About a week ago I turned my PC on and it began loading up as usual... but after the windows Xp boot screen went off a blue screen appeared with some writing on, the screen appeared for about half a second (too fast for me to see what it says) and then it restarts. This process loops itself over and over again.
So I put in my windows Xp boot disk and formatted the computer. When the format was complete I restarted the PC and it worked! Windows loaded up as normal and I began reinstalling all of the software.
But when I switched it on today the same problem which happened before happened again...
I could format it again but i'm 99% sure the same problem will occur again.

Any help with this issue would be much appreciated,

Thanks.

Had your system been running well for a long time? Did you add any new hardware recently?

Recently I installed a new Nvidia GeForce 6600 graphics card but that was about a month ago and I haven't encountered a problem with it since it was installed. The PC is about a year old.

Well, you just reformatted and are getting the same problem, so it probably is not a virus. It sure sounds hardware related, and could be your psu, memory, or even your hdd. One quick way to at least test your memory is to run memtest86. If you don't have it, you can google it, download the file, and create a bootable floppy that will let you test your memory. If there are no problems, then maybe run a diagnostic on your hdd to test for any bad sectors. If your hdd is okay, then try to get hold of a different psu and see if that makes a difference, especially if your current psu is a cheap one. It's all a matter of trouble-shooting systematically. One other thing is to pull out everything except your core components, i.e., see if windows runs well without your optical drive or a backup drive or modem or whatever. I just had to rma a motherboard that was faulty, I had purchased it to replace the same mobo which I thought was not ocing very well, and the second mobo gave me bsods related to my modem and pci video capture card. Well, the second mobo was really screwed, I went back to the original mobo, and the bsods went away. So it could even be your mobo.

Finally, maybe even reset your bios and see if that makes a difference. Others may have some suggestions as well. Good luck.

marty

Thanks i'll give it a go. And whats a mobo?

And whats a mobo?Haha, it's been awhile since we answered this one! Probably time to revisit it...

Mobo is short for motherboard or mainboard.

It's not entirely clear who first came up with this term, as I've heard and seen several groups claim it to be their own. I suspect, like most simple ideas, that a few of these groups actually came up with the same term at the same time. That's my guess anyway.

Sorry about the geekspeak. Mobo is motherboard, hdd is hard drive, psu is power supply unit, bsod is "blue screen of death" which is what you were getting at boot up, rma is returned merchandise authorization, and ocing is overclocking, I think that gets most if not all of them. I still encounter internet expressions I don't fully understand. Thank God for google. Good luck on your troubleshooting.

marty

I tried memtest 86 and it picked up no errors with the memory. Unfortunately I have no spare parts laying around to test, so I might take it in to the repair shop to see if they can find/fix the problem.

If you are so inclined, you can still download a diagnostic test for your hdd and run that off a floppy (if you have one installed) or a cd to double check your hdd. Is this a retail computer, or a homebuilt? If the latter, then you can also reset your bios. If the hdd is okay and resetting the bios does nothing, then you are down to your psu and cpu, and maybe a repair shop is in your future. It's always nice to do everything you can up front, because this one might be tricky for a train technician as well. But if it's a retail box, then you might still be under warranty.

BTW, how long did you run memtest? It needs to run a while to rule out memory problems if you're getting bsods.

Good luck.

marty

the computer is retail, but warranty has ended now. i'll try reseting the bios now. And memtest took more than 4hrs to complete!

Okay, your memory sounds solid, it likely is not your cpu if you can run memtest for 4 hours, so you're down to your psu and hdd and mobo. What kind of mobo by the way? Depending on its age, i.e., if the mobo itself is two to three years old, and given your symptoms of bsods, another consideration is possible bad capacitors (caps). A few years ago, a number of mobo manufacturers used caps that were faulty, and after a year or so of use, they started to bulge and then leak. Typical symptoms are exactly what you are experiencing. Now I haven't heard too much about bad caps in the retail market, but depending on the actual motherboard, it's possible. So you might want to take a close look at all the caps, use a flashlight and look closely at the caps, especially those near and around your cpu, and see if they look swollen, or if there is any residue on top of them. I think there's a thread here at pcguide on bad caps. It was a common problem experienced by those who built their own computers, as a number of companies like abit and epox had built boards with faulty caps. Abit actually lost a lawsuit re. this in the past year of so. Those same companies sometimes make the mobos for retail boards, so you never know. It's worth a look. Plus, maybe a diagnostic on your hdd.

Maybe others have some suggestions, but this is what I would be doing if I was having the problems you're experiencing. I hope it helps.

marty

The mobo (wow that felt weird) is only a year old as is the rest of the computer. I'll take a look at the capacitors and i'll see about running a hdd diagnostic... but where am I supposed to get the diagnostic tool from?

You keep mentioning the psu could be the problem. The night before the computer wasn't working the switch going from the psu was left on but the computer was left off... could this be something to do with the problem?

One more thing, i checked the capacitors and they look okay, none of them are bulging or have any residue on them. Also I just made a bootable cd with 'ultimate boot cd' on it, and when it tried to boot it it said 'Missing operating system...'???

I don't know why that ultilmate boot cd is not being read. Copying the files for a bootable cd onto the cd and actually making the cd "bootable" are two different things. There is usually a specific procedure for making it bootable. But for some reason, it's not being read or it's not bootable and you're getting that message.

