W2K Pro keeps rebooting

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ray K
  • Start date Start date
R

Ray K

My desktop computer that I use for all my internet work had been working
okay all day. Then, I clicked on a link and it rebooted. It passes the POST
okay, shows the splash screen, and then the Microsoft default blue-green
screen that says "Windows is starting" appears. (This is not the notorious
blue screen of death.) A few seconds later, before getting to the desktop,
it starts
rebooting alll over again.

In the Safe Mode, I've run Malwarebytes Anti-Maleware, SUPERAntiSpyware Free
Edition, Crap Cleaner, Spybot and
some registry cleaner programs. Despite fixing minor problems, the looping
problem remains.

I can't run any of the online virus scanners because I can't connect to the
internet in the safe mode. If I were to buy a new AV program, it wouldn't do
much good because I can't download its latest updates.

(There may be a way to download updates into the laptop I'm using to post
this message and then transfer them to the problem computer, but I don't
know how to do that. I suppose I could install an updated AV in the laptop,
disconnect it from the internet modem, connect it to the desktop's ethernet
card, seup a network connection and scan
the desktop's hard drives from the laptop.)

I booted from the CD-ROM with the original W2K disc in it. I chose the
Repair/Console option. After going through whatever it does, I still have
the original problem. I may had done more harm than good, because the
attempted repair may have replaced some of the files updated with the 70+
hotfixes with original versions (if that's the way hotfixes work).

Event Viewer shows nothing for the day the problem started (July 8).

The computer is a homebuilt one that's been working properly for many
months. No new programs installed the day the problem started. SP4 plus over
70 hotfixes

Thanks for your suggestions.

Ray
 
Ray K said:
My desktop computer that I use for all my internet work had been working
okay all day. Then, I clicked on a link and it rebooted. It passes the
POST
okay, shows the splash screen, and then the Microsoft default blue-green
screen that says "Windows is starting" appears. (This is not the notorious
blue screen of death.) A few seconds later, before getting to the desktop,
it starts
rebooting alll over again.

In the Safe Mode, I've run Malwarebytes Anti-Maleware, SUPERAntiSpyware
Free
Edition, Crap Cleaner, Spybot and
some registry cleaner programs. Despite fixing minor problems, the looping
problem remains.

I can't run any of the online virus scanners because I can't connect to
the
internet in the safe mode. If I were to buy a new AV program, it wouldn't
do
much good because I can't download its latest updates.

(There may be a way to download updates into the laptop I'm using to post
this message and then transfer them to the problem computer, but I don't
know how to do that. I suppose I could install an updated AV in the
laptop,
disconnect it from the internet modem, connect it to the desktop's
ethernet
card, seup a network connection and scan
the desktop's hard drives from the laptop.)

I booted from the CD-ROM with the original W2K disc in it. I chose the
Repair/Console option. After going through whatever it does, I still have
the original problem. I may had done more harm than good, because the
attempted repair may have replaced some of the files updated with the 70+
hotfixes with original versions (if that's the way hotfixes work).

Event Viewer shows nothing for the day the problem started (July 8).

The computer is a homebuilt one that's been working properly for many
months. No new programs installed the day the problem started. SP4 plus
over
70 hotfixes

Thanks for your suggestions.

Ray
Click to expand...

If you can boot into Safe Mode then it is likely that one of the startup
programs causes the damage. Run msconfig.exe and do this:
- Disable all startup programs
- Disable all non-Microsoft services

Note also:
- While you perform these tests you must physically disconnect your machine
from the Internet.
- Your use of "some registry cleaner programs" (your words) is of concern.
Most of them claim that they fix lots of problems which, in fact, are
completely irrelevant. Some of them cause actual damage to the registry. I
wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.
 
Given the tools used you may have went from bad to worse. BSOD is almost
always hardware and or driver related. The stop code may help narrow it down
some.


--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
 
On this page, http://www.forum-22.com/28/1705482/ Dave Patrick suggested the
following:

If you can boot into Safe Mode then it is likely that one of the startup
programs causes the damage. Run msconfig.exe and do this:
- Disable all startup programs
- Disable all non-Microsoft services
Note also:
- While you perform these tests you must physically disconnect your machine
from the Internet.
- Your use of "some registry cleaner programs" (your words) is of concern.
Most of them claim that they fix lots of problems which, in fact, are
completely irrelevant. Some of them cause actual damage to the registry. I
wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Given the tools used you may have went from bad to worse. BSOD is almost
always hardware and or driver related. The stop code may help narrow it down
some.

***********
I don't see a Reply button on the forum-22 page, so I'm posting here.

Following Dave's suggestions, I went to the msconfig's Services tab and
unchecked all non-Microsoft items and went to the Startup tab and disabled
all items. Same problem remains.

I do NOT see the BSOD. Following the splashscreen I see the background color
of the desktop (before any of the icons appear). The words "Windows is
starting" appear for about 2 seconds before the rebooting starts. It's just
like I pressed the Reset button on the front of the computer.

