Computer has become difficult to start / launch

clayto · 24 Sep 2022

My Tablet PC has been difficult to start up for a few weeks and may be getting worse. I press the power button repeatedly for several minutes with no response. What has helped a bit is that I have a bootable USB drive, which flashes if it is responding and may get the PC going eventually. I have also noticed it can help if I keep plugging ithe USB in and removing, re-plugging it, as if this gives it a kick. It can take perhaps 5 to 10 minutes sometimes, before I can start work. Unlike earlier machines I have not experience this before on my

Chuwi Hi 10 X, Windows 10 64 bit upto date

Try3 · 24 Sep 2022

For my Chuwi Hi10 Pro, I press the power button & count to five but keep an eye on both the screen and [because I have its integrated keyboard as well] the keyboard's power lamp so I can let go immediately I see either of those react.
- If I count to five without there having been any reaction then I let go anyway and try again a moment later.

What happens if you try that?

Denis

clayto · 05 Oct 2022

Hello --- I have taken so long to reply because I have been repeatedly trying your suggestions first. The 5 second press is a bit longer than what I normally do and has I think improved startup time somewhat, but I would still say it is more 'stubborn' than it should be and I still find it beneficial to keep the bootable USB plugged in, plus its blinking light tells me some contact is taking place as does the light on the keyboard (which I also have). If there is a longer hold up I find unplugging and re-plugging still quite often kicks it into life.

One reason why I am reluctant to keep the power button pressed for very long is that I have a vague recollection that it is the way to revert the machine to 'factory status'. This may not be correct but I am not going to test it out!

I have also noticed recently the more frequent appearance of the option of sliding the display down or up which, is another way to shut down or start up. I have rarely used this and do not know much about it, what is its significance and is it better than using other options if it is available?

Try3 · 05 Oct 2022

A now-deleted blog post [dated 2016] that was at
https://doalmostanything.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/chuwi-hi8-pro-everything-you-need-to.html
says [about the Chuwi Hi8]

How to reset Bios to Factory Settings:

Plug in the tablet. While powered-off press the POWER button until the blinking red light stops and disappears (usually a good 15 seconds of pressing). The device will reboot a few times, let it do its thing. After the OS selection screen appears the bios has been reset to factory default.

I suppose I've done this accidentally a few times but I've never customised my Bios anyway.

Other than that, I cannot find anything special in my notes about the Chuwi power button so I think it behaves in the same way as any other Windows computer power button
- keeping it pressed for ten seconds or more forces a running computer off completely
- keeping it pressed for ten seconds or more forces a sleeping / hibernating computer to boot from scratch instead of just waking.

I got rid of the sliding up & down stage ages ago; it is the Lock screen. I have now found some notes that definitely identifies disabling the Lock screen as what I did to get rid of the slidy thing.
I disabled the Lock screen using
Enable or Disable Lock Screen - TenForumsTutorials

This was the old post of mine in which I described disabling it & I wrote this at the time so I am in no doubt about what I did & why.

Try3 said:

- - Disabling the Lock screen

This is the screen that is set by default on this particular device and is the thing that you need to swipe upwards on, after the monitor has been blank, to see your desktop.
Disabling this allows you to see the desktop straightaway without having to swipe on anything.
Enable or Disable Lock Screen - TenForumsTutorials [Option 2]
You would also need to use step 7 of Change Screen Saver Settings - TenForumsTutorials if you have set up signing-in after screensaver use.

I also found some notes about entering the Bios

- power button & volume up button pressed together opens Bios
- Del or Esc on keyboard also opens Bios
- Reboot to UEFI within Windows Settings, Update, Recovery also opens Bios

and

- F7 on keyboard opens the Boot options menu, the list of bootable devices. This list includes an Enter Bios entry.

[I've never been able to customise anything in the Bios. It just fails to acknowledge any changes I make.]

All the best,
Denis

clayto · 05 Oct 2022

All very interesting, thanks. I have just had an unwelcome event. On pressing Send in reply on another Forum the screen went black and blank. I spent a lot of time repeatedly pressing the power button as we have discussed above and finally got the Chuwi to boot up. I used the bootable USB as well. its flashing light was the first sign I was back in business. What I do not know is whether or not it would start without the USB. I sometimes try it without and it sometimes works, sometimes not. This only a fairly recent phenomena --- apart from one total crash the Chewi has been largely trouble free, apart from software issues.

Try3 · 06 Oct 2022

You could try booting from your Windows installation USB or Macrium reflect boot disk and running Startup repair.
Startup Repair - TenForumsTutorials
Macrium reflect users have posted that its boot disk has better startup repair capabilities than Windows installation USBs.
Macrium Reflect Boot disk - Fix Boot Problems - MacriumReflectKB
Use Macrium Reflect Rescue Media to Fix Windows Boot Issues - TenForumsTutorials

I assume you've done this
Backup and Restore Device Drivers - TenForumsTutorials
It is a good idea for all users to do this.
It is essential for Chuwi users because that company makes serious mistakes in its driver downloads.

Denis