Computer Keeps Trying to Boot Over & Over - Harddrive Ba

[lohryx5]

Just got back from a 7 month deployment overseas. Wife says the
computer (Medion, Windows XP Home, 3.2GHz Pentium IV Hyper-Thread,
512 DDR SDRAM, dual layer DVD/CD+/-RW x2, no floppy) not sure what
else might help) would randomly restart on its own and boot back up.
This got progressively worse during the past week. Uninstalled a
bunch of Nikelodian flash games the kids had downloaded. Yesterday, I
updated Spybot and Ad-Aware, ran them, and cleaned up a few other
things.

Then, for no reason, the computer shut off. The Microsoft logo came up
(the blue bar got half way across), I saw the "blue screen"
for a split second, then the following options came up for
restarting:

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Start Windows Normally (last known good configuration)

I started with Start Normally, no joy. Proceeded through the other
three options, no joy. Can't even get in through Safe Mode. If I let
it count down the 30 seconds, it will just keep trying to boot and
never get there. I F8 in Advanced Options during the next boot
attempt and none of those options worked either. I did Disable the
auto restart so I could see what error codes came up on the
"blue screen." This is what I got (minus some other text
about power interruptions:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent
damage to your computer. If this is the the first time you've seen
this error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears
again, follow these steps: Disable or uninstall any any anti-virus,
disk defragmentation or backup utilities. Check your hard drive for
configuration, and check for any updated drivers. Run CHKDSK /F to
check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information: *** STOP: 0x00000024 (0x00190203, 0x823790B0,
0xC0000102, 0x00000000)

I tried to use the System Recovery disk that came with the computer to
boot from it. When selecting CD-ROM it gives me these choices:

1. Recovery of Startup Files
2. Recovery of System & Driver Files
3. Restoring Factory Settings
4. Reboot

Option 1 didn't work. It keeps starting over and asks if I want to
boot from the Hard Drive or the CD-ROM. Just a neverending circle.
Option 2, no joy, didn't do much. And I'd prefer not to restore to
factory settings or anything that will require me to format my
harddrive at this point. I have too many family pictures and personal
files that I can't afford to lose, especially since none of them have
been backed up to disk in the 7 months that I was away.

Appreciate any help.
V/R,
John

 

[Guest]

you need to put in your windows cd boot to cd let it go like is going to
install. when it sees you already have a system on the drive it will ask if
you want to repair the current system. Select that option. Your pictures will
still be there but the registry will rewrite so you have to reinstall the
software for your applications. All your data files will still be there.

Good luck to you. You shouldn't have a problem

 

[Doug]

I would check the obvious first, such as, is it overheating?? I would open
the case, and check to see if there's excessive dust build up, and make sure
all the fans are running 1st. If all is good, then try the restore, and if
still no love, look into your RAM. Process of elimination..... Hope this
helps!

Doug

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Just got back from a 7 month deployment overseas. Wife says the
computer (Medion, Windows XP Home, 3.2GHz Pentium IV Hyper-Thread,
512 DDR SDRAM, dual layer DVD/CD+/-RW x2, no floppy) not sure what
else might help) would randomly restart on its own and boot back up.
This got progressively worse during the past week. Uninstalled a
bunch of Nikelodian flash games the kids had downloaded. Yesterday, I
updated Spybot and Ad-Aware, ran them, and cleaned up a few other
things.

Then, for no reason, the computer shut off. The Microsoft logo came up
(the blue bar got half way across), I saw the "blue screen"
for a split second, then the following options came up for
restarting:

It sounds like it's over-heating. Have you opened the case to blow out
the dust and verify that all of the fans are working properly?

Once you're certain that the cooling is good, start with testing the
RAM. You might try MemTest86: http://www.memtest86.com/ It's free.
Then you can download and use the hard drive maufacturer's diagnostic
utility to test the hard drive. If both RAM and hard drive test out
clean, check with the motherboard manufacturer for any diagnostic
utilities.


--

Bruce Chambers

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Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Anna]

John:
As others have indicated this could well be an overheating problem...
Or it could be bad RAM...
Or it could be a defective HDD...
Or it could be a defective motherboard...
Or it could be a defective graphics/video card...
Or it could be... (fill in the blanks)

Get the picture? It's really impossible to tell at this point what's causing
the problem. It could even be due to a virus infestation or corrupt system
files resulting from one cause or another.

