Boot error

I have two computers im trying to repair.

Both have the same problem

When they boot it goes to the black screen that give the option to boot in safe more or normal mode or boot last good configuration

When i select one of the options, on one computer it just freezes, the other one startes the windows boot and then restartes the whole syste. What can i do to fix these problems short of formatting the hard drive

 

Let's start with the one that reboots when it tries to load Windows. Boot that one and press the F8 key immediately after the POST screen fades. If you get lucky, there will be an option that says "Disable Automatic Restart on System Error." Select that option and press enter. Then if/when the error occurs, look for any information as to what is reported as the cause.

Post back what you find.

 

ok i did that and it still reboots when windows starts to reload, no error message comes up other then "windows did not shut down properly" with the selection of safe mode and so on.

 

For an attempt at saving the user data, a Parallel install seems like the next step to try. You may opt instead for a Repair Install but often it is less productive since it uses the old Registry whereas the Parallel install creates a new one. I'll link both methods:

XP Parallel Install

XP Repair Install

Good luck!

 

Thank you, iv tried both and neither will work,

when selecting which partition to install on it does not recognize the partition

is this a boot record problem, i know have 4 computers with this problem around my neighbor hood, i know everyone first suspects a virus when a problem occurs but im starting to wounder if this isnt a virus, but cant find any info on it. Any thoughts or suggestions on what else i can try would be greatly appreceated

 

Boot to the XP install disk and invoke the Recovery Console. That would be the first "R" option offered. When you get the command prompt, type fixmbr (enter). Then type fixboot (enter).

Reboot for effect.

Although I haven't heard much about boot sector virus lately, it's still a possibility if you swap floppies between computers. Your AV should catch that early on though.

If you get a definite boot sector virus determination, you must destroy all floppies that have been used on any infected machines. They will infect every machine they are used on. It's always a good policy to make your boot floppies from new diskettes and immediately write protect them.

 

I appreceate your help,

but still it wont work, the partition is still not recognized

iv looked to see if there is a virus going around that does this but i cant find anything. This is getting frustration

 

Run chkdsk from the Recovery Console to see if you can fix anything. If it won't run, then verify the drive integrity by running the diagnostics program provided at the drive manufacturers web site. You can also run an AV program from a floppy disk to verify that the drive is virus free.

If you have a spare drive, use it in place of the boot drive to see if you can install to it. That would tell you if the MOBO had any problems. If it works, see if you can slave the bad drive to it and save their personal files.

Updating the MOBO drivers would also be a good idea.

Good luck with the quest.