Win XP continuously reboots but never starts

[Mike]

Using the repair option, I have just used my WinXP CD to reinstall my OS.
However, the system now continuously reboots without ever starting. I get
the Windows XP splash screen, but after a few seconds the computer reboots
again. This goes on and on until I shut the power off. Any help??

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Your hard drive might be damaged. Boot to CD and press 'r' for Recovery
Console. Run the command:
chkdsk /r
It might also acquire the hard drive diagnostic software from the drive
maker.

 

[Mike]

Thank you Mark for the quick reply. I've saw this suggestion in another
threat. I've tried it but unfortunately it didn't help. I want to try
FIXBOOT, but I am afraid that it will destroy the data that is on the disk.
Can you tell me what will happen if I do this? Will it reformat the disk, or
will it cause data already on the disk to be damaged or destroyed?

Thanks

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

If anything can help recover data, the two things I mentioned are about it.
Fixboot was done when you did the reinstall.

 

[Mike]

There is now an update to this situation:

I have installed Win XP on a spare hard drive and hooked up the damage drive
as a slave. The damaged drive still works, and all the data is available and
appears to be in good order. So now that all files and directories are
available, how can I make repairs so I can return this drive as my main c:
boot drive??

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry :
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q307545

 

[Mike]

The solution you suggest sounds very interesting as does one in a related
thread (you may have been involved in that too) and outlined at the following
site:
http://vespernet.co.uk/articles/XP+Restarts+on+Boot/.

Unfortunately, I cannot boot into safe mode, which both solutions require.
Everything I have read tells me the F8 key should be pressed during boot up
to get into safe mode. However, this key is reserved for the BBS Popup.
When I press it, i get a window which gives me the option to select which
drive I want to boot from (HDD, CD, DVD, A Floppy, etc).

I can't find this problem on any forum, and I've written the manufacturer of
the mother board in case that or the BIOS is the problem. Have you ever seen
this before? Any solution to this very WIERD problem?

Thanks

 

[envuk]

You must wait until *after* your BIOS has finished doing its business
before pressing F8. Literally, just before the XP logo should appear.
You might also see 'Verifying pool data' just before it.

Dan

 

[Mike]

Thank you to everyone who has replied. However, I have tried everyone but I
am still in the boot loop. I have tried the steps outlined by Mark to repair
the registry, and I have tried to copy the files in my System32 folder from a
hard drive that is working well to the damaged drive. Nothing works.

I just want to check to see if there is anything else to try. Do I need to
replace this drive with a new one? What I can't understand is that this
drive is still working to the extent that I can view all documents as folders
(when connected as a slave) although I can't start any programs or
applications from it, except pictures. So is the drive itself damaged or is
it the system files that are on the drive damaged?

Any additional thoughts???

 

[Rex]

Thank you to everyone who has replied. However, I have tried everyone but
I
am still in the boot loop. I have tried the steps outlined by Mark to
repair
the registry, and I have tried to copy the files in my System32 folder
from a
hard drive that is working well to the damaged drive. Nothing works.

I just want to check to see if there is anything else to try. Do I need
to
replace this drive with a new one? What I can't understand is that this
drive is still working to the extent that I can view all documents as
folders
(when connected as a slave) although I can't start any programs or
applications from it, except pictures. So is the drive itself damaged or
is
it the system files that are on the drive damaged?

Any additional thoughts???

Have you checked that all services are running.
Run services.msc from command prompt

Rex