eh936
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Windows 2000 Pro Keeps Rebooting
Hello everyone.
I have a Windows 2000 Professional SP4 installed on a ECS K7VZA v3.0 running a AMD 900MHz Athlon. This sytsem is running onboard sound which is enabled along with a 64MB ATI Radeon 7500 AGP video card. It also has a DLink DFE500TX network card. The PC has one hard drive and its a Maxtor 40GB 7200 RPM ATA133.
I downloaded a utility from the internet which was supposed to fix the Windows 2000 installer to correct a problem which I was having when trying to install Office 2000 Pro. After running the program and restarting the computer Windows 2K now continously reboots infinitely. The system gets to the black screen with the white bar indicators at the bottom with the words "Starting Windows 2000". The white indicators reach right to the very end (far right) and then the computer reboots. This process continues over and over again.
I have tried every single option available thru the Windows 2000 Advance Options Menu with the system continously rebooting. I have tried running Windows 2000 Recovery Console option and tried the REG command as previously outlined by LucF in a previously posted similar topic. I get the error " The Command is not recognized", Type "HELP for a list of supported commands". I've also tried running Microsofts Windows 2000 Registry Repair program called ChkReg.EXE with no sucess. I have run a virus scan on the system by hooking the drive as a slave on another computer. no virus found. I've also ran the PowerMax utility by Maxtor on the drive with passing colors. I've also tried running the Fast Repair option via Emergency Repair Option with no luck.
I can read the contents of the drive from the Recovery Console without problem. I can also hook up the drive as a slave ar stated above and read the contents. I really prefer to maintain the curent installation if at possible without having to backup the files and proceeding to format and re-install. I've yet to try the In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000 option.
Many thanks for the time and a sincere thanks to LucF.
Victor
I have a Windows 2000 Professional SP4 installed on a ECS K7VZA v3.0 running a AMD 900MHz Athlon. This sytsem is running onboard sound which is enabled along with a 64MB ATI Radeon 7500 AGP video card. It also has a DLink DFE500TX network card. The PC has one hard drive and its a Maxtor 40GB 7200 RPM ATA133.
I downloaded a utility from the internet which was supposed to fix the Windows 2000 installer to correct a problem which I was having when trying to install Office 2000 Pro. After running the program and restarting the computer Windows 2K now continously reboots infinitely. The system gets to the black screen with the white bar indicators at the bottom with the words "Starting Windows 2000". The white indicators reach right to the very end (far right) and then the computer reboots. This process continues over and over again.
I have tried every single option available thru the Windows 2000 Advance Options Menu with the system continously rebooting. I have tried running Windows 2000 Recovery Console option and tried the REG command as previously outlined by LucF in a previously posted similar topic. I get the error " The Command is not recognized", Type "HELP for a list of supported commands". I've also tried running Microsofts Windows 2000 Registry Repair program called ChkReg.EXE with no sucess. I have run a virus scan on the system by hooking the drive as a slave on another computer. no virus found. I've also ran the PowerMax utility by Maxtor on the drive with passing colors. I've also tried running the Fast Repair option via Emergency Repair Option with no luck.
I can read the contents of the drive from the Recovery Console without problem. I can also hook up the drive as a slave ar stated above and read the contents. I really prefer to maintain the curent installation if at possible without having to backup the files and proceeding to format and re-install. I've yet to try the In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000 option.
Many thanks for the time and a sincere thanks to LucF.
Victor
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hey LucF
haven't talked with you in months....
hope everything is well
wtrmk74
haven't talked with you in months....
hope everything is well
wtrmk74
Yep, I'm fine, thanks :) Hope the same counts for you.
Just been on a lot of short vacations and was pretty busy with some other stuff.
LucF
Just been on a lot of short vacations and was pretty busy with some other stuff.
LucF
there is one other possibilty I have used to fix corrupt boot sequence.
you said everything was fine when you mounted as a slave and was able to view contents.
Mount as slave and run diskcheck
right click on drive / properties / tools / error checking
wtrmk74
you said everything was fine when you mounted as a slave and was able to view contents.
Mount as slave and run diskcheck
right click on drive / properties / tools / error checking
wtrmk74
Off Topic: Inside Joke
I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read your comment on ShehaarSaahil.......
I have felt that way for about 3 months now myself.
enough said :)
Take Care
I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read your comment on ShehaarSaahil.......
I have felt that way for about 3 months now myself.
enough said :)
Take Care
ASKER
Hello and thank you to all. Since I'm new to this forum I didn't know quite how to followup a post. I found out that you had to login. Sorry about that.
