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Safe mode loop

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by simon.gracey

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Howdy
I was asked to look at a friends PC over the weekend that isn't working.
Basically when XP starts it goes straight to Safe Mode. Anything you select here sends it into reboot then it starts in Safe Mode again!
I got the blue screen up but nothing I selected did anything.
Can I reinstall XP & how do I do it.
HELP!

5 replies

by nepenthe0

It boots into Safe Mode because it cannot fully load Windows. Alas, you don't know why this is occurring. Yes, you could reinstall the operating system, but this is not necessarily a cure for the computer's ills.

1) Click the option [i]Disable automatic restart on system failure[/i] while in Safe Mode.

2) Check to see if you have a [i]restore point[/i] in System Restore when the computer was working properly. If so, perform a [i]Restore[/i] operation in Safe Mode.

3) If that fixes the glitch, no further investigation may be needed.

4) If that doesn't fix the glitch, run diagnostics on the hard drive. You can download the free [i]Seatools[/i] utility from Seagate:

http://tinyurl.com/yvq99t

5) Create a bootable CD with the freeware CDBurnerXP:

http://cdburnerxp.se/

6) Follow these instructions to create a bootable CD:

http://tinyurl.com/4f3coa

7) If the hard drive checks out OK, try reinstalling Windows from the installation/recovery CD. Boot the computer with the CD in the optical drive (be sure the BIOS is configured to seek the CD-ROM first).

If your troubles persist, please post back in this thread with more information.

Rick/Portland, OR

by ic-it

that the boot.ini file hasn't been set to /SafeBoot.
You could check this in safe mode by editing the hidden boot.ini file or by Start-Run-MSConfig-Boot.ini Tab - Uncheck SafeBoot.

by rob miners

I would at least try and get the clients information off the PC before I wiped it. Try this first. ;)

The Windows Vista Recovery CD can be used to Boot to a Command Prompt where you can connect to a USB Device to run Antivirus software.
It does'nt matter if the Default OS is XP it can still be used.

Creating a Windows Vista Recovery CD

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=622

http://coblitz.codeen.org/neosmart.net/downloads/guides/Vista_Repair/Vista_Recovery_Disc_x86.iso

Follow these steps to download and unzip the reg file then save it to a USB Stick

http://blog.didierstevens.com/2007/02/19/restoring-safe-mode-with-a-reg-file/

Boot from the CD and on the first screen click Next, click Repair your computer, click Next and select Command Prompt. Insert the memory stick. Type in regedt32 and Press Enter. Click on File, Import and double click Computer, navigate to the memory stick. Double click the .reg file and click OK. Close regedt32 and type exit and press Enter. Click Restart

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