computer help

Hey guys. Well I just got a new computer and I'm really happy with it. I had the components installed by a professional and then I finished it by installing windows 7 64 bit and installing the drivers. The reason I did the software installations was because he was was really busy and wasn't going to be able to do it for a couple of weeks. He gave me the basics on how to do it and I gave it a shot. The computer runs fantastic. However some times when I start it up it either tries to boot from a disc or it won't load past the first screen which is a Gigabyte screen in which you can choose to go to Bios ect.
If I shut it off and then turn it back on it then loads perfectly. Just seems weird to have to turn on my computer twice just to get it to load up right. Not to mention that I'm worried it's not very healthy for my computer.
After doing some google research I've seen it mentioned that perhaps I need to update my Bios drivers. But they also mention in other posts that updating my Bios drivers can be a bit sketchy. Meaning some times it can actually crash and burn the computer.
Some places suggest getting a driver updater program. Apparently these check all of your computer components to see if they have driver updates. But there is a lot of them out there and to be honest most of them "look" like they could be scams.

I know a lot of you are pretty smart when it comes to this stuff and I trust my family. Any suggestions guys?

Yeah most of those driver "updater" programs are bad news. I would recommend going to your specific motherboard's website and finding the model of board and updating using their software

Also when you do boot up make note of what bios version you currently have and write it down. Sometimes that's not the issue at all.

You may want to try resetting the CMOS. To do this, you would need to remove the battery from the mobo and generally want to leave it out for about 30 minutes, also completely unplug your psu during this time. Reinstall the battery and plug in the psu and boot up. Go into the bios screen and to the boot tab. Ensure that your primary harddrive is listed as the first boot device, followed then by your secondary drives (dvd drives etc etc). By resetting the CMOS this will sometimes help fix some of the issues you described. At this time do not update / flash your Bios until you explore further avenues. A bad bios flash can sometimes really screw things up. Also, check with the mobo manufacturers website as most new motherboards come with bios update utilities preinstalled. Just some FYI you may want to research into. RB.

Make sure you have the bios set to Boot From HD and NOT CD I would agree with RB - it more than likely is not the bios and i wouldnt bother with risking it. Pulling the battery will reset it to factory defaults, but, enter the bios afterwards and set it to boot from HD and not the CD Also - there are times when a usb device attached to a computer will cause it to hang on the splash screen/post screen. Once you boot the machine, make sure all the device drivers are up to date (sound/vid/chipset etc)which you can find thru the manufacturers websites (ati.com/nvidia.com/Asus.tw/etc) Depending on the mobo you can sometimes have a backup bios, and as Pyre said you can visit the manufacturers website and most of the time they will have a utility that works within windows to flash the bios (but id do this as a last resort)

On top of all the other advice, I would also recommend doing virus/rootkit checks. I've seen disks come prepackaged with viruses before. I would recommend McAfee Stinger & Kaspersky TDSS Killer to start. Make sure that if you do you are getting them from the real websites and not some 3rd party site. Neither stay loaded in memory and are constantly updated.

Thanks every one for your helpful advice. I'm glad I asked. I set the bios to optimal default and so far that seems to have fixed it. I think by doing so it reset the first device to boot from back to my hard drive. Now I'm gonna go check on my mobo website to see about that update software. Again thank you everyone. Saren: I use AVG anti-virus. Is that an alright virus/rootkit checker?

» Edited on: 2012-03-30 13:02:57

AVG is ok, but it and many others these days are "memory hogs" AVG also stays loaded in memory. There is no one single product that catches all viruses and such. I typically use 3-5 different ones because thats usually what it takes to make sure I don't have a virus heheh AVG is a good start, but I've had stinger catch stuff AVG didn't

I don't even bother with AVG nowadays. I just use Microsoft Security Essentials, and Firefox with Adblock. Aside from that just be wary of where and what you're downloading. Unsure if it's safe? Just run it in sandboxie, and see what happens. Haven't had to deal with a virus/malware/spyware in years.