XP Blue Screen of Death caught in an eternal loop

[Sp!ke]

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.

Turn off system restore and then click apply and then turn it back on again (best to use less than 12% of your disk though).

Your machine is trying to take a restore point at shut down and is struggling to write with all the fragments on the drive.

Ideally you should turn off system restore, then defrag and then turn it back on again. I only assign about 3Gb for the restore files, not 12% as is default which or toidays sized drives is massive overkill.

 

[Rory]

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

I have SP3 on my laptop (thinkpad) - had no issues, and it installed on Daughter's Dell the other day and that's fine too.

 

[AndyS]

Re data-loss and reinstalling windows..

If you have to reinstall windows get yourself a hard-drive caddy 1st, take the drive out of the PC and there is a good chance you will be able to access the data on the hdd via plugging the caddy into another PC

 

[Merc user]

Xp

If you have original Microsoft CD try reinstall.
If SP2 or SP3 are going to be installed later. I take the option on the MS site whichs lets me download the Service pack then install it.
Because the more auto option relies on the web & connections if the broadband fails then the result could be bad news & take time to resolve

 

[BilalSheikh]

I wouldnt jump to SP3. This has happened to me a few times. I think it is caused mostly by the data/kernel cache not being written to disk or bad sectors. Anyway not being so technical i will tell you what to do!!

Grab the xp disc and insert it into the computer. Boot from the disc and let it load. Go into the repair mode and select manual repair (RECOVERY CONSOLE).

There will then be a black screen and it will ask you to choose a windows installation you just punch in the number which will appear in the list.

Once that is done it will bring up command prompt. This will be the recovery console. just type in CHKDSK /F. This will run the check disk on your drive and fix any errors. If you have any bad sectors as well then you can recover the information by typing in CHKDSK /R.

Hope that helps. PM me if you need any more info. BEST OF LUCK.

 

[nickcc101]

If you try and re-instal XP when you have installed SP3 you have to remove SP3 first unless your XP disc contains SP3.

 

[pammy]

I wouldnt jump to SP3. This has happened to me a few times. I think it is caused mostly by the data/kernel cache not being written to disk or bad sectors. Anyway not being so technical i will tell you what to do!!

Grab the xp disc and insert it into the computer. Boot from the disc and let it load. Go into the repair mode and select manual repair (RECOVERY CONSOLE).

There will then be a black screen and it will ask you to choose a windows installation you just punch in the number which will appear in the list.

Once that is done it will bring up command prompt. This will be the recovery console. just type in CHKDSK /F. This will run the check disk on your drive and fix any errors. If you have any bad sectors as well then you can recover the information by typing in CHKDSK /R.

Hope that helps. PM me if you need any more info. BEST OF LUCK.

Thanks for all the tips and help people - going to try this approach first. Watch this space.

It's great watching a 15 year old suffering withdrawal - I'm an awful mum

 

[pammy]

Well - booted from CD into recovery mode - ran chkdsk and all is now working!

Me laddo doesn't know yet - he's hoovering and I'd hate to interrupt him

Thankyou all for your help. Very much appreciated

 

[HughJarse]

Pammy you need to stop the PC downloading it again or prepare for groundhog day.

I would switch off automatic update in control panel and then go to microsoft and manually get it.... mind even this has a chance it will redo it again.

 

[pammy]

Pammy you need to stop the PC downloading it again or prepare for groundhog day.

I would switch off automatic update in control panel and then go to microsoft and manually get it.... mind even this has a chance it will redo it again.

Already done - was the first thing I did lol Don't always learn from my experiences - but hopefully this time - I have Thanks for the nudge though - much appreciated