Windows 2000 Booting and Restarting!!

[TMgo]

Hi,

My PC running Windows 2000 starts to boot up and then when it has completed
the last step "Starting Windows 2000" and I expect it to go into the step
where it shows the desktop and the applications - I hear a sound that sounds
like a switch turning off (a swish sound) and the PC re-starts the whole
boot process.

Could this be caused by a BIOS problem or a power supply problem ????

I have tried a number of things and have not been able to fix this - Help.

Thanks,

Ted M

 

[David Maynard]

Hi,

My PC running Windows 2000 starts to boot up and then when it has completed
the last step "Starting Windows 2000" and I expect it to go into the step
where it shows the desktop and the applications - I hear a sound that sounds
like a switch turning off (a swish sound) and the PC re-starts the whole
boot process.

Could this be caused by a BIOS problem or a power supply problem ????

Possibly but that symptom is often caused by a display card/driver problem
that causes a crash as the system is trying to start the desktop.

See if it boots into safe mode, check your system logs for error
notifications, and try reinstalling the display driver.

 

[TMgo]

Thanks - this lines up with a problem that I have been having with that PC.

Before this round of problems, I would turn on the PC and there would be no
response - no booting up, no beep sound .... I changed the video display to
get the system to even reboot - now it just keeps rebooting again and again
as soon as it completes Starting up Windows.

The sound I hear when the PC seems to restart the boot process again -
actually is not a 'swish' sound it is more the sound that you would get from
an electrical device such as a small fan being switched off (more of a TSsss
sound where the first TS is louder and then the sound drops in volume)

Thanks again,

Ted M

 

[TMgo]

2nd REPLY - or follow up on earlier reply....

I tried to see if I could resolve this problem by switching the video card,
I tried two PCI video cards and another AGP video card.... for a total of
three different video cards - NO LUCK. Now I am back to where I was before
the last problem - there is no response when I turn on the power on the PC
to start the boot process. I hear the disk drive spinning, I see a light on
the PC power light .... but nothing on the monitor!!!


Any suggestions as to what I can do, or what could be causing this?


Regards,

Ted M

 

[David Maynard]

2nd REPLY - or follow up on earlier reply....

I tried to see if I could resolve this problem by switching the video card,
I tried two PCI video cards and another AGP video card.... for a total of
three different video cards - NO LUCK. Now I am back to where I was before
the last problem - there is no response when I turn on the power on the PC
to start the boot process. I hear the disk drive spinning, I see a light on
the PC power light .... but nothing on the monitor!!!


Any suggestions as to what I can do, or what could be causing this?

Can't tell without knowing anything about what hardware you're talking
about. What motherboard, memory, display cards? What else is in it?

Did it ever work? How long? What changed before it started doing this?

 

[Adam S]

Any suggestions as to what I can do, or what could be causing this?

It sounds like your system is probably still trying to use the wrong video
drivers for the graphics card, as you have not said you have changed the
drivers, just swapped cards.

Boot into safe mode - press F8 during startup and choose safe mode.

When in safe mode change the video driver for standard VGA driver, reboot.

Your PC should reboot into normal windows, then install the propper drivers
for the graphics card you have installed.

Adam S

 

[TMgo]

Thanks Adam and David,

You have given me some things to try out.

David - to answer your question about the configuration of the PC let me
quickly list some of the items that make up the PC.

PC configuration is:
==============
AMD Atholon 700MZ CPU
Soyo SY-K7VIA motherboard
512 MB RAM
80 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM, 8 MB buffer drive
CD ROM drive - don't have the brand off hand
Have a PCI Video Card and/or two AGP Video cards that I have tried one at a
time
Power supply is a 300 Watt unit
Windows 2000 SP4


Regards,

Ted M

 

[David Maynard]

Thanks Adam and David,

You have given me some things to try out.

David - to answer your question about the configuration of the PC let me
quickly list some of the items that make up the PC.

PC configuration is:
==============
AMD Atholon 700MZ CPU
Soyo SY-K7VIA motherboard
512 MB RAM
80 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM, 8 MB buffer drive
CD ROM drive - don't have the brand off hand
Have a PCI Video Card and/or two AGP Video cards that I have tried one at a
time
Power supply is a 300 Watt unit
Windows 2000 SP4


Regards,

Ted M

Well, assuming you did, in fact, remove and reinstall the appropriate
driver for each card, rather than just 'change' them, I'd suggest you
repair, or reinstall if necessary, Internet Explorer and the VIA 4 in 1
drivers.

Failing that, I'd look to virus/adware/spyware infections.