Windows freezes or reboots repeatedly upon startup

Updated: 11/06/2021 by Computer Hope
Frozen computer hard drive

When the Windows operating system starts up, it loads system files that allow it to function correctly. However, if one of those system files becomes corrupted or another program has problems, Windows can freeze or reboot at various points, including the splash screen. Below are several steps to help resolve or determine what's causing this problem.

Note

If you see any blue screen as windows loads, see: How to fix Windows blue screen errors.

Boot into Safe Mode and run a System Restore

If your computer is frozen, restart the computer. While the computer is booting, boot the computer into Safe Mode.

Once in Safe Mode, run Windows System Restore to restore Windows to an earlier copy. The System Restore can return Windows back to an earlier date when the computer was working and can fix a lot of problems.

After the System Restore has completed, let Windows reboot the computer and see if you can boot into Windows.

Safe Mode and check for device errors and disable startup programs

If Windows still cannot boot and you were able to get into Safe Mode reboot the computer and start back into Safe Mode. Once in Safe Mode, make sure there are no errors in the Device Manager, and disable all startup programs.

Use the Windows disc to repair Windows

If the previous solutions have not helped and you have a Windows operating system disc. Insert the disc into the computer and reboot the computer. As the computer boots, a message asking you to press Enter to boot from a disc should be seen. Once pressed, in the Windows menu choose the Repair option to repair Windows.

Test computer for malware

If you can access another computer, and have a USB (universal serial bus) flash drive, download and install Malwarebytes onto the flash drive. Once copied to the flash drive, reboot the computer into Safe Mode, connect the flash drive, and scan and clean the computer of any malware infections.

Test memory

If you continue to have problems, it may be bad computer memory. Make sure there are no problems with the computer memory by testing the memory.

System Restore

If none of the above steps resolve your problem, your computer may either have a serious software problem or has a hardware problem. The next best step in determining the problem would be to erase the computer and restore it back to the original configuration.

Other hardware problem

If the recommendations above don't fix the problem, the computer may have a hardware problem. If so, it should be inspected by a professional repair technician. The most likely causes for this type of failure could be a bad hard drive, motherboard, or memory.