What I would probably do in a similar situation at this point is to make an
initial assumption that the problem is software-related, and as such,
undertake a Repair install of the XP OS and hope that this would resolve the
problem because it *is* a software-related issue. The problem here is that
apparently you're dealing with an OEM machine and you don't have a copy of
the XP OS that will allow you to undertake such a Repair install with your
OEM-type machine.

Since you were able to post your query I guess you have available another
PC. Would it be possible to install the Merion HDD in that machine as a
secondary drive and access its contents in order to at least copy the
important files/folders that you need? That would be the best initial course
of action at this point if it was practical in your circumstances. Then (and
we're still assuming the problem is software-related) you would make a fresh
install of the OS on the Merion HDD, understanding that you would need to
reinstall whatever programs/applications you wanted. But at least you would
have the data you want.

But if it's not practical in your situation...

And assuming that this is a hardware-based problem, consider the
following...

1. Check out the HDD with a diagnostic utility that is nearly always
available from the website of the manufacturer of the HDD. Obviously you'll
have to determine its make. Presumably you can get this info from whatever
documentation you have, or from Merion or from inside your computer case to
see if there's a manufacturer's label on the HDD. But if worse comes to
worse you can probably use the HDD diagnostic (Drive Fitness Test) from
Hitachi at http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm
(allows you to create a bootable floppy disk or bootable CD to perform the
diagnostic test). That HDD diagnostic seems to work on a variety of
different manufacturers' HDDs. But it would be best, if possible, to obtain
the diagnostic from the manufacturer of your computer's HDD.

2. If the HDD proves defective and you're unable to access its contents
through the method I described above, then I believe you should best take
your computer to a local repair shop and see if (at least) they can retrieve
your data.

3. Assuming the HDD checks out OK, but there seems to be an indication that
this still is a hardware-type problem...

Assuming it *is* a hardware-based problem, in most cases the only "tried &
true" way for the "fix" is to substitute components on a one-by-one basis,
e.g., a different power supply, new RAM, changing the video card, etc., etc.
Sometimes one lucks out because the problem is nothing worse than a loose
data or power or fan cable or improperly seated RAM or video card or some
such and that is immediately apparent to the user after getting inside the
computer case. But in most cases it would be necessary for the consumer to
have the machine looked at by a repair shop.
Anna

 

[Rock]

Just got back from a 7 month deployment overseas. Wife says the
computer (Medion, Windows XP Home, 3.2GHz Pentium IV Hyper-Thread,
512 DDR SDRAM, dual layer DVD/CD+/-RW x2, no floppy) not sure what
else might help) would randomly restart on its own and boot back up.
This got progressively worse during the past week. Uninstalled a
bunch of Nikelodian flash games the kids had downloaded. Yesterday, I
updated Spybot and Ad-Aware, ran them, and cleaned up a few other
things.

Then, for no reason, the computer shut off. The Microsoft logo came up
(the blue bar got half way across), I saw the "blue screen"
for a split second, then the following options came up for
restarting:

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Start Windows Normally (last known good configuration)

I started with Start Normally, no joy. Proceeded through the other
three options, no joy. Can't even get in through Safe Mode. If I let
it count down the 30 seconds, it will just keep trying to boot and
never get there. I F8 in Advanced Options during the next boot
attempt and none of those options worked either. I did Disable the
auto restart so I could see what error codes came up on the
"blue screen." This is what I got (minus some other text
about power interruptions:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent
damage to your computer. If this is the the first time you've seen
this error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears
again, follow these steps: Disable or uninstall any any anti-virus,
disk defragmentation or backup utilities. Check your hard drive for
configuration, and check for any updated drivers. Run CHKDSK /F to
check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information: *** STOP: 0x00000024 (0x00190203, 0x823790B0,
0xC0000102, 0x00000000)

I tried to use the System Recovery disk that came with the computer to
boot from it. When selecting CD-ROM it gives me these choices:

1. Recovery of Startup Files
2. Recovery of System & Driver Files
3. Restoring Factory Settings
4. Reboot

Option 1 didn't work. It keeps starting over and asks if I want to
boot from the Hard Drive or the CD-ROM. Just a neverending circle.
Option 2, no joy, didn't do much. And I'd prefer not to restore to
factory settings or anything that will require me to format my
harddrive at this point. I have too many family pictures and personal
files that I can't afford to lose, especially since none of them have
been backed up to disk in the 7 months that I was away.

The first thing you should do is backup the important data before doing any
repairs. Put the drive in another XP or Win2k computer and copy the
important information.