intermittant boot failure

**bramlet** · 04-22-2010, 09:44 PM

So I have a strange issue. It seems that my computer doesn't want to boot when I leave work. It hangs on the foxxconn BIOS screen until I get home. It works in the morning when I go to work and it works at lunch but when I get out at 4:45 it must be too hot in the trunk and the computer wont boot. I disabled all the temp shutdown in the 45csx's bios. It seems to work fine almost any other time. I think it may be that the scorpio black is about to quit, but it works fine so often that its hard to believe. Has anybody heard of a hdd that doesn't want to boot selectively. all the cables are snug. I have a rubber jam jacket around my drive so that could be the culprit. but again it works fine so often its just the past three days it wouldn't boot when I left work. I even parked in the shade yesterday. Its spooky. I'll get home and go back out maybe half hour later, it boots like it was never a misbehaving carputer. What could possibly be going on here? its got to be the North Carolina heat. but it feels cool to the touch on the motherboard and hdd. I'm ready to drop bucks on SSD as soon as I get the chance, but I can't afford it yet. Any insight you can give me into this bizarre issue is much appreciated.

**soundman98** · 04-22-2010, 10:34 PM

being that you think that the heat might be getting to the drive, try keeping it in your office until you go home one day to prove/disprove the theory.

i would also recommend running a hard drive test on the drive to make sure that the drive is still good-- i had a seagate a couple weeks ago that would always boot the first time, but would never boot if i reset the system--it just hung at bios, just like what your describing--i had to turn everything off, and wait 5 min, and then reboot.. when i finally tested it, it was bad...

**bramlet** · 04-24-2010, 09:15 PM

got out early at 2:45pm and it worked fine, also has worked fine each other time...need more data...

**bramlet** · 05-01-2010, 02:15 PM

yeah so its seems to be the heat delays my booting. I'll open the trunk and it will come on after a little while. Its annoying, and it only happens when its been a little on the hot side. I've got my hands on some Sylgard 164 from dow corning. Has anybody used silicone elastomer encapsulant(pottant) on a setup like mine. (pics in my worklog; search for bramlet) This product is supposedly used to provide thermal protection and vibration protection to sensitive electronics. Maybe I can put the hard drive in some or put some on my motherboard. I really can't find much info about it online, but i've got till feb 2011 till the stuff expires. any ideas?

**dna59** · 08-09-2011, 12:48 PM

I'm having the same problem with my IDE Seagate. Its summer here ad we're hitting temps of 90 and above most days. 5 minutes parked in the open and it doesn't wanna boot until it cools down.

**bramlet** · 08-09-2011, 02:50 PM

I think my real problem lies with the griffin powermate. My computer hangs at foxconn bios screen until I unplug the powermate. As soon as I unplug the griffin PM the computer boots up. Seems to happen more often in the heat but it can be 105F (40C) and it will still boot as soon as I unplug the PM. I doubt this will help you any, but I figure I should add what I know about my problem.

**DarquePervert** · 08-09-2011, 05:01 PM

Is the PowerMate USB?
If it is, then disabling USB boot in the BIOS may help the situation....

**dna59** · 08-09-2011, 06:52 PM

I don't know if that's my problem since I get stuck on a post that relates to the HDD. However, I just might give it a try...surely won't hurt.

**HunterDVincent** · 08-31-2011, 11:37 PM

If your having cooling/heat problems I found some fans that really push some air. Like around 80-112 CFM. I know this is about bootup, BUT you could wire a on/off switch to one of these fans and start cooling your PC off very quickly so you can engage your system =] look on newegg for the fan. I've shopped and shopped and it is the cheapest place to get them. There is a 80mm and 92mm version.

Sent from Samsung Awesomeness Captivate