Hey,

My relatives' comp is being really whacky.. I posted a hijack log for them (posted in hijack forum), then I decided to do some scans and whatnot.. well, it froze up. So, I restarted it, and haven't been able to get back on since. It won't start. It starts, asks to start in safe mode, normal mode, etc.. I select anything, you think it'll load, then bam.. restarts again.

They can't find their boot disc (they're searching), they don't want to lose everything on their comp either as there's some things on there like pics that just aren't replaceable. The irony is that today they were going to ask me how to save all their pics to dvd

So, does anyone know a solution to this? Without having to do a full reinstall?

Almost forgot to mention it's an XP, sony vaio comp, if that makes any difference.

Thanks to whoever answers

XP - what Service Pack? XP Pro or Home? OEM or Retail?

Also, have you tried booting off the XP CD and seeing if you can repair the XP installation so that it will start to boot correctly? How long does it try to boot before restarting? Do you see any sort of error message on the screen just before it reboots? Do the monitors do anything strange? Does the PC 'power off' and then power back on?

For now, it could be anything from an OS problem to a Malware problem to a hardware problem. More information is definitely needed here.

Also, some information on what *exactly* you were trying to do (you mentioned a 'scan' - what program, what type of scan, etc...), *and* have you also posted in the HiJack threads that your computer is currently down so that any help they provide on the HJT log analysis is going to be sitting in the forum as you attempt to first get the computer back to a booting state?

Finally, for everyone reading this post - please, please, *please* don't go off and start doing things on your own once you have requested assistance in the HJT forums. Not only is *this* sort of thing possible, but many, many other scenarios, some more ominous than even this.

Natron, I know you didn't mean any harm by doing this, but my point is not to make you feel bad, but to use this incident as a lesson to everyone - don't try to multitask when trying to fix Malware-related and *suspected* Malware-related problems - there is a step - by - step procedure in place for a reason - to prevent things like this from occurring.

I'm going to be honest, it wasn't me who did all these scans. My fiance took it upon himself after I sent the log, I personally wasn't going to do anything else. He does feel bad and I don't think he's going to fiddle around anymore if you know what I mean. He doesn't quite understand as far as I do, and I don't understand much either but I won't do things that can potentially result in this.

Getting back to business..
I'm not sure the xp version.. If anything it would be XP home, or retail? There's no way to actually find out right now and my aunt/uncle I doubt would know the difference. But, I would bet my money on home if anything.

We dont have the boot cd. That's what I was going to do, I knew that I could reinstall certain things with that boot cd but... it's nowhere to be found. This can be bought at a store though right? I'm hoping so..

Spybot was scanning at the time that it froze up. Part of the malware step by step procedure. I've said it before, I follow that religiously, and luckily enough my fiance doesn't know much more then what I've told him. Although, he might have tried to experement which is where I think the problem began. He said he had done some other scan (dont know what it is), that it got rid of malware, the system booted up just fine (I remember it being ok at this point and he was all impressed it was running faster), he tinkered on spybot then half way through it froze. He said that spybot had a few things pop up but he couldn't remember what it was.

I really wish he hadn't of gone on there because I figured once the hijack log got worked on the problem would more then likely be resolved. I don't want to make him feel any worse though.. He just doesn't know any better >_<

This is exactly what it does (this is all from memory as I am home now)..
Turn the comp on, it runs through the xp logo, then goes into the screen and asks to run in safe mode etc... if you pick safe mode, it runs through a script of a bunch of files, goes black.. then beeps and restarts again.. If you pick regular mode, it pops up the Vaio screen, almost like it's about to load.. then it restarts. All of it seems completely normal of a computer, other then it restarting before the actual desktop shows up. It makes me think that its been set to just keep rebooting. There's no error messages whatsoever, monitor is normal, the pc does power off because the monitor says "no signal", then it reboots and goes through the whole thing again.

Sorry if I haven't given enough info, not sure what more to say.. Let me know what more you need from me to help us out.

Thanks for the quick response though.

Well, as long as he was contrite enough with you and you are satisfied with it, we'll move on.


How old is the computer itself, and is it a laptop or a desktop, and when was the last time it had any sort of 'spring cleaning' performed upon it? Also, when I asked if it powers off, the monitor saying that it had lost a signal does not necessarily mean the machine has powered off - you'll have to watch the CPU power LED and see if it goes off or not - typically, if it does, the machine goes off for 2-4 seconds, then powers back on - but if the LED never goes out, then the machine is not actually powering off. For instance, on *every* reboot, my monitor goes through a 2-4 second cycle where it says 'signal lost' as well, but my computer is actually still running, not off.

