XP keeps rebooting

  • Thread starter Thread starter DLC
  • Start date Start date
D

DLC

When I turn computer on, I get as far as the XP logo
screen, then for a quick flash, see a blue screen, too
quick to read however, then the machine restarts all over
again. It is an endless loop.

I am not able to go into safe mode or restore last known
good configuration.

Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.
 
Hello!

Was there something that changed on this machine? A device installation, or
software installation?

Recovering from something like this could be complex, and involve the
recovery console, and possibly a parallel installation to be able to edit
the registry of the original installation. It would be best to start with
the above question though, as the answer to what changed may give us a solid
direction to go.

- Kirk

--
--

Kirk Leeson [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups
 
Assuming you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, try a Repair
install as follows:
NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP will allow you to perform the above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.
 
Thanks for your reply. There were no software or hardware
installations that took place prior to this problem.



Thanks
 
That's a strong indication that partition is corrupted. When that happens,
there's simply nothing else to do but to start over, format and reinstall as
follows:
Boot with the XP CD in the drive. When you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.

After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:

To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

In your case, press ENTER.

Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.

You will then be taken to a screen with two options.

To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.

This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.

NOTE: the above will wipe the partition and you will lose all your data but
at this point, at least with regard to XP tools and means of recovery, that
is all that is left.
 
How does one know if one's computer is set to boot and is able to boot from the
CD ?
Is there a place or program somewhere where the user selects this option as a
default ?
Thanks.

------------------------
 
Go into the System Bios as follows. When the system boots, there is usually
a message on the first screen with instructions for entering setup, usually
directing you to hit a specified key. Once you are inside the BIOS (setup)
you need to navigate to the boot sequence, sorry can't help there, it's
different on different machines but if you go through the various pages in
this area you will ultimately find it. Then be sure the CD-ROM drive is
first in line in the boot sequence, if not, set it as such, save, exit and
reboot. If there's a bootable CD in the drive, the system will boot from
it.

In XP's case, if a bootable Windows Operating system is already installed on
the system, at some point during the boot process, you will be told to press
any key in order to boot from the CD. Otherwise, it will do so
automatically.
 
DLC said:
When I turn computer on, I get as far as the XP logo
screen, then for a quick flash, see a blue screen, too
quick to read however, then the machine restarts all over
again. It is an endless loop.

I am not able to go into safe mode or restore last known
good configuration.

Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hiya....
My PC also does this but ONLY after installing all the MS
critical updates chosen for me by windows auto update.luckily enough I had
set a restore point prior to running update so was able to boot into safe
mode and use system restore.................however I am worried that I have
an unpatched system (Win XP Pro SP1) any ideas what is causing this problem?

Thanx..... :-)
 
Look closely at the updates, you can get information on them at the Windows
Update site. Some tend to be more for servers than workstations. Also, if
you have a firewall, antivirus software that you keep up to date and run
regularly and if you connect through a router, you're pretty safe. All the
more so if you don't use file sharing services and always scan any
attachment or file you download before opening. I'm not saying you don't
need them. I am saying, if one causes a problem and you have taken all the
other precautions I've mentioned you have a strong level of protection
already.
 
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