[Mike+9]

Hey guys! I went today to see a PC and the problem with it was that it was restarting after the desktop loaded. I tried restarting it 3 times and I always got the same result. Then I tried using the repair option in the windows XP setup from a CD. The strange thing here is that when it was reaching a certain point in the setup it restarted. I tried 3 times and it always restarted when it got to that exact point of the setup. Also I got a beep when it restarted the PC. That beep is present when I press the restart button too so I am guessing there is no problem with it.

Now I have seen this restart thing 2 times: once with my laptop and once at a guy's PC, both cases was because the HDD was going bye bye. That's why I think that's the problem with the current PC. I will go on Saturday to check it's HDD with a software on a USB and I will also check the RAM.

What do you guys think? Is there any chance to be something else? I would like to test something else too in case I am wrong.

This post has been edited by Mike+9: 13 September 2012 - 09:32 AM

[DarenR]

um your really haven't told us much other then you restarted the computer and it got stuck...

so wheer does it get stuck?
are you able to boot in safe mode?
do you get error messages?

etc

[tlhIn`toq]

Does it do this weird stuff if you boot into safemode?

If not, then it is a software problem: Some virus or corruption.


Next: Its WinXP. Though pretty stable its a sign this computer is years and years old. There is no telling how many times its had power loss while running and so on. If there is enough room on the HDD you could install a second boot partition.


Drives are cheap. Why spend more on diagnostic hours than just buying a new 3TB drive? The answer is always the same anyway: Reinstall from scratch - and while you're at it put in 2 partitions: Win7 and Win8. That way he can have Win7 to really work on, or boot to Win8 and start getting comfortable for what's coming down the pipe.

[modi123_1]

... does it click? Does it hum oddly or in a pattern? Does it even sound like it's spinning?

[Mike+9]

DarenR, on 13 September 2012 - 09:42 AM, said:

um your really haven't told us much other then you restarted the computer and it got stuck...



etc

I haven't said anything else because that's about it.

Quote

so wheer does it get stuck?

There but before network, when it says installing devices or something like that. When that green loading bar gets to about 75% it restarts. Always, at the same point.

Quote

are you able to boot in safe mode?

I am able to boot in normal mode and safe mode but it restarts after starting it.

Quote

do you get error messages?

Nothing at all. An error would help me a lot.

tlhIn`toq, on 13 September 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

Does it do this weird stuff if you boot into safemode?

If not, then it is a software problem: Some virus or corruption.

It does. And still, when installing it how would a virus actually work? Windows xp is not really started, it is installing.

Quote

Next: Its WinXP. Though pretty stable its a sign this computer is years and years old. There is no telling how many times its had power loss while running and so on. If there is enough room on the HDD you could install a second boot partition.

The power loss I can agree with. I had them a lot these days too and he lives near by.

Quote

Drives are cheap. Why spend more on diagnostic hours than just buying a new 3TB drive? The answer is always the same anyway: Reinstall from scratch - and while you're at it put in 2 partitions: Win7 and Win8. That way he can have Win7 to really work on, or boot to Win8 and start getting comfortable for what's coming down the pipe.

3TB? Let's see, that's about as expensive as his father's salary so I wouldn't count on buying one too soon.

[tlhIn`toq]

Maybe this 10+ year old OS doesn't like the hardware you have.
See if it does the same behavior trying to install Win7

[Mike+9]

modi123_1, on 13 September 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

... does it click? Does it hum oddly or in a pattern? Does it even sound like it's spinning?

No clicks but then again, there were no clicks when mine failed either.

tlhIn`toq, on 13 September 2012 - 09:53 AM, said:

Maybe this 10+ year old OS doesn't like the hardware you have.
See if it does the same behavior trying to install Win7

I don't think so since this pc is 4 years old and had windows xp from the beginning.

[tlhIn`toq]

Mike+9, on 13 September 2012 - 10:53 AM, said:

3TB? Let's see, that's about as expensive as his father's salary so I wouldn't count on buying one too soon.

Where the heck are you? A 3tb drive is about US$140. Which is about 15 hrs labor for a kid working the fast-food counter at McDonalds.
http://www.frys.com/...CH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Mike+9, on 13 September 2012 - 10:54 AM, said:

had windows xp from the beginning.

Then it should have a restore partition on it. Back up the data and restore it to factory condition. That way you still have all the device drivers and so on.

This post has been edited by tlhIn`toq: 13 September 2012 - 09:58 AM

[no2pencil]

Mike+9, on 13 September 2012 - 12:54 PM, said:

tlhIn`toq, on 13 September 2012 - 09:53 AM, said:

Maybe this 10+ year old OS doesn't like the hardware you have.
See if it does the same behavior trying to install Win7

I don't think so since this pc is 4 years old and had windows xp from the beginning.

Are you using restore disks or OEM Windows Install CD?
What lead to the reinstall?
Can you validate this install disk with another system? Has it ever worked?

I would suggest your media is bad, if the hd was bad it would throw a read/write error & move on. When an installer hangs, it's processing, not data storage & retrieval. & because it hangs at the same time, every iteration of the process, you can rule out RAM, because the R stands for random

[Mike+9]

3TB HDD in Romania

So, 800 Lei is about the minimum wage salary here. You see the problem.

[modi123_1]

Hmmm.. I would almost barter ya something for a drive.. Though 3tb might be a bit much for WindowsXP.

[Mike+9]

no2pencil, on 13 September 2012 - 09:59 AM, said:

Are you using restore disks or OEM Windows Install CD?
What lead to the reinstall?
Can you validate this install disk with another system? Has it ever worked?

I would suggest your media is bad, if the hd was bad it would throw a read/write error & move on. When an installer hangs, it's processing, not data storage & retrieval. & because it hangs at the same time, every iteration of the process, you can rule out RAM, because the R stands for random

I'm using a OEM Windows Install CD.
I got to reinstall it because it was restarting after windows loaded up, every time.

And I have tried this CD one day before at a friend installing windows and I had no such problem at all.

[DarenR]

it sounds like a virus/malware--- have you formated the drive?

[no2pencil]

DarenR, on 13 September 2012 - 01:09 PM, said:

it sounds like a virus/malware--- have you formated the drive?

Though formatting for an OS install is a good idea, I have never seen a virus do this, & would be incredibly hard pressed to believe virus/malware to be the root cause of an OS install stopping at the same exact position on each attempt.

I would first boot the machine into BIOS, reset defaults, attempt reinstall.
Check the install disk for scratches, possibly try another cd/dvd drive.

[Mike+9]

no2pencil, on 13 September 2012 - 10:42 AM, said:

Though formatting for an OS install is a good idea, I have never seen a virus do this, & would be incredibly hard pressed to believe virus/malware to be the root cause of an OS install stopping at the same exact position on each attempt.

That's why I rulled out malware or any virus.

Quote

I would first boot the machine into BIOS, reset defaults, attempt reinstall.
Check the install disk for scratches, possibly try another cd/dvd drive.

I tried using the defaults in BIOS and haven't got any luck at all. I'll try to install windows 7 and if I still get this then it must be hardware related.