Windows XP Constantly Rebooting

[Julie]

Just upgraded from Windows 98SE to Windows XP- clean install. Ever since- the computer has been randomly rebooting itself. Sometimes it would happen while in Windows XP- i.e. tried to map a network drive and it just rebooted. Most of the time it happens while starting up- gets to the XP splash screen and then reboots and goes to the option screen. Sometimes it will then get to a signon, other times it will loop several times. I've flashed the BIOS (fixed the ACPI error in Event Viewer), tried a different power supply, video card and memory, removed the modem and NIC, and removed the hdd from its caddy. Still reboots. Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Julie

 

[Malke]

Just upgraded from Windows 98SE to Windows XP- clean install. Ever
since- the computer has been randomly rebooting itself. Sometimes it
would happen while in Windows XP- i.e. tried to map a network drive
and it just rebooted. Most of the time it happens while starting up-
gets to the XP splash screen and then reboots and goes to the option
screen. Sometimes it will then get to a signon, other times it will
loop several times. I've flashed the BIOS (fixed the ACPI error in
Event Viewer), tried a different power supply, video card and memory,
removed the modem and NIC, and removed the hdd from its caddy. Still
reboots. Any other suggestions?

The first thing to do is to turn off the default of automatic booting on
failure. Do this by going to System>Advanced>Startup and
Recovery>Settings and under System Failure uncheck "Automatically
Restart". Now you should get the blue screen with the Stop Error. Write
down the error message number so you can research it. A good place to
start for information on Stop Errors is here:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm

Another question is whether you did an upgrade or clean install. If you
didn't do a clean install, you might want to try that. You certainly
sound technically savvy, so I assume you ran the Upgrade Advisor first
and know that your hardware can handle XP.

See what stop errors you get, and then post back with details if you
want more help.

Malke

 

[Julie]

I've already turned off the automatic restart in Control Panel- have not received a blue screen. No errors have been written to the system log either. It also reboots when I try to run a program from CD. I installed XP on a spare hard drive- same problem. I'm pretty much down to CPU/motherboard. I was hoping for another possibility.

 

[Guest]

Are you running Easy CD ver.5 as this is a sympton with
ver.5 on XP. If so, you need some of the newer updates
from the Roxio web site.

Seton

-----Original Message-----
Just upgraded from Windows 98SE to Windows XP- clean

install. Ever since- the computer has been randomly
rebooting itself. Sometimes it would happen while in
Windows XP- i.e. tried to map a network drive and it just
rebooted. Most of the time it happens while starting up-
gets to the XP splash screen and then reboots and goes to
the option screen. Sometimes it will then get to a
signon, other times it will loop several times. I've
flashed the BIOS (fixed the ACPI error in Event Viewer),
tried a different power supply, video card and memory,
removed the modem and NIC, and removed the hdd from its
caddy. Still reboots. Any other suggestions?

 

[Julie]

Not running any version of Roxio.

 

[Malke]

Not running any version of Roxio.

Julie, I have to agree with your assessment of cpu and/or motherboard.
Sorry.

Malke

 

[Julie]

Thanks for all of your input.

Julie

 

[Alex Nichol]

I've already turned off the automatic restart in Control Panel- have not received a blue screen. No errors have been written to the system log either. It also reboots when I try to run a program from CD. I installed XP on a spare hard drive- same problem. I'm pretty much down to CPU/motherboard. I was hoping for another possibility.

This sounds like hardware simply cutting off - check on fan as first
thing. I had a friend's machine do something similar which turned out
to be a loose bit of wire jiggling and shorting the reset button
connection on the motherboard. . .

 

[Guest]

The first thing to do is to turn off the default of automatic booting on
failure. Do this by going to System>Advanced>Startup and
Recovery>Settings and under System Failure uncheck "Automatically
Restart". Now you should get the blue screen with the Stop Error. Write
down the error message number so you can research it. A good place to
start for information on Stop Errors is here:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm

Another question is whether you did an upgrade or clean install. If you
didn't do a clean install, you might want to try that. You certainly
sound technically savvy, so I assume you ran the Upgrade Advisor first
and know that your hardware can handle XP.

See what stop errors you get, and then post back with details if you
want more help.

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"