Help me get out of Windows boot loop purgatory
August 24, 2011 1:28 PM Subscribe
Why is Windows 7 rebooting during boot?
Basically I'm looking for anecdata, to see if anyone knows what this problem might be and how to fix it.
The computer is a HP Slimline s5510f. Refurbished. Out of warranty now because I procrastinated in solving this, but this has been a problem from Day 1.
The computer will restart while it is trying to boot Windows 7 (64-bit), launching it into an incredibly frustrating boot loop. This happens with safe mode and with system recovery also. It usually gets as far as displaying "Starting Windows". With System Recovery, it says "Loading Files", fills a progress bar, and then reboots.
But sometimes it mysteriously works just fine. If it does get all the way booted, Windows is stable and usable until I shutdown. The problem returns after a couple of successful boots.
I've tried, fruitlessly:
* Restoring Windows from HP recovery disc
* Installing all Windows updates and updating all drivers
* Running "System Repair" from the HP recovery disc. This chugs away for an hour, and fixes the problem long enough to boot once.
* Running all of the BIOS diagnostic tests; everything's peachy.
Before I wiped the HD and restored Windows 7, I tried installing a dual-boot Linux. Linux had no problems booting. (The boot problem preceded the Linux installation)
I've read online that I should try running "bootrec.exe" to fix the MBR... but the HP recovery disc I have does not give me a console option or any other way to select the repair tools that are run.
Any ideas? Does this sound like a hardware or software problem?
Basically I'm looking for anecdata, to see if anyone knows what this problem might be and how to fix it.
The computer is a HP Slimline s5510f. Refurbished. Out of warranty now because I procrastinated in solving this, but this has been a problem from Day 1.
The computer will restart while it is trying to boot Windows 7 (64-bit), launching it into an incredibly frustrating boot loop. This happens with safe mode and with system recovery also. It usually gets as far as displaying "Starting Windows". With System Recovery, it says "Loading Files", fills a progress bar, and then reboots.
But sometimes it mysteriously works just fine. If it does get all the way booted, Windows is stable and usable until I shutdown. The problem returns after a couple of successful boots.
I've tried, fruitlessly:
* Restoring Windows from HP recovery disc
* Installing all Windows updates and updating all drivers
* Running "System Repair" from the HP recovery disc. This chugs away for an hour, and fixes the problem long enough to boot once.
* Running all of the BIOS diagnostic tests; everything's peachy.
Before I wiped the HD and restored Windows 7, I tried installing a dual-boot Linux. Linux had no problems booting. (The boot problem preceded the Linux installation)
I've read online that I should try running "bootrec.exe" to fix the MBR... but the HP recovery disc I have does not give me a console option or any other way to select the repair tools that are run.
Any ideas? Does this sound like a hardware or software problem?
Best answer: If you've restored windows from the recovery disk, it's almost certainly not a software or boot record issue.
As far as I can tell, you've either got a hardware problem, or a driver running haywire at boot time (hence the fact that Linux is OK -- or Linux happens to be able to able to gracefully handle a hardware fault that Windows cannot).
My first recommendation is to unplug any/all unnecessary USB devices and peripherals.
My second recommendation would be to download and run Memtest86+ to confirm that you don't have bad RAM (a common source of weird/random crashing). This will take a few hours at minimum. Leave it running overnight.
My third recommendation would be to update your system BIOS with the latest version from HP's website.
My fourth recommendation would be to take a peek at the Windows Event Log, and see if you can find anything out of the ordinary. It may offer some insight into which driver happens to be crashing. There may be a way to extract this information if you boot from a Linux Live CD/DVD (Apparently this app can do it, although there may be an easier way... anyone? Bueller?). As Pogo Fuzzybutt said, we need to figure out what's triggering the reboot to move any further forward.
Oh, and take a look at your hard drive's S.M.A.R.T. status with a utility like CrystalDiskInfo so that we can make sure that it isn't slowly dying. There are a variety of similar tools for Linux.
posted by schmod at 1:59 PM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
As far as I can tell, you've either got a hardware problem, or a driver running haywire at boot time (hence the fact that Linux is OK -- or Linux happens to be able to able to gracefully handle a hardware fault that Windows cannot).
My first recommendation is to unplug any/all unnecessary USB devices and peripherals.
My second recommendation would be to download and run Memtest86+ to confirm that you don't have bad RAM (a common source of weird/random crashing). This will take a few hours at minimum. Leave it running overnight.
My third recommendation would be to update your system BIOS with the latest version from HP's website.
My fourth recommendation would be to take a peek at the Windows Event Log, and see if you can find anything out of the ordinary. It may offer some insight into which driver happens to be crashing. There may be a way to extract this information if you boot from a Linux Live CD/DVD (Apparently this app can do it, although there may be an easier way... anyone? Bueller?). As Pogo Fuzzybutt said, we need to figure out what's triggering the reboot to move any further forward.
