PC in perpetual boot loop

peter tron · 12 Jun 2013 at 22:34

hi all,

ok, as the title thread mentioned, i'm stuck in a boot loop with my pc.
i have attempted to scour the realm of google to help me trouble shoot/diagnose this issue., so here goes:
by the way, this is new to me, i've never encountered this before. i don't even know if this is the correct forum area

i was restating the pc after trying to get a game via steam to recognize d3doverider for its vsync purposes.
i restarted, and that's where the boot loop began.

i unplugged all usb peripherals apart from the keyboard and my lcd tv.

no change.

i tried booting in safe mode.

no change

last known configuration

the same problem

i found my original os install disc, pooped it in and i'm assuming that it should automatically go to language settings with options to "repair disc", but i don't see that.

is there something i'm missing?

i repeatedly tap f8 to get to the advanced options, but i don't see an option to repair the disc.

can you guys advise?

Mobo: Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Socket 1155
GPU: Nvidia GTX 460
CPU: i3 2100
RAM: 4gb
PSU: evo labs 750watts

peter tron · 14 Jun 2013 at 17:01

@ koolpc:

i have my vista 32 installation disc. how do i use it to try and re-install?
i and placed it in the drive, but i don't see any option on the 'recovery screen' to access it.
all that is on the screen is safe boot mode, last known configuration etc

peter tron · 14 Jun 2013 at 17:20

@ V F:

my friend told me it could be a virus on the hdd. or it is just dying/dead.
i have heard that i can get an external sata desktop enclosure for it, so i can plug it in to the back of my mac. then (hopefully) i can transfer the files onto a waiting dvd-r.

i have no wish to transfer the files directly to the mac desktop if something is corrupted.
i could download avast (if it is available for a ppc mac) and scan it when i plug the enclosure in the back of the mac?

peter tron · 14 Jun 2013 at 17:23

@FBi7:

you removed the mobo?
so you removed it, as in just had it resting outside the cracked case on a flat surface etc?

peter tron · 14 Jun 2013 at 18:48

Swordfish said:
Best thing to do is get hold of a Hiren CD/DVD and boot to that.

Use the tools there to test the hard drive and if that is healthy boot into MiniPE (windows) and run check disk on your drive (CHKDSK "drive letter" /F)

cheers swordfish, i'll get on that!

FBi7 said:
Yup, took the mobo out the case and placed it on a non-conductive surface. I only plugged in the bare essentials: 1 x gfx card, ram, 1 x hard drive and hooked up the psu. Then I briefly shorted the two pins on the mobo that the power switch plugs into and she burst into life.

urghh!
burst into life and not flames?
heh, the mention of 'shorting pins' scares the stuffing out of me

peter tron · 14 Jun 2013 at 19:30

koolpc said:
You will lose all stuff on HD so if you can find an enclosure for it you might be able to extract all files off of it if you have another pc to transfer to.

I dont think it is a hard drive failure. I think it is a corrupted HD.

if i go the route of trying out the hiren cd, that way i should find out if the hdd is corrupted (or not).

if it is corrupted, i'll get another one

do i need to buy an enclosure, or can i plug the old pc hdd into the back of the new hdd when i install it?.
is this is what is termed "slaving"?
a friend told me i can do that instead?

peter tron · 15 Jun 2013 at 20:11

deleted

peter tron · 18 Jun 2013 at 11:08

Swordfish said:
Best thing to do is get hold of a Hiren CD/DVD and boot to that./F)

i've never done this before.

i've burned the iso's for the Hiren and MiniPE discs.
how do i boot the hiren disc?

koolpc said:
Go into the bios (Usually by pressing 'Delete' or 'F2' at start up) and select DVD as boot drive and save.

