I have re-installed Win 2000 Pro on my daughters PC after she loaded something onto the system by accident. 2000 kept asking fot a Paperport 8 disc even though this program was removed. We removed all Paperport files and documents and re-loaded again. Now when re booting the PC comes on Windows tries to boot but then goes back to " set up is being re Started......
It looks as if it is looping and goes on and on. I tried F8 and did a Safe mode reboot and one oor 2 of the other option but this made no difference. I do not appear to have a recovry disc for Windows 2000 Pro. Could someone please help.

Dani AI

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Quick summary and what fixed it here: the loop that shows "Set up is being restarted..." typically means GUI-mode Setup is trying to continue but cannot find the install/catalog files or the CD-ROM driver, so it keeps restarting. was right to suspect a boot/MBR issue and suggested a reinstall; pointed out boot-entry issues; and resolved his machine by forcing the system to boot from the Windows CD and re-running Setup. (daniweb.com)

If it still loops, use the Windows CD Recovery/Repair path first: boot from the Windows 2000 CD, press R for Recovery Console, run a disk check and then repair the boot code with the Recovery Console commands (for example, chkdsk /r, fixboot and fixmbr). If core boot files are missing you can also copy them from the CD (for example, ntldr and ntdetect.com) back to C:. The Recovery Console command list and guidance are documented by Microsoft. (See Microsoft Recovery Console guide.) (learn.microsoft.com)

If Setup asks for a file such as NT5INF.CAT when GUI mode starts, that usually means Setup lost access to the CD-ROM (common causes: incompatible/old CD firmware or leftover CD-writing drivers). Workarounds that often help: try the install CD in a different drive, copy the CD's \i386 folder to the hard disk and point Setup at C:\i386, or restore the system catalog file from a Service Pack image if the catalog is corrupted. Community threads and guidance on this exact NT5INF.CAT symptom are documented online. (See examples.) (pcreview.co.uk)

Quick cautions: back up any personal data before repartitioning or formatting; prefer Recovery Console repairs over blind MBR tools if uncertain; and if the CD or drive is old, try another drive or a slipstreamed CD (with the latest service pack) to reduce post-install errors.

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When it says, "Set up is being restarted" it is looking for your setup disc to be in the CDROM. I'd imagine that setup did not get to complete OR your master boot record doesn't contain the proper syntax to boot into the OS. If it were me, I'd do a complete reinstall....but I'd format first. You'll also need to format the MBR (master boot record) to eliminate the possibility that it is causing problems. Usually a clean install will do this automatically...but if you want to be absolutely certain, you can flash the MBR yourself with the instructions below.

Go http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm there and make a Windows 98 SE OEM bootdisk. Set you BIOS up to boot off of CD (if not already done) and boot up off the bootdisk. Now you can 'flash' your MBR and get rid of any corruptions.

Type 'fdisk /mbr' or 'fdisk \mbr' (i forget which way the slash goes right now)

Remove your bootdisk and go on with your 2000 install. Hope this helps you!


TKS

Is it the option when the choice of operating systems is displayed ??? then you can do something like this .... if you can start your windows .... right click my computer go to properties ... > advanced .. > startup and recovery settings ..> select your default os and uncheck time to display list of os. You can also edit all these settings manually by typing msconfig in the run dialog box ... and then selecting boot.ini .... but only do it if you know something about it.

When it says, "Set up is being restarted" it is looking for your setup disc to be in the CDROM. I'd imagine that setup did not get to complete OR your master boot record doesn't contain the proper syntax to boot into the OS. If it were me, I'd do a complete reinstall....but I'd format first. You'll also need to format the MBR (master boot record) to eliminate the possibility that it is causing problems. Usually a clean install will do this automatically...but if you want to be absolutely certain, you can flash the MBR yourself with the instructions below.

Go http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm there and make a Windows 98 SE OEM bootdisk. Set you BIOS up to boot off of CD (if not already done) and boot up off the bootdisk. Now you can 'flash' your MBR and get rid of any corruptions.

Type 'fdisk /mbr' or 'fdisk \mbr' (i forget which way the slash goes right now)

Remove your bootdisk and go on with your 2000 install. Hope this helps you!


TKS

Thanks for your help.
I managed to interup boot and directed the re boot to the CD ROM. It is now rebooting from the CD Drive and is now re installing.
Many thanks for your help
Pols....

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