Member Avatar for Annie_2

Hi I have a problem with my windows xp pc sp3 after it finishes loading windows xp screen just as it's about to load login screen pc constantly restarts itself
I did have cpu cooling issues so bought new cooler and rear fan also put new thermal paste in 10 mins after pc went slow wouldn't let me do anything. Pc didn't like being touched kept saying ntldr is missing took ages to sort it out then memory kept beeping took ages to sort that out but now I've got the issue where screen goes black with the cursor showing pc constantly restarts itself after windows xp loading screen when it's about to load login screen. How do I resolve this issue?
Nvidia graphics card g force 6400
cpu amd athon 3200+
512mb memory
Winfast motherboard
250gb hard drive and 350gb another hard drive

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by maba001

Dani AI

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Summary and quick diagnosis: described an XP SP3 machine that reaches the Windows splash, shows a cursor (or briefly a black screen) and then immediately reboots before the logon. Given the recent CPU cooler/fan work and the earlier NTLDR/memory problems, this needs a hardware-first triage while capturing any Windows error that points to a driver or OS fault. This builds on ’s Live-OS idea and ’s bootable-USB suggestion but adds a few targeted checks to narrow the cause quickly.

Immediate capture and clues

  • Use the Advanced Boot Options (press F8 while the system is POSTing) and select “Disable automatic restart on system failure.” If a STOP (blue screen) appears, record the hex code and any driver filename shown — that is the most direct lead.
  • Also enable “Boot logging” from F8 to produce C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt; examine it from WinPE or by attaching the drive to another PC to see which driver failed to load.

Hardware-first checklist (order matters)

  • Run one RAM stick at a time and run a full memory test (memtest) from a bootable USB; previously hearing beeps strongly implicates RAM.
  • Try a minimal build: motherboard + CPU + one RAM stick + PSU + video (use onboard if possible) and the system drive only. Remove extra HDDs, optical drives, USB devices and the discrete GPU.
  • Check PSU health (swap with a known-good unit or measure voltages) and visually inspect the board for bulging caps or loose screws/thermal paste causing shorts. Verify CPU fan header and cooler seating.

OS/disk-level steps (after backing up data)

  • Boot Recovery Console / WinPE and run chkdsk /r c: to repair filesystem errors; if the BSOD names a driver, rename that driver from Recovery Console (for example ren \Windows\System32\drivers\problem.sys problem.old) to force Windows to boot with a generic driver.
  • If hardware checks are clean and disk repair doesn’t help, back up data via Live-OS and proceed with an XP repair-install or clean reinstall as a last software step.

Note: prioritize capturing a STOP code first and backing up personal files before destructive fixes.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

I don't see where you tried another account and safe mode. Try those. I don't write how since XP users are well seasoned and we have the internet.

Member Avatar for Annie_2

Ok Will do

Member Avatar for Annie_2

Tried going to safe mode and it kept restarting

Member Avatar for rproffitt

When normal and safe mode fails, the OS is blown. It doesn't tell us where or why it's blown. I usually test the PC further with Live OS CD/DVD/USB. I noted this a few years back at http://tips.oncomputers.info/archives2004/0401/2004-Jan-11.htm

There are odd instances where XP will just reboot if I plug in some USB thing it's not ready for. Just last week a client brought in an old PC and we looked around, declared it too far gone and then they revealed they had moved the HDD from a truly dead PC. Windows doesn't like that either. They got an extra hour of billing by not telling us that.

Member Avatar for maba001

The machine should be young enough to support USB Boot. So I would propose to get yourself a bootable USB-Device (can be USB CD-ROM, USB-drive, USB-stick, ...). Make sure it is bootable by trying on a different machine.

What it boots to is not relevant in the beginning. You just need to get somewhere where you can hit a few keys of click with the mouse to make sure the HW is in working condition.

Once you can exclude the HW as the root cause, I would propose to do a XP repair installation from the original XP CD.

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