Like most of you here I have a desktop with Windows XP pro on it. I would normally have it on at all times as it serves as my file server and my answering machine and my email/IM center, etc. But every once in a while I had to reboot to get the updates through or to install some new hardware. The freaky thing was that I had to press ESC or space or some other key, during the boot or else it would freeze. Don't ask me how I figured it or how this works, all I know is that it solved my problem.

So, yesterday, being a diligent geek that I am, I finally set down to debug it.... or at least I thought I would be able to, but ended up smashing my head into the wall. No records in system log, boot log is useless and the whole part of boot process right after it detects all your hardware seems to be a gray area.

I even suspected my memory modules and tried removing then one by one, which didn't help!

So frustrated that the only thing left it to bang my head against the wall some more