Unable to Boot

Hitman47 · 11-01-2006, 08:17 PM

I just love windows and how it randomly causes problems. yesterday everything was fine and actually was able to play dark Messiah. Came home for some more action, and bam! can't even boot up without restarting. After I ge to the windwos logo screen and the loading bar it just randomly restarts. Tried booting up in Safe mode, no luck, still restarts. Tried using Windows CD to repair Windows, and when I get to the "to boot from CD press any key...." and it just freezes or goes to a black screen. Tried to see what happens if I turn off the "restart if system error" and it gives me a blue screen and some giberish. I wonder if it's my graphic card tthat is causing all of this, I'll check the hard drive later. Of to work.

Gazz · 11-01-2006, 08:50 PM

There's an Windows update to patch the problem I think you're having. Ati cards seem to have the weird tendencie to crash when theyr software connects to the internet. (I know, sounds really weird eh?). Some error in the previous version of .net. Unfortunatly I can't seem to find the specific number anywhere but I do know you get linked towards the update if you continue to send in error reports.

KamisoriX · 11-02-2006, 06:42 AM

I bet it's DM with Steam that killed your PC

interman · 11-02-2006, 07:27 AM

Verify that the CPU cooler is seated properly.

Cameraman · 11-02-2006, 09:30 AM

It definitely does sound like a hardware error. Definitely check the harddrive for errors. That sounds like it could be the culprit unfortunately. I've had two issues like this in the past two months on two different computers for two different reasons. The first one had its harddrive go bad. Ran some scans and it found irreparable errors. So I had to buy another hard drive. In the second case, I simply uninstalled some sound card drivers and I was going to restart and reinstall them. Well for whatever reason that made windows go berserk and I could not boot up without it restarting. I tried to do a repair and it only made matters worse. I had to reformat it and do a clean install. Windows XP definitely is a finicky thing. It seems Windows Vista is a lot more resistent to these sorts of issues, and I do like many of its recovery features. But its tricky licensing and DRM are some minuses for it unfortunately. If it didn't have those issues, I'd be pretty excited about Vista. There is definitely much more under its hood than just prettier graphics.

Magus · 11-02-2006, 10:26 AM

I had the same, mine was a driver problem too, I just booted a linux live cd, installed a ftp client, mounted the windows partition, sent backups to my xbox(or in your case another pc if there is one) and then reformat windows :P

11-02-2006, 10:52 AM

Your problem is more than likely a registry or driver error/corruption and this can be easily repaired via the Microsoft Repair Console. If it was a hardware issue it is very unlikely you would get windows booting at all. Google it before you start and download a step-by-step walkthrough, there are plenty around.

Otherwise, I would do as Magus suggested. Mounting a linux partition from a LiveCD like SuSe or Fedora is a safe-bet as you can just transfer your files and format the disk and start from fresh. The other way is to boot to a NTFS compatible DOS prompt and delete the Windows or Winnt folder and reinstall over the top. Once Windows has been reinstalled all you need to do is transfer your personal data from your old user profile in C:\Documents and Settings into your new one. Aslong as you dont keep personal data in your Windows folder, the reinstallation process will not delete any of your personal data... obviously aslong as you don't format the partition in the install process! :Oo:

Obivously before all this I would do the sensible thing and unplug all unnecessary devices from your PC. Obviously leave in a VGA adapter, 1xHDD and 1xFloppy or USB/CD Booting Device. Remeber to disable on-board devices like network, audio, firewire, etc. Reset BIOS to defaults and see if it boots into Windows.

Hitman47 · 11-02-2006, 04:36 PM

Thanks a bunch I'll try out some of those methods.

Cameraman · 11-04-2006, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KamisoriX@Nov 2 2006, 12:42 AM
I bet it's DM with Steam that killed your PC

Nah this was before DM ;)

DM's bugs aren't exactly system breaking. Just keeps you from having a lot of fun. To be fair it would be an AWESOME game if it weren't for all the bugs.

KamisoriX · 11-04-2006, 03:58 PM

How dare you making me look like a fool