XP Pