E-66

I've never been much of an update person. I went from Win 7's original release to SP1, and after that I've just pretty much left it alone. I don't know if my PC has all sorts of security issues or not. Everything I do online is done through Sandboxie. My system works fine, and I've never found any malware on it when I use the free checker tools. Regardless of that, for whatever reason it's finally occurred to me that maybe I should get my system more currently updated. I've read A LOT about updating Win 7, how it stopped for the most part in January 2020, etc. To make a long story short, this is what I've done, and I'd like some opinions on whether I should do more, or do anything differently. [Note: I installed these updates on a fresh Win 7 SP1 x64 system, but the goal is to integrate them into the ISO and reinstall] Installed, I believe in this order, based on what I read was needed in order to get the big updates to install: KB4474419: SHA-2 update KB4490628: Servicing Stack update from 3/2019. [the Microsoft Update Catalog site didn't show it as being replaced by a newer version, so I assumed it was needed even when later versions of SS updates were released?] KB4536952: Servicing Stack update from 1/2020 [didn't know if this was needed] KB3125574: Convenience Rollup from 5/2016 KB4534310: 1/14/2020 monthly rollup KB4534314: 1/14/2020 security update Done. Everything installed without issue. No glitches, no flickering monitor, nothing. I had read that beginning in April 2019, PciClearStaleCache.exe needed to be "present" in order for monthly rollups to install. Wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but I also read that it only needed to be included in the same folder as whatever monthly rollup was being installed and it would install. So that's what I did. After I installed the 2016 Convenience Rollup, I put PciClearStaleCache.exe and the Jan. 2020 monthly rollup in the same folder, and it installed. So my update path was Win 7 SP1 ISO > Convenience Rollup > Jan. 2020 rollup. I've never liked the idea of letting Windows install updates automatically, so I've always had them turned off. I let it scan my system after the updating I did and it showed 21 important, 33 optional. The majority of them were older ones, before 2016. When I looked at the KB numbers on the Microsoft Catalog Update site, all of them showed as being replaced by the big 2016 Convenience Rollup I installed, so I'm not sure why it shows these updates to begin with? Other than a security update to .Net Framework, none of the more recent ones seem "important." I don't use Internet Explorer or Edge, and I'm not concerned with time zone or currency updates for countries half a world away. Sorry for the long post, but any thoughts on what I've done, how I've done it, or if I should do more? Thanks.

I used Offline Registry Viewer and verified that AutoReboot was set to 1. I then used OfflineReg and changed the value to 0. Put the HDD back in the laptop... and no change, which you said might be a possibility, and would indicate that the issue was likely related to boot files/code. So, what's next? (and thanks for the continued help) Edit: I started the laptop with a Windows 7 DVD and let it do a repair install.... and it worked. Took about 10 minutes and I was just about to give up and cancel it because I thought it was stuck, but it finished and told me to restart the PC, and once I did it booted to a message that Windows wasn't shut down properly. I don't know if that's from the last time she used the laptop over a year ago, or from me unplugging it when it's been stuck in the reboot loop. Either way, I started it Safe Mode, got to the Desktop, and then rebooted and started it normally and everything seems to be ok..... other than the godawful number of things that it has running automatically at startup that I'm now going through. So, thanks for the help, but I think I'm good.

jaclaz, I want to make sure I understand the goal of what you're suggesting I do..... Are you asking me to boot from a PE3.0 (not 3.1?) USB while the laptop's HDD is hooked up to my PC (Win7 x64), and then set the specific registry key to turn AutoReboot off.... so that when I put the HDD back in the laptop I might see an error message instead of an infinite reboot loop? I think that's what you're saying (maybe I should have described myself as a semi-advanced home user earlier). Do I have to put WinPE on a USB drive all by itself, or can I add it to a current bootable USB drive? I was just looking at my Easy2Boot USB drive and there's a folder for WinPE, but it's empty (as I assumed it would be), but I assume it's there so WinPE can be added as one of the many things you can use Easy2Boot for?

Sorry, I should have included more info. Yeah, it's definitely an older laptop. 2G RAM. Celeron M. I've never used it so I don't know how responsive it is when using it. The sticker on the bottom says it came with Win XP, but I'm pretty sure it has Win 7 32-bit on it now, just by looking at the dates of files and folders, and it has Win 7's boot files, not XP's NTLDR. I started it w/o the HDD attached and it didn't loop reboot. This is the message it showed: ====================== Intel UNDI, PXE-2.1 (build 082) Realtek RTL9139(X)/8130/810X PCI Ethernet Controller Series v2.16 (041244) PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM Operating System not found ======================= VERY basic BIOS; there's hardly anything to adjust. No SATA options, nor anything to choose to disable automatic restart on system failure. I've used Easy2Boot on a USB stick to install my own OS. I'm not familiar with WinPE 3.0 or Linux live CD.... what are you suggesting I do with either of them with regard to her PC?

