XP Repair Install Endless Setup Loop

[Six Underground]

This afternoon, as a last resort, I attempted to do a repair install
on a machine running XP Pro SP3. I used media of the appropriate
version and service pack to do so.

Windows setup copied all files from the CD with no issues noted.
However, when that phase had finished and the machine rebooted into
setup, the situation changed. About 2 minutes into setup, the install
process crashed, with a fatal error reported. This brought up a
dialog in which I could view the error message, which was rather
cryptic and nothing I could really use at the time. When I clicked
the OK on the dialog box, the machine rebooted, then Windows
re-entered setup again. The error message simply repeats at the same
point during setup, and I enter an infinite setup/crash/reboot cycle.

I powered down the machine an restarted the process by booting to a
different CD of the same version, but this did not help at all.

So now, I am left with a system unable to boot at all, and I'd like to
get back to where I was before this all started. What I need to know
is how to remove the flag that tells Windows to enter setup during
boot. I went in with recovery console and gave everything a good
inspection, but couldn't find the flag I'd like to reset. Where is
this information stored, and what is the procedure to remove the setup
flag?

Thanks for any help.

6U

 

[dadiOH]

This afternoon, as a last resort, I attempted to do a repair install
on a machine running XP Pro SP3. I used media of the appropriate
version and service pack to do so.

Windows setup copied all files from the CD with no issues noted.
However, when that phase had finished and the machine rebooted into
setup, the situation changed. About 2 minutes into setup, the install
process crashed, with a fatal error reported. This brought up a
dialog in which I could view the error message, which was rather
cryptic and nothing I could really use at the time. When I clicked
the OK on the dialog box, the machine rebooted, then Windows
re-entered setup again. The error message simply repeats at the same
point during setup, and I enter an infinite setup/crash/reboot cycle.

I powered down the machine an restarted the process by booting to a
different CD of the same version, but this did not help at all.

So now, I am left with a system unable to boot at all, and I'd like to
get back to where I was before this all started. What I need to know
is how to remove the flag that tells Windows to enter setup during
boot. I went in with recovery console and gave everything a good
inspection, but couldn't find the flag I'd like to reset. Where is
this information stored, and what is the procedure to remove the setup
flag?

Thanks for any help.

Use FIXBOOT and/or FIXMBR from the repair console.



--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Maybe just ready for a change? Check it out...
http://www.floridaloghouse.net

 

[Six Underground]

Use FIXBOOT and/or FIXMBR from the repair console.

Thanks. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and will post back with
the result.

6U

 

[Six Underground]

Use FIXBOOT and/or FIXMBR from the repair console.

I gave both commands a shot, and both reported success, but
the machine still boots into setup.

I had another look at boot.ini, but it appeared to be normal. I also
looked for any strange files in the root directory. Nothing found.

I will study this further.

6U

 

[Six Underground]

Start the computer and watch the screen for a boot menu. If one appears,
use the "Up/Down" arrow keys to switch it back to the old operating system.
If you don't see one, try tapping the F8 key repeatedly during startup.

Hi Ben.

Thanks for the tip. I will try it later this week, and will report
back with what I find.

Regards,

6U

 

[Six Underground]

Start the computer and watch the screen for a boot menu. If one appears,
use the "Up/Down" arrow keys to switch it back to the old operating system.
If you don't see one, try tapping the F8 key repeatedly during startup.

Ben

Tapping F8 brings up the boot menu, including safe mode, etc.
However, no matter which option I select, the PC continues to
boot into setup. As such, I'm still trying to locate the setup flag.

Regards,

6U

 

[Six Underground]

Try using "bootcfg /rebuild" from the recovery console.

Ben

Hi Ben.

That's one of the first things I tried. Initially, I thought setup
may have modified boot.ini, but I later found that to be false.
I tried all permutations of the bootcfg command, all to no avail.
In addition, at another poster's suggestion, I also used the
fixboot and fixmbr commands.

I saw this issue written up a few years ago, but for the life of me,
I can't remember where I saw it posted.

If I can't find a solution in the next couple of days, I think I'm
just going to bite the bullet and do a clean install.

Thanks much for your help!

Regards,

6U

 

[Six Underground]

There may be an entry in the registry.
Try hitting F8 and selecting "Last known good configuration".

Ben

Yep.. that was one of the boot options. Tried it, and the result is
still the same.

Enjoy the day.

