My computer has just developed an annoying little quirk: it spontaneously restarts in the middle of Windows start-up. I have Windows XP Pro SP2, and every time it gets to the part of booting up where the little gray bars fill up across the bottom of the screen (right before the Windows logo is displayed on a black background), it will all of a sudden just restart and go back to the BIOS screen. So basically, it can never get past this point, and fails to give me any sort of message or information as to what exactly the problem is.

Even stranger is how the problem started: I was just doing typical everyday work on the computer when everything froze, the mouse cursor disappeared, and it would not respond to any input. I had to do a hard restart, and that's when the boot-up problem began.

This is not the first time this boot-up restarting thing has happened either. The first time I experienced it was a week ago and I ended up doing a clean re-install of Windows to fix it. But apparently that wasn't good enough, because it has resurfaced. So rather than re-install Windows again, I'd like to find out once and for all what the cause is.

Here is what I've already done to try to troubleshoot this:

1. I tried to start up using "Last Known Good Configuration", but this didn't fix anything.

2. I tried to start up in Safe Mode, but again, the same problem.

3. I tried to enable Boot Logging so I could see at what point exactly the problem was happening, but it never seems to produce the boot log file...or at least I can't ever find it. After enabling Boot Logging, and the boot-up fails, I enter the Recovery Console and try to find the "C:\WINDOWS\Ntbtlog.txt" file, but it is never there.

4. Next I started to remove pieces of hardware from my system one-by-one, trying to boot up after each one to see if it fixed anything. Now the only things plugged into my motherboard are my video card and one hard drive. Still, same problem.

5. Then I decided to get drastic and starting disabling start-up Services using the Recovery Console. I wrote down all the services marked as "SERVICE_BOOT_START", meaning they get loaded during the boot phase. I disabled them one at a time and discovered that the problem was still happening when all of them were disabled, except for the "ATAPI" service. The catch there is that when I disabled "ATAPI" I got a Stop message during boot-up that said it could not continue because it couldn't find the "C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys" file. So I can't say whether or not the "ATAPI" service is the one at fault for this spontaneous restarting business, because I have no way of checking for a successful boot-up when it is disabled.

Anyway, I've pretty much reached the end of my rope now, and I'm getting sick of re-installing Windows XP to fix this problem every time, since the true cause is something deeper than that. Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading all this

 

 

 

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Actually... the two most common causes for the symptoms that you are describing are either bad Main RAM, or bad Video Card RAM.

I would try to get my hands on a different video card... doesn't have to be anything fancy... just one that you know works fine. Replace your existing card and see if it boots.

Next... if you have more than one RAM module in your system, try removing them one at a time and see if that cures the problem.

One last thing to try is to find a jumper on your Motherboard labeled "Clear CMOS" there should be a set of three pins... with the jumper covering two of them. Power off the system and move the jumper to the opposite position. Leave the jumper in place for about 10 seconds... then move the jumper back to it's original position. This will reset the CMOS contents back to factory original settings.

Keep in mind that once you do this... you will lose any changes that you have made to BIOS and you may need to make some adjustments.

But it is worth a try to see if it cures the problem.

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I think you are forgetting the one simple thing: is your CPU over heating?

From what you have described the way it restarts even before it goes anywhere sounds like your CPU isn't getting cooled enough. The system froze with even the mouse icon disappearing sounds typical of CPU over heating. And I don’t know about you but it’s hotter than hell over here.

So, are you able to vacuum out the dust inside your case and fans and provide good ventilation with cooler temperature. Then, give it a go.

Let us know how that goes.

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You could try putting your hard disk into another machine, and the same with the graphics card, to see if there are problems with them. If the only things connected to your motherboard are a hard disk and the graphics card then you need some RAM to get the computer to do anything. As BuffaloHELP has suggested, your CPU may be overheating. Make sure all your fans are connected and all your fans are spinning when you switch the computer on. If you have a fan control dial, make sure you set the fans to spin as fast as possible to see if that solves the problem.

Flashing the BIOS is an option, but only as a last resort, and I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you have changed parts after you bought your PC.

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thanks it worked
bye.

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Would you wind saying WHAT worked since other users with the same problem will try that first since it's what they think will work since it works for you!

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It will never happen suddenly. It all started of a cause. D

Did you installed a new hardware device to your computer? If you did, remove it and see what happens.
Did you installed a software before this happens? If your did, you have to reformat your computer because most probably the boot files and parameters had gone out of order that there seemed impossible for another alternative.
Did it happened suddenly? Is your CPU fan got stuck or getting old in age? Change the fan and ensure a good ventilation inside your CPU case.
If all doesn't fall in above categories, your BIOs is most probably corrupted by either a virus or something likewise. Get your BIOs reflashed with a latest firmware, or get another motherboard.

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I had this same exact problem 2 years ago. Just do the recovery from the WinXP CD and reinstall the boot sector or something like that. I dont exactly remember what happened, but it worked.

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