Oh, and take a look at your hard drive's S.M.A.R.T. status with a utility like CrystalDiskInfo so that we can make sure that it isn't slowly dying. There are a variety of similar tools for Linux.
posted by schmod at 1:59 PM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you believe the MBR is hosed and not being repaired correctly, booting from a Linux recovery disk like GParted Live CD might be worth trying (more on what you can do with GParted).
posted by tommasz at 2:01 PM on August 24, 2011
posted by tommasz at 2:01 PM on August 24, 2011
Response by poster: Lots of good advice, thanks.
I disabled reboot-on-error, now I get a lovely BSOD, but gives different kernel files and addresses which supports the hardware problem theory. The only weird looking thing in the event log is lots of "Cache Hierarchy Error" warnings, always on CPU 0. Googling this doesn't give a consensus, suggesting it could be CPU, RAM, or motherboard. Or it might be a red herring.
CrystalDiskInfo gives my hard disk's SMART a clean bill of health. Running Memtest86+ right now.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 3:00 PM on August 24, 2011
I disabled reboot-on-error, now I get a lovely BSOD, but gives different kernel files and addresses which supports the hardware problem theory. The only weird looking thing in the event log is lots of "Cache Hierarchy Error" warnings, always on CPU 0. Googling this doesn't give a consensus, suggesting it could be CPU, RAM, or motherboard. Or it might be a red herring.
CrystalDiskInfo gives my hard disk's SMART a clean bill of health. Running Memtest86+ right now.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 3:00 PM on August 24, 2011
What drivers are crashing specifically? If we can get some more detailed info on what parts of the kernel are crashing out, we may be able to pinpoint it.
If it really is random, RAM is really your most likely culprit, as CPUs rarely go bad unless the cooling fan fails. Motherboards are a different (and trickier) story, as are power supplies. Still, the fact that you do occasionally have a stable system is really baffling.
tl;dr; after memtest, run a CPU test of some sort, and check that heatsink! The Ultimate Boot CD has a few cpu stress tests. Mersenne seems to be a popular one.
posted by schmod at 8:59 PM on August 24, 2011
If it really is random, RAM is really your most likely culprit, as CPUs rarely go bad unless the cooling fan fails. Motherboards are a different (and trickier) story, as are power supplies. Still, the fact that you do occasionally have a stable system is really baffling.
tl;dr; after memtest, run a CPU test of some sort, and check that heatsink! The Ultimate Boot CD has a few cpu stress tests. Mersenne seems to be a popular one.
posted by schmod at 8:59 PM on August 24, 2011
Response by poster: (follow up)
I couldn't attribute the crashes to any particular driver. The BSOD messages were different every time, and it would crash even in safe mode and when booting from the DVD recovery discs (which rules out the hard drive, also, I think)
Memtest86+ ran overnight and reported no errors. I didn't have any extra RAM sitting around, but I did try removing individual SIMMs.
Here is a post I made on the Windows 7 help forums that details more efforts to diagnose the problem.
Ultimately I wasn't able to fix it. I sold the computer for $100 on Craigslist, with full disclosure, to a guy who rehabilitates and flips PCs as a hobby.
Lesson learned: Avoid HP.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 1:28 PM on September 24, 2011
I couldn't attribute the crashes to any particular driver. The BSOD messages were different every time, and it would crash even in safe mode and when booting from the DVD recovery discs (which rules out the hard drive, also, I think)
Memtest86+ ran overnight and reported no errors. I didn't have any extra RAM sitting around, but I did try removing individual SIMMs.
Here is a post I made on the Windows 7 help forums that details more efforts to diagnose the problem.
Ultimately I wasn't able to fix it. I sold the computer for $100 on Craigslist, with full disclosure, to a guy who rehabilitates and flips PCs as a hobby.
Lesson learned: Avoid HP.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 1:28 PM on September 24, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can disable it from windows, in the system options. I'm told that you can also do it from the f8 "safe mode" options, but I haven't had cause to try it yet.
system properties, advanced tab, startup and recovery button
Given that linux seems to have no problem, I tend to think it's a software issue. Video and chipset drivers are pretty notorious for preventing windows from booting. Make certain that the drivers you are using actually match the hardware - also latest doesnt always mean the most stable. In addition, make sure the bios hasn't got some setting that windows doesn't like (enabling AHCI on the Intel ICH9M chips for example)
That said, it doesn't rule out a hardware problem. I would run memtest overnight, and do a full install of linux and see what happens.
The console option is an advanced option under windows setup. The HP disc may have automated that part away. In any case, a successful boot to safe mode command prompt only will allow you to do that.
As for repairing the MBR - windows should do this automatically during setup, which is part of the HP recovery.
I would set up windows, disable the automatic reboot and see what the BSOD says. Then go from there.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:53 PM on August 24, 2011 [1 favorite]