StarDestroyer.Net BBS

the computer i normally use has crashed and I'm unable to get it restarted, or to be more specific unable to get it to do anything but restart. it's possibly a virus but not probable as i had multiple virus scanners running nightly checks on it and they came up clean right up to the crash.

it may just be the computers age getting to it. I'd rather not take it to get repaired or replace the hard drive myself, because it would be like putting a new transmission in an old car with a clunky engine. I'm looking into getting a low-end new one, but with even the cheapest modern comp coming in at around $500 for just the tower this might take awhile.

We're gonna need a little bit more. What are the computer's specs? What's it doing upon restart? Can you see the boot information, and if so, can you see the hard drive? Are there any beeps?

it starts up normally up untill a certin point when it has the windows logo and a loading bar, it loads for a bit and then restarts itself. even when trying to start in safe mode it runs through the system files and then restarts itself.

i posted details in a thread a few months ago let me see if i can find it, all i can remember off the top of my head is that its an e-machines with a celeron(sp?) running XP home edition.

Your hard drive can't be completely pooched, if it's at least starting to load XP. I recommend a repair install, though I'd wait for advice from someone smarter than I am before starting that.

I see two possibilities here. One is what SCRawl suggested, that a system file is missing/corrupted, in which case you might be able to get your data back, and at worst you'll have to reformat. In that case, nothing's wrong with your hardware. The other possibility is that there's something up with your power supply or motherboard that's causing the system to restart. You can test for this by booting from a CD (like the XP install CD), and seeing if the computer restarts. If it doesn't, perform a repair install as described here. If for some reason that doesn't work, you might consider a reformat, but it's possible there are intermediate steps you can take. Please note that I Am Not An Expert.

If your computer does restart while booted from CD, you'll want to find documentation for your power supply, and maybe your motherboard. There might be useful troubleshooting information there. Could be something as easy as a button that needs to be pressed.

i don't have the CD i got the computer used, is it something i should be able to find easy?

I've seen this problem with HP and Fujitsu-Siemens and a few home rig machines that were running F-Secure based AV software. There have also been problems with HP machines trying to use certain Vodafone Mobile Connect devices with either Vista or XP, the machine goes to eternal boot loop due to something fucking up the system on account of incompatibilities.

If your case fits any of these criteria, you're most likely up the creek without a paddle. In most cases, the doctor prescribes nuking the site from orbit and reinstalling from scratch.