My computer crashes or reboots on startup! What do I do?
This is one of the most common questions that I am asked. I know how devestating it can be when this happens, so I hope that this solves your problem. If not, let me know on the "Your Input" page. The most likely cause of this problem is that you have a virus that starts an endless reboot cycle. To get rid of it, follow these 7 simple steps.
Boot your computer into "Safe Mode" by pressing F8 repeatedly during startup, and then follow this process.
1. Hit Windows + R, or go to your start menu and type in "run" . In this dialogue, type "msconfig".
2. Go to the "Startup" tab and click on "Disable All".
3. Reboot your computer normally, and see if it works.
4. If it works, enable the items one by one, followed by a normal reboot. This will determine which item is causing the crash.
5. When the computer crashes again, disable the item that you just enabled, and enable all the rest of the items.
6. Reboot your computer again normally.
7. Do a virus scan to try to remove the problematic startup item, and if the scan turns up nothing, let it be.
Boot your computer into "Safe Mode" by pressing F8 repeatedly during startup, and then follow this process.
1. Hit Windows + R, or go to your start menu and type in "run" . In this dialogue, type "msconfig".
2. Go to the "Startup" tab and click on "Disable All".
3. Reboot your computer normally, and see if it works.
4. If it works, enable the items one by one, followed by a normal reboot. This will determine which item is causing the crash.
5. When the computer crashes again, disable the item that you just enabled, and enable all the rest of the items.
6. Reboot your computer again normally.
7. Do a virus scan to try to remove the problematic startup item, and if the scan turns up nothing, let it be.