For what it's worth, it takes about 35 seconds for each start/restart cycle.

Dave, please also respond in the original newsgroup. I found your response
by accident by googling on "computer keeps rebooting" (without quotes) and
omitting the reference to w2k to broaden the responses from people with
other operating systems and the same problem.

Thanks,

Ray
 
Ray K said:
My desktop computer that I use for all my internet work had been working
okay all day. Then, I clicked on a link and it rebooted. It passes the
POST
okay, shows the splash screen, and then the Microsoft default blue-green
screen that says "Windows is starting" appears. (This is not the notorious
blue screen of death.) A few seconds later, before getting to the desktop,
it starts
rebooting alll over again.

In the Safe Mode, I've run Malwarebytes Anti-Maleware, SUPERAntiSpyware
Free
Edition, Crap Cleaner, Spybot and
some registry cleaner programs. Despite fixing minor problems, the looping
problem remains.

I can't run any of the online virus scanners because I can't connect to
the
internet in the safe mode. If I were to buy a new AV program, it wouldn't
do
much good because I can't download its latest updates.

(There may be a way to download updates into the laptop I'm using to post
this message and then transfer them to the problem computer, but I don't
know how to do that. I suppose I could install an updated AV in the
laptop,
disconnect it from the internet modem, connect it to the desktop's
ethernet
card, seup a network connection and scan
the desktop's hard drives from the laptop.)

I booted from the CD-ROM with the original W2K disc in it. I chose the
Repair/Console option. After going through whatever it does, I still have
the original problem. I may had done more harm than good, because the
attempted repair may have replaced some of the files updated with the 70+
hotfixes with original versions (if that's the way hotfixes work).

Event Viewer shows nothing for the day the problem started (July 8).

The computer is a homebuilt one that's been working properly for many
months. No new programs installed the day the problem started. SP4 plus
over
70 hotfixes

Thanks for your suggestions.

Ray
Click to expand...
 
Ray,
I had the same problem you describe. After asking for help (as you are
doing), I was getting nowhere fast. I had remembered that I added a new I/O
card just before the problem began so I simply uninstalled and physically
removed the card. When this was done the problem disappeared. I suspect
that there is either a power supply limitation or an incompatability with
one of your pieces of hardware. Have you recently added a new device? You
can try uninstalling and removing non-essential devices one by one. Also, if
you have a voltmeter, measure all your voltages to make sure they are not
marginal. Hope this helps.
murray S.
 
murrays said:
Ray,
I had the same problem you describe. After asking for help (as you are
doing), I was getting nowhere fast. I had remembered that I added a new
I/O card just before the problem began so I simply uninstalled and
physically removed the card. When this was done the problem
disappeared. I suspect that there is either a power supply limitation or
an incompatability with one of your pieces of hardware. Have you
recently added a new device? You can try uninstalling and removing
non-essential devices one by one. Also, if you have a voltmeter, measure
all your voltages to make sure they are not marginal. Hope this helps.
murray S.
Click to expand...

Murray,

I have not added any hardware, and since I can run four hours in the
Safe Mode, I don't have a power supply problem.

I finally bit the bullet and reformatted c: and did a fresh install of
W2K and all the programs. I probably wasted more time trying to prevent
having to go through this ordeal than actually doing it. Everything is
perfect now.

It didn't occur to me until just a day or so that I should have tried
deleting all files in all c: folders except those that are part of W2K.
I would have deleted them several folders at a time and rebooted after
each deletion. With luck, the problem would have disappeared, hopefully
before I had deleted all my program files and related folder. I keep
that in mind the next time.

Anyway, there is a comforting feeling about a fresh install. It removes
months of clutter.

Thanks,

Ray
 
Ray said:
I finally bit the bullet and reformatted c: and did a fresh install of
W2K and all the programs. I probably wasted more time trying to prevent
having to go through this ordeal than actually doing it. Everything is
perfect now.
Click to expand...

This is often the case. Many people shy away from a reinstall but I've
done it a number of times over the years and it's never been that bad
with a little planning - maybe half a day on the weekend. And in the
process you get rid of all the stuff you rarely if ever use and end up
with a leaner meaner system.
It didn't occur to me until just a day or so that I should have tried
deleting all files in all c: folders except those that are part of W2K.
I would have deleted them several folders at a time and rebooted after
each deletion. With luck, the problem would have disappeared, hopefully
before I had deleted all my program files and related folder. I keep
that in mind the next time.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that would really help, but if you want to try it in future
can I suggest that instead of deleting the folders, you just change
their names slightly? Say add an "x" to the start of the folder name.
That is sufficient to prevent anything in those folders from loading but
is less destructive.
 
Sid said:
I'm not sure that would really help, but if you want to try it in future
can I suggest that instead of deleting the folders, you just change
their names slightly? Say add an "x" to the start of the folder name.
That is sufficient to prevent anything in those folders from loading but
is less destructive.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea. Thanks.
 
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