Windows 2000 - boot going around in circles

J.S. Pill

hey guys,

I'm using an old desktop with windows 2000 pro at the moment. I turned on the computer this afternoon and the boot up process kept on gpoing around in a circle. It would get to the the windows 2000 logo then it would go back to the first stage of the boot up. I'm able to get into safemode with networking (thats how I'm posting this message). I've tried shutting down and restarting from safemode and I've also tried booting from last good configuration.

Does anyone have any idea what my problem could be and how I might resolve it?

thanks

MrVestek

It sounds like a driver issue to me, Win2k is loading up a driver during normal startup, it's crashing the machine and the startup routine restarts itself. When you're in safe mode it just loads every barebones without any advanced drivers. Best idea is to boot Win2k in safe mode debug and it'll get rid of the splash screen and show you step by step what's actually loading up.

When it gets to a certain stage and reboots you know which drivers to remove using the recovery option on the Win2k cd.

irishpartyboy

There may be something in the bootlog.txt that will tell you which device / driver is causing the issue

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/127970

Did you try last known good? Only loads device / drivers / reg as last successful login during normal startup.

http://www.petri.co.il/last_known_good_in_windows_2000_xp_2003.htm

J.S. Pill

irishpartyboy wrote:

Did you try last known good? Only loads device / drivers / reg as last successful login during normal startup.

I did indeed. It just went straight back into the first boot up screen though.

Achilles wrote:

Best idea is to boot Win2k in safe mode debug and it'll get rid of the splash screen and show you step by step what's actually loading up.

When it gets to a certain stage and reboots you know which drivers to remove using the recovery option on the Win2k cd.

How exactly would I get to this stage? Is this something I do after I get into safe mode? (excuse my ignorance )

thanks

MrVestek

No when you hit F8 to get into the boot menu you should see Safe Mode Debug.

J.S. Pill

Achilles wrote:

No when you hit F8 to get into the boot menu you should see Safe Mode Debug.

I see an option for debugging alright (don't think it said 'safe mode debug' exactly) but when I went into it it just went back to the first boot up screen after a few moments.:mad:

irishpartyboy wrote:

There may be something in the bootlog.txt that will tell you which device / driver is causing the issue

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/127970

how do I view this bootlog.txt file? I've tried do a search for it but nothing has come up.


Would a reinstall do any good at all? i know this shouldn't be resorted to immediately but I should have a new computer in a week or 2 and I really need to get this current one functioning as soon as possible

MrVestek

Hrmm ok well it definately seems to be one of the drivers. Ok let's backtrack a little... have you installed something recently that has caused this behaviour? That working back by uninstalling recent drivers/programs from the safe mode and see if it makes any difference.

J.S. Pill

Achilles wrote:

have you installed something recently that has caused this behaviour?

Nothing, no hardware added or removed and no software installed. I do have a bit of a spyware problem though. I'm just using free software for anti virus and anti-spyware (not going to spend e60 on antivirus for a machine i'm only using temporarily). Could spyware have corrupted one of my drivers?

If I can't get into safe mode debug is there any other way I can see what the problem may be through normal safe mode?

humaxf1

save data

format drive

reinstall

JOB DONE

chasin' your tail otherwise

J.S. Pill

humaxf1 wrote:

save data

format drive

reinstall

JOB DONE

chasin' your tail otherwise

Bit drastic isn't it!?

Will anything seem amiss in the device manager if one of the drivers is corrupt? Nothing seems wrong there.

I think at this stage I'll just back up my major drivers and reinstall - if someone thinks I should stop please say so now...

humaxf1

not really...

With spy\ad\virus ware, depending on the severity of the infection and no matter how many scans/programs you use, the problem will always come back. Malware has got so clever that it can regenerate itself even after a program has reported it as 'deleted'. It sounds like you may have a windows corruption of some sort + malware without seeing it.

I like to use webroot washer which zaps the HDD (partitions too so make sure you have backed up), then perform a clean install. Over time, windows errors/corruptions occur, so they will be gone too.

I like to think of scans etc as a patch up job (depending on the severity). No matter how many times you patch up a rusty hole with fillers, it's gonna fall out and get worse. So replacing the panel or reinstalling windows is the best option!

Others may disagree, but you don't want a customer returning a few weeks later to say their PC is back to the same state. As you may have prob guessed, this is my day job and speaking from experience.

my .02cents

J.S. Pill

humaxf1 wrote:

I like to think of scans etc as a patch up job (depending on the severity). No matter how many times you patch up a rusty hole with fillers, it's gonna fall out and get worse. So replacing the panel or reinstalling windows is the best option!

Thanks for that

My new computer should be with me soon so I'm only looking for a temporary solution. Fingers crossed then...

Your symptoms describe a "stop error." Boot into Safe Mode, then right-click My Computer > Properties. Click the Advanced tab and then the "Startup and Recovery" button. Uncheck the box which specifies "Automatically restart" and click OK. Now try to boot normally and see what error code it gives on the screen (such as 0x0000000a). That might help track down the problem.