XP Blue Screen of Death caught in an eternal loop

[pammy]

aaaaaargh - Josh's PC has suddenly gone into an eternal circle of shutting down, only to restart automatically - if only it would fully restart. Instead it brings up the screen giving you the options of safe mode, safe mode with networking, last safe config, normal etc. Select any one and it starts to load windows only to fail and go right back to the options screen again. If you leave it o it's own devised it will go round this circle for ever.

Using F5 I've managed to pull up a BSOD which says if this is the first time you've seen the screen then start up as normal. I'd love to - only computer says "no"

It says run chkdsk - I'd love to - but I can't get in. Can't get a DOS prompt or anything.

If you get it to run with command prompt the last command shown refers to AVG and I wonder if this is where the probem is - but how can I get in to see?


Windows XP pro btw
Help - I have a teenager whose life force has just been taken from him - it's not pretty!!

 

[SilverSaloon]

virus?

 

[para alpha]

Pammy, has he just installed service pack 3 from Microsoft? If he has, this is the problem..... Quite fiddly to fix too!
http://www.computerworld.com/action...rticleId=9084418&taxonomyId=125&intsrc=kc_top

 

[pammy]

virus?

Have no idea

Pammy, has he just installed service pack 3 from Microsoft? If he has, this is the problem..... Quite fiddly to fix too!
http://www.computerworld.com/action...rticleId=9084418&taxonomyId=125&intsrc=kc_top

Again - no idea - unless it's done it automatically. I don't think he will have put SP3 on just because. He generally just plays endless war games, MSN, Facebook and MySpace - typical teenager

This is one of my biggest problems I have no idea how this has happened. Josh says he went to switch it off last night as normal. It hung n the Windows is shutting down screen, so he turned it off manually. Then when he started it up this afternoon - went straight into this circular mode.

 

[jpskiller]

Afraid could be anything, if hung during shut down it might have been installing a Update and that now has been corrupted, most likley only fix now is re-install...

 

[verytalldave]

Afraid could be anything, if hung during shut down it might have been installing a Update and that now has been corrupted, most likley only fix now is re-install...

That is quite possible. SP3 is a large update and takes a good 15-20 minutes to install itself. It does also warn you to backup everything BEFORE you install it. It depends whether the PC has been configured to install updates automatically. Some do, some dont. I have switched off that function and only install updates which I want, when I want.
I installed SP3 a few days ago and is fine.
If it does need a full-re-install, then its highly likely all his settings, documents, pictures, music, - everything will be lost - unless he has it all backed up. In effect it will be a "new" machine after a re-install.
Lets hope he has been a good fella and backed it all up.

However, before you do that, phone someone who REALLY knows what they are doing. Local newspapers have small ads for local companies that will come to your home to sort out bugs and problems on your PC.
It might be worth going down that route first anyway, as it could be a very simple fix and nothing to do with SP3.
PC World have a PC clinic in all their stores and thats another possibility. They charge a fixed fee for the fixing of problems like what you describe. But you have to take the PC (less the screen and keybord) to them.

 

[HughJarse]

Im putting £20 on service pack 3

Pammy, its a pain to fix, but if you can get in in safe mode - it should eventually.
Then goto start, accessories, sytsem tools, system restore. Then restore the machine back a week or so.
Once you do this you must go into the control panel and switch off automatic updates.

Youre then at a point to gather your troops and gird your loins.

 

[Dieselman]

Interestingly my PC has been hanging on shut down and I'm pretty sure it's since SP3 was installed.
It does shut down eventually but takes a while.

 

[crockers]

when I had the blue screen of death one bank of DRAM had failed...

 

[grober]

If you got a system back up disc with your computer you may be able to boot the system from there. You might have to change a boot option in the bios to do this but it may be set to boot from CD if there's a bootable disc in the drive? This may give you the option to "repair" windows or re-install. If the repair option is used you may be able retain some applications/data but other wise its probably a re-install. The other possibility is a virus in the disc boot sector- what was he doing before this happened-had he been downloading anything from a dodgy site for example? If its this then only expert help will save the day. The only other problem might be some dodgy memory modules. Worth removing/checking any memory modules and reseating them. There's usually 2.
remove both then replace module 1 in first slot -try computer
remove first module replace with second in the first slot - try computer again
this checks if either module is faulty which can pull down the other good one.

edit Crockers got there before me.

 

[HughJarse]

Cant repair from cd if its got SP3 as it will report a more modern version.
Boot sector is on drive not OS, ie it wouldnt get to OS screen, more than likely malware.

Still say its SP3 though.

 

[HughJarse]

There hundreds of threads on it, heres one such
http://www.windowsvistaplace.com/the-xp-sp3-rtm-infinite-reboot-loop/xp


and heres the microsoft forum all about it

http://forums.microsoft.com/technet...2&siteid=17&sb=0&d=1&at=7&ft=11&tf=0&pageid=0

 

[pammy]

thanks for the advice guys - but not looking hopeful then! I'm going away tomorrow so he's going to have to manage without it until I have time to look at this properly. I was hoping for a quick fix - hey ho!!

 

[Piff]

SP3 installed it's self on my laptop a couple of day ago. It tried but failed about a week ago because laptop was on battery at the time. So SP3 could be the culprit.

 

[popuptoaster]

sounds to me like what happens if you try to install service pack 3 on a pc with an AMD cpu without applying the hotfix first, could be any number of things though and if your not sure what your doing probably easiest to just reinstall windows.

 

[whizzkid11]

SP3 - definitely - I had two systems that had it automatically applied on Tuesday night...

 

[VB123]

SP3 installed on my laptop, two days later it crashed big time! Still can't get it into safe mode..........

 

[SEM]

I agree SP3.. only good with a clean installation i've found.

 

[nickcc101]

Good antivirus forum is WWW.bullguard.com. Loads of virus info and links to remove.

 

[Sp!ke]

What you probably need to do now is build an XP CD with SP3 on it.

Then boot off the CD and do a repair install over the top of you existing XP installation in order to effect a repair.

Its quite painless really but the hardest part will be slipstreaming SP3 onto an XP CD.

Details HERE