imagine yourself driving a car,
and when you almost had a car accident, your friend yells at you 'you almost got us killed!!', indicating that you need to change your ways of driving, or you need to address a faulty part in your car (maybe the brakes weren't functioning properly or the tyres (tires) are worn-out and no longer able to provide safe grips on the road, or the wipers were worn out and were non-functioning)..
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here are some of the common causes to such system-boot-errors:
- most modern operating systems (OS) such as Windows 10, perform critical tasks every once in a while silently in the background; this is to maintain the health and the integrity of itself (the operating system (OS))..
if you pull the power plug suddenly from a desktop computer, and the battery from a laptop computer while the OS is running.. or if you live in an area known for its regular interruptions of electricity (blackouts), you risk interrupting the OS at those critical moments of maintenance - and this may damage the OS and the critical files needed to run the OS..
you can prevent these things from happening by replacing faulty power cables & plugs, by replacing bad batteries on the laptop, by investing into buying UPS (uninterrupted power supply) devices with enough battery power to properly shut down the desktop computer during blackouts..
or by checking the computer at a local workshop to make sure that there are no faulty components (especially faulty hard disks) and no faulty power distributors & connectors inside the computer..
with such frequent system errors,
i believe that you need to back-up your essential data and have the computer checked-out at a local repair store - if your work and your data are critical.. but if you are a gambler like me, back-up your essential data and wait until the computer presents itself with real irreversible problems before you send it to a repair shop..
- next.. one of the first things we've learned at school about computers back in the early 1990s, is how to properly shut down the computer when we are done with it..
but as time went by, more and more people prefer to put the computer on sleep, stand-by or on hibernation, instead of properly shutting-down the computer.. because these alternatives to shut-down, boots up faster on waking-up (starting-up)..
for example,
i often put the lid of my laptop down, and put the laptop into the bag without properly shutting it down.. however, both sleep (standby) and hibernation modes use power (battery power) and i often get the battery completely drained-out on the next day.. this action is considered an improper way to shut down the computer..
and such bad habits increases the risk of having system boot errors..
- next.. make sure you run 'clean-up tool', 'scan disk tool' (with surface scan) and 'defragmentation tool' regularly to minimize these errors.. it is a bit lengthy to write all the steps down here, if you do not know how to use these tools..
if you are using Windows 10, just Google or Yahoo-search on how to perform the 'surface scan' on the scan-disk tool on Windows 10.. or how to use the defrag tool or the defragmentation tool on Windows 10..
i bet you will even find instruction videos on youtube.. easily..
however, people often neglect using these tools regularly but they do really reduce the risks of running into trouble..
- faulty hard disks are common, especially if you live in hot and humid climates.. some hard disks age better over the years, but some don't..
depending on the brand, the built-quality, the climate and the amount of daily use, an average half-life of some hard disks is about 10-15 years, but it can be 3-5 years if the hard disk is from lesser known brands with cheap built quality with extensive daily use in extremely hot humid climates..
and if the laptop is in a constant bumpy motion, like using the laptop while walking or on a moving vehicle, and even worse, if you drop the computer while running the OS, the average half-life of a hard disk reduces significantly.. all these habits can permanently damage your hard disk, and you may need to replace it sooner if it is too badly damaged..
some people swear that SSDs (Solid State Drives) are better than the regular magnetic Hard Disk Drives HDDs because they lack moving mechanical parts that are prone to damage, but they can be more pricey and they do need some extra care..
there are plenty of debates of SSDs vs. classic HDDs over youtube and the rest of the internet, it is up to you to choose which one is better suited for you when such replacements are needed..
- the first signs of trouble can sometimes be heard with unusual loud audible shrieks and pounds from the harddisk like someone scratching and pounding against metal surfaces inside your computer.. or is seen by conducting the surface scan on the 'scan disk tool' with too many physical damages "bad sectors" detected..
some third-party diagnostic softwares such as HDDscan from hddscan.com (it is a freeware) and Norton Utilities from Symmantic (not really expensive) can detect early problems with the hard disk..
- you mentioned "several other lines"..
some manufacturers program their computers to display certain error messages and/or error codes.. some Dell laptops display 'error codes' to better communicate the problem with their help centres and with their repair workshops.. you should jot-down such messages and codes somewhere the next time you run into trouble..
- the problem can sometimes related to a drained or a faulty CMOS battery on the mother-board.. yes, most motherboards have tiny batteries or capacitors, to maintain a small clock (the time and date), to maintain some system BIOS passwords and settings, and to maintain some basic data necessary to boot up the system..
some motherboards display these system boot errors to signal the need for CMOS battery replacement..
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ok..
THOSE are the first things that come into my mind by reading your questions.. however, what to do when the computer refuses to boot up completely with frozen or empty black screens and such..
- do not switch off and back on the computer immediately and in an impulsive manner..
just leave it running for about 10 minutes because most modern OS come with in-built self diagnostic & repair tools; and even though the screen may appear frozen or empty, these tools maybe silently at work in the background..
switching on and off the computer in a random manner, hinders these repairs, and it may even worsen the problem into an irrecoverable state..
you can increase the odds of success of such repair efforts by 'creating a backup System-Restore Point' on your computer before these troubles have started.. and by 'creating a backup System-Repair Disk and System-Recovery Drive' before having these problems on the computer..
you can find instructions on how to use System-Restore and System Recovery on youtube and elsewhere on the internet.. such as this one (about system restore for windows 10) https://youtu.be/vKH0QeV0coM and this one (about system recovery also for windows 10) https://youtu.be/QqjV9mD1Oy8 ..
during that frozen black screen, these diagnostic & repair tools tries to build back critical files using System-Restore Points when available.. it may ask you to pop in a System Recovery drive or a Repair Disk when needed..
there are a lot of things to discuss about System Restore, Recovery and Repair, with plenty of materials about them on youtube and over the internet.. it is OK if you do not fully understand what they are, however technicians at a nearby service workshop should find these backups useful, if you have them..
- if the computer is stuck at the blue screen of death, or if the computer is completely frozen or at that empty black screen for more than 20 minutes.. you can try to boot up from Recovery USB drives or Repair Disks that you have..
if all failed.. bring the computer to the nearest service workshop..
all the best..