6U

 

[Ken Springer]

If I can't find a solution in the next couple of days, I think I'm
just going to bite the bullet and do a clean install.

I've been watching this thread, wondering when you were going to
surrender to a full install.

What I've never understood is why it takes some folks so much time to
get a fresh install done. For me, the worst case scenario is 2.5 days.
But I just did one in a single day, including installing some 3rd
party software.

And I do not use slipstream disks, don't know how. And, I do set up the
computers I repair differently than most, making it easier to get a full
install done quicker the next time around.

--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2

 

[Six Underground]

What I've never understood is why it takes some folks so much time to
get a fresh install done. For me, the worst case scenario is 2.5 days.
But I just did one in a single day, including installing some 3rd
party software.

Hi Ken.

That would be my approach, if the machine were mine. In this case,
however, it wasn't. The gal that the machine was assigned to doesn't
really back up any data to speak of. I ended up pulling the stuff off
of the drive using a bootable pre-installed environment. It worked
out fairly well. Seeing as that phase is over, I can now do with the
drive what I wish.

I'm still amazed that the repair install failed. I guess there was
just too much damage to the operating system for the procedure to
handle.

Enjoy the day.

6U

 

[Ken Springer]

Hi, 6U,

Hi Ken.

That would be my approach, if the machine were mine. In this case,
however, it wasn't. The gal that the machine was assigned to doesn't
really back up any data to speak of. I ended up pulling the stuff off
of the drive using a bootable pre-installed environment. It worked
out fairly well. Seeing as that phase is over, I can now do with the
drive what I wish.

Now I understand why you spent so much time with this. Me, I would have
done the best I could to get her data off a lot earlier, and gotten on
with it some time ago. It would be a hard lesson for her to lose some
data, but you usually learn from those mistakes.

Me, I would have pulled the drive, attached a USB adapter, and booted a
Linux Live CD on another computer to get the data. Then I don't have to
worry about anything Windows related regarding viruses, etc., to create
any hiccups.

When I redo someone's machine, I do it "old school". <grin> Partition
the drive, and use the new partition, almost always D:\, as a data
drive, and only the OS and software go on C:\. I redirect My Documents
to D:\ also. And I super stress to the user to never, never, ever, ever
store anything on C:\. Then when something like this happens, you can
pretty much go straight to the "replace the OS" phase.

You may have seen my thread about an alternative to the Files and
Transfer Settings wizard, that was to make it easier and quicker to get
the user's data copied/moved from C:\ to somewhere else, assuming the
system would boot. Have not found anything that works yet.

I'm still amazed that the repair install failed. I guess there was
just too much damage to the operating system for the procedure to
handle.

I am never surprised at things failing in Windows. Been around
computers as a user much too long. My first system, I maxed the storage

Enjoy the day.

You too.

--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2

 

[Ken Springer]

Hi, John,

How often do you do a full backup (and how much time do you spend doing
them)? Or, perhaps you hardly install anything?

None of the computers I was referring to, in general, are mine. They
either belong to someone else, or misc parts and pieces I assemble into
a working system that I donate. "Parts and pieces" does not mean a hard
drive from here, mobo from there, power supply from who knows where, it
means a complete CPU, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

Then, I install usable software, free versions. For awhile, I was using
Libre Office, but have switched to the free version of Kingsoft Office.
Irfanview, Nitro PDF Reader to avoid Adobe Reader and gain a PDF
printer driver, Ccleaner, MSE for AV software, Malwarebytes, VideoLAN,
Recuva, Defraggler, Ccleaner, and EaseUS Partition Master. I partition
the HD, making the 2nd partition for data only. Also, redirect My
Documents to the data partition.

Sometimes Firefox, sometimes not. If it's XP, I install Folder Size and
the MS Print Directory batch file using the downloadable .msi file.

If the system belongs to someone, I'll put their software on, provided
they have legal copies.

As for backups on my Windows machines, real and virtual, none at the
moment. My XP installs, 2 ea, maybe get an hour's use a week at most
combined. The Vista (2 ea) and Win7 Home Premium even less.

I have been wanting to experiment with back up software. To this end,
I've just ordered some small IDE drives which I will put in USB
enclosures to experiment with. Only the Win7 unit has drive storage
greater that 500GB total, and that unit needs a new HD anyway. So, if
it goes belly up, I could care less. <grin>

As for this Mac, OS X has Time Machine, and I've left its scheduling at
the factory defaults, and backups are done automatically. It does the
Mac. For this version of OS X, it doesn't not allow me to add my 2
external USB drives. I don't know if newer versions will allow that.

