Hard Drive - Endless reboot loop

[Snorlax]

I moved a Windows 2000 hard drive from one system to another and was hoping I could just plug it in and the other computer would boot OK. Of course I new this was probably wishful thinking on my part but I surprised that it actually tried to boot. It almost gets to the blue screen but then dies and tries to reboot again. Does anyone have any ideas why it is going that? Thanks.

 

[InlineFive]

Because the entire system just changed and it doesn't have the correct system configuration? In cases like this you generally want to reinstall.

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Not going to work. I think there is a way to get it to work by first unistalling all the drivers and installing the basic generic drivers windows has, and then shutting it down and moving to the new PC. But I wouldnt recommend it. Just do a format reload, easier.

 

[pkme2]

Your newer computer doesn't recognize the bios installed on the HDD, thus the continous searching.

You'll need to do a operating system repair and hopefully that will resolve your boot problem, otherwise a complete install. If you have any important files, I suggest putting the hdd back from whence it came and copying all data.
Good luck.

 

[Snorlax]

Thanks for the comments. I cannot do a complete reinstall because I do not have the OS CDs. The system it came out of is a surplused Dell computer I got from work. None of us that bought them got the OS CDs. Which brings up another question. I just bought a laptop for my son and his didn't come with OS CDs either. What do you do if the hard drive quits?

 

[TriggerHappy101]

You can make "restore CDs" via an application thats installed on your PC or inside the "reovery partition." It takes like 10 disks most of the time. What they do now is create a "recovery paration" on the HD and you are suppose to use that if your main OS dies. Its to cut pennies basicilly.

Your newer computer doesn't recognize the bios installed on the HDD, thus the continous searching.

The BIOS isnt installed on the HD. The restart looping is because of chipset/motherboard/ide drivers.

 

[Snorlax]

Will sysprep fix the BIOS problem? I have a lot data on this HD I would like to keep intact if possible.

 

[pkme2]

Originally posted by: Snorlax
Thanks for the comments. I cannot do a complete reinstall because I do not have the OS CDs. The system it came out of is a surplused Dell computer I got from work. None of us that bought them got the OS CDs. Which brings up another question. I just bought a laptop for my son and his didn't come with OS CDs either. What do you do if the hard drive quits?

If you send me a self addressed CD mailer. I have many Dell Win 2000 restore CDs, and I'll mail you one, no charge.

Contact me by PM.