RE: XP version - well, if you can get into Safe mode for even a small amount of time hold the [WINDOWS] key down and press the [PAUSE] key and it will bring up the system properties - that will tell you what version your are running, including Service Packs. Of course, this is moot for now as you never get to a desktop to play around in....

RE: buying XP at a store - well, yes and no. Buying a new copy will only work if you buy the *same* version - IOW XP Pro Retail, or XP Home Retail, or XP Pro OEM, or XP Home OEM, or XP MCE 2002, or XP MCE 2005....if you buy a version differing form the one that is on there you might potentially make things worse (mainly because the different version use completely different license keys, so it may force you to enter a new license key). However, any XP CD *should* be able to go through the normal 'repair' sequences without worrying about which version you have installed.

As far as being set to reboot all the time, well, no, it can't do that - however, removal of a file / corruption of the registry / removal of a key registry key - all can cause this sort of behavior. Other possible causes of this sort of behavior also include things like hardware failure, CPU heatsinks not working / dislodging / other failures, HD failures (which can lead to symptoms that indicate it is missing a file / unable to access the registry), and other such things as well. I think the thing to do now is to eliminate that the hardware is failing on you and to make sure that every thing is in place, working fine, and free of those insidious little creatures we call dust bunnies. Then we'll be pretty sure that it is a software problem as opposed to a hardware problem.

If you have access to another computer (it will require a CD 'burner' for the following steps) then you'll want to do the following:

Go to the Memtest86+ download page and download the appropriate version to the computer so you can burn it to the appropriate type of drive. Now, by appropriate, I mean the following: grab the Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip) if the computer you are on has a CD burner and software for you to burn the file inside the ZIP file to CD. Grab Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable Binary (.zip) if you are familiar enough with making bootable CDs on your own and wish to add this file to your own bootable CD (only recommended for advanced users). If you have access to a completely blank USB 'Thumb drive' aka 'Key drive' or UFD (USB Flash Device) then you can download the one named Download - Pre-Compiled EXE file for USB Key (Pure DOS). Finally, if both the computer you are on the internet with and the malfunctioning computer have a floppy drive, then you can download the one named Download - Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win). Memtest is simply a memory tester - it will go through several cycles (usually 2) of enhanced memory testing to verify that the memory installed is still in working order. If you run into any errors, you'll want to shut the machine completely off, unplug it, then open it up and remove and then reseat the memory 'sticks' one by one - in the same position and location that you remove them from. After you are *sure* the memory is back in place firmly and correctly, you'll want to boot with Memtest86+ again and test again - if you still run into errors, then you'll need to look at purchasing new memory - to determine if one or multiple 'sticks' need replacing, you'll need to run Memtest86+ with every combination of memory installed - IOW, if you have 2 sticks, and you have errors both times, remove one stick, run Memtest, then shut down, remove the stick in there and replace the one you previously removed and run Memtest again.

Of course, all of this may get a bit technical, and at any time that you feel you want to take the computer to a professional with hands on capabilities, by all means do so - for most shops, they will test your system hardware components with a reasonable price in mind, and be able to tell you if there is any problem with the hardware or not, and most of hem not only have the right tools (software and hardware) but will usually also be able to go in and perform repair steps on Windows XP as well.

The bottom line is that you do not want it formatted under any circumstances - for the simple reason that, even if you cannot get XP to ever start again, before you format there are several ways that your relatives can get their data safely off the computer, such as using a Linux live CD distribution, installing a second HD and installing Windows on that, making the original drive nothing more than a slave, etc. Of course, this thought is based upon the assumption that there is no problem with your HD at all, which remains to be seen.

So, your call - either get the correct version of Memtest and start testing, or else take it to a professional, or else get a new HD and start from scratch, leaving the old drive in there but making it a slave....

I will try the mem test. I feel confident enough myself to do this. As I don't know what my fiance ran before, I would assume it's safe to say that he removed something from the comp that actually belonged. That is a safe assumption at this point as bless him for trying to help, he just doesn't know what belongs and doesnt (that's why I'm constantly fixing our own comp after him lol).. he tries, but I wish he'd ask before 'doing' anything you know?

I will try the test, hopefully that will rule out any errors with the memory.

Now, if it happens that it is the HD, you said the old HD could be set as a slave drive. Does this mean they can still access their info from it? Kind of like how you have the c drive, then (like on my comp) a d drive also? That sort of thing? Just wanting to understand this completely.

I believe it does entirely turn off. There is the signal lost, but, for some reason, there's no led light on the cpu at all that we can see.. It's a bit weird but we couldn't find the led light at all even when it was running, so maybe it's just burnt out or I can locate it properly.