I don't like the way Time Machine handles backups, but I've not taken
the time to find something different.

I've never had to restore from a backup, but have used the backup to
retrieve an old file I deleted from the Mac HD. I have had to reinstall
OS X a couple of times, but due to operator error (read stupidity!
LOL), and I chose to reinstall rather than use the Time Machine backup.
In my case, I treat this Mac the way I do my Windows computers, I have
data partitions and no new data is being downloaded and/or saved by me
to the boot partition. Everything goes to the data partition. So,
if/when I do an OS reinstall, I have no data to get off the C:\ drive.

I should ad a caveat here. One of the XP installs, and one of the Vista
installs, are virtual machines installed in my Mac.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2

 

[Six Underground]

For awhile, I was using
Libre Office, but have switched to the free version of Kingsoft Office.
Irfanview, Nitro PDF Reader to avoid Adobe Reader and gain a PDF
printer driver, Ccleaner, MSE for AV software, Malwarebytes, VideoLAN,
Recuva, Defraggler, Ccleaner, and EaseUS Partition Master.

In addition to many of those, I also install Macrium Reflect (free
edition). It backs up my entire system partition in about 4 minutes.
I save the images to my M: drive. They supply both a Windows
pre-installed environment and a Linux rescue disk for image-based
recovery.

6U

 

[choro]

In addition to many of those, I also install Macrium Reflect (free
edition). It backs up my entire system partition in about 4 minutes.
I save the images to my M: drive. They supply both a Windows
pre-installed environment and a Linux rescue disk for image-based
recovery.

6U

What do you mean "they supply" rescue CDs? I thought you had to burn
those yourself, at least with the free version. Macrium Reflect seems to
be a superb product but the paid version has got lots of facilities that
are not available in the free version. Though the free version is quite
adequate for the average user's needs. --
choro
*****

 

[Ken Springer]

In addition to many of those, I also install Macrium Reflect (free
edition). It backs up my entire system partition in about 4 minutes.
I save the images to my M: drive. They supply both a Windows
pre-installed environment and a Linux rescue disk for image-based
recovery.

For the systems I donate, I don't add anything that might make the new
owner, who often may be getting their first computer, feel somehow
obligated to go spend money. And for the ones that belong to someone, I
only install what they want, not what I think they should have.

If it's XP Pro, it has a basic backup and restore wizard. And, if I
wanted to fudge/cheat/steal, I could manually install that wizard in
Home, but I don't.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2

 

[Six Underground]

What do you mean "they supply" rescue CDs? I thought you had to burn
those yourself, at least with the free version.

Yes, you are correct, and I should have been more specific. They
supply the ISOs; the user supplies the media and burning effort.

6U

 

[Ken Springer]

Hi, John,



None of the computers I was referring to, in general, are mine. They
either belong to someone else, or misc parts and pieces I assemble into
a working system that I donate. "Parts and pieces" does not mean a
hard drive from here, mobo from there, power supply from who knows
where, it means a complete CPU, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

Then, I install usable software, free versions. For awhile, I was

[]
Ah, so you're more or less making computers from scratch, and making
lots (FSVO lots) of similar ones.

FSVO means "for some value of"? If yes, the answer monetarily is zilch!
LOL

Do I make the computer, with "computer" meaning the desktop unit? No,
definitely not. I take complete components I gathered from somewhere,
and simply turn them into a workable system, as you would if you bought
Dell desktop here, keyboard and mouse at Walmart, an LG monitor from
Best Buy, printer from the flea market, etc. LOL The same as you
might do at home. I just give it away.

I do it because I like to! LOL

For the ones I do get monetary compensation (and boy would I be
starving! LOL), I have them give me everything they have. The printer,
scanner, monitor, everything they have and use, and for a flat fee they
get the whole kit and kaboodle back in a working state.

IIRR my question was in response to you saying something like "I often
am surprised how much time people spend before doing a restart from
scratch". The machines you describe are being made to donate, or
similar, and so the comparison with people who are actually using the
computer for themself - and adding, and tweaking - lots of things, is
not really valid.

I wasn't talking about adding and/or tweaking, I was talking about
serious problems like the OP's endless set up loop issues. That's not
adding and/or tweaking, that's repairing. How many hours has the OP
spent trying to repair the unit? More hours that to reinstall? The
OP's hands were tied because of the way the owner used the computer, and
that's ignorance on the owner's part, and the OP shouldn't feel
responsible for loss of data, in general.

