Can you solve the "PC Dead or Alive " Mystery?

Find the differences between two different states of the same PC operating at two different times. Solve the mystery.

Image 1: A PC screen displays a running "YouTube" video on a web browser. When the mouse moves, the cursor tracks the corresponding movement on the screen. A desktop App displays the current time and date. A USB cable is connected to a broadband Internet wireless modem and the desktop. The computer is 5 years old and has been in storage for several months, until today.

Image 2: A PC screen freezes and the cursor will not move. The web browser screen states it is not connected to the internet. A desktop App displays the current time and date always as 12:00 Jan. 1, 2006. The USB cable is not connected to a broadband internet wireless modem. The computer is 5 years old and has been in storage for several months, until today.

=== What happened to the family computer?

How to recreate: Find small children who like to press buttons, especially the power on / off switch as well as random buttons on the keyboard. Leave the computer unsupervised. Leave the room and go to work. Return hours later to find the computer screen frozen. The cursor is blinking and not responsive to mouse movements. The wireless USB cable is missing. It used to be connected to a Internet modem on one end and the desktop USB connection on the other end.

Sometimes, by turning the computer on and off, it will restart after displaying an error message about the system being forced to abort.

You must press either (f2) to review boot settings or (f10) to continue.

Press (f10). Sometimes it will start, other times only a blinking cursor appears on a black screen of death.

BIG QUESTION: Identify the root causes of this problem and how you would fix it.

The answers.

• The wireless Internet was down after the cable was removed. To fix it. Replace the cable and connect it to the desktop and wireless internet modem.
• Shut down the computer. Power down the computer.
• Power up the computer. Look for any error messages on the screen as it attempts to reboot. The system will attempt to restore default information, upon reboot.
• If the system fails to start and the screen displays a blinking cursor on a black screen for too long then there is something wrong. Review the prior error message(s). In this case the system clock displayed the time as "12:00 Jan. 1. 2006". This is an indication of a bad CMOS battery failure. The CMOS battery maintains the system time clock setting when the power is off. Since this 5 year old computer was turned off for several months and stored in the garage, the battery had died. To fix it, try charging it for 24 hours by keeping the computer power on. To reset the system time, in this case, press the (f2) key when attempting to restart the computer. Be careful. You are entering the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) which controls the basic device settings, including the system time.
• Reset the system time. Save the BIOS settings.
• Press (F10) key to continue, in this case. The system will attempt to load the Windows operating system. If it fails again then shut down the computer power for several hours to discharge all of the components.
• Root cause. The CMOS battery needed to be fully charged or replaced. The CMOS program needs the system time to control processing logic. The BOIS settings needed to be reset after it aborted. The Time Clock and Date was set up 12:00 Jan. 1, 2006, the day it was born. That was incorrect. The startup program could not find the proper Windows startup files based on the time and date. At this point, it is unknown what devices or programs failed to load properly.
• Solution: Recharge the CMOS battery for 24 hours. Plug in the wireless internet cable. Reboot.