I did read yesterday about something called 'com'? I didn't do anything, but was reading up to see if there were any others with this problem and their solutions. They were told to reset I believe it was the memory by flicking something back and forth. Hopefully I made sense of that. Those links are back at home (at work atm) so I don't know exactly what it was called. Just figured I'd ask about that.

If none of this works, and I have to do a full boot of the system. Is there a way that I can take all their info from the HD before reformatting? I thought I had seen something about that quickly yesterday.

I'll be going to their place at some point this week and will let you know how it all goes. Wish me luck :s lol.

Thanks for your help

Hey there, I'm at home now. Where I saw this thing, it's actually a cmos reset (close enough lol..), I've seen it at other sites as well that's why I asked as it seemed to be a fairly common suggestion. http://en.allexperts.com/q/PC-hardware-CPU-1023/computer-keeps-restarting-2.htm

This is the part I'm refering to:

"The first thing to try is a CMOS reset. Look on the Motherboard for the CMOS (Configuration Memory Operating System) Battery (about the size of a bottle top).

Close to it, you should find three pins with a jumper connector across 2 of them (usually 1 and 2). These should be labelled CLR_CMOS or something similar. You should move this jumper from it's original position across to the other (i.e. pins 2 and 3). wait 5 seconds and move them back.

This process shorts the Battery long enough for the CMOS to lose the information stored in it. This will force your System to resort to default CMOS settings, when you reboot.

CMOS settings can become corrupt for many reasons, it's no big deal as it's quite easy to remedy."

Does this make sense?

Yes, it makes sense, but at the moment I would not worry about that - your system is seeing the HD (and I assume all other hardware) just fine, so I would not warrant that it is a CMOS issue, at present.

Besides, not always is the CMOS reset located really close to the actual CMOS battery, and I have had more than one user actually fry their system by attempting this incorrectly (using the wrong pins / not completely shutting their machine off, etc).

Now, granted, *I* have performed a CMOS reset more than a few dozen times myself, but I also know how to do it correctly....

But, at any rate, as I said, I don't think this is an issue, and plus, a CMOS reset entails going into the BIOS editor and resetting all your BIOS settings - and if you don't write them down *before* performing the reset, you'll never know what the current settings are, and that can lead to all sorts of mischief.

Hi
I found this thread from a search on google. I'm having the exact same restarting problem with my machine. I'm at work now and will try to boot from cd once I get home. I hope that works but if not I'm curious to see if the other fixes work for you.

btw i'm running win xp pro retail SP2


My comp starts up, goes to the screen that shows my motherboard manufacturer, flashes a black screen with words very quickly, then goes black and shows some white bars on the bottom kind of like a status bar. Once the status bar fills all the way the comp restarts.

I cannot go into safe mode because it restarts when I try.

I'm using 2 HDs and I can't lose any information on either of them. Is it possible to swap my HDs, meaning make the master the slave and vice versa?

sorry one more Q

if I repair off a CD will any information be lost?

Hmmm , are you sure it is *exactly* the same? I suggest that you monitor this post but make your own post as well because the symptoms you describe in the second post are *not* the same - to me it looks like someone how or another windows is trying to install all over again, although I haven't used XP in a while, and it is possible that I simply don't remember that non-graphical progress bar....

If you were to swap drives, your computer might still see the bootable drive and try to boot from it - or Windows might as well - but if you have enough space on your second drive to install Windows, you can try that, as long as you disconnect your main drive (just to be safe) *and* make sure you do not delete any partitions on the second drive 0 that is how you lose information. There is also something that may possibly be involved, jumper settings, depending upon what type of drives you have (IDE, aka P-ATA versus S-ATA)

Finally, If you try to *repair* from the CD, no you *shoudn't* lose info - if you try to *reinstall* you might - especially if you format the drive and start over.

hmm...after reading thru it again I realized my problem is a little different. It doesn't automatically go to the safe mode menu on startup. I do however have the same restarting problems once I press f8 and go to the menu.

I'll get a mod to make you're own thread.

*ahem* Mod?

Hey John,

Got a little more info for you. I went to my aunt/uncle's yesterday. I don't believe it turns off completely. The VAIO light stays on the whole time, the led light keeps flickers.. It doesn't go right off unless I pull the plug.. but when it goes to reboot, it just flickers.. So, I don't think it's shutting right off..

I also brought the whole thing home with me. Was going to start last night working on it but, I got sick lol. So, I have a reboot disc that my uncle has gotten, although.. when I tried that, it brought me to a dos type of thing where it says something about repairing and to type exit if i want to stop.. but if I wait, it does nothing... is there a command I should be putting in for it to start the repair?

I'll be working on this tonight when I get home, so I may have more info on it for you. I haven't ran that test yet but will do so after if the repair doesn't work.