It just surprises me how often I hear/read comment like "It will take a
week or more". If there are no issues, it never takes more than he 2.5
days here. Occasionally, I do have the brick wall. Had a Gateway once
that even MS gave up and filed the support ticket as unresolved. With
all of that, it did take a month or so to get it to work, but dumb ole
me figured it out! LOL

Obviously, the few that I've been paid to do aren't being done to give
away. Even then, 2.5 days works out as the norm worst case. Of course,
that does depend on the number of peripherals I have to deal with.

One of my pet theories as to why some have such problems with the time
it takes to do a full restore is a good amount of ignorance of computer
basics by the owner of the computer.

There's nothing I can do about that, except to set things up "old
school", meaning prior to Win95, so a full system reinstall isn't as
painful and time consuming if/when it needs to be redone again.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2

 

[Ken Springer]

Yes, I understand what you meant. I meant that, in most of those cases,
you're making - sort of - a basic system, OK to your own recipe, but
from scratch, not trying to restore a system someone has been using -
and tweaking - for a long time.

I'll do both, actually. For the systems I give away, we can think of it
as being a system out of a box at the store but with free/open source
software preinstalled.

When I do a computer for someone, I try to get the user's data from the
hard drive at the outset. I don't worry about getting 100% of it, my
theory being that if they get burned a bit, they'll be much more
interested in learning some of the basics so data loss doesn't happen
again. And if there appears to be possible hardware problems like a bad
hard drive, I try to track that down first.

But getting the data from a user's HD where the user isn't terribly
knowledgeable about computers, it's a real PITA. That's part of the
reason for my earlier thread on wanting an alternative to XP's Files and
Transfer Settings wizard. That works fine, seemingly, for finding and
getting the data (don't care about the settings, I rather recreate any
needed), but it won't let me put the data back in a location of my
choosing. I've got a similar post in alt.somethingorother.win7. None
of the very few suggestions as an alternative to the wizard is what I'm
looking for.

I can't help thinking that that refers to systems with not much on. It
would take me, I think, more than 2.5 days just to note down everything
I have here, and what settings I have for them all; the system has grown
over years, and I can't _remember_ what I've installed, but I use them
without thinking, just expecting them to _be_ there. I don't think I'm
alone in this. (This is a _different_ matter from the question of system
backup/imaging.) So I would be very reluctant to re-set it up from
scratch.

You and I don't fall into the category of today's average user, IMO.
We'll have stuff on our computers no one usually even hears about. From
your description, you have far more pieces of software installed than I
think I ever have in the last 15 years.

Likewise, we are less likely to find ourselves in such a mess! LOL

"Work" as in be (or be like) a new system set up from scratch?

"Work" as in the blankety blank thing would not shut off! LOL

There's a high priority update in SP3 (don't remember which one but I
can track it down if you want to know, I think) that every time I
installed it, the only way to shut down the computer was to press the
power button or pull the plug. Nothing else worked, and MS support from
New Delhi tried them all. <grin> Free support from MS was available
for the update, so it wasn't costing me any money.

I just sat here, followed instructions, and watched. When the MS folks
gave up, I sat and thought about what I'd been seeing happen. Then had
the "What if?" or "I wonder..." moment. Swapped out the Ethernet card,
and everything worked! LOL I checked with the mfgr. of the card, no
updated drivers or firmware updates.

Do you find peripherals, or softwares, take you more time? Or don't you
"do" softwares (other than drivers, and the OS of course)?

It's kind of a mix, and I never thought about which took more time.
Peripherals for the donated systems depends on what I've been given or
collected. If I have no speakers, no speakers are included. But I
always have the minimum of the desktop unit, monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

When the computer belongs to someone, I "twist" their arms to give me
everything they have/want on or attached to the computer. Then I make
sure it *all* works before I give it back.

Again, none of these systems comes close to having as much stuff as what
you and I probably have.

Oh, indeed.
Do you still get many "customers" who are at all interested in a DOS (or
W3.1) system? (Perfectly good systems in their own right, but ...)

No, I'm not doing this for a living. I'm retired, do it for the
fun/challenge of making the system work. Most, if not all, have no clue
what DOS even is! <grin>

And I promise no time frame, just that it will work when I return it, or
they owe me nothing.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2