Author Topic: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP  (Read 4660 times)

Heretic

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Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« on: February 01, 2010, 12:33:28 PM »
So I clicked on a file as I was browsing the web. The file opens, my windows shuts down and now when I reboot, the windows XP loading screen appears and it reboots me again, and again, and again. In addition, I see a message stating "Overcloaking failed", when I have never overcloaked my machine.

I am at loss to what to do, has anyone ever had the same problem?

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2010, 12:51:37 PM »
Stop downloading pr0n!

"Overcloaking" or "overclocking" failed?

Anyway, try to hit F8 repeatedly when you are booting up until the boot menu appears, then select safe mode.

From there, you can hit Run and type in msconfig.

Hit the "startup" bar, and see if you can spot anything suspicious, and disable it. Alternative, try to disable all.

Heretic

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2010, 01:07:59 PM »
Stop downloading pr0n!

O.O

Even the safe modes reboot. Its no use. :S

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2010, 01:18:40 PM »
Ah, my friend, then you are indeed in trouble.

Do you have a Windows install CD? Do you have a CD burner and an empty CD?


ThAnswr

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2010, 01:21:12 PM »
Stop downloading pr0n!

O.O

Even the safe modes reboot. Its no use. :S

I don't know how to say this and I am certainly no computer expert.  But something a little funny may be happening to your hard drive.  You may have to do a System Restore (F10) to solve the problem. 

But that is a last resort and it brings your computer back to the factory conditions program-wise but will save your files. 

The other thing you can do is do some research on the problem using someone else's machine.  If you're having a problem, so is somene else somewhere. 

Then there's my method to solve these problems:   New computer from Best Buy with no interest for 18 months. 

Good luck. 
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eyeofpestilence

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2010, 01:41:14 PM »
This does sound like a hard drive crash. I had same thing occur a few months ago.

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2010, 01:54:44 PM »
I had that problem last summer. News were not good at that time. I had to replace processor and motherboard. Hope it's something more cheaply fixable for you.
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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2010, 02:02:50 PM »
Ew. I had that issue last month. My Malwarebytes found a nasty virus and when I clicked the "Remove Selected" my Computer Restarted and then went into a loop reboot mode.

Unfortunately, I had to do a reinstall, cause I could not access even in safe mode. If as you say you were trying to access a file and it happened, you might have been infected. :( Hope that's not the case though

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2010, 02:05:53 PM »
After doing some research, I think the following are possible culprits:

1. a boot sector virus. These are pretty nasty and can damage your hardware

2. faulty power supply

3. corrupted memory

Since you said you "clicked on a file on the internet" I believe the most likey culprit is #1. A boot sector virus could easily damage your hardware, causing #2 and #3 to occur.

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Purist

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2010, 03:01:43 PM »
Solution format C:\

And hope everything is well afterwards.

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2010, 03:20:55 PM »
Heretic,  I hate to say this, but I experienced something like this before a long time ago.

It was on my personal computer, not my laptop, and my daddy said he had to wipe the whole hard drive, because it was a 'boot' virus.

it could also be hardware failing, though, but either way...  :/  It's bad news.
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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2010, 03:23:21 PM »
My dad yelled at me for not telling you this part, hehe.   Pop the hard drive out, throw it in another computer, and run malwarebytes anti-malware on it. if you can't access any data off of it, at all, or have issues accessing it.. you know it's toast.
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ThAnswr

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2010, 04:22:47 PM »
If you leave now for Best Buy, you could have a new computer up and running by dinner time.   :lol:

These problems never end well.  But there is a cautionary tale:  Keep all your important files on a portable hard drive or travel drive.  All my business files and recipes are on the portable. 

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Minstrel

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2010, 04:47:09 PM »
What kind of file was it...?

Assuming it wasn't pr0n, of course.

...

What am I thinking? Of course it was pr0n.

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #15 on: February 01, 2010, 06:39:45 PM »
With all the feature length, high quality HD, surround sound 'documentaries' some people have, you know that their time is up...

Good ideas to keep an external or portable HD and backup everything you might cry over if you lost it. Bit late now of course if you can't access the internal drive.

Suggest the dreaded reformat.

Heretic

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #16 on: February 01, 2010, 08:42:42 PM »
So I ditched Windows XP and installed Windows 7. Lets see how that does. Managed to save all important files, not the programs, so guess what I am doing right now!  :x

Purist

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #17 on: February 01, 2010, 08:46:03 PM »
Interesting, Heretic you're using single core? We have the same VGA, I'd like to know how Windows 7 behaves in a single core and how our card performs with Directx 10.

Heretic

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #18 on: February 01, 2010, 08:46:33 PM »
Interesting, Heretic you're using single core? We have the same VGA, I'd like to know how Windows 7 behaves in a single core and how our card performs with Directx 10.

I've a quad core.

Purist

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #19 on: February 01, 2010, 08:49:20 PM »
Mother....

Heretic

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #20 on: February 01, 2010, 08:51:05 PM »
Mother....

But, I know my brother uses a single core with Windows 7, the thing is 4 years old, runs better than it did with Windows XP, Windows 7 seems like a pretty good and stable system so far.

Purist

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #21 on: February 01, 2010, 09:04:37 PM »
Thank you for that information, but doesn't change the fact that you're such a sun of a beach! Quad core!? I struggle with this 5 years old athlon XP! Hate you!

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #22 on: February 02, 2010, 04:45:45 AM »
If it says Overclocking/cloaking fail on load, it's highly doubtful that it's just a hardware error. Anyway, glad you got it sorted in some way, even if it was brute force :)

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Re: Perpetual Reboot - Windows XP
« Reply #23 on: February 02, 2010, 07:20:27 AM »
Might be one of those viruses that sets your computer way too high in hardware configurations. Some stuff might just be possible to fix by defaulting the BIOS Setup settings. Hope you manage to solve it mate.