New PC reboots after logging into WinXP 1

[Manda01]

I have an MPC desktop I need some assistance with. The computer boots to the windows login screen with no problems. It will even sit at the login screen for an infinite amount of time as long as you don't touch it. When I login with the local administrator account, after 15 seconds the screen goes blank and it reboots. There is no warning or error prior to the reboot, and it again loads up with no problems. Unfortunately it will not stay running long enough for me to get into the event logs to see if it's something in windows.

The machine has only been in use about a month. It was shipped to us with an image identical to at least 150 other computers. I have not tried booting into safe mode yet but that's my next step.

Any suggestions?

 

[G0AOZ]

See what Safe Mode does, then try a hard disk surface scan for bad blocks, and check the memory with something like MEMTEST86.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[PRPhx]

Go into the BIOS and check to see if there is an option someplace that says something like: 'halt on all errors'.
This may get you to a BSOD, which should show a possible problem.

Is this pc still under warranty? You might want to call tech support. Did you add any new software lately? Or hardware? IF so, remove whatever you installed and see if that fixes the problem.

 

[Manda01]

I logged into the computer with a local admin account, on the computer not the domain, and got a "windows recovered from a serious failure" error before it rebooted again. Something else I noticed this time - most of the desktop icons are blank. The text description and the shortcut-arrow are showing but the icon picture is missing.

I booted into safe mode and logged in with the same account and it ran normally. I checked the event logs and found this under System:
SysError
Error Code 100000be, paramater 1 bff72d64, paramater 2....

I tried resarting it and it got stuck on the "saving your settings" screen. I had to hold the power button in to power it off.

After booting it back up normally, I logged in with a domain admin account on the domain. Same symptoms as previously.

I booted back into safe mode and ran a Windows Check Disk. Without checking "scan for bad sectors" it passed all 3 phases. I checked the bad sectors option and it went through the first 3 phases ok but stopped at the beginning of phase 4. The hard drive activity light flashed with a steady pattern instead of the typical randomness. The status bar on the check disk never started or moved. I let it sit for about 3 minutes with no change before powering it off.

I wasn't able to find an option in the BOIS regarding error halting.

I'm beginning to think it's a bad image / windows install. Unless anyone has any other ideas I'm going to reinstall Windows.

Thanks for you help everyone!

 

[G0AOZ]

Download the hard drive manufacturer's disk diagnostics and run it from a boot disk. It sounds like there might be a problem with the drive...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[kestrel1]

Had a similar issue with a brand new machine (Lenovo). It would work for a while then reboot with no warning. I used the original image to re-install XP, this made no difference. Tried an image from another machine, same type etc. This was done because I know Lenovo had an imaging problem with this model & the troublesome machines image would look different from all the others.
Anyway, this made no difference. The only reference I could find to the stop error was a BIOS fault for a different Lenovo model. I downloaded the latest BIOS for this machine, flashed it & re-installed Windows. The machine then seemed to work without a flaw.
This is only a thought, but is your BIOS the same version as the other machines & is there an update on the manufacturers website?

 

[christech4000]

Have you looked into memory related issues. Try removing one stick of memory at a time and booting(if there are more than one).

 

[wahnula]

Right-click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, under "Startup and Recovery", Settings, under "System Failure" un-check "Automatically Restart". You should now get an error message. If not, look into overheating (run with case open) or swap PSUs.


Tony

 

[Manda01]

kestrel1 - this machine is identical to about 150 total machines we purchased all in one big purchase. This the only one having this problem... so yes, the BIOS is the same as the others.

Memory is a good idea, I'll check that. And I'll try to get that error message. Thanks for tips.

Thanks again everyone. I'll post again when I find out more.

 

[kestrel1]

I had assumed that the BIOS was the same on the Lenovo, but I know that they had certain issues with these machines. This one must have slipped the net.

 

[PRPhx]

I agree with G0AOZ, download the manufacturer's diagnostic program. Put it on bootable media (either a floppy, if you have a floppy drive, or a cd).

Reboot your pc with the bootable media.

Run the tests. WARNING: You can also reset the drive back to the factory defaults. HOWEVER, doing so will complete zero out ALL sectors of your drive and you will all data. You will then need to repartition and reformat the drive.

IF you have data you need to recover from this pc, try starting it in safe mode WITH network support. Once started, save anything you need to.

 

[Manda01]

I was able to get a blue screen error:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shutdown to prevent damage to your computer.

The problem seems to be caused by the file medsaux.sys.

 

[G0AOZ]

I get no hits when Googling that name. See if you can identify where this is located in your file system. Try renaming it and then check if the system will boot up. The file might be corrupted or have virus code written into it. Or it could be a perfectly legitimate file which is sitting on a bad block on the hard drive, hence my previous suggestion to scan the disk with the disk manufacturer's diags...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[Manda01]

I was able to fix this computer by reimaging it. Thanks for your help everyone!