e-Machine stuck in continual loop

[Guest]

I have a T-2042 eMachine that was pre-loaded with Windows XP Home Edition.
So I do not have a Windows XP installation CD. I have tried to boot to
Windows XP, but it just continually loops restarting over and over. I have
tried to go into safe mode and it won't let me enter safe mode of any kind,
nor will it allow me to enter windows using the last know good configuration.
I am trying to find a way to gain access somehow to be able to pull off
some recent docs that were not backed up yet. I only have the restore CDs
that came with the pc, and I am trying to avoid wiping out my HDD at least
until I can get the docs. Does anyone have any suggestions for doing
this???? Thanks!

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Install the hard drive as a slave in another computer and then copy
everything you want.
You may need to Take ownership if NTFS file system was used:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

Contact eMachines for other possible options.

 

[ultra_classic]

I have a T-2042 eMachine that was pre-loaded with Windows XP
Home Edition.
So I do not have a Windows XP installation CD. I have tried
to boot to
Windows XP, but it just continually loops restarting over and
over. I have
tried to go into safe mode and it won't let me enter safe mode
of any kind,
nor will it allow me to enter windows using the last know good
configuration.
I am trying to find a way to gain access somehow to be able
to pull off
some recent docs that were not backed up yet. I only have the
restore CDs
that came with the pc, and I am trying to avoid wiping out my
HDD at least
until I can get the docs. Does anyone have any suggestions
for doing
this???? Thanks!

Greetings nlee,
You could have a hardware issue here or possibly a bad virus. Has your
computer been upgraded since you have owned it :?: Have you changed
any hardware or software lately :?: Out of the box, your machine
only had 128mb of DDR Ram installed :!: and had a power supply of
250watts :!: In my opinion 128mb RAM is not enough to effectively run
WIN XP. I believe 256mb is bare minimum.

I am wondering if you could have a memory issue here. If the memory
chip has gone south you will not be able to start Windows XP. The
Power Supply could also be a source of your present difficulty as
eMachines power supplies were marginal at best.

I would first pull the memory stick and get it tested at the local
guru. He can check your power supply also if you don’t own a digital
meter.
Best regards,
ultra_classic

 

[Chelsea]

Hello
This could be caused by a number of things. A virus is a possibility, but if
I were you I'd reset the MBR (Master Boot Record). This can be done from the
recovery console and also in other ways. First though do you know how to
access the recovery console?

Chelsea

 

[Guest]

I do have another pc I can try this with, but the OS is Win ME. Would that
create any conflicts?

 

[Guest]

I have thought that it might be a virus because of the way it is acting. I
only have Norton 2005 Anti-Virus. I used the CD to try to scan the HDD and
it did not find anything, but that is not conclusive I know. I just can't
get into safe mode, and I can get an A prompt but no C prompt. Very
frustrating.

I am going to try each oh the suggestions posted until if aor when something
works.

Thank you!

 

[Guest]

No I do not know how I can reach the recovery console. I have tried every
selection on the screen and tried to access safe mode and it just continues
to loop...restarting and shutting down over and over. I will try any
suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Guest]

ultra_Classic,

Sorry I did not answer the question as to recent hardware or software
upgrade. No I have not upgraded at all in the two years I have had it. I
was actually looking for memory last week. But I have not even cracked the
case open. Thank you.

 

[Chelsea]

Hiya
As you don't have a Windows XP CD you will only have one way of accessing
the recovery console and that is by using boot disks. Microsoft recognise
that computer builders do not always provide an installation CD and so make
available a set of 3.5 inch diskettes that allow you to get into Windows XP.
This is useless if you don't have a floppy drive and a working PC to make
the boot disks with, but I'll assume you do. You can download a utility for
making the boot disks here
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?freetext=xp+boot+disk&productID=&DisplayLang=en
It is very important to choose the right one. So select the utility for
Windows XP Home that corresponds to the service pack you have loaded on your
PC. Once you have created your boot disks-I think there may be five in
all-Boot your PC with Disk 1 in the A: drive. If your Bios is set to boot
first from the hard disk you will have to change the boot order so that the
A: drive boots first. Eventually you will get to a screen that asks if you
want to install Windows XP or do a repair using the recovery console. Select
to repair using the recovery console. The recovery console will load and you
must enter the administrator's password before it will let you do anything.
If you don't know the administrator's password leave that field empty and
hope that it wasn't set by the system builder. Once that is done you need to
reset the MBR. You can find out how to do that here
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkd_tro_ldau.asp

and that hopefully will get Windows XP running once more, if not we'll need
to rethink. Best of luck!

