Hey - Just wondering if I can get an opinion on what might be the problem with my PC, I think it might be on the way out but really dont know enough to guess. Here's the problem..

Since about 2 days ago I've been having trouble getting my PC to start atall. If I boot up it loads normally untill I get to the 'Windows XP' screen. The blue bar below the logo moves along until the screen flickers slighty once and the bar freezes in place. Leaving it to load does nothing as it stays frozen on this screen. I'm forced to restart the PC and try again. It usually takes me anything up to 10 restarts before I get in and past this bar. Also each time I reboot it asks me if I want to start in safe mode, which I have tried. Problem is the PC freezes everytime I start Safe mode without fail, unlike normal mode which eventually will get in.

I thought it might have been a problem with Windows so I did a full wipe last night but its still happening. I think it is a hardware problem rather than a software. Any ideas? Cheers

Hi When it freezes do you get any error message diplayed at all?

Hi, Nothing atall matt, it just freezes and stays exactly the same untill I restart or shut off.

Sounds like it might be memory related have you been inside your PC before? try removing the ram and putting it back in to make sure the contact is ok in the socket and if you have a video card do the same. Make sure all the fans are working when you turn the PC on as well. Any better?

Hey Matt - Im not too familier with the the positions of everything inside the PC. I'm not sure where the RAM is to be honest, or the video card. I only really know the position of the HD and CD drive etc lol. I opened it up and checked if anything was loose however and everything including connections seems firmly in place. I also checked the fan which works fine. After turning the PC off to check it did take me 7 restarts to get past that Windows screen and back on again.

It sounds like we need to try removing the RAM rand reseating it to rule out contact problems there is pictures here on how to install it so this will so you how to do it. Try this and post back

How to Install RAM | eHow.com

For Typical basic Parts ID... you can learn a lot about hardware here switch from page to page to see different layouts, etc. Some is a bit "dated" but the idea is the same.

ATX Motherboard Layout