FreeBSD 4.8 local startup issues

[admin]

running:
FreeBSD 4.8-STABLE

okay I am having a strange issue.

after the last reboot after my FreeBSD machine became unreachable - and
required a power cycle.  mostly all processes listed in /usr/local/etc/rc.d
did not start.  this only happens very rarely and has happens after FreeBSD
crashed or is not brought down very cleanly.  can somebody recommend a way to
auto run these scripts - and make sure these files get executed on boot up.

how can I make sure processes are running correctly with automation.   

the following line exists in my /etc/defaults/rc.conf file:

--- snip ---

local_startup="/usr/local/etc/rc.d /usr/X11R6/etc/rc.d" # startup script dirs.

--- snip ---

- noah