Redkop

After I downloaded Ad-Aware yesterday on another PC - I rebooted and the PC now only gets as far as the Windows XP Pro window and then 'No Signal Input' comes on the monitor screen and the machine starts to reboot again and go through same sequence.

I have tried starting it in Safe Mode and it won't, have also tried 'last known good configuration' from the DOS window and nothing.

mj

can you switch back to onboard graphics?

Redkop

Can't do anything.

ajm

The fact that it is rebooting on its own suggests to me that it is most likely not a video problem. The symptoms described *usually* happen due to one of the following:-

1) Corruption of startup files (if you are lucky)
2) Hard disk problem (if you are unlucky)

Try booting from the XP CD and choosing to Repair System. See http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm under "XP Repair install" for details.

If the disk isn't damaged, or the data isn't too damaged then you should be able to do a system repair without affecting any information on the disk.

mj

another thought, probly miles off the mark knowing me


my gran's XP machine was doing the same thing as yours a while back - XP disc+repair console+FIXMBR did the trick

mj

the graphics- what I meant was, can you plug the monitor VGA plug into the motherboard VGA socket - this is assuming that you curently have a separare graphics card, you would probably have to enable on board graphics in the bios.

might be worth a try

Redkop

Thanks ajm, I tried booting from XP CD after having to change boot up order in BIOS. I aborted it when I came to the window which said....

This partition is either too full, damaged, not formatted or formatted with incompatible file system. To continue installing, Set Up must format this partition.
CAUTION formatting will delete any files on the partition

I think I will take it somewhere that might be able to somehow save/recover the files if they are still there and let them do a new install.

Way over my head is this sort of thing.

ajm

Sounds like the file system is badly corrupted. If the disk itself is in working order it may be recoverable if the damaged data is confined to the disk sectors local to the startup files (your data is likely to be physically further away assuming it wasn't too fragmented)

If the disk itself has a physical fault then recovery could be costly if not impossible I'm afraid!

Does the disk spin up ok? No funny ticking noises? Is it detected successfully in BIOS?

mj

did you load the recovery console? that sounds like a message you get at installation only.

with XP, i *think* you get an option to press R as the CD first fires up-look at http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;314058

usual "shot down & pissed on" disclaimers apply

Redkop

Yes it seemed to and BIOS found it. The files on there aren't that vitally important, so not really a great loss, just an inconvenience if they can't be recovered. One thing I did notice though and I have wondered about this before, that machine was FAT32 and when the message came up to Set Up XP, it said it would be to NTFS. Think I will leave it to the experts. Thanks anyway.

mj

err, you're already are doing that - ajm&mj ( note the billing order )

Redkop

Lol... I mean hands on people to do it. I know you are 'experts' but you are trying to tell a right clueless person how to do it

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Any idea what make the hard disc is? As it may give some insight, as if that make/model is prone to failure then you pretty much pinpointed the problem.

Redkop

Not a clue Ali