Ok Luc the program I downloaded was a Windows Installer Updater. I don't remeber the name of it because when I typed the description of the error in Google.com and found a link for a program which would update the Windows Installer. If I can find out the name of the program I'll let you know. The file is still on the drive I'm sure.
Ok wtrmk74, I typed in the following command (exactly) in Recovery Console and I got the same error as above. "" The Command is not recognized", Type "HELP for a list of supported commands"
>RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL
I also downloaded the msconfig.exe from the site you posted above. copied to the c:\winnt\system32 directory. After then navigated to that directory to run the file. But I got the exact same error. "The Command is not recognized...." To execute the file i just typed in the filename which was msconfig.exe.
Why am I getting that error message ? Oh yea when I tried to change to any of the root directories under c:\ I get the message "access denied". I can change to the C:\winnt directory without any error message.
Victor
Ok Luc the program I downloaded was a Windows Installer Updater. I don't remeber the name of it because when I typed the description of the error in Google.com and found a link for a program which would update the Windows Installer. If I can find out the name of the program I'll let you know. The file is still on the drive I'm sure.
Ok wtrmk74, I typed in the following command (exactly) in Recovery Console and I got the same error as above. "" The Command is not recognized", Type "HELP for a list of supported commands"
>RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL
I also downloaded the msconfig.exe from the site you posted above. copied to the c:\winnt\system32 directory. After then navigated to that directory to run the file. But I got the exact same error. "The Command is not recognized...." To execute the file i just typed in the filename which was msconfig.exe.
Why am I getting that error message ? Oh yea when I tried to change to any of the root directories under c:\ I get the message "access denied". I can change to the C:\winnt directory without any error message.
Victor
Victor,
The system is bluescreening and automatically rebooting. What wtrmk74 wanted you to do with that rundll command was equivelant to unchecking the box "automatically reboot" in the system properties menu. That way, it will actually give you the right blue screen and stay there long enough for you to find a real error message. There is another way to change this...
You said you slaved the drive to another system in order to scan it for viruses. Do that again, then open up the registry editor on that system (regedt32 on windows 2000 or regedit on windows xp). Expand the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and actually highlight it. Under one of the pulldown menus (file I suppose) choose the option "Load Hive". Browse to the folder D:\winnt\system32\config\ (assuming the drive is d:) and choose the file "SYSTEM". give it a name like "otherdrivesystem," just something you can recognize. Navigate to the key ControlSet1\Control\CrashC
Shut down and boot off that drive again in the rebooting-on-startup system. This time the system should pause on a blue screen with the exact error message in question. This will give you more information on what exactly is wrong.
I do recommend the in-place upgrade of windows 2000, but be careful that you use a CD that has the service pack slipstreamed that you're using. Since you're on SP4, make sure your CD has SP4 on it already, otherwise you will likely run into problems.
Good luck!
The system is bluescreening and automatically rebooting. What wtrmk74 wanted you to do with that rundll command was equivelant to unchecking the box "automatically reboot" in the system properties menu. That way, it will actually give you the right blue screen and stay there long enough for you to find a real error message. There is another way to change this...
You said you slaved the drive to another system in order to scan it for viruses. Do that again, then open up the registry editor on that system (regedt32 on windows 2000 or regedit on windows xp). Expand the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and actually highlight it. Under one of the pulldown menus (file I suppose) choose the option "Load Hive". Browse to the folder D:\winnt\system32\config\ (assuming the drive is d:) and choose the file "SYSTEM". give it a name like "otherdrivesystem," just something you can recognize. Navigate to the key ControlSet1\Control\CrashC
Shut down and boot off that drive again in the rebooting-on-startup system. This time the system should pause on a blue screen with the exact error message in question. This will give you more information on what exactly is wrong.
I do recommend the in-place upgrade of windows 2000, but be careful that you use a CD that has the service pack slipstreamed that you're using. Since you're on SP4, make sure your CD has SP4 on it already, otherwise you will likely run into problems.
Good luck!
My deepest appologies,
from the command promt type
RUNDLL32.EXE SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL
type this from C:/ not C:/Documents and Settings/User
I forgot the .exe after the rundll32
sorry
it will work and you will be able to uncheck the reboot after system failure
I have to go out with my wife right now so I will check back with your progress later......I will also research your msconfig problem.
Thanks,
wtrmk74
from the command promt type
RUNDLL32.EXE SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL
type this from C:/ not C:/Documents and Settings/User
I forgot the .exe after the rundll32
sorry
it will work and you will be able to uncheck the reboot after system failure
I have to go out with my wife right now so I will check back with your progress later......I will also research your msconfig problem.
