executable which should fix it as well:

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/AutoFix.exe

B

This fixed the problem!!

Thank you so much, nothing else has worked so I'm very appreciative.

One last question, can I safely uninstall combofix?

[Windows No Longer Prompting]

Ok so I added the TweakUI, followed all the instructions requested. Unfortunately the problem still persists.

I'm sorry that I missed your post originally BT, I'll also look at what your suggesting.

[Windows No Longer Prompting]

If you got the instructions for using ComboFix from a reputable tech support forum, it was probably to address malware infection issues if that was the suspected cause of your problem. Please only use these tools if told to do so by trained malware removal experts. You can cause serious harm to your PC if you or your instructor has no idea of what is being dealt with.

Now, onto the issue with Autoplay. I remember seeing settings for Autoplay in TweakUI. If using Windows XP you can download the TweakUI powertoy directly from Microsoft. After you launch the application, go to 'My Computer' > 'Autoplay'. Under 'Autoplay', ensure that all of the drives have a check mark beside them (even for drive letters you do not use) and that Autoplay for both CDs/DVD and removal drives is activated under 'Types'. If you want, you can also edit the 'Handlers'. Apply the setting changes and reboot your PC to see if they work.

Thanks Falcon, I'm sorry that I forgot to give some specs. I'm definitely using Windows XP so I'll give this a try as soon as I can, and I will let you know how it goes.

And the ComboFix was definitely at the recommendation of a reputable tech person, but that's when the problem started. Could just be coincidence, but hopefully I just get this fixed regardless.

[Windows No Longer Prompting]

Hi everyone, I've gone to other tech forums and I get a couple of answers on this issue, it never gets resolved and they leave me hanging. I hope someone can help me here, but I understand you can only do the best you can.

For some reason Windows no longer prompts me when I insert a cd or dvd into the drive, or when I plug in a usb cable. For example, when I used to insert a DVD into the DVD drive I would get a small box that would pop up asking me which player I wanted to use. Now that doesn't happen, I have to manually go into my computer and open it up that way. Or, when I used to attach my digital camera via usb I'd get a box that would pop up asking me what I wanted to do, now that doesn't happen either.

I have gone into the dvd drive's properties and made sure it's set to prompt me under the auto play option, but it still doesn't work. I had another issue going on with my computer a few months ago, and the person at another tech support forum had me install combofix to do some things, after that is when the problem started.

What can I do to get it back to normal?