Solved PC Stuck in startup loop

[donnyy]

Hey,

I recently had problems with my computer and it wouldn't get past the windows starting logo and looped back to the options where I could choose between Startup repair (which didnt work because just loading the screen took about 2 hours) or starting windows normally (which also didnt work because it looped me back). I thought that reinstalling windows would be a smart idea and it worked for 2 days... After those 2 days I was back at where I was before, the infinite loop.

I reinstalled windows 3 times already and everytime it does the same.
It works for 2 days and then suddenly gets me to the loop, I did the Computer > properties > tools > check and right after I did this it gave me an error and stopped working again (this time after just 24 hours of reinstalling windows).

I am not sure what to do since my computer is custom build, is it something with my harddrive and can I simply replace it with buying a new one?

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

Cheers,

donnyy

 

[whs]

Can you remember the last program you installed before it started looping.

 

[donnyy]

The first and second time it stopped working I installed a game called brawlhalla as last which were installed a while before my computer actually started looping, the last time it was directx 9 for a game. (Even though it gave the error right after I checked my harddrive so I thought it had to be my harddrive)

 

[whs]

Hmm, that does not seem to be conclusive.

 

[bigmck]

I would suggest to do a Clean Install again. Use this tutorial, http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html as you might have done something different. After installed, do not immediately install your programs. Just leave Win 7 on for two days. If that works OK then add one program, wait two days, etc. This would be a pain in the neck I know, but it may lead you to which program is causing a problem.

 

[donnyy]

Alright, im going to try this and give an update between 2 - 7 days. Thanks!

Edit: pc is installing winows for about 6 hours and is still stuck at 0%...

 

[bigmck]

Alright, im going to try this and give an update between 2 - 7 days. Thanks!

Edit: pc is installing winows for about 6 hours and is still stuck at 0%...

Something else is the problem here. A couple months ago I was having similar problems, not exactly, but I had a bad HDD (actually SSD). The way I found out is that I had an old one and I inserted it and things worked fine. I realize you probably don't have a spare HDD laying around. I would tend to think that. If you do not have a SSD on your PC, this might be a good time to get one. This time of year newegg.com is having a lot of sales. I don't know about delivery to the Netherlands, but I think a new SSD might be a good Christmas present to yourself. == If you are not familiar with SSD's they will speed your PC up tremendously. Your PC will boot in 30 seconds.

This is a babe here, $48 USD. Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SV300S37A/120G - Newegg.com

 

[whs]

I doubt that Newegg will ship to the Netherlands. But there is Conrad in Germany that will ship there.
https://www.conrad.de/de/ssd-festpl....html?source=suggest&sc.queryFromSuggest=true

 

[donnyy]

I knew deep inside that it was my harddrive, but wasn't so sure. I did manage to fix it for now by switching the hard drives with one from an older computer we aren't using anymore. Im actually being able to write this from my computer right now so I guess ill just have to wait and see if it stops working again, it might be even a bigger problem.

Thanks for now guys, Ill mark it as solved and if problems occur again ill come back!

 

[bigmck]

Glad you got the PC going for now. If you need any further assistance, we will be here.

 

[Acecool]

I'd recommend downloading and running a program called MHDD ( burn it to a cd or create a bootable usb drive ) to test the hard drive.

It's easy to use, just run it and when it starts it'll present with 2 options... SCSI Support or no. Simply press enter at that screen ( option 2 ).

Next, it'll ask you to select your hard drive. If the hard drive is 100% bad or has a bad logic board or other issue, it may not show. IF it does, type the number left of the name of the hard drive and press enter.

Next, type scan and press enter.

An options box will show up. I'd recommend changing the LOOP option to yes and then press F4 to start scanning. Let this scan a few times.

If you have any spots on the hard drive that are above 250ms response time then those sectors are going bad. If you have any spots marked with X ( will show the number of these to the right of the icons on the right side of the screen ) then they are bad sectors. Sometimes the logic board fails and doesn't automatically rewrite these to the end of the drive ( so they don't get used ) and can cause issues.

If you have these issues, restart again and follow the instructions above EXCEPT in the dialog... Choose loop to yes and also REMAP.... There is also a destructive option; use this at your own risk but this will remove delayed sectors from being used at all ( you may lose access to certain files depending how many sectors there are which also contain file data )..



Next, test your memory using Windows / MS Memory tester ( will also need to be burned to a disc or set up on a bootable usb drive ) and test the memory. You can try testing all memory at once, but the more you have the longer it takes and memory will only start showing faults when it reaches operating temperature. It is recommended that you test each stick of memory in each slot on your motherboard with no other memory present for each test... So stick 1 in slot 1, then slot 2, then slot 3... etc... Then stick 2 in slot 1, then slot 2, etc... and so on until all sticks have been tried in each slot. You should allow this to run for at least 8 complete passes. This test can take hours but it'll let you know if you have bad memory.

Bad memory can cause the operating system to not start, to freeze / lock up or reboot if auto reboot on stop screen isn't disabled. Bad memory can also cause an operating system reinstallation to fail...


Bad motherboard can also cause issues. One easy way to check for a bad board is to look at the capacitors on the board ( round cylindrical objects which have an indentation on the top, if non-solid-state / polymer-based, in the form of a K or X ) and see if any of them are oozing at the top, or if they are convex / bulging at the top. Another indicator is if they wiggle like loose-teeth ( which means they have blown from the bottom ); they should be firm.. You should be able to slide your finger over the side and notice minimal movement ( depending on how much wire is left on the leads that are soldered to the board ) which means they are ok, but if one or more is notably more loose than the others, it may be bad.




Another note. You may not have anything wrong... When windows performs updates, sometimes it appears as though nothing is happening when you reboot ( sometimes the video doesn't show up either until after it is complete ). If you've left it on for 2 hours and nothing has shown up, chances are this isn't the case though...




Download the utilities here:

MHDD:
HDDGURU: MHDD

Memory Tester:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.09.utilityspotlight.aspx through Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic Download


Hope this helps you isolate the issue.