As for the hdd diagnostic, you simply need to identify the manufacturer and model number of your hdd and then go to the manufacturer's website and download the diagnostic program. It will all be listed on the website. As for the switch on your psu, usually a switch problem will simply affect whether your system can power up, not cause a blue screen.

Kind of running out of ideas here. Hoped that others would contribute, maybe come up with some ideas, though not sure they'd have anything better. All I can think of at this point is to check all your hardware connections. Also, this could be a virus or maybe even spyware somehow causing blue screens. Are you up-to-date on your virus and spyware software?

I was up to date with both antispyware and virus software but as I can't get on to windows anymore I can't scan the system.

Can you get into windows in safe mode? You know, as your system boots, tap the F8 key and then select safe mode. Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but perhaps this is simply a bad driver that's loading at startup, a driver that got installed even after you reformatted.

marty

It would be nice to know what messages were written on the blue screen. You could reformat and reinstall and then immediately go into the Startup and Recovery Section. Either RClick MyComputer and choose properties or press the FlyingWindows + Break keys to get there.

On the Advanced Tab hit the Settings Button for Startup and Recovery. Then uncheck the "Automatically Restart" checkbox in the "System Failure" area. This should prevent reboots from a BSOD though once you have read the message you will have to power down the computer manually.

One more thing, i checked the capacitors and they look okay, none of them are bulging or have any residue on them. Also I just made a bootable cd with 'ultimate boot cd' on it, and when it tried to boot it it said 'Missing operating system...'???

What software are you using to burn with? When you run the UBCD .exe file it creates another file with an ISO extension. So, if for example you are running Nero, you would select burn image and select that particular file with the .iso extension. Once it's burned, it should boot providing the boot sequence in your BIOS is set to boot first to the CD. You do not create a bootable CD first then burn the file, it's all taken care of for you.

I already tried opening windows in safe mode but this failed to work.
However i did as you said and went on the hard drive manufacturers website (Western Digital) and downloaded a diagnostic tool onto a floppy disk. when I ran the diagnostic tool it encountered an error ---> 'Read element failure', it then carried on working and fixed the error, and now the computer is working fine.
So thankyou for helping fix this problem without me having to take my computer into the repair shop.

Cheers :D

Always nice to hear that things worked out! :)

Awesome. Hopefully it holds up. If not, post back. But hopefully that was it. I'd be inclined to copy any crucial files off the hdd so that if the hdd is on its way out, you've got the files. But hopefully that won't happen either, and the computer will purr along happily. Take care.

marty

I'd be inclined to copy any crucial files off the hdd so that if the hdd is on its way out, you've got the files.YES!! Definitely do this! I'm very happy that you managed to fix the problem just like that, but chances are if a hard drive fails once, it will do so again. Not to say it always happens, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Are you used to the word "mobo" yet? :p :D

I turned my computer on this morning and guess what, the bsod was back! So i ran the diagnostic disk again and the same error came up as before. Is now the time to grab a new hard drive? And yes im used to the word 'mobo' now.

Run the drive diagnostic software again, see what it says AFTER the read errror has been fixed. also scroll up to Paul Komski's post and change the setting for "Automatic Restart" so it will STOP on the error message. That will let you read it and we might be able to come up with a solution once we see what error message it is.

Write down the exact error message, usually it will have 4 sets of numbers similar to 0x000000xx, the last digit or two being different numbers. Post it here and we can look it up. No, we don't need the entire screen full of number strings, just the primary ones that tell us what error to look up.

I'm not sure yet, but if this error keeps coming back after being fixed, yes it might be a good time to start shopping for a new hard drive. I would definitely also copy all data files to CD so if it dies completely they can be replaced without problems.

I have just fixed the error again on the harddrive, and I have now disabled the automatic restart. But I won't be able to get back to the bsod until the error occur again.
The diagnostic tool gave me two error/status codes; 0007 <--- this error code was given when the quick diagnostic finished and, 0223 <--- this error/status code was given when the first error had been fixed.

0007 = Self Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) Error returned during SMART Status/Self Test Command. The drive is defective.

0223 = Errors found, but have been repaired successfully. There were media errors that were within the repair capabilities of diagnostic utility. The drive should now be defect free.

At this point, I would copy any and all crucial files and buy a new hdd. You can get excellent hdds at good prices at places like newegg. For 50 to 60 bucks, it's worth it, cheap really all things considered. At the very least, should somehow the current hdd suddenly start working reliably, a new hdd can serve as a storage or backup hdd. But with SMART errors, that may be the handwriting on the wall. If the hdd is only a year old, you might even get a free replacement from the manufacturer.

And BTW, getting used to expressions like "mobo" is a bad sign, usually indicative of early onset geekitis, which often is characterized by the following symptoms:

1. You start using words like "mobo" in everyday conversations, oblivious to the odd stares and concerned looks of loved-ones.

2. Dreams are punctuated by vivid images of PCs in various stages of assembly and repair; most worrisome is the fact that these are happy dreams for you.

3. Suddenly, whenever you go out to dinner and the waiter or waitress brings you the bill and you add in the tip and come up with the total amount, you start thinking about you could have used the money to buy a new 16X dual-layer optical drive, or some other piece of hardware, and how the hardware would last for years while the food will, um, soon pass.

There may be other symptoms I'm missing, others may know. Good luck with your hdd.

marty