Computer Trouble

[Jeffery Mewtamer]

Here is what happened:
I installed SP2 on my copy of XP Home
The computer failed to restart automatically after installing SP2
I manually restarted the computer
System Mechanic does its usual registry maintence
The XP logo displays and the screen goes black
Blue screen with error message appears for split second
Computer restarts again.

When I try to start up the computer in XP I get an endless loop of logo, error, restart. The error message never stays on screen for more then a split second so I can't read it. I don't have the XP installation CD-ROM(s). I have Linux Mandrake 9.2 equipped with a NTFS reader. Is there anything I can possibly do to fix the problem without buying/pirating a copy of XP or sending the computer to a repair shop?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

 

[Rico]

Hi,

The sad thing is you often need a CD to go into the Recovery Console to fix things. Or do a repair install. Having linux on there is a very useful advantage, though, if you want to back up your hard drives and reformat (the worst case, but unfortunately what I usually end up doing).

Basically what's happening is you're getting a Blue Screen of Death and XP stupidly reboots immediately, so you don't get a chance to read it (it does this by default!). Because the error is linked to Windows startup, it keeps happening. A 'reboot loop' - you might want to search for info on that.

Luckily you can find out what the problem is. If you can press F8 just before Windows would normally start (the logo and moving progress bar thing). You should get a list of options - choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

I now quote:

At the Safe Mode Command Prompt log on as administrator. Type the following at the command prompt:
REG /QUERY HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Crashcontrol /v Autoreboot

You should get a value of either 1 or 0. 1=true; 0=false, therefore if it is 1 then do the following:
REG /DELETE HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Crashcontrol /v AutoReboot
REG /ADD HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashContron /v AutoReboot /t REG_DWORD /d 0

Now when you reboot your PC the "BlueScreen" will freeze on the screen.
Copy down exactly what the BSOD ("BlueScreen of Death") says.

Also check out:

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

For a list of the most common of these errors. If your error is not on that page, try searching for it. You won't be the only one who got that error.

In very rare cases it could be a corrupt sector on your hard drive... generally though this should solve your problem. In my case, I got a BSOD just like that but knew a LOT less about Windows XP, and instead backed up a few files and formatted. Hopefully you don't have to go that far.

 

[generalnmx]

Here is what happened:
I installed SP2 on my copy of XP Home
The computer failed to restart automatically after installing SP2
I manually restarted the computer
System Mechanic does its usual registry maintence
The XP logo displays and the screen goes black
Blue screen with error message appears for split second
Computer restarts again.

When I try to start up the computer in XP I get an endless loop of logo, error, restart. The error message never stays on screen for more then a split second so I can't read it. I don't have the XP installation CD-ROM(s). I have Linux Mandrake 9.2 equipped with a NTFS reader. Is there anything I can possibly do to fix the problem without buying/pirating a copy of XP or sending the computer to a repair shop?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

​

Before you do a Repair Install, just try uninstalling SP2. Before the XP Logo appears, hit F8. That should give you the option of "Safe Mode". Go into Safe Mode, then Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs, and uninstall SP2. If that doesn't work, then try doing a System Recovery from Safe Mode.