PC in perpetual boot loop

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?

koolpc · 21 Jun 2013 at 12:45

As post 12

Confused · 21 Jun 2013 at 12:50

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

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.

linktoinsanity · 21 Jun 2013 at 13:07

koolpc said:
It has been the case for me everytime i have seen it

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.

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.

linktoinsanity · 21 Jun 2013 at 16:13

peter tron said:
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.

This was more aimed at Koolpc than you. In your case I'd still leave formatting as a last resort. Have you got a spare power supply you can use? Infact As a test boot your pc up with a linux boot disk of some sort and see if it still restarts. If it does then it is much more likely to be a motherboard fault or a PSU fault.

koolpc · 21 Jun 2013 at 19:15

Copy all files you need over to another drive, via an enclosure etc and then reformat HD and reinstall OS. This will work. i have seen it a few times and not once has it been a hardware issue. I may be wrong but only saying what i have seen myself. This was not on one PC but a few where the above fix solved the issue.

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.

koolpc · 26 Jun 2013 at 19:54

To be honest, i would format and reinstall the os. I know some on here are saying no need but i am sure it would solve the issue. Saves trying to chase your own tail!

Confused · 26 Jun 2013 at 20:06

peter tron said:
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.

This is exactly the same error code I had on my dad's pc.

You need to change the hard drive mode in the BIOS to AHCI, and it should boot straight up.

A simple fix that'll take less than a minute to do.

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.

asim18 · 27 Jun 2013 at 06:15

I'm betting it's your PSU.

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.

The Deuce · 27 Jun 2013 at 09:33

peter tron said:
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.

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

The Deuce · 27 Jun 2013 at 09:35

peter tron said:
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.

double post..sorry

koolpc · 27 Jun 2013 at 10:01

peter tron said:
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.

Agreed

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?

The Deuce · 27 Jun 2013 at 11:15

yes, it will only repair the windows files.