I'm looking for help getting my neighbor's Lenovo 8922 laptop fixed. She's 82 and isn't much of a computer user other than e-mail. I don't know exactly what happened, but she said the computer "screeched" at her when she was using it and then she couldn't do anything, so I assume it locked up and she probably just unplugged it. I turned it on and once it gets to the logo screen it just goes into an infinite loop of rebooting. I got into the BIOS and reset it to default values and turned off the logo screen, so I do see that it POSTs, but it never gets to where I can ask Windows to start in Safe Mode or anything else. I pulled the HDD and put it in my PC and have no trouble viewing the partitions and data on it, so the HDD itself is readable. I ran an antivirus scan on it but it didn't find anything. I'm showing my ignorance here, but I didn't know if the antivirus scan could identify potential issues in the boot portion of her HDD when it's hooked up as an extra HDD in my PC? Anyway, what's my next step? I consider myself an "advanced home user" and have built multiple PCs, but I'm certainly not at the level of some of the experts on here who either work in the industry or are deeply involved in the field, so I need some help. Thanks.

I have some other priorities at the moment, so that PC is going to be sitting for now.

I don't remember the specifics of the EVGA PSU, but it's a quality unit. It's 650 watts, which is far more than any PSU I've ever had. From what you've written, you sound like a power user to me. I have a SSD and a basic video card, and I don't game. My PC is a glorified jukebox with a built-in web browser. I've exhausted my ability to troubleshoot. For $35 I'll let a tech at a local shop tell me what's going on.

It powers on, shuts down, and restarts itself. I let it go through 2 of these cycles while touching the CPU heatsink as close to the CPU as I could, and the only temperature change I could feel was the warmth of my fingers touching it for so long. None of the components are "new" anymore, as the build is well over a year old, but I bought all the parts at the same time. I moved the EVGA PSU to my working system and it powers it fine. I moved the SSD over to my working system and used... I forgot the exact name of the program, but it gives you extended info about your HDD, and it reported that the SSD has been powered on for just over 120 hours, so you can see how little use all of the components have.

If I let it power cycle for the 25-30 secs that it has been and the CPU heats up as much as you say it could, then shouldn't I be able to feel that in the heatsink? I've never checked that before but I'll fire it up again and see what happens. I hadn't made any changes to the stock BIOS settings when the PC was working previously, and just left them at stock and auto. That being said, I did spend a fair amount of time in the BIOS just looking around, and I don't remember ever seeing CPU temps of 40 or higher. I just rebooted the PC I'm using now and checked the CPU temp. 37, and its heatsink & fan are much smaller. I do have the BIOS set to control the fan speed as needed, and it rarely spins fast enough for me to even hear it, and I have the side of the case off. That's a different PC, of course. I'll see if I can feel the heatsink getting hot on the non-booting system and report back. Edit: I let it go through two of the 25-30 sec power cycles, and I couldn't feel the temperature of the CPU heatsink change at all. Then I felt the CPU heatsink of my working PC and it *might* have felt slightly warmer. The only thing that actually had a warm feeling to it was the chipset heatsink. It wasn't hot though, and I could have easily kept my fingers in contact with it all day.

Yes, I did re-seat the CPU - no change. There's no instant overheat, either. I haven't ruled out any issues with the case switches, however. I've emailed back & forth with ASRock's tech support and it's been suggested that the power on, no post issue is the result of the CPU & FSB not syncing up. Regarding buying new hardware, I'm willing to buy a new mobo to see if that's the issue, but buying an expensive CPU just to test a theory is out of the question. Although, it occurred to me as I was typing the last sentence, I could try to find a older, used socket AM4 CPU cheap.

I found an old case speaker and hooked it up to my working system and heard the familiar single beep when it booted. Went to the problem system and took the board out of the case as you suggested, connected the speaker, turned it on with just the CPU, and not a single beep, just the power cycling as already described. It's like the board passes electricity but nothing else. At this point I guess I either take it somewhere local and have them test the CPU and/or board, or just order a new board, unless there are any other suggestions?

Ok, thanks. I'll look into it further and report back when I know something.

Apologies, I didn't get a notification that there had been a reply. Yes, the PSU from the system that won't boot works fine in the system that does. Using it right now, in fact. That rules out the PSU, but does that also automatically indicate that the culprit is the mobo in the system that won't boot? I've tried everything you said above, and I believe I did those things before I even posted. Nothing ever shows up on the screen, and it always power cycles at the same 25-30 interval.

I tried what you said. It turns on and looks fine (case fan & CPU fan spin), but it just power cycles every 25-30 sec. What's next? What is the reason it would barely power on at all when I connected the PSU from my working system to it as I mentioned above? That PSU has the same 24 & 8 pin connectors, but it'll barely turn on and then shut off and not come back on.

Sorry, I posted right before I went to bed. Thought I included all the info, but obviously not. Mobo - ASRock AB350M (horrible reviews now, but not when I bought it): https://preview.tinyurl.com/ybcnxwbv First gen Ryzen CPU: https://preview.tinyurl.com/yacapzmn RAM: https://preview.tinyurl.com/ybd9ya93 This PC worked flawlessly for the short time I used it. All I did was unplug it from the wall and set the project aside for a while. Is there really any reason I need to re-seat the CPU? The EVGA PSU came with one of those dummy plugs to snap on the end of the power cable for the mobo. The fan spins. However, I had read that that wasn't a good enough indicator that the PSU was functioning properly, so that's why I thought I needed to do further testing with a multi-meter. Another bit of info I forgot to mention was that I took the PSU from my current working system and hooked it up to the non-working one. When I press the power button things light up only briefly. The fan on the CPU spins a few times and then stops and all the lights go out, and it doesn't power cycle. The PSU is a Corsair CX500M: https://preview.tinyurl.com/y8z246sm