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URGENT: XP keeps restarting non-stop

R

RevoluChe

Member
I need some major help.

My uncle just dropped off his laptop for me to fix. It has Windows XP Pro loaded, and the operating system keeps starting over and over non-stop. When the computer is powered on, it boots all the way to the XP loading screen, then restarts in a never ending loop. It doesnt matter what boot option (using F8) I use. Meaning, choosing to start in Safe Mode does the same thing, choosing to start in VGA Mode does the same thing, choosing to start with Last Known Good Configuration does the same thing. I'm so confused. Keep in mind that it is a P4 VAIO laptop. I have started it using both the battery source, AND a power supply.

Also, anyone remember where you go in WinXP to create a start-up disk?
 
Ok after checking out the MS website, I believe the kernel may be corrupt. But that presents another problem. To fix it, I need to boot with the WinXP CD, enter system recovery, and type a few commands that will recopy kernel32.dll. The problem is that when system recovery is started, it asks for the administrator password. My uncle tells me that he did not enter a password. So the password is either <blank> or the default password (whatever that might be.) Therefore I am not able to start system recovery and fix the system. My question is this: is there a way to recover a password without being able to start Windows XP? Or is there another way for me to copy kernel32.dll to the system without entering system recovery? Also, anyone know what, if any, the default password windows assigns to the administrator account is?

Please help...thanks.
 
There is no default password. So its either blank, or he entered something.

If the drive is fat32 you can simple boot with a windows 98 floppy and and copy the file from the CD...

If its NTFS you'll have to do some searching for an NTFS capable boot floppy..
 
Yes Daz!! I need another way to copy the file in. Using a boot disk I made with this computer (also XP) I cannot access drive C. Can you be a little more specific as to how I can boot the computer with a floppy containing the kernel and still be able to access the C drive so I can copy the file to the computer.

Thanks!
 
Thanks to Daz and Lord Evermore from my other post for your help. You guys pointed me in the right direction. My uncle's password was blank, but the recovery system does not accept an empty password for whatever reason. I am going to try to change the password and run the recovery from the CD again.
 
Dude, there could be 100 things causing this problem from hardware to software. First thing you
need to do is get the thing to a computer store where they can properly diagnose the problem.
My bet is your uncle downloaded a virus and executed it and it broke windows.
 
Had this problem after i made some ACPI settings change. You need to re-install XP, then tell it to rescue the old install. It will reinstall the os, but keep all your apps and such. You will need to dload all the updates again....

 
Ya foxkm, after hours of trying to get file access to the NTFS HDD with a boot disk, I was able to edit the registry and make system recovery not ask for a password. But unpacking a new kernel32.dll did not solve the problem. But thanks to BlackFlaggs response, I reinstalled the OS and asked it to repair my old installation. I thought If I did this it would wipe out the old registry, rendering the programs unusable for the most part. But I followed your advice, and even though it did a complete reinstall, it saved all previous information, so nothing got changed.

Scratch one more for the great help at Anandtech Forums =)
Thanks guys.
 
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