My honda can't seem to start up the first time. It takes about 3 cranks before it gets going. And I am not sure, but it may have something to do with the fact that when I am riding down the road my car will "reboot" itself and then beep at me several times. I got my spark plugs changed and got the carbon removed from my throttle (2 methods my local shop used). I am in desperate need of finding out the true cause of this and if it is fixable. Thank you.

I would go over the entire ignition system. Consider replacing the distributor cap, rotor, Ignition Control Module (ICM), and coil. I recommend replacing the ICM and coil every 120,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. You may also want to replace the main relay, which is located to the left of the steering column. If you do the work yourself, this won't cost that much and should help restore reliability to the vehicle.

Does the CEL come one and go off normally, when the ignition switch is turned to ON? Not sure what "rebooting" itself means. How many miles are on the car?

I am mechanically illiterate. The car has 172,000 miles on it and it just started acting this way about 2 months ago. I am not sure what a CEL is so I can't really answer that question.

When I say rebooting it's like the entire electrical system shuts off and comes back on almost instantly... but in this process it kills the engine and then it beeps about 6 or 7 times. It cranks back up but usually because I am in gear (5spd).

I would definitely replace the ICM and coil. Here's how to do it yourself:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-46563-4.html#post265896

While you have the distributor open, it's worthwhile to replace the rotor and distributor cap. Replace one spark plug cable at a time in the new cap, so you don't cause a problem.

Where is the best place to purchase these needed parts?

. I bought a Borg Warner distributor cap for my Civic because it has brass contacts inside and comes with a lifetime warranty. Honda distributor caps only come with aluminum contacts. BW's rotor for my car also comes with a lifetime warranty. I bought these components at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

. I bought the replacement ICM for my car at Advance Auto Parts, because it was reasonably priced and came with a lifetime warranty.

. I bought the coil from RockAuto.com because their price for a TEC coil was half of what Honda wanted and it's OEM--the same one that came on my car.

I shop for price and warranty.

One more question. Will I be replacing the distributor cap or the distributor itself?

Just the distributor cap. However, you will be replacing the ICM and coil inside the distributor housing.