strange computer problem, boot loop, please help!!

[arnoldma]

This is a bit random and has never happened to me before, this computer is pretty old, but always kept in good condition.

i'm on:

abit ic-7 max3, intel p4 prescott, radeon x800xt pe, enermax noisetaker 475 psu, wd 1tb black.

i switched off my computer last night by the power button (holding it down). hope thats not what caused it...

this afternoon, booted it up, i selected normal at normal or safe mode etc... (tried all other modes too), it got the black windows xp loading screen (where the bar goes back and forth below winxp logo),

BUT

where the bar stops and it normally loads into windows, it goes back to POST again (intel logo). and it just loops!!

the strangest thing is - after a few attempts, my motherboard warning siren starts going as well (much like a fire siren), it starts just after RAID loading screen (after intel logo). but the same thing still happens at black windows xp loading screen... and loops back to POST.

Does this sound famliar to anyone? the PSU is making a funny noise, so i thought it might be that, but surely it wont boot up at all if its PSU?

Please help guys, any input is appreciated, as im really stuck here...

i dont even know if its a hardware or software problem!

THANK YOU!!

 

[Harvey]

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i switched off my computer last night by the power button (holding it down). hope thats not what caused it...

Probably not.

this afternoon, booted it up, i selected normal at normal or safe mode etc... (tried all other modes too), it got the black windows xp loading screen (where the bar goes back and forth below winxp logo),

BUT

where the bar stops and it normally loads into windows, it goes back to POST again (intel logo). and it just loops!!

the strangest thing is - after a few attempts, my motherboard warning siren starts going as well (much like a fire siren), it starts just after RAID loading screen (after intel logo). but the same thing still happens at black windows xp loading screen... and loops back to POST.

Does this sound famliar to anyone? the PSU is making a funny noise, so i thought it might be that, but surely it wont boot up at all if its PSU?

The two tone siren sound generally indicates overheating or a voltage that's out of spec so that would be my first suspicion would be, and if you have another PSU, it's the easiest thing to test. Just sub it in. If it works, you've found the problem.

My next suspicion would be that the rebooting is caused by a virus, but first eliminate the possiblity of a failing PSU.

Hope that helps.

 

[arnoldma]

Hi All, just a quick update, i realised the siren is to do with the northbrdige fan, i unplugged it ages ago, and you have to tell bios to not warn you about it. it came back because i reset the bios while trouble shooting.

my psu i think has been making that noise for ages, prob fan problem...

i guess it srot of narrows it down to a software problem?

Harvey: thanks for the reply, is there a specific virus that will do this? i have kaspersky, i cant see how that might let a virus this bad through?

still no luck to solving the problem...

Thanks guys!

 

[Harvey]

Harvey: thanks for the reply, is there a specific virus that will do this? i have kaspersky, i cant see how that might let a virus this bad through?

I don't think any AV is perfect all the time. The bad guys are always trying to defeat your protection, and the good guys are always playing catch up as new viruses are created and released.

My solution is to keep a second drive the same size as my main drive mounted in a mobile rack like this:

I leave the second drive unplugged for daily operation. At least once a week, after sweeping for viruses, spyware, etc., I power down, plug in the second drive, and reboot to clone my drive using either the DOS version of Norton Ghost (for XP) or Acronis True Image (for either Win 7 or XP). I also clone my drive before I install any new program and after I make any other major changes or I've done a lot of work I can't afford to lose.

If my main drive dies, the other drive plugs in and runs with no re-installation of anything. If my main drive becomes infected or otherwise corrupted beyond repair, I'll try to save any new files (if possible without spreading the infection) and just clone back from my last good backup, and * poof * no more virus or corrupted files.

If your backup is clean, they can't take "today" away from you. It hasn't saved my ass since... ummm... three days ago.

When I see continuous rebooting on any machine, I assume it's a virus. On my machine and those of my friends who take my advice, I don't bother trying to clean the infections. It takes too long, and you're never sure whether you got all of it. I just clone back from my known running drive and be done with it. It takes all of a half hour using a drive connected directly to the motherboard. If you're backup drive is an external drive through a USB port, such as when backing up a laptop, it can take a few hours.

Getting back to your problem, if you want to be sure you're not infected going forward, I'd recommend installing Windows on a new drive, and only after installing and updating the latest versions of your protection, connect the old drive as a slave, and sweep it from the new installation before trying to rescue your files.

Remember that this may open your new installation to infection so backing up the new build before you try to recover your files is a good idea.

Acronis sells True Image for $49.99, but you can download an evaluation copy that will work for a limited time. I've seen it on sale in some stores for less, and sometimes free after rebate.

Seagate and Western Digital give free versions of it. The only restriction on these versions is that at least one of the drives (source or target) must be from the company whose version you're using.