Chelsea

 

[Guest]

Hi,
I can access the website at work and download the utility to the floppies,
or I am sure I can use my daughter's pc to do it. I don't think there is an
administrator's passwork, I hope not. I will give this a shot. Thank you
all for your help and suggestions! I will be back to let you know what
happens.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I went to the site you linked to
download the utility and inserted the first disk. I was not prompted to
insert any other disks to continue the download to multiple disks. I
received a message that the disk capacity is too small, insert a disk with a
larger capacity. Operator error??

Thanks!

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Sort of, you are making a common error.
Do not download to floppy.
Instead download somewhere you can locate on the hard drive.
Then double click the icon and follow the prompts.
You will be prompted when to insert each floppy.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

That will work as long as file system is FAT 32.
If you are using NTFS, it will not work.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org

 

[Guest]

Thanks! I won't be able to do that until I can get to another computer. I
hope once I get the disks it will do the trick. I Really appreciate all the
help!

 

[Guest]

Hi ultra_Classic,

Thanks, I will be able to try all these suggestions tomorrow. I really do
appreciate all the good suggestions and help, I hope one of them works too!
I really do not want to wipe out my HDD until I have tried all I can to get
in there and get the docs I am after. That's going to have to be the last
resort....I am a bit stubborn when I am trying to find a solution to a
problem. Also, thanks for the link to the spec sheet. I will certainly post
back to everyone and let you know what happens. This is a great place to
find solutions!

I did have an emergency Norton disk, but I have not been able to find it
since a recent move. I do have a Norton CD which I tried to boot from and it
ran a scan and did not detect anything, but I still could not reach the C
prompt with it. I get an "invalid drive specification" message. I have
checked the BIOS and the HDD is recognised, so I am hoping that is a good
sign. I also went in and displayed the partition information...looked okay
there.

If I could just get to the C prompt I was going to try to find the dir my
docs are in and try to copy them to disk that way. Then just FDISK, reformat
the HDD and reload from the restore cds that came with the pc, and run a
virus scan.

Someone on this discussion also suggested I use another HDD to jump to the
existing HDD by attaching it as a master and setting the existing as a slave.
The other HDD I would be able to get a hold of and use does not have Win XP
OS on it, it has Win ME. Can you tell me if that would that create a
software conflict if I tried that? I do know that the existing drive is NTFS.
As to your virus roll suggestion, sorry not that knowledgable....how would I
do that? Thanks again!

 

[ultra_classic]

Hi ultra_Classic,

Thanks, I will be able to try all these suggestions tomorrow. I
really do
appreciate all the good suggestions and help, I hope one of them works
too!
I really do not want to wipe out my HDD until I have tried all I can
to get
in there and get the docs I am after. That’s going to have to
be the last
resort....I am a bit stubborn when I am trying to find a solution to a

problem. Also, thanks for the link to the spec sheet. I will
certainly post
back to everyone and let you know what happens. This is a great place
to find solutions!

I did have an emergency Norton disk, but I have not been able to find
it
since a recent move. I do have a Norton CD which I tried to boot from
and it ran a scan and did not detect anything, but I still could not
reach the C prompt with it. I get an "invalid drive specification"

message. I have checked the BIOS and the HDD is recognised, so I am
hoping that is a good sign. I also went in and displayed the
partition information...looked okay
there.

If I could just get to the C prompt I was going to try to find the dir
my
docs are in and try to copy them to disk that way. Then just FDISK,
reformat
the HDD and reload from the restore cds that came with the pc, and run
a
virus scan.

Someone on this discussion also suggested I use another HDD to jump to
the
existing HDD by attaching it as a master and setting the existing as a
slave.
The other HDD I would be able to get a hold of and use does not have
Win XP
OS on it, it has Win ME. Can you tell me if that would that create a

software conflict if I tried that? I do know that the existing drive
is NTFS.
As to your virus roll suggestion, sorry not that knowledgable....how
would I
do that? Thanks again!

Greetings nlee,
The more you post the more your situation points to a hardware issue.
If you blow all the dust out, clean the fans/heatsink etc. and it’s
still a no go, I would again suggest pulling out the Memory stick and
getting it tested, along with the voltages on the power supply prior
to wiping the drive. At this point you have nothing to lose.
I believe what Jupiter was referring to was taking the HD from the
computer with the problem and going to another working computer
(should have WIN XP) and attaching it as a ’slave’ so it could be
accessed and your files copied. I believe your current drive uses NTFS
(New Technology File System) because of the WIN XP. I’m not sure if
the WIN ME uses the NTFS file system or the FAT32 (File Allocation
Table 32) like WIN98SE. This would create a problem for you. Hopefully
both drives are formatted using the same file system.
Remember that NTFS can read a FAT32 slave drive but not the other way
around.

