Windows XP PC only boots in safe mode

[Scorpio53]

My PC has stopped booting into Windows XP, the coloured loading bar flashes for a minute or so then PC resets and goes through Bios boot screen back to load operating system.

I am running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack3 Build 2600
CPU is AMD Phenom II X 61100T 3.31Ghz with 4GB Ram

I can boot into safe mode and have run msconfig I have selected selective startup and disabled all services except Microsoft ones and stopped all startup entries.

I have run a full system virus scan which found nothing, have booted to my XP CD and get an error message saying it is not a valid win32 file which it obviously is as it is an original disc and loads on other pc's

I have tried opening System Restore in safe mode and get the following message "System Restore is not able to protect your computer" yet if I open system Restore tab it shows it activated.

I have also opened a DOS prompt and tried SFC /scannow and get the error message "Windows file protection could not initiate a scan of protected system files"

Any ideas what to try next?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Sounds weird. Does system need a new CMOS battery?

Other:
Event Viewer.
Change automatic reboot on error to 'off'.
Boot from LiveCD like Ubuntu or one of the anti-malware bootables.

 

[Scorpio53]

CMOS battery is brand new will try turning reboot on error off in the morning if I can find it in safe mode

 

[Cycloid Torus]

You should find it in BIOS, probably 'advanced' but it will take some digging.

Since it seems that you have recently changed battery, did you 'reset to defaults' (F9) and then redefine BIOS to match up to your system?

 

[Scorpio53]

I disabled reboot on error and get a Blue screen of death with the following at the bottom
Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x0000007E (0xc0000005, 0xBA1F8756, 0xBA4C342C, 0xBA4C3128)
Any ideas what to try next please?

 

[Scorpio53]

My motherboard failed so I fitted a new motherboard and in BIOS settings chose failsafe defaults
I had had a blue screen of death using the old motherboard but when restarting PC it normally came on OK then one day the PC failed to start up but all fans including CPU one came on except the graphics card fan, I disconnected the power supply from it and shorted the start up pins then checked all voltages which seemed fine. I removed the external graphics card as motherboard had on board graphics, I removed the ram and resseated it I put a new BIOS battery in old motherboard nothing worked. I then used a new 850W PSU in case and still PC would not boot, but when I refitted the graphiics card its fan now worked.

I came to the conclusion the motherboard or CPU must have died and fitted a new tested motherboard bundle which again has on board graphics. I removed the H/D's and connected them to another working PC and ran chkdsk on them they were all fine.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

BSOD w/ STOP - the error you received may be repaired by your XP setup disk..
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Windows-XP-"Repair-Install"

Otherwise, I may be confused about where you are.

I gather that there are two motherboards, an old and a new, and that neither works - or do I have that wrong?

You have removed and tested HDDs and confirmed they are in working order.

You bought a new PSU, but have yet to confirm it is working properly as the installation you tried resulted in 'failed, no start' condition.

 

[Scorpio53]

No I had an Old motherboard which I think failed as it would no longer boot up even to the BIOS screen, I replaced the mother board with a new one and a new PSU which boots up but after showing the multi coloured loading bar for a few minutes I get the blue screen of death mentioned above.
If I choose to boot into safe mode the new motherboard and PSU boot correctly into windows XP but in safe mode only which restricts what I can do with PC, I was able to do a full system antivirus scan in safe nmode which is where I am currently with it.
I found my original XP Service Pack 2 CD and tried to reinstall over the top of the windows XP on PC but the loader detected that I had upgraded to service Pack 3 so wont let me reinstall.

I will look at the link you supplied and see what it says to do thanks for the help to date

 

[Cycloid Torus]

"No I had an Old motherboard which I think failed as it would no longer boot up even to the BIOS screen" - test with CPU installed but RAM removed.... a good result would be beep code error indicating bad RAM (which is given since it is removed). Then add and test components, RAM first, then internal graphics, then GPU, etc

"mother board with a new one and a new PSU which boots up but after showing the multi coloured loading bar for a few minutes I get the blue screen of death mentioned above" - something on your boot disk disagrees, could be change in motherboard requires an individual installation of OS.... try to test with a Ubuntu LiveCD (it should work)...consider backing up all your important files either in SAFE mode in WindowsXP or in Ubuntu

Could not find SP3 on Microsoft..https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/936929. Looks like FileHippo has a copy of SP3 available ... http://filehippo.com/download_windows_xp_service_pack_3/ for you to try as repair...you may have to start with original XP install and work up to SP3.

 

[Scorpio53]

BSOD w/ STOP - the error you received may be repaired by your XP setup disk..
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Windows-XP-"Repair-Install".

Thanks Cycloid Torus for your help, PC up an running OK again now and most importantly for me all e-mail account settings intact, I'll take note of them all now and do a backup.
The problem seems to initially have been the failure of the old mother board then when I replaced the motherboard it contained an AMD processor and with service pack 3 installed it creates the blue screen crash. After following the link you supplied above I found a solution by modifying a registry entry to disable an Intel service and PC booted up correctly. When windows booted up it detected that since initial activation the system hardware had undergone major changes and said windows had to be reactivated dialled the freephone number and got new activation code with no problem what so ever.

Thanks again for your help

Regards
Ian

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Wonderful!!!