This evening a large blackout / power surge went through the area with a storm - total power was out for about 45 minutes. At the time of the surge / blackout, I was not at my computer, but it was on. When I came back to reboot and turn the PC back on, the computer ran terribly slowly. After selecting (any) Windows User, the Window's background loads, but no icons do. The Start menu button and task tray also do not appear. This happens no matter what user is selected on the computer.
After seeing the problem, I figured I'd run it in Safe Mode and see if I could figure anything out.
When running Windows in Safe Mode, the background and icons are loaded, but when an application is loaded (or the Task Manager), the computer slows to a lock.
My guess is it is some sort of blow out hardware issue - but I'm certainly no PC guru, and was hoping some of you could give me any advice or information on similar problems, or specific issues dealing with power surges / blackouts.
I don't have the exact specs of the computer (it is my brothers, actually) but it is a Dell Mobo, a few years old, running Windows XP Home.
Thanks in advance.
Kami
After seeing the problem, I figured I'd run it in Safe Mode and see if I could figure anything out.
When running Windows in Safe Mode, the background and icons are loaded, but when an application is loaded (or the Task Manager), the computer slows to a lock.
My guess is it is some sort of blow out hardware issue - but I'm certainly no PC guru, and was hoping some of you could give me any advice or information on similar problems, or specific issues dealing with power surges / blackouts.
I don't have the exact specs of the computer (it is my brothers, actually) but it is a Dell Mobo, a few years old, running Windows XP Home.
Thanks in advance.
Kami