Restart PC and press enter when it asks to boot from DVD.

will i need to do the above?

peter tron · 18 Jun 2013 at 20:19

i got into the gigabyte bios menu.

i selected the dvd drive as the priority
i selected the hdd secondary to that , saved, restarted.

the hiren cd booted up, chose seatools.
it started testing, then told me that there was no hdd installed?

peter tron · 19 Jun 2013 at 20:31

i checked under the 'peripherals' tab, found 'SATA mode selection', IDE was already selected.

peter tron · 21 Jun 2013 at 12:42

what shall i try next?
is it turning into a situation where i will have to re-seat the HDD and/or check the SATA cables?

peter tron · 21 Jun 2013 at 15:57

koolpc said:
Go into the bios (Usually by pressing 'Delete' or 'F2' at start up) and select DVD as boot drive and save.

Restart PC and press enter when it asks to boot from DVD.

Follow on screen prompts. Do a full clean of drive (Dont select upgrade) and then install OS onto it.

Let us know how you get on

You will lose all stuff on HD so if you can find an enclosure for it you might be able to extract all files off of it if you have another pc to transfer to.

I dont think it is a hard drive failure. I think it is a corrupted HD.

i want to keep the HD so i can transfer files from it onto my mac, then i will reformat it.

peter tron · 21 Jun 2013 at 15:59

Confused said:
Maybe Windows was installed in AHCI mode - hence a boot loop.

Had the same thing on my dad's PC yesterday.

You need to know what the Windows blue screen error is - hammer F8 when the system is booting, and you should get the Windows boot menu - choose "Disable automatic restart on failure" and you should get a blue screen - post here with the STOP error code, and we'll be able to help further.

ok!

i'll giver that a go, as i was wondering what the blue screen said, but it only flashes up briefly.
i'll give what you said a go and get back to you

peter tron · 21 Jun 2013 at 16:00

linktoinsanity said:
Still not the case. In fact we have a server which does this that we are in the process of fixing at the moment and it's a power supply issue.

How many times have you seen it? If's you have reformatted every time I would seriously suggest looking into another way of fixing the issue as it's a waste of time, especially if it is a hardware issue.

this is the first time it has happened to me since i bought the pc.
i haven't reformatted the HD since getting the pc.

peter tron · 26 Jun 2013 at 11:03

Confused said:
Maybe Windows was installed in AHCI mode - hence a boot loop.

Had the same thing on my dad's PC yesterday.

You need to know what the Windows blue screen error is - hammer F8 when the system is booting, and you should get the Windows boot menu - choose "Disable automatic restart on failure" and you should get a blue screen - post here with the STOP error code, and we'll be able to help further.

i tried this, this is what i got:

"windows had to shut down..."

"follow these steps..."

"check for viruses..."

"run CHKDSK /F to check for HD corruption, then restart..."

Tech info:

stop: 0x0000007b
(0x80699bbo,
0xc0000034,
0x00000000,
0x00000000)

...whatever that means.

peter tron · 26 Jun 2013 at 23:20

it didn't work.
went into the mobo BIOS menu, checked under the 'peripherals' tab, found 'SATA mode selection', then selected 'AHCI', saved and restarted.
same thing.

peter tron · 27 Jun 2013 at 07:51

what's the next step?
i've read talk elsewhere of people 'shorting pins' on the PSU and other hardware, attempting to diagnose the culprit.
there must be a simpler way to find out what piece of hardware is not working?

i'm just doing this to see if it can be fixed simply, if not, i will do as others have suggested, and transfer files from the HD via an enclosure/dock onto my other computer (mac), then wipe,reinstall onto the HD.

peter tron · 27 Jun 2013 at 11:12

The Deuce said:
it means your hard drive is not been found or there is a driver issue with it. have you tried a windows repair?

i'm about to try this.
one question before i start:
i want to keep files intact on the HD (if all else fails) so if i attempt a windows repair, will i be able to do this without losing the contents of the HD?

peter tron · 27 Jun 2013 at 11:53

didn't work.

i received a msg stating:

windows cannot repair this computer automatically. please remove any devices such as an mp3 player, camera etc. and restart.

the only things that were connected were the portable cd/dvd-rom drive with the boot disc and the keyboard and mouse.

peter tron · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:44

no, it was working fine with the default setting of IDE since i installed the new mobo about six months ago.
i found that funny, as the HD is clearly SATA, but the only options to switch between were IDE and AHCI.
just the one drive.