Thanks,
wtrmk74
ASKER
Hello,
Firstly LucF I found the downloaded file on the problem Windows 2000 drive. Its called FrontierPS.exe. Its supposed to update PSAPI.DLL file in the Winnt\System32 directory.
Secondly, raybass I followed your post on running the regedt32.exe fom the problem drive hooked up as a slave. I was able to locate the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Contro
Lastly but not least wtrmk74, I tried the command in the above post I get the same exact error "The Command is not recognized...." It seems like the only commands I can type in the Recovery Console are the ones available when you type "HELP" at the prompt. I even tried navigating to the c:\winnt\system32 directory where the "RUNDLL32.EXE was located and tried running it from there. The file was displayed in all lower case letters but that did not make any difference either
Many thanks to everyone
Victor
Firstly LucF I found the downloaded file on the problem Windows 2000 drive. Its called FrontierPS.exe. Its supposed to update PSAPI.DLL file in the Winnt\System32 directory.
Secondly, raybass I followed your post on running the regedt32.exe fom the problem drive hooked up as a slave. I was able to locate the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Contro
Lastly but not least wtrmk74, I tried the command in the above post I get the same exact error "The Command is not recognized...." It seems like the only commands I can type in the Recovery Console are the ones available when you type "HELP" at the prompt. I even tried navigating to the c:\winnt\system32 directory where the "RUNDLL32.EXE was located and tried running it from there. The file was displayed in all lower case letters but that did not make any difference either
Many thanks to everyone
Victor
Vic,
When you "load hive" you give it another name - like "system1" -- that's the one you need to expand to change the value on. Did you do that, or just modify the one under "system"? If you do the latter it will only modify the c drive. You can also "load hive" for software as well, call it "software1". That way you will see the slave drive's registry expanded under "software1". Also, are you sure you opened the winnt/system32/whatever file from the slave drive and not the C drive? The system really shouldn't reboot if you changed that value to zero. If it does, there's got to be a different problem. You might want to do it under ControlSet1 and ControlSet2, even though only cs1 is supposed to load.
luck to thee again
ps you can't run rundll32.exe or any executable from the recovery console. the suggestion will only work if you can boot into safe mode. the recovery console has a very limited set of commands, and likely none that will help you out here.
When you "load hive" you give it another name - like "system1" -- that's the one you need to expand to change the value on. Did you do that, or just modify the one under "system"? If you do the latter it will only modify the c drive. You can also "load hive" for software as well, call it "software1". That way you will see the slave drive's registry expanded under "software1". Also, are you sure you opened the winnt/system32/whatever file from the slave drive and not the C drive? The system really shouldn't reboot if you changed that value to zero. If it does, there's got to be a different problem. You might want to do it under ControlSet1 and ControlSet2, even though only cs1 is supposed to load.
luck to thee again
ps you can't run rundll32.exe or any executable from the recovery console. the suggestion will only work if you can boot into safe mode. the recovery console has a very limited set of commands, and likely none that will help you out here.
SOLUTION
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ASKER
Hello raybass and thank you for the help.
I followed your instructions as above. I ran the regedt32.exe file from the H:\Wint\system32 which is where the slave drive was located. I then proceeded to navigate to the "Expand the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" and highlighting it. I then proceeded to select the Load Hive option under the File menu. Once selected I had to give it a name. I choose the same one you suggested "otherdrivesystem". Then I proceeded to the "ControlSet1\Control\Crash
wtrmk74 , I just thought I'd let you know that I tried the diskcheck feature when I had the drive setup as a slave and the utility did not find any lost cluster or bad sectors. It passed all 5 tests that it ran.
LucF the error message I was getting when I was trying to install Office 2000 Professional on the this Windows 2000 Pro drive was as the follows "Error 1931: windows Installer service cannot update the system file C:\Winnt\System32\PSAPI.dl
Well I think maybe its time to do a In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000. raybass I'm not sure what you mean when you said "service pack slipstreamed". Could you tell me again ? Thanks.
Its time to go to work. I'll post again later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
Thanks everybody
Victor
Also
I followed your instructions as above. I ran the regedt32.exe file from the H:\Wint\system32 which is where the slave drive was located. I then proceeded to navigate to the "Expand the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" and highlighting it. I then proceeded to select the Load Hive option under the File menu. Once selected I had to give it a name. I choose the same one you suggested "otherdrivesystem". Then I proceeded to the "ControlSet1\Control\Crash
wtrmk74 , I just thought I'd let you know that I tried the diskcheck feature when I had the drive setup as a slave and the utility did not find any lost cluster or bad sectors. It passed all 5 tests that it ran.
