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Boot Loop

F

FatteyMattey

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Messages
369
When I boot my machine it will detect everything fine, then it will get all the way to WindowsXP log on screen, and then it will black out and restart the boot up process all over again.

Any suggestions?
 
It is extremely difficult to troubleshoot this when we have (literally!) no information! All I do know is that you have a computer and WindowsXP.

1) What kind of computer? (CPU, installed memory, motherboard, vid card, etc.)
2) What were you doing before this happened? (new install, updated XP, crash)
3) What steps (if any) have you taken to solve the problem?

Much easier to help when people give specific information.

-Skystalker
 
Can you get into safe mode? Need more info ... is this a new install?
 
  • Not a new install.
  • Wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. It just happened when I started the computer up.
  • No, I cannot get into safemode.
  • Dont know a lot of the specifics, but, AMD 2.0 machine, radeon 9800pro, i dunno
  • No, it isn't overclocked.
 
FatteyMattey said:
  • Not a new install.
  • Wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. It just happened when I started the computer up.
  • No, I cannot get into safemode.
  • Dont know a lot of the specifics, but, AMD 2.0 machine, radeon 9800pro, i dunno
  • No, it isn't overclocked.
Click to expand...

Did you just install the windows updates? It is possible that caused a conflict of some sort.

More likely you have a virus.

-Skystalker
 
Naw, i dont believe anyone installed the updates.

Virus, hmm... would that make it not boot at ALL though? Because if that's the case it would be near impossible to fix wouldnt it
 
FatteyMattey said:
Naw, i dont believe anyone installed the updates.

Virus, hmm... would that make it not boot at ALL though? Because if that's the case it would be near impossible to fix wouldnt it
Click to expand...

Depends on the Virus. Remember that it does NOT boot... it just STARTS to boot. If a critical windows file is corrupted, then you are done.

Hey, you look at the most likely things first.

Honestly, my friend, it could be ANYTHING. If it is hardware, then there is a number of things it could be. Heat, Memory, bad HDD.

If you have a second machine, you could install the drive and do a virus check of the drive that way. This is relatively safe.

You could attempt an overtop install of Windows XP (insert disk, got through until it offers you to "fix" the install... do not try and use the recovery console unless you know what you are doing).

Be sure to have a firewall up (Zone Alarm or a router/hardware firewall) before connecting to the internet unless you have installed Service Pack 2.

You will have to do all the updates again, but you might be able to save any data you have, and get the machine back to (nearly) what it was, minus whatever damage the virus did. This is a last resort.

I do this on a regular basis (part time tech) so I can tell you this is not an exact science. We don;t know what caused the problem, so you need to try several things.

Hope you did a backup recently!

Anyways, good luck.

-Skystalker
 
....back up and check the basics first;

- Will it run Memtest86+ without error (this more or less makes sure the CPU is at least functional as well)....??
- Will the hard drive pass the manufacturere's tests with no errors?

Once you can confirm basic hardware health, my guess would be there's a driver that isn't loading, and piling up the machine on boot. Try booting into "safe" mode and see what you can see from there.

Luck - B.B.S.
 
Yeah follow BBS advise, and make sure the HD test program runs the FULL test, not the basic one ;)

Good Luck

OldMX
 
BlindedByScience said:
....back up and check the basics first;

- Will it run Memtest86+ without error (this more or less makes sure the CPU is at least functional as well)....??
- Will the hard drive pass the manufacturere's tests with no errors?

Once you can confirm basic hardware health, my guess would be there's a driver that isn't loading, and piling up the machine on boot. Try booting into "safe" mode and see what you can see from there.

Luck - B.B.S.
Click to expand...

BBS... bro, his machine will not load into safe mode.

No, I cannot get into safemode.
Click to expand...

And, as far as an HDD utility for him to use? I would suggest you go to your HDD manufacturer's website and use their diagnostic tools. That is a good suggestion.

Memtest86+ can be found here.

-Skystalker
 
Did you try a repair install of XP? That usually solves my boot loop problems....oops...someone suggested that already :).
 
i just fixed a problem exactly like this just 2 days ago. the RAM was bad.

get a friend or use another computer to download and burn MemTest86+. that is now my favorite tool in my workshop.

the computer just randomly restarted. it eventually got to the point where it couldnt get to the windows loading screen.

RAM should always be the first thing to check. its simple and easy and completely eliminates one possibility in just 30 minutes. extemely handy for troubleshooting.
 
Alright, thanks everyone, I'll try all your suggestions sometime today and let you know how things play out.

-Matt
 
If all else fails. Format and reinstall windows. Solution for all software problems, lol.
 
Last time I had to reinstall windows to fix something like this. Other times the HD was bad so I used HDD Regenerator to fix the problem. On one occasion the motherboard is shot and I had to replace the motherboard.

Tons of things can cause windows to loop that is the annoying part about it, just have to go down the list of things to do when trying to figure it out.

I would start with a system restore since that will cost you no money. Would also get an offline boot disk so that you can recover your file on your HD and transfer them onto a secondary hard drive. I use Bart PE for this kind of task.
 
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