computer keeps restarting ???

im having a similar problem like chishio8


i bought a new small 320 giga harddrive, to save my movies on. instead of my computer. ever since that day, my computer keeps restarting, every 30 seconds. i tried safe mode and all other options they show, but nothing changes it. i got it to go to the blue screen. but what to do from there? i cant copy the error message/ how?

I don't have the xp cd. i have an acer emashine desktop. only 3 months old.

here is what it says:

we  apologize for the inconvenience, but windows did not start successfully a recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

if your computer stopped responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically shut down to protect your files and folders, choose last known good configuration to revert to the most recent settings that worked.

if a previous startup attempt was interruped due to a power failure or because power or reset button was pressed, or if you aren't sure what caused the problem, choose start windows normally.

        safe mode
safe mode with networking
safe mode with command prompt
last known good config/

start windows normally

ok sorry guys, i just found the xp cd, and the recovery 'something' cd. now what do i do?

ok i got to the blue screen by clicking f8

here is what it says

" a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer/

if this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. if this screen appears agian, follow these steps:
check to be sure you have adequate disk space. if a driver is identified in the stip message, disable the driver or check the manufacturer for driver updates. try changing video adapters.

check with your hardware vendor for any bios updates (wth is that). disable bios memory options such as caching or shadowing. if you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press f8 to select advanced startup options, and then select safe mode.

technical information:

*** stop: 0x0000007E (0xc80000003, 0x805C49B8, 0xF79C32B4, 0xF79C2FB0)

oooh, when i put the cd's in, nothing happens.
I have the xp home edition, and the application and driver application cd.

where is the recovery console? my laptop im on now wont let me donwload it from one of the posts here where im supposed to burn it to cd.... i don't know what the heck is wrong anymore!

1.  You're a dangerous individual "lost"...  So quick to act...  Slow down...

Disconnect the new hard drive from the computer (and leave it off for now).

2.  Last known good configuration.  If you've been unable to successfully log in since the addition of the new drive; try to boot using the "Last known good configuration" option of the Windows Advanced Options menu, which you may access using the F8 function key during system startup.

3.  Were you able to successfully login and use the new hard drive before your troubles began?  How many hours or days before the trouble began?

hey bear,

when i click on last known.... it goes right back to the restart thingy....ooooof

the hardrive was working fine right after i installed it, i was able to save my movies, but i think the next day is when the mess started. it has been disconnected ever since

now i'm lost AND stuck!!!

[Moderator]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330182

1.  Did the trouble begin with the "first" reboot after installing the new hard drive?

2.  Disable restarts.  To stop continuous restarts, you should select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" from the Windows Advanced Options menu.  Generally it should stop on a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

3.  Backup Data.  If you don't care about the data, that makes it easier.  Simplest thing then would be to run a "chkdsk /p /r" on file system of your system drive from Recovery Console.  If that doesn't work, either attempt a repair installation or a new installation of the operating system.

If you care about the data, you should back it up before proceeding.  Normally this would be done by slaving the hard drive to a known working computer system.  If your working computer is a laptop, I'd assume you'd need to use a USB interface to access the slaved drive.  You'd either need an external drive enclosure with the correct internal interface (IDE PATA or SATA) or a cable with the correct adaptor to convert your drive interface to USB.

Or you could boot the desktop to a Live CD, and attempt to save your data off to CDs/DVDs or USB drives (thumb, flash, hard drive).  A Live CD contains a bootable program or operating system that loads from the CD instead of the hard drive.  Although this is very doable, I really can't walk you through it.

Or you could place another hard drive in desktop as your master drive and install a new operating system to it.  Then if the desktop appears functional, slave the original hard drive to it, to save the data and/or repair the original operating system.

A risker approach would be to install new operating system to a different partition of the original hard drive (if your Windows XP CD permits this).  You could also attempt new installation to different "Windows" directory on same partition as original installation, but it's messy and I don't recommend it.  It's worth repeating.  If you need to save the data, use a working computer to recover it.

4.  Which computer?  What is the Make and Model Name/Number of the Acer eMachine?  Try to get it from the sticker or plate on back of the machine along with the Product Number.  I'm assuming your system came preinstalled with the operating system.  I'd like to see what recovery media (recovery partition/CDs) and instructions eMachine provides.

5.  Restore Points.  Did you make or have any recent system restore points?

6.  To boot from CD, you either need to tell the eMachine explicitly to boot from CD/DVD drive or go into CMOS setup to ensure CD/DVD drive comes before the hard drive in the BIOS boot order.  The documentation for your computer should explain how to do this (and should be available for download on the manufacturer website support pages).

7.  Recovery Console.  If your Windows XP CD supports Recovery Console, it should appear as an option on the "Welcome to Setup" screen.  Screen should appear as follows:

Windows XP Home Edition Setup

    Welcome to Setup.

        This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft(R)
        Windows(R) XP to run on your computer.

            o  To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

            o  To repair a Windows XP installation using
                Recovery Console, press R.

            o  To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

If it doesn't support Recovery Console, there's an iso image you may download and "write" (not "copy") to a CD-R.

Download link is:  http://www.thecomputerparamedic.com/files/rc.iso.