LucF the error message I was getting when I was trying to install Office 2000 Professional on the this Windows 2000 Pro drive was as the follows "Error 1931: windows Installer service cannot update the system file C:\Winnt\System32\PSAPI.dl
Well I think maybe its time to do a In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000. raybass I'm not sure what you mean when you said "service pack slipstreamed". Could you tell me again ? Thanks.
Its time to go to work. I'll post again later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
Thanks everybody
Victor
Also
Not a problem, I do understand why you tried that patch. But something went really wrong there...
The In-Place upgrade is your best bet at getting your system running again, afterwards, you might have some cleaning up to do. But the main part is to just get it running again.
LucF
The In-Place upgrade is your best bet at getting your system running again, afterwards, you might have some cleaning up to do. But the main part is to just get it running again.
LucF
And don't worry too much about the slipstreamed SP4, if you do an In-Place upgrade, your systemfiles will be reset to the original ones, so you'll have to install SP4 again in case you don't have a slipstreamed version, but that's all.
LucF
LucF
slipstreaming is a process where you can upgrade the original installation cd to the latest service pack install.
If your cd was originally SP1 and you have SP4 on you machine now....when you repair with the original disk it will revert back to the SP1..
as LucF stated all you need to do after this is reapply the SP4 service pack.
If you wish to learn more about slipstreaming and how to upgade your installation CD to SP4:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=277
:)
wtrmk74
If your cd was originally SP1 and you have SP4 on you machine now....when you repair with the original disk it will revert back to the SP1..
as LucF stated all you need to do after this is reapply the SP4 service pack.
If you wish to learn more about slipstreaming and how to upgade your installation CD to SP4:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=277
:)
wtrmk74
one thing you can try from RC
type: logon
and then type the administrator password to gain access to the existing installation of Windows 2000
also another possibility,
This will give you the chance to disable any system device or driver that may cause you system to not boot properly.
using the "disable" command
Disables a Windows system service or driver.
"disable servicename"
servicename = The name of the service or driver to be disabled. Disable prints the old start_type of the service before resetting it to SERVICE_DISABLED. You should make a note of the old start_type, in case you need to enable the service again.
The start_type values that the disable command displays are:
SERVICE_DISABLED
SERVICE_BOOT_START
SERVICE_SYSTEM_START
SERVICE_AUTO_START
SERVICE_DEMAND_START
in order to determine what services are being issued use the:
"listsvc" command in the RC
Also.....
The "set" command
Displays and sets Recovery Console environment variables.
set AllowAllPaths = TRUE
The following environment variables are supported:
AllowWildCards Enable wildcard support for some commands, such as DEL, that do not otherwise support them. AllowAllPaths Allow access to all files and folders on the computer.
AllowRemovableMedia Allow files to be copied to removable media, such as floppy disks.
NoCopyPrompt Do not prompt when overwriting file.
To display the list of current environment variable settings, type set without any parameters.
:)
wtrmk74
type: logon
and then type the administrator password to gain access to the existing installation of Windows 2000
also another possibility,
This will give you the chance to disable any system device or driver that may cause you system to not boot properly.
using the "disable" command
Disables a Windows system service or driver.
"disable servicename"
servicename = The name of the service or driver to be disabled. Disable prints the old start_type of the service before resetting it to SERVICE_DISABLED. You should make a note of the old start_type, in case you need to enable the service again.
The start_type values that the disable command displays are:
SERVICE_DISABLED
SERVICE_BOOT_START
SERVICE_SYSTEM_START
SERVICE_AUTO_START
SERVICE_DEMAND_START
in order to determine what services are being issued use the:
"listsvc" command in the RC
Also.....
The "set" command
Displays and sets Recovery Console environment variables.
set AllowAllPaths = TRUE
The following environment variables are supported:
AllowWildCards Enable wildcard support for some commands, such as DEL, that do not otherwise support them. AllowAllPaths Allow access to all files and folders on the computer.
AllowRemovableMedia Allow files to be copied to removable media, such as floppy disks.
NoCopyPrompt Do not prompt when overwriting file.
To display the list of current environment variable settings, type set without any parameters.
