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Why did this fix computer?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Stevewoods, Aug 19, 2024 at 11:36 AM.

  1. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Last year or more, wife's computer often would not restart after being turned off or if we lost power. If you kept at it, it would eventually restart.

    Took it to local computer "fixit" shop near the university. A longtime shop with good rep. They could not duplicate.

    Lost power Saturday. Could not get computer to restart once power came back. Tried and tried.

    Found thread on Reddit. Said to basically remove all USB/plug-ins and then try.

    It worked. My question is why?
     
  2. ColoradoBoo

    ColoradoBoo Senior Member

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    In a computer BIOS, there's settings that tell it what sequence to use when booting up. If it's set to look at externals (like a USB port) before booting from the hard drive, it will do that. (Which is a smart thing to have if troubleshooting an issue.)

    It seems like you have an issue with a USB port which was preventing it from completing the boot up sequence....and getting stuck.

    Glad it's working but you'll have to just leave whatever what plugged into the USB port out until after it boots up...then should be able to plug it in and use.
     
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Every so often I take our pc's out to the driveway, take the lids off and blow the dust out. It's always "interesting", the first boot up afterwards, with the USB ports possibly hosting diff devices. Sometimes smooth, sometimes not so smooth.
     
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  4. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Thanks! That's making sense...sort of....:). I am not exactly a tech guy.

    After it turned on and she replaced all the items she disconnected, she could not get wireless keyboard to work. Plugged the keyboard USB into a different slot and all was fine.

    Thanks again!!!
     
    ColoradoBoo likes this.