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I am sure that this is an easy fix and is probably already posted. Unfortunately, I have spent over an hour looking for my specific problem and haven't found it. I must warn anyone who helps, I am computer illiterate. I have an old Compaq 4508 and at boot up it hangs on the Compaq screen. If I hit F8 and choose option 1 "normal" it then boots up perfectly. What is causing this hang up and how can I get rid of it? As you can see it's more annoying than harmful as I can boot the machine up. Thanks in advance and go easy on me! : )
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I have already tried scandisk thorough and the problem persisted. It may be the CMOS battery as the clock falls behind and needs to be reset often, but it has been that way for years and this problem never existed before. Maybe it's finally crapping out for good. I'll try that fix. No one need post unless they know the solution to the problem and this isn't it. You were correct it's a Compaq Presario 4508.
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Older Compaqs and HPs are know for there Video
driver problems in windows 98, Unless you can find the correct video driver,It will hang and freeze up on startup.
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I haven't bought the battery yet, so how would I check the video driver? I'm computer illiterate, but I can follow directions well enough. The problem started when I left a CD from Colombia in the drive and it has this video that uses a strange format and the CD has autorun, so maybe it could have corrupted the video driver?
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The problem seems to appear before before the drivers load--before windows even starts to load.
If you don't have a bios overlay on the drive (which you probably don't) hit F8 again to access the boot menu. Choose 'command prompt only'. At the c:\> prompt type fdisk/mbr and enter. That refreshes the master boot record on the drive. When it's done, reboot and see what happens.
If that doesn't help I guess you can try restoring the registry to a previous date. That's unlikely to help since, as I mentioned above, the problem occurs before the OS starts to load, but you can give it a try. Again choose 'command prompt only' from the F8 menu. At the dos prompt type scanreg/restore and enter. Choose a registry to restore with a date that precedes the problem. There may not be one that old because windows by default only keeps track of the previous 5 registries. But you can at least check.
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Find a program called Everest or Belark ,
These are hardware identification tools.
find your Video adapters name and search for correct driver... this might take some time on finding the right one. It took me 6 different drivers , before i got the right one..
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i would sudgest upgrade to xp that way less time searching for solutions to 98se freezing and more time enjoying your pc however i did find a a sort of service pack for 98se has all the updates that ms ever released and options for 2000 pro look desktop and new 98se boot screen altho trying it on virtual pc the new boot screen is crap the rest of the stuff gr8 cannot rember tho which site i got it from think it was somethinglike freewarefiles.co.uk might solve ya issues myself had a list of 98se problems crashes.hangs blue screens lockups never got them solved
The simplest solutions are the best and they are often save you money
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To answer some of the recent posters. I tried command prompt fdisk/mbr and scanreg/restore and neither worked. I don't think there was an old enough registry. I couldn't find any programs called Everest or Belark on my system. My system can't run Windows XP, because it's older and doesn't have enough memory. The problem started when I left a music CD with an autorun video on it. When I turn on the computer it seems like it's checking the CD-ROM drive unless this is normal. Shouldn't it go to the hard drive first unless there's a CD with autorun? If I can get the F8 key to work and this usually requires several attempts I can choose normal and it boots fine. The clock has been keeping date and time, so I don't think it's the battery. I think the CD either made the computer look at the CD-ROM drive only and it then hangs up or the CD somehow had it's own driver for its' video and the computer is looking for it and can't find it thus locking up? I am certain that a computer saavy person would have this fixed in five minutes or less. That means it will take me a month or two. : )
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There's no cd in the cdrom is there?
Open the case and disconnect the data cable from the cdrom. Then boot up the computer. First boot will probably give a message about hardware change. Choose to keep the changes. Reboot once or twice more and see if it still hangs.
If not, reconnect the cdrom and see if the problem returns. If so try swapping out the cdrom. Make sure the one you install in its place is jumpered the same.
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Walter and DAVEINCAPS you were both on the right path. I did some more research on the internet and determined that indeed it seemed to be a BIOS problem. I removed the battery for 30 minutes and then reinstalled it and the computer booted up beautifully. Thanks for your help. Sorry that I doubted you about the CMOS battery and BIOS. I would have had it fixed a while ago. Thanks again.
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You're welcome. Sometimes compaqs are just weird and get problems that other motherboards don't. They've got a horse-and-buggy bios that leaves a lot to be desired. Resetting the bios or just forcing it to redetect the cdrom seems to have worked.
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