I have a computer here that won't boot correctly. There are 2 hard drives, and the user said that he attempted to run a scan after the machine began to run slow, and then it wouldn't boot. I have stripped out the 2nd HD and set the jumpers back on the main drive. When attempting to boot the machine it starts to load the OS then shuts down. When it shuts down I get a A: drive error press F1 to continue....,doing this then sends it into the same loop over and over........any insight to this?
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Endless loop when rebooting
- Thread starter mmlx
- Start date
You need to tie that user to a chair until he tells you the REAL reason the machine is messed up! Running a scan?
If you're getting an A: drive error, why not unplug your floppy drive and try to boot it? You may have just knocked it loose while you were yanking the second HD.
I believe your user contracted some spyware, then tried to MacGyver his way out of it. Can you boot it from the XP OS CD?
"I would rather have a free bottle in front of me, than a pre-frontal lobotomy..."
-Shrubble
If you're getting an A: drive error, why not unplug your floppy drive and try to boot it? You may have just knocked it loose while you were yanking the second HD.
I believe your user contracted some spyware, then tried to MacGyver his way out of it. Can you boot it from the XP OS CD?
"I would rather have a free bottle in front of me, than a pre-frontal lobotomy..."
-Shrubble
Another thing-
Usually the main HD jumpers are fine how they are, and only the 2nd HD needs changing, that might be the problem also.
For instance:
If the main drive has its jumpers set to main, and the second drive is set to slave, pulling out the second drive should have no effect on the first drive at all.
-BUT-
If you pulled the second HD, and then messed with the main jumpers, the machine may not pick it up, and think that its only boot option is the A: drive, which has no disk in it.
Just a thought...
"I would rather have a free bottle in front of me, than a pre-frontal lobotomy..."
-Shrubble
Usually the main HD jumpers are fine how they are, and only the 2nd HD needs changing, that might be the problem also.
For instance:
If the main drive has its jumpers set to main, and the second drive is set to slave, pulling out the second drive should have no effect on the first drive at all.
-BUT-
If you pulled the second HD, and then messed with the main jumpers, the machine may not pick it up, and think that its only boot option is the A: drive, which has no disk in it.
Just a thought...
"I would rather have a free bottle in front of me, than a pre-frontal lobotomy..."
-Shrubble
- Thread starter
- #4
I forgot to add in that I did unplug the A: drive to take that out of equation. The guy is computer illiterate so he is no help to me. The only change I made to the jumper was that there was a setting for master with a slave and another setting for just master stand alone drive.
Put both drives back as they were.
Boot from the XP CD and restore the registry using Recovery Console:
Boot from the XP CD and restore the registry using Recovery Console:
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