# my computer keeps restarting before i get to the login screen



## lennytheshark38

pleases help,

one day i took my computer over to a friends house and when i plugged it in it took longer then usual to boot up, then after i logged in my computer was on the classic theme and i couldn't change it back, well the next day i wen back home and i figured out how to fix it. then the next day i went to another friends another friends house and my computer ended up on the classic theme again and i couldn't change it back at all this time. the next day i went back home and i plugged my computer in and when i boot it up it goes to a screen that ask me to either boot my computer using, safe mode, safe mode with networking, safe mode with command prompt, last known good configuration (advance), or start windows normally, and no matter which one i click on it will start booting up and when it gets to the screen were its loading and it says "windows corporation" it sits there loading for a while and then restarts, and just does that over and over again.

also, i am posting this from a different computer. the computer that i am having problems with is a acer aspir desktop, and it has windows vista home premium on it, and the reason i took it to my friends house was to play world of warcraft with him.

please help


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## casper0191

Well it sound to me that it's Operating System is corrupted. So best thing that you can do is to try to see if you can run in safe mode and then run a Virus scan and see if it can fix the problem. But if it can't get to in with safe mode then the last option is to reinstall the Operating System which is reformat that'll erase the files on it or system repair so that you won't loose the saved files on it.


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## lennytheshark38

when you say re-install my Operating system, do you mean re-install windows vista home premium onto my computer (thats what i have on it right now). how do i repair/ re-install windows vista on my computer if i cant even log in, i tryd using safe mode when booting my computer and it doesnt work. i would really like not to have to re-install vista on my computer and completly wipe it.


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## srhoades

Instead of safe mode choose disable automatic restart on system failure. Instead of restarting it will stay on a blue screen and should provide some more information as to what is causing the failure.


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## lennytheshark38

how do i disable the automatic restart???


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## srhoades

Hit F8 while the computer is starting and right before windows generally starts to load, you will get an extended menu of options.


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## lennytheshark38

im kinda confused, well when i boot my computer up theres a screen that comes up for a couple of secs that says press delete to enter some setup thing or press F12 to go to the boot menu, but if i dont hite any thing it goes to a screen that says at the top, "windows error recovery" and it ask's me to use safe mode or not or start windows normaly, but either one that i do it take me to the loading screen that says microsoft corp. and it will set there for a min or 2 loading, and thats when i started hitting F8, well after a couple of min it showed a blue screen for a quick sec and then restarted, when acualy am i suposed to hite F8, like right when i start my computer or when im on the loading screen.


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## srhoades

just start hitting F8 repeatedly while the computer is starting.


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## lennytheshark38

well the the blue screen came up, and it says "a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. then it says stuff about the problem might be because of an new hardware i have installed and stuff like that. what do i do now,


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## srhoades

OK, does safe mode work?


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## lennytheshark38

there are 3 different safe modes there is, safe mode, safe mode with networking, and safe mode with command prompt, and none of them work, i select it and it loads abunch of files then pauses for a couple secs then my computer restarts.


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## casper0191

Try "safe mode" first then.


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## casper0191

See this site http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial148.htmlhttp://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/101393-repair-vista-options-preferred-sequence.html
It's a guide how to perform a system repair for vista.


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## lennytheshark38

i tryd all 3 safe modes and all of them just load up a bunch of files the pause for a couple of sec, and then my computer restarts.


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## lennytheshark38

i tryd going to the link and when i get to the point were i put my vista disc in it starts reading the disc and spinning fast then it just stops and does nothing and sits on a all black screen


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## lennytheshark38

well i talked to another person about my computer problem and they said that my hard drive might be broken. does that sound like what might acually be that problem?


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## casper0191

Well Like a totally whacked Operating system. To looks of it you need a Reformat of your system but you'll loose your files that are saved on the computer once you do that. But still don't go to that option yet let me take a fewer more day to see what I can do or the other members can share.


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## aasimenator

Ok Do one thing disconnect all the hard drive that you have connected on your system then try to run the DVD & see if it goes ahead than before

PS: Do you have more that one Hard Drive?


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## lennytheshark38

i only have one hard drive, and when i disconnect the cables it acually goes into the disc


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## aasimenator

well you have to see if the setup goes further than what it had previously


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## lennytheshark38

it does proseed further than it did before, i can even do the repair and or install and all that other stuff


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## aasimenator

try connecting a different sata cable on a different port to the hard drive


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## lennytheshark38

i only have one set of SATA cables and there is only one set of plugins on the hard drive, but i tryd pluging the other ends of the sata cables into different spots on the motherboard but it didnt make a differnce still


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## casper0191

Well can you buy a SATA connector it's just about 3$ or lower.


