Help Me Fix My Computer

[BiaBia 10+ year member]

Throw that Windows CD in there and restart that system up! Same shit happened to my girlfriends computer, only thing you can do is that.

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[BASS OUTLAW 10+ year member]

Jmac, check on other THREAD. NOTICE!!!

 

[swimfreak26 10+ year member]

Try throwing in your windows disk and RESTORING windows...make sure not to do a "new install" this will format which you don't want. A full windows restore will restore all operating system components to initial settings.

If you can't get the disk to run, just go into the bios and switch the startup sequence so that it starts fromt he CD rom first.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Problems ...
1) I'll lose 146 designs, my templates, BBP6, etc. ...

2) I don't have a CD-Key, registration somehow worked without one ... Not sure if it'll work again without me having to pay $150 for a copy of WinXP ...

First things first. If you have norton on a schedule to maintain your PC don't let it heal the registry. This is highly unneccessary on the stable NT core XP is based on. If the OS isn't XP or 2000 then cut your wrists now J/K lol.

Is this the only PC you have? If not slave the HDD into another PC and back them files up then spin the WindowsCD up on it and try a repair first if still a nogo then start anew. This of course is always last ditch efforts.

It does sound like a possible heat issue(which is easy to verify in BIOS PC health).

Actually Rebooting while loading windows can indicate a number of hardware related failures. To narrow down what hardware you start with just the basics in the machine(Hdd,1 stick mem,proc and vid) If the problem isn't there when booting with basics then add pieces back until recreated. If it is still rebooting on basics then try the other sticks of mem 1 at a time. If still rebooting then it gets tricky to narrow down and another system to verify components on is necessary.

You should think about registering at http://www.maximumpc.com/forum and posting your problem in the help clinic. There are a lot of geeks there willing to help out and work you through troubleshooting steps or if needed a recover/format.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Last I checked it was running at 48 C ...
And it restarts at EXACTLY the same spot every time ... Right after DMI Pool Verification ... Completed (or similar)

ACK, I should read threads before replying. So you are talking about during POST screen you are getting a reboot?

This issue can be caused by any of the following:

Corrupt boot files on the computer. (In which a restore will do the trick) *NOT NEW INSTALL*

Settings for hard disk drive are not correct. (Not likely as it isnt a fresh build and was running)

Boot devices not set properly. (Ditto)

BIOS corrupt or misc. setting not set properly. (Possible, especially if battery is dying)

Connections loose or disconnected. (Check this first, make sure ribbon cables are in all the way and power cables too)

Bad Hard disk drive or other bad hardware. (Bad, Very bad especially if HDD, not so bad if HDD controller)

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

Ygpm

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

yeah but if something was wrong DURING the POST test, a beep code would indicate something before it even went through the POST test, if it was hardware related right?

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

if ur running xp cant u jus go into the safe mode or one of those and change the settings on your computer back to like yesterday or before when it was working???? i had a system error one time and i managed to jus set my settings and all that back like 2 days and it restored it to a pre error load up.....i hope that makes sense....

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

yeah but if something was wrong DURING the POST test, a beep code would indicate something before it even went through the POST test, if it was hardware related right?

Well its not technically during POST. Its right after. Right when it looks for the BOOT files from a drive. So it could be bad HDD controller or HDD at this point and cause this issue. The POST test is also very basic and isn't going to throw codes on a lot of troubled hardware. Like its so called memory test when you see it counting up the space, that is hardly a test.

I was just saying that he never actually gets a Windows loading screen of any kind, thats what I wanted to clear up. Which could mean a corrupt or bad boot sector on HDD or a very nasty boot sector virus. Either one of those cases is of course a worst case scenario. It could also be just as simple as a loose ribbon cable.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

if ur running xp cant u jus go into the safe mode or one of those and change the settings on your computer back to like yesterday or before when it was working???? i had a system error one time and i managed to jus set my settings and all that back like 2 days and it restored it to a pre error load up.....i hope that makes sense....

From the sound of it, he isn't even booting far enough to make this choice. Its rebooting right after searching for a BOOT file. I doubt hitting F8 during this exact spot is going to shape it up. Usually trying safe mode and the likes might help if it was rebooting while showing you the windows loading screen.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

I was just saying that he never actually gets a Windows loading screen of any kind, thats what I wanted to clear up. It could also be just as simple as a loose ribbon cable.

So, after the computer is done doing the POST test (real mode) and is just loading stuff from the CMOS, that once it switches to protected mode(your OS) that nothing comes up? it just restarts? hmmm, yeah I would really check the IDE cables for the Hard drive to make sure they aren't lose. It does sound like something is either corrupted, or a wire anywhere in the computer, has come loose. I believe the beep code would catch a ribbon cable not being plugged in though, it does catch the simple things //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

It could be a lot of things, it's hard guessing what a problem is whenever the person wasn't there to witness what went wrong. We are all just "assuming" what happened, when it could be something else.

 

[Jonahdude 10+ year member]

I say buy a new HDD, install Windows on it, and run your old HDD as a slave.

 

[slack 10+ year member]

download knoppix live. ITs a linux distro that boots entirely from CD. If u can boot from a cd use this and u can save all ur files to a usb drive or something.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

download knoppix live. ITs a linux distro that boots entirely from CD. If u can boot from a cd use this and u can save all ur files to a usb drive or something.

This was actually my suggestion which I sent via pm. Except, I was using a windows verison rather than Linux. The method is the same as a boot disk, with the 3 files needed to boot through DOS, when the computer starts. Instead, you use 3 differnt files boot.ini, NTLDR, NTDETECT and save those to a floppy. It will allow you to boot to windows, without a HD. I say it's the best method to save all of your files, and then have no worries about reformatting //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/toast.gif.bc0657bf54b9ee653b6438524461341e.gif

 

[slack 10+ year member]

yeah i really like knoppix. Its like a full fledged linux distro with a GUI and everything. Comes with Xwindows and KDE and runs entirely from one disk. Very nice. The only problem is that u cant write to NTFS drives. I have read u can but u have to do some special stuff that seems hard. Maybe they will use a new kernel in the newer version that supports read/write in NTFS