Please let us know how you make out.
Best of luck,
ultra_classic

 

[kyle]

Hello there. I've encountered the same problem. My XP Home Edition
with SP2 is also stuck in an endless loop which started on July 6th. I
tried booting in Safe Mode and all that but have had no luck. I hooked
up an older computer to the internet and searched for a solution,
stumbling upon this forum. I followed the advice below, but I'm
confused about the MBR issue. I used the Setup Boot Disks (It required
six.), and when I got to the screen for the repair I pressed "R". Then
it asked for the administrator's password. I left it blank, but that
was okay. Then I typed "fixmbr" - that was what I was able to gather
from your link below explaining about the MBR. Now the computer is
asking me if I want to write a new MBR. I don't know how to do this.
I'm afriad I'm going to destroy all chances of recovering my computer
if I proceed blindly like this. Please advise me how to proceed.
Should I type "Y" or "N"? If I type "Y", what will be the next step?
Thanks for your advice. Oh, by the way, the link you listed was for XP
Professional. I don't know if that matters, but anyway I couldn't
figure out what I should do next.

- Kyle

 

[Chelsea]

Hello there. I've encountered the same problem. My XP Home Edition
with SP2 is also stuck in an endless loop which started on July 6th. I
tried booting in Safe Mode and all that but have had no luck. I hooked
up an older computer to the internet and searched for a solution,
stumbling upon this forum. I followed the advice below, but I'm
confused about the MBR issue. I used the Setup Boot Disks (It required
six.), and when I got to the screen for the repair I pressed "R". Then
it asked for the administrator's password. I left it blank, but that
was okay. Then I typed "fixmbr" - that was what I was able to gather
from your link below explaining about the MBR. Now the computer is
asking me if I want to write a new MBR. I don't know how to do this.
I'm afriad I'm going to destroy all chances of recovering my computer
if I proceed blindly like this. Please advise me how to proceed.
Should I type "Y" or "N"? If I type "Y", what will be the next step?
Thanks for your advice. Oh, by the way, the link you listed was for XP
Professional. I don't know if that matters, but anyway I couldn't
figure out what I should do next.

- Kyle

Hi Kyle never thought about that statement being misleading ie asking if
I want to write a new MBR. Don't worry you don't write the MBR the operating
system does that for you.

Chelsea

 

[kyle]

I typed Y to write a new MBR. Suddenly I got a blue screen with a
message "A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to
prevent damage to your computer." Then it listed "Technical
Information:
*** STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0x80882211, 0xF93DEEBC, 0x00000000)".
I restarted the computer, and it went into the endless loop of trying
to boot Windows, failing, and restarting. I restarted with the Boot
Disks again and got to the Recovery Console and went through all the
steps of fixmbr and hit Y again. This time it said that a new Boot
Record was successfully written. I typed "Exit" at the C:\windows\
prompt, and the computer restarted, but unfortunately it went back into
the endless loop again. I tried restarting in Safe Mode, but it still
won't boot up Windows. If you have any other advice, it would be
greatly appreciated. By the way, my computer had up-to-date active
anti-virus software running prior to all the trouble.
-Kyle

 

[Chelsea]

I typed Y to write a new MBR. Suddenly I got a blue screen with a
message "A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to
prevent damage to your computer." Then it listed "Technical
Information:
*** STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0x80882211, 0xF93DEEBC, 0x00000000)".
I restarted the computer, and it went into the endless loop of trying
to boot Windows, failing, and restarting. I restarted with the Boot
Disks again and got to the Recovery Console and went through all the
steps of fixmbr and hit Y again. This time it said that a new Boot
Record was successfully written. I typed "Exit" at the C:\windows\
prompt, and the computer restarted, but unfortunately it went back into
the endless loop again. I tried restarting in Safe Mode, but it still
won't boot up Windows. If you have any other advice, it would be
greatly appreciated. By the way, my computer had up-to-date active
anti-virus software running prior to all the trouble.
-Kyle

Hi Kyle,
Sorry to hear it didn't work. I need you to run a little experiment for me.
If this allows you to get into Windows XP it is not fixed, but we will get a
good indication of what is wrong.

I want you to slightly modify Disk 6 of the recovery console boot disks
On a working PC open notepad and type dcpromo then save the text file as
dcpromo.log onto Disk 6, which will need to be in your diskette drive

On the machine that will not start properly use the recovery disks to enter
the recovery console as before.
In the Recovery Console type the following at the prompt

copy a:\dcpromo.log c:\windows\debug
attrib +R c:\windows\debug\dcpromo.log

There will not be acknowledgement that anything much has happened, but you
should just be returned to the prompt without any error message. Now exit
the recovery console and reboot Windows from the hard disk. Tell me if that
allows you to get into Windows. If it does remember this is not fixed!!!!

Chelsea











You cannot start in Safe Mode is that correct?