Big trouble

[Nancy]

My son's computer showed what appeared to be a normal
update for sp2. I installed it and upon attempting to
restart the computer entered an unending loop of
attempted unsuccessful restarts. I attempted to restart
in safe mode - but as far as I can get is the screen to
choose safe mode. At that point - if I choose safe mode
it begins its cycle of failed restarts. HELP!!

 

[davexnet02]

My son's computer showed what appeared to be a normal
update for sp2. I installed it and upon attempting to
restart the computer entered an unending loop of
attempted unsuccessful restarts. I attempted to restart
in safe mode - but as far as I can get is the screen to
choose safe mode. At that point - if I choose safe mode
it begins its cycle of failed restarts. HELP!!

See if you can get to the command prompt. If you can,
run system restore and revert to prior to the install of SP2.
Then use the event viewer to see if any useful messages
regarding the problem(s) were logged.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q304449
Dave

 

[Guest]

Dave - if you mean try to go into safe mode with command
prompt - tried and the same thing happened. I'm just at
a loss!

Thanks. Nancy

 

[Chad Harris]

Nancy--

When it gets you to the Windows Advanced Options Screen, you can always
choose Last Known Good and try to recover with that (but it has a high rate
of unsuccess whatever the cause of the boot problem.)

If there's no possible way to use SR, I'd boot from your XP CD and do a
repair/upgrade install. I think its your best bet. Once you recover, you
may want to reinstall SP2 again. You'll need to F2 to the bios, to change
your boot order to make sure that the CD-ROM is ahead of the hard drive and
the "A" drive.

Here are instructions and screen shots: (You'll see the XP install screens
with the product key, but this will substitute the files you need to
repair). I think this is much better for you than a "parallel" install to
another folder or drive because you will get all your settings back and your
data, and you won't have the time consuming chore of retrieving them and
possibly having to reload your applications

See:

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];Q315341

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315222&Product=winxp

How to start your computer by using the Last Known Good Configuration
feature in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307852&Product=winxp

hth,

Chad Harris
__________________________________________________________

My son's computer showed what appeared to be a normal
update for sp2. I installed it and upon attempting to
restart the computer entered an unending loop of
attempted unsuccessful restarts. I attempted to restart
in safe mode - but as far as I can get is the screen to
choose safe mode. At that point - if I choose safe mode
it begins its cycle of failed restarts. HELP!!

 

[RonK]

Recover your computer to a bootable state and remove Windows XP SP2
To recover your computer to a bootable state and remove Windows XP SP2,
follow these steps:
1.. Start your computer by using the Windows XP Recovery Console or by
using the Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), depending
on your situation. To start your computer by using the Recovery Console,
follow these steps:
1.. Insert the original release version of the Microsoft Windows XP CD
in your computer's CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.

Note Your computer must be configured to start from the CD drive or DVD
drive. For more information about how to do this, see your computer's
documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.
2.. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears, press a
key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
3.. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen is displayed, press R to start
the Recovery Console.
4.. When you are prompted, type the number that corresponds to the
installation of Windows that you want to access from the Recovery Console,
and then press ENTER. For example, if you have one installation of Windows
on your computer, type 1, and then press ENTER.
5.. When you are prompted, type the Administrator password, and then
press ENTER.
2.. At the command prompt in Recovery Console, type the following lines.
Press ENTER after each line.
cd $NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
batch spuninst.txt
exit

3.. Remove the Windows XP CD from your computer's CD drive or DVD drive,
and then restart your computer.
4.. Run the Windows XP SP2 Removal Wizard to remove Windows XP SP2. To do
this:
1.. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2.. At the command prompt, type the following lines. Press ENTER after
each line.
cd %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
spuninst.exe

3.. Follow the instructions to remove Windows XP SP2.