Computer Keeps Restarting When WinXP Starts To Load

[Guest]

Any help greatly appreciated!

I normally don't turn off my computer very often. I did the other night
because it seemed my computer was a little louder, like maybe one of the fans
being bad. So, I turned it off.

The next morning I turned it on, but just keeps restarting. It will go
through normal startup (detects drive, checks memory), then you see the WinXP
logo. This stays for a couple of seconds, there's a brief flash of a "blue
screen", then it restarts. After it restarts it goes to the screen where it
gives options: "Start Windows Normally", "Last Known...", etcetera. I try
each one, but they all do the same as mentioned above.

When looking in my case, I noticed my video card fan doesn't spin (I've had
some screen-redraw issues lately, as well), so I thought maybe that was the
problem. I then tried another video card--same thing.

I tried another hard drive--same problem.

I tried my hard drive in another computer--I believe the HD is OK, but
wouldn't start up because: missing or corrupt windows/inf/biosinfo.inf.

I also tried another power supply--same problem.

Any suggestions?

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
AMD 2400
1GB DDR
128 MB GF4 Ti4200-8x
Win XP

Thanks!

 

[crime prevention]

does it start in safe mode ?

Any help greatly appreciated!

I normally don't turn off my computer very often. I did the other
night because it seemed my computer was a little louder, like maybe
one of the fans being bad. So, I turned it off.

The next morning I turned it on, but just keeps restarting. It will go
through normal startup (detects drive, checks memory), then you see
the WinXP logo. This stays for a couple of seconds, there's a brief
flash of a "blue screen", then it restarts. After it restarts it goes
to the screen where it gives options: "Start Windows Normally", "Last
Known...", etcetera. I try each one, but they all do the same as
mentioned above.

When looking in my case, I noticed my video card fan doesn't spin
(I've had some screen-redraw issues lately, as well), so I thought
maybe that was the problem. I then tried another video card--same
thing.

I tried another hard drive--same problem.

I tried my hard drive in another computer--I believe the HD is OK, but
wouldn't start up because: missing or corrupt
windows/inf/biosinfo.inf.

I also tried another power supply--same problem.

Any suggestions?

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
AMD 2400
1GB DDR
128 MB GF4 Ti4200-8x
Win XP

Thanks!

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[Guest]

There's a multitude of things that could be causing your blue boot. Before
trying to do any extensive software repairs though, you should check the
integrity of your hard drive. Many blue boot problems I see at work are
caused by bad sectors.

There are two ways to do this:
1. With the hard drive slaved in another machine, download and run a utility
called HDTune (HDTune.com), target it at the hard drive, and run an error
check. If any red blocks come up, it means you've got bad sectors.

2. Hitachi has a free utility called DFT. (link:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm) It is an ISO file you can
mount onto CD. With the hard drive installed in your problem computer, you
can boot into the DFT utility using this CD and scan for bad sectors. Again,
red box is bad.

If the hard drive comes up with bad sectors, back up your data and replace
it. Reinstall Windows fresh from there.

If it checks out okay, try running a repair install of Windows using the
original XP disc. If all else fails, you can always format and reinstall to
troubleshoot a software issue.

As for your video card, you should never run a processing unit if the cooler
on it is not working properly. The card includes a fan because the
manufacturer ruled that passive cooling may damage it. Fortunately, VGA card
coolers are not expensive to replace.

 

[Guest]

No, tried:

safe mode
safe mode with command prompt
start normally
last known good config

 

[David Vair]

Can you boot with the XP CD, go to the recovery console and try doing a chkdsk, this may fix some
errors that could be on the drive and allow you to boot.

 

[Guest]

placed my HD in another computer as slave. when starting, it ran chkdsk and
"fixed" some errors. then i ran the HDTune which showed 4 red blocks. i'm
going to put the HD in my computer to see if any change.

 

[Guest]

Sounds good. Just so you know though, a drive running well should have no red
blocks at all. A failing one has one or two. Three or more blocks means all
hands abandon ship. (Back up your data before it's too late.)

My recommendation is to replace the drive. In all likelihood, you may not
even be able to reinstall Windows with that many bad sectors. The
installation could lock up partway through and then you'll be completely out
of luck.

Next time around, be sure to shut off your PC more often. Experts argue
about this, but I always argue that leaving it on does tend to shorten the
length of your hard drive.