i have a packard bell pc and for the last 6 months or so i am having to switch the tower on and off 5 times before windows will load once it has loaded i have no problems. if i turn it off for a few hours windows will usually load after 3 attempts but when its been left over night it will only load on the 5th attempt does anyone have any ideas what the problem could be and how i can solve it

philippa37, May 2011

first I made sure that I unchecked all unnecessary programmes in startup, then most importantly, I disconnected all external cables belonging to such items as external hard drive, camera etc etc ... then I followed the steps on the enclosed link.
http://us.norton.com/support/kb/web_view.jsp?wv_type=nortonlive&docurl=20090512102646EN&nl_service=default
The startup time was great, so I reconnected the externals & yipee, didn't have any adverse effect at all.
Hope it works for you.

Billie, June 2011

Another possibility is there's to much on the computer and it is finding it hard to index? try a disc clean-up and get rid of all the rubbish you have accumilated over time,
ie cookies and temporary files.
This should speed things up a bit

cg, June 2011

If you let the power on longer, can it reduce the number of times you need to power on/off?

It looks like the BIOS batry need to be replaced. It's weak, but it regains some charge when the power os on.

Open the case.

The batry is silver, about the size of a nickel and flat, barely thicker than a coin. It fits in a round, black holder with a metallic side clip.

Take note on whitch way it's in.

Pull the clip away from the batry. Your nail, a thootpick or a paper clip should be enough for that.
It will "jump" out by itself.

Get it out and find a replacement. Place the new one in place.

Electro, May 2011