Boot loop after switching around a few things


  1. Posts : 47
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
       #1

    Boot loop after switching around a few things


    My computer goes into a boot loop whenever I try to start it. This began after I got a few 'new' parts (they were new to me) from an older computer I received, namely a graphics card and a power supply.

    I installed said parts to a working computer I have, and started it up. Now, this is what is currently happening; I press the power button on the case, lights and fans start up, everything sounds okay. One beep sounds (IIRC that means everything's a-okay) and it gets to the mobo manufacturer's custom Press X to POST Press X to Run BIOS Setup splash screen/graphic. On the Starting Windows screen, and this is where it happens. Normally in Windows 7 there is a sort of animation on that screen that looks something like small bubbles (we'll call it that) spiraling and eventually creating the iconic Windows logo. I don't get that animation. I see two parallel bubbles and the computer immediately restarts. Cue the same exact process, over and over and over. I get no option for safe mode, startup repair doesn't help. It's endless.

    I just got a new Motherboard, CPU and RAM from newegg that I ordered a few days ago. I thought this would fix the problem. It didn't, it's still happening. I thought, oh, since the mobo, CPU and RAM are brand new it might be a hard drive problem. So, I switched out a hard drive with one I have from a prebuilt computer, same endless reboot process.

    I would also like to point out that a 500GB hard drive I got from the older computer I wrote about in the first sentences, turned out to be identical to the one I have in my prebuilt, so I switched it out to see what I could find. I found Windows Vista and it was password protected, so I figured I wouldn't bother with trying to crack it. I proceeded to install Windows 7 Ultimate on it and wanted to give it to a friend since I had no use for it and he only had a 160GB laptop hard drive. I loaded up games and programs on the hard drive, and went to his place. Hooked it up, and whaddaya know; same boot loop problem. Don't know if this detail might help.

    I've tried searching around on forums and here and on google, but the boot loop posts I find are mostly old and don't have any relation to my specific problem.

    Help would be very much appreciated, and I can provide any other info, just ask.

    Thanks
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 233
    W7 Home Premium 32bit
       #2

    You have to do a clean install. You have mismatched hardware drivers.

    Replacing major hardware, especially a motherboard, requires it. There is an exception if you have a previous image, and you use a Paragon product that will help the driver situation. I don't believe that is your scenario.

    Do you have a W7 dvd and a license key?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 47
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    pscowboy said:
    You have to do a clean install. You have mismatched hardware drivers.

    Replacing major hardware, especially a motherboard, requires it. There is an exception if you have a previous image, and you use a Paragon product that will help the driver situation. I don't believe that is your scenario.

    Do you have a W7 dvd and a license key?
    Before I read your reply, I did do a clean install. It works now, updates take ages probably because of an old/crappy hard drive. Going to get a new one, I guess. Thanks for the information, will help in future incidents.

    Another quick question; I put the hard drive I got from my prebuilt back into my prebuilt after testing it on the computer and now when I start my prebuilt, what happens is, I get a quick flash of the compaq logo and then just a black screen. No start windows normally, no Starting Windows, just black. And the monitor also says that there is no input and it just stays that way until I turn it off and start it all over again.

    Help appreciated.

    Thanks.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 233
    W7 Home Premium 32bit
       #4

    Didn't you change what was on the prebuilt hard drive while you were going back and forth with new hardware?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 47
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    pscowboy said:
    Didn't you change what was on the prebuilt hard drive while you were going back and forth with new hardware?
    All I did was put the prebuilt's hard drive into the computer that would boot loop. I turned it on, saw that nothing changed, and took it out.

    EDIT: Messed around a bit, switched the hard drive to a different SATA port on the motherboard, all works well now. Thanks for the help and info pscowboy. :)
    Last edited by ToiletNinja; 26 Apr 2013 at 18:08.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 233
    W7 Home Premium 32bit
       #6

    Don't be so hard on your "old, crappy" hd.

    It has served you well. It's probably a standard 5400 rpm spinner; typical for laptops. It was not the problem for the updates taking a while. They just take a while; probably had about 106?

    After you get the unit running exactly the way you want it, do a full image to an external. Be it an enclosed hard drive, or a USB thumb drive. I recommend the Macrium Reflect product. There is a free version which will be fine for a home pc.

    After you install it, go to the Tools (or Other) tab (I forget which) and create the bootable media using the Windows PE option. Please use quality media like JVC or Verbatim purchased from an established house like Amazon, Newegg, or SuperMediaStore. That will insure you won't be getting counterfeits.

    Once created, you boot up with it and run the Image making part of the program. Don't forget to Auto Verify found in Advanced options.

    There is nothing like having a verified backup. Depending upon the amount of activity with my business cared-for machines, I do from daily to once-a-month (after patch Tuesday) for the home units.

    At that point, consider purchasing an ssd (solid state drive). They've come down in price considerably, so a 125g or 250g model won't kill you. They are veeeeeeeeeeeeery fast. It will be a direct swap out with your existing drive. You then boot up with the Macrium back up media (have the drive your image is on, plugged in) and transfer the image to the new ssd. You start that process by choosing "Browse for an image file".

    Good luck; and happy computing.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 47
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    pscowboy said:
    Don't be so hard on your "old, crappy" hd.

    It has served you well. It's probably a standard 5400 rpm spinner; typical for laptops. It was not the problem for the updates taking a while. They just take a while; probably had about 106?
    Oh no, the hard drive I was talking about is a desktop hard drive, it's 160GB and it makes a lot of noise, so a 500GB upgrade for $60 would be fantastic. And yes, I had about 137 or so updates, I kind of regret choosing to install the language packs considering how long it took to download/install. After this sentence, you lost me, but I guess I get the gist. You mean that I should get a good full backup of my hard drive, and I understand that would be smart. But I'm not the kind of person who regularly stores important documents in computers. Basically, anything I have on my hard drive is expendable and considering I only have about 5% of space left at any given time, I don't mind a fresh start.

    pscowboy said:
    At that point, consider purchasing an ssd (solid state drive). They've come down in price considerably, so a 125g or 250g model won't kill you. They are veeeeeeeeeeeeery fast. It will be a direct swap out with your existing drive.
    I might consider buying an SSD down the road for a new build I'm working on, from what I've seen they're don't have a significant enough speed boost for me to consider it against a traditional hard drive, and I don't want to pay for say 120GB of space on an SSD for ~$99 when I could get 1TB of space on a hard drive for the same price. It's space and price over performance for me. :)
      My Computer


 

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