:)
wtrmk74
Sorry
The following environment variables are supported:
AllowWildCards
AllowAllPaths
AllowRemovableMedia
NoCopyPrompt
The following environment variables are supported:
AllowWildCards
AllowAllPaths
AllowRemovableMedia
NoCopyPrompt
ASKER
Good morning everyone. I just read the replies and wish to thank everyone for all their helpful suggestions.
wtrmk74 thanks for the ton of information in the last reply. I tried typing in the listsvc command at the prompt by following your instructions by typing "logon" and then the administror password. But when I ran the listsvc command it showed a whole bunch of entries. Now I don't know a lot about computers so I really don't know which ones I should disable. Is there a simple command to disable all of those services in one simple command. Any ideas which one I should disable ? Maybe its a hit or miss sort of game ? Anyhow thanks a bundle for the reply.
Cheers everyone
Victor
wtrmk74 thanks for the ton of information in the last reply. I tried typing in the listsvc command at the prompt by following your instructions by typing "logon" and then the administror password. But when I ran the listsvc command it showed a whole bunch of entries. Now I don't know a lot about computers so I really don't know which ones I should disable. Is there a simple command to disable all of those services in one simple command. Any ideas which one I should disable ? Maybe its a hit or miss sort of game ? Anyhow thanks a bundle for the reply.
Cheers everyone
Victor
ASKER
Hey everyone.
Just an update. I've been trying wtrmk74 last suggestion about disabling some of the services. I've was able to disable some of the services but the system kept on rebooting. So right now I plan to keep working on this suggestions until sometime. If this option does pan out I've decided to try the option suggested by others about running a upgrade install.
Thanks again to everyone for all suggestions.
Victor
Just an update. I've been trying wtrmk74 last suggestion about disabling some of the services. I've was able to disable some of the services but the system kept on rebooting. So right now I plan to keep working on this suggestions until sometime. If this option does pan out I've decided to try the option suggested by others about running a upgrade install.
Thanks again to everyone for all suggestions.
Victor
SOLUTION
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ASKER
Thanks for the update raybass.
Yes I tried disabling some of the services using as information that was available to me without success. I probably was disabling the wrong services anyhow.
Well everyone was right an update install did the trick everything is up and running though some of the installed programs needed to be reinstalled.
I just want to thank everyone for their help and kindly suggestions. Can someone tell what do I do about awarding points ? I'm new to this forum and really don't know how this points system works.
Many thanks to everyone it was much appreciated. I sure learned alot too following everyone's helpful suggestions.
Victor
Yes I tried disabling some of the services using as information that was available to me without success. I probably was disabling the wrong services anyhow.
Well everyone was right an update install did the trick everything is up and running though some of the installed programs needed to be reinstalled.
I just want to thank everyone for their help and kindly suggestions. Can someone tell what do I do about awarding points ? I'm new to this forum and really don't know how this points system works.
Many thanks to everyone it was much appreciated. I sure learned alot too following everyone's helpful suggestions.
Victor
Award them to one person or split them up weighing into how much you think someone helped you solve your problem.
https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hi69
More than one Expert helped solve my problem. What do I do?
You split the points. Scroll down to the bottom of the question and click the "Split Points" link at the bottom of the page. Select the radio button of the comment who you want to Accept as the answer. Only one button can be selected. Set the point value (a text box above the comment) of how much you want this person to receive of the points. Then set the point values for each of the experts comments to whom you want to allocate points and these will be considered Assisted answers in helping you resolve the issue. Double check your information and then click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. One note: the total points of the splits must equal the amount you asked the question for itself, and no person can receive fewer than 20 points.
https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hi69
More than one Expert helped solve my problem. What do I do?
You split the points. Scroll down to the bottom of the question and click the "Split Points" link at the bottom of the page. Select the radio button of the comment who you want to Accept as the answer. Only one button can be selected. Set the point value (a text box above the comment) of how much you want this person to receive of the points. Then set the point values for each of the experts comments to whom you want to allocate points and these will be considered Assisted answers in helping you resolve the issue. Double check your information and then click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. One note: the total points of the splits must equal the amount you asked the question for itself, and no person can receive fewer than 20 points.
Glad to help :)
LucF
LucF
RUN this command:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL
it is case sensitive so type exactly!
this will give you access to the system properties control...here you can select the start up option and uncheck the reboot when system has a boot problem.
also:
download msconfig on another PC and copy and paste it using the recovery consule and dos commands to
c:\winnt\system32
get it here.
http://www.perfectdrivers.com/howto/msconfig.html
now run MSCONFIG
and see if anything is running in the background that you don't want ot just select safe boot or what ever you wish
these items might get you up and going again
ket us know,
wtrmk74