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Q102228: Hardware Troubleshooting: Cold Booting Versus Warm Booting

Article: Q102228
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21; WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,3.1,3.11
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 26-SEP-1999

3.00 3.00a 3.10 3.11 | 6.00 6.20 6.21
WINDOWS              | MS-DOS
kbhw kbtshoot

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.0, 6.2, 6.21 
- Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11 
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11 
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SUMMARY
=======

When troubleshooting hardware issues, using the power on/off switch yields the
most consistent testing procedure. If you suspect a hardware problem,
particularly an adapter card problem, using the power switch, rather than the
CTRL+ALT+DEL key combination or the Reset button, is recommended.

MORE INFORMATION
================

A warm boot, accomplished by pressing the CTRL+ALT+DEL key combination, restarts
the computer through the INT19h ROM BIOS routine. This warm-boot procedure
usually does not go through the complete boot process; generally, it skips the
power-on self test (POST) to save time. In addition, a warm boot frequently
fails to reset all adapters in the computer's adapter slots.

If you use the Reset button to cold boot the computer, it generally restarts the
boot process, including the POST. However, this procedure does not necessarily
discontinue power to the motherboard. If the power is not interrupted, the cold
boot may fail to reset all adapters in the computer's adapter slots.

To ensure that all adapters are properly reset, you should use the power switch
to turn the computer off. Leaving the power off for ten seconds ensures that all
the capacitors on the motherboard have time to discharge and should also give
the hard disk drive a chance to stop spinning.

NOTE: Using other reboot methods, such as CTRL+ALT+DEL or the Reset button, is
acceptable when a hardware problem is not suspected.

If you are using a write-behind cache, ensure the contents of the cache have been
written to the disk before using the power on/off switch. When using
SMARTDRV.EXE version 4.0 or later, typing "smartdrv /c" (without the quotation
marks) accomplishes this.

Additional query words: tshoot 3.0 3.00 3.00a 3.10 3.1 3.11 6.00 6.20 6.2 6.21

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbWin3xSearch kbWFWSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbWin300 kbWin300a kbWin310 kbWin311 kbWFW310 kbWFW311 kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600
Version           : MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21; WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,3.1,3.11

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