Windows XP unattended setup reboot loop

[VJ0]

I obtained an unattended Windows XP sp 3 disk from a collegue so i could upgrade my windows xp. I ran setup within windows from a shared network dvd drive, since my drive is not working. Everything seemed fine and setup continued after rebooting. However, with 10 minutes left and while setup was "registering components" my pc restarts. When windows resumes it states that "Setup is restarting..." and restarts setup. Setup starts and once again with 10 minutes remaining the reboot occurs again.

I would like to cancel the setup without having to reinstall windows. At this point I am only interested in getting windows working again. I can access the drives through my linux partition if any files need to be modified.

Thank you in advance for assistance.

[Yzöwl]

To upgrade, try a standard Service Pack 3 installation disk, not an unattended Windows with integrated Service Pack one.

a replacement optical drive will probably be the cheapest component you can buy for your computer, I'd also suggest you invest in one of those

[VJ0]

Thanks for the quick response. I am planning on getting a drive soon, is there any other way for me to cancel the setup in the meantime? I have tried booting from a flash disk but bios freezes after I select the boot from flash option.

[VJ0]

I got a drive and booted up with a SP3 CD. My only option was to repair windows since I want to retain all my settings. The repair could not be done due to the upgrade and so I proceeded to continue the upgrade. This time I had to choose certain settings and reenter the key during setup.

Unfortunately, my pc reboots at the same point in the installation and is therefore still stuck in this loop. It seems like my only option is to cancel the upgrade. Surely there's a way to do this?

[cluberti]

You might want to make sure it's not connected to any networks - the 10 minute mark is where it's going online (amongst other things) to check for updates, and while I don't know if that's what's causing the issue or not, it would be useful to re-test without any network connectivity during that portion of setup.

[VJ0]

After reading your post I unplugged a wireless usb adapter which was connected and ran setup again (my lan cable was already disconnected). The crash still occurs at registering components. I noticed that just before crashing the time is 9 minutes and the progress bar goes to the end. So maybe the next part of the setup is the cause of the crash?

I am considering using fixmbr and fixboot from the recovery console to restore access to windows. Would that be possible?

Thanks for your help.

[VJ0]

I checked the timeline and saw that SetupParams runs at 9 min, but I did not find SetupParams within $WIN_NT$.~BT\winnt.sif. Should it be there?

I'm not sure if this is relevant but after booting into Ubuntu after the failed install I can access the c drive without having to force mount it, indicating that the drive was shut down properly (unlike what happens with a crash). That must mean that setup is terminating on its own for some reason.

[Guest]

Are the CDs you are using 100% factory originals of have they been modified at some point?

[VJ0]

As far as I know the sp3 disc I'm using has been slipstreamed from an original sp2 disc.

[Guest]

An SP only is fine.

[VJ0]

I can try get sp3 on its own but I need to resolve the installation issue first. I'm planning on using fixmbr but I want to be prepared to fix grub after that's done so I'm looking up how to do that. Is there anything else I can do to avoid reinstalling windows?

[sanjeev18]

you can upgrade ur windows with it to see changes upgrade with cd

[Dmike92]

Hi,

Im new here but not in Windows installation.

I had the same problem once for 3 weeks with a stantard Windows CD until I changed the CMOS battery which completely solved the problem. Could this be a possibility ?

Hope that help !

Edited November 10, 2010 by Dmike92