XP shuts down

[Dan]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage (More info?)

Hi,
I am trying to help my dad figure out a problem with his PC. He has a Dell
8200 with XP Home Editions sp2. When the blue screen with all the different
usernames comes up, we click on a name and it immediately says 'saving system
settings' and shuts down. What do I need to do to get this fixed? I am
semi-novice
with computers, he is, to be frank, not computer savvy at all. He doesn't
know what led to this. He has Norton Antivirus and keeps Windows up-to-date
and
has comcast internet cable.
One person I talked to suggested taking out the hard-drive, putting it into
my PC (I have a Dell 8300), backup his hard-drive, put the hard-drive back
into his computer then re-install XP using the Dell provided XP
re-installation cd (purplish in color).
Then I'd have to re-install all his software and then copy everything back
to his PC (his personal files, etc).
Is there an easier way?
thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage (More info?)

First thing you need to do is try to boot into the administrator account. If
that's one of the ones that can't be used, then boot into Safe Mode (you can
do this by pressing F8 during the boot process when it prompts you, and
choose it from the menu). This'll load WinXP (hopefully) with a minimal
amount of drivers and may allow you to at least get into the system and try
to discover where the problem lies. A good place to look, once you are in,
is in the Control Panel->System->Hardware->Device Manager (for driver issues
and device conflicts) and in the Start->All Programs->Administrative
Tools->Event Viewer (or through Control Panel as well) for more details on
what may be wrong. Try this first. Always do what you can before going
through an entire reinstall (which may not be a bad idea, but is
time-consuming and may not be needed). Others will surely have some advice
that may be more worthwhile checking out, but I thought I'd give you
something to start with.

"Dan" <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A517476C-D184-4555-A783-44E2E3CB8862@microsoft.com...
> Hi,
> I am trying to help my dad figure out a problem with his PC. He has a Dell
> 8200 with XP Home Editions sp2. When the blue screen with all the
> different
> usernames comes up, we click on a name and it immediately says 'saving
> system
> settings' and shuts down. What do I need to do to get this fixed? I am
> semi-novice
> with computers, he is, to be frank, not computer savvy at all. He doesn't
> know what led to this. He has Norton Antivirus and keeps Windows
> up-to-date
> and
> has comcast internet cable.
> One person I talked to suggested taking out the hard-drive, putting it
> into
> my PC (I have a Dell 8300), backup his hard-drive, put the hard-drive back
> into his computer then re-install XP using the Dell provided XP
> re-installation cd (purplish in color).
> Then I'd have to re-install all his software and then copy everything back
> to his PC (his personal files, etc).
> Is there an easier way?
> thanks
>