Has Windows crashed?

[Jon]

My brother's computer is running XP HE, SP2.

Today, for no apparent reason, the computer suddenly rebooted itself. Upon
restarting, it reached the Windows logo, with the blue line beneath it,
almost opened a blue screen warning, then promptly rebooted again - this
continues in a loop. He's attempted to start the machine in safe mode, but
once the options have appeared (after pressing F8), it reboots itself yet
again.

He attempted a repair installation using the XP CD, but again, when the
repair option was selected, the computer reboots without performimg this.

The computer was left off for several hours incase heat was the issue, but
to no avail.

Has Windows crashed, and if so, what's the best course of action, please?

I know Norton Security Suite, AVG Anti-Spyware, IE6 and OE6 will have
probably been running at the time of the first crash.

Thank you for any help.

 

[Brian A]

Will it boot to Safe Mode? If it will click Start > Run, type in: eventvwr.msc
and press Enter.
Especially check both Applications and System events in the right pane for any event
warnings.
Double click a warning to see a description and a possible solution via link included
in description.

You could also try a System Restore:
How to start the System Restore tool at a command prompt in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304449/

and/or
How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-us

How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434/en-us

How to troubleshoot by using the System Configuration utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560/en-us

If it won't boot in Safe mode disconnect any devices and add on cards that are not
essentially needed to boot to the OS. If it now successfully boots to Safe Mode
and/or the normal desktop, reconnect each device one at a time and boot until you
find the device causing the problem.

If that fails test the RAM to check its integrity:
http://www.memtest86.com/
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp



If the RAM fails replace any bad modules.

If it passes try running the Recovery Console:



Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314058

How to enable an administrator to log on automatically in Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312149

How to install the Windows Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;216417

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654

How to remove Windows Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;555032

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



--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Jon]

Thanks, Brian. I was just thinking... we had severe gale force winds today,
which I believe, caused a few power surges... could the PSU be causing this,
if it's been affected?

In the meantime, I'll try all the options below and report back.

 

[Brian A]

Thanks, Brian. I was just thinking... we had severe gale force winds today, which
I believe, caused a few power surges... could the PSU be causing this, if it's been
affected?

In the meantime, I'll try all the options below and report back.

If the machine was on at the time and any spikes came through the lines, yes, it's
possible something was damaged.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Jon]

Brian,

I couldn't get into Windows at all - in the end, we replaced the hard drive
with a new one, XP loaded as it should and the computer operated correctly
again. We put the old drive into an enclosure, to access the data on it, and
it didn't sound as if it was even spinning. 'Chkdsk' came back with "the
file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable", and after a
second attempt, couldn't access the disc at all.

So, that seemed to confirm it was a dead hard drive, rather than a Windows
or other hardware problem.

Thanks very much for your help - I've printed out the info from the links
you posted - interesting reading!

Regards,
Jon

 

[Brian A]

Before totally trashing the disk, download and run a diagnostic utility from the
manufacturer to check it.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Jon]

Will do, Brian.

Before totally trashing the disk, download and run a diagnostic utility
from the manufacturer to check it.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375