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## lennytheshark38

i went to best buy to buy a SATA cable but they were $20, so i couldnt get one i didnt have that much on me, but i talked to a geek squad guy there and he said that it prolly isnt my SATA cable becuz thier really durible and the rarly break or go out, and he said its either my HDD, or some SATA thing on me mother board and he said if it is the thing on my mother board and its broke im prolly gonna have to buy a new computer.


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## casper0191

But still they said that it's rarely to happen right? So it's not out of the probability of problem.


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## lennytheshark38

i guess ill have to order on off the internet or some thing because im not gonna buy a SATA cable for $20 from best buy i cant afford that ill prolly find a cheaper one online


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## casper0191

alright then. I know it's expensive but it'll be handy id you have spare around. Also just want to ask if your Cd rom's connector is Sata.


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## lennytheshark38

my CD rom cable are not SATA, one is wide and skinny, then the other one is 8 different wires going into a connecter that connects to the CD rom


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## casper0191

So it's a IDE then Well then how about borrowing to your friends spare so that you could just test it so that you won't waste a 20$ for nothing.


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## lennytheshark38

ok. im taking it to a friend to have him take a look at it and ill tell him to try it.


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## casper0191

Good now tell us the results alright. But that seems a bad idea. Letting your friend to have a look on your own personal hard drive?


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## lennytheshark38

well i didnt really mean friend, its my brothers wife's step dad thats gonna take a look at it hes pretty good with computers, but why is it a bad idea for him to look at my personal hard drive?


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## casper0191

Well alright then if it's a relative I think it's fine. I said that you might have private files on your hard drive. But if it's a relative then maybe it's alright.


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## EAFiedler

Thread reopened per request.


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## casper0191

Alright now how was the situation of the computer?


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## lennytheshark38

After having my computer looked at by a family friend he said he's not positive but he's pretty sure that it is the hard drive that's broken, he said he even tried using his own SATA cable on my computer and it didn't make a difference and he said that if it was the motherboard that was broken the computer probably wouldn't be doing any thing at all. Also i talk to geek squad and they said it would be $70 to run a diagnostics check on my PC. But iv already looked into getting a hard drive and this is the one that I'm thinking about getting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136359 , It seems like a good HDD to me and cheap and lots of memory. but what should i do get the HDD or what are some other suggestions if their is any way of avoiding doing that $70 diagnostics cuz it sounds like a rip off let me know, lol. of if any one is pretty sure that its my hard drive let me know please


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## lennytheshark38

P.S. If i take apart my hard drive is their some thing imparticulal that i can look for that might be broken to know for sure that it is?.


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## lennytheshark38

P.S. If i do get a new hard drive i have to re-install my OS and the disc i have that came with my PC when i bought it says it is a upgrade disc but iv used it to re-install/ re-format my PC before, so I'm kind of confused is it a upgrade only disc or does it do both upgrade and install. Also it is windows vista.


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## avisitor

No. Do not take apart your hard drive. The data on it will become permanently irrecoverable.

You should be able to use your manufacturer's disk to reinstall your PC. 

The linked HD should work fine. I'm more of a Seagate fan, but it's your choice. I'd suggest picking up a second SATA cable (and power cable, if necessary) so you can connect both drives and transfer your information from one to the other.


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## casper0191

But still your cousin said that even though he used his spare hard drive it still didn't recognizes it right?


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## lennytheshark38

No the person that took a look at my PC only tried using his SATA cable to see if that might have been the problem, but if my hard drive is broke and i get a new hard drive and install it how am i supposed to be able to recover the stuff from the broken hard drive like avisito said. how can i know for sure its my hard drive that is broken before i go out and buy a new one.


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## casper0191

Well you can try to follow what avisito said. But not so sure what is his methods but you could probably try to get some stuff on it if you make the broke hard drive if you make it as a slave on the computer.


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## avisitor

Well, SATA doesn't really have the concept of a slave, per se. However, you can connect multiple drives simultaneously, then you just choose the one you want to boot from in BIOS.

Ok, the only way to know for sure if your HD is broken or not is to run SMART diagnostics from a CD like Knoppix. I was under the impression that you'd already determined that. Most likely, it's just your OS that's screwed up. 

Let's try and get your thread moved to the appropriate forum.


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## lennytheshark38

but if it was my OS why cant i boot the OS install disc and re-install vista on my PC.


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## casper0191

Have you tried to make or set up the cmos to boot up first on the CD/DVDdriver? You need first to set up the boot priority on the cmos to make the computer boot up on the OS cd installer. 

You didn't do that yet?


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## lennytheshark38

well what i did was when when i had the disc in, and every time my computer boots i get to a screen that ask if i wanna do safe mode and stuff or i can select boot from disc and i do that, but the disc will start spinning but then it slows down and my computer freezes at a black screen, but if i boot my computer then when i get to the screen that ask if i wanna boot from disc and i unplug my hard drive then do the boot from disc it goes into the disc and stuff like its supposed to but i cant install it because my hard drive is unplugged and if i plug it back in it still wont let me install my OS.


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## avisitor

Ok, you need to change the boot priority in BIOS. Make sure CD comes before HD.


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## lennytheshark38

BOIS as in when i boot my computer and at the beginning i hite F6 ( or what ever key it is) and it takes me to a screen with a blue background and all sorts of options and settings?.


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## casper0191

Well you have to wait a little longer once you have booted up on CD. There will be an option there that will ask if you want to proceed on installing the OS. 

Just want to ask is it your first time to perform a computer OS format?


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## avisitor

lennytheshark38 said:


> BOIS as in when i boot my computer and at the beginning i hite F6 ( or what ever key it is) and it takes me to a screen with a blue background and all sorts of options and settings?.


Yes. There should be a menu with the boot options. Adjust the priority so that CD comes before Hard Drive.

Once you do that, pop in your Vista disk and hit any key when it says "Hit any key to boot from CD/DVD"


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## lennytheshark38

yeah i did that and it went to the white loading bar then after that it went to an all black screen then did nothing.


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## avisitor

How long have you let it sit there. I've seen times where it can take a while.


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## lennytheshark38

i let it set for at least 5mins and nothing happened.


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## avisitor

Let it sit for an hour. See what happens.


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## casper0191

Well you might have a Bad Os installer.


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## lennytheshark38

I let it set for over an hour and nothing happened.


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## casper0191

Well that is concluded you need to try other installer. or you can try to see if using other Cd rom or DVD driver would also work.


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## avisitor

I'm not inclined to fault the HD, yet. 

Can you try the install media on another computer. Just see if you get further. You don't need to install it.


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## casper0191

avisitor said:


> I'm not inclined to fault the HD, yet.
> 
> Can you try the install media on another computer. Just see if you get further. You don't need to install it.


Exactly. But if it came up that it's a HD problem you might need to format it first in another computer you know make a slave then back up file if you want to but if its still ends up yopu still can't install the Os on taht hard drive consider it that it's failing hard drive.

But first do what he wanted you to do at least know if your Os installer is not failing.


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## lennytheshark38

I'm pretty sure the disc is fine their are no scratch's or any thing on it and i used 1 other times to re-format my computer, i used it about a month ago before the computer started doing this stuff.


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## avisitor

This is sounding like it might be a motherboard problem.

You say it works when you don't have the HD connected?

I guess a new HD is the cheapest possible test, though, I'm starting to doubt it's the right problem (or at least the root cause.)


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## lennytheshark38

Yeah if i unplug my HD and try to run my OS disc it works.


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## casper0191

good point might the mother board but still it during the process where the Cd scans the whole hard wares where does scan stop at? you know when you are going to start the Os re installation


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## lennytheshark38

i get all the way to the point to install the OS but then it asks me to pick a device to save/ install to (or some thing like that) and their is nothing to choose because my HD is unplugged.


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## casper0191

Oh... look like really a bad hard drive then. but why don't you try to see if other computer can detect that hard drive. Then back up thing the n format it in that computer. when i say format i mean just format you'll just need to see if other computer can fix if there is a bad sector on it.


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## lennytheshark38

So you want me to connect the HD to another computer and see if it detects it? 
And if that is what you want me to do i don't know if i can do it from this computer I'm posting from because its a laptop, i might be able to do it from a friends computer, but how exactly should i do it, just plug my HD(should i unplug the other HD in the computer?) into the inside of the computer and try to boot the computer up, or leave the other HD in and plug my HD in and boot and see if it detects my HD, and if it does detect it how do i back it up and format it?


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## casper0191

Well yes install it in to your friend's computer as a slave. then of course start the computer see if that computer can access that hard drive. Then just back up the files that you needed ask your friend if he has a DVD burner so that you can burn it after you copy them. Then right click your hard drive that been installed then perform a format on it. Then run check disk on it. to see if it can be still be fix. once you done all of those. install it back to your computer then reinstall the OS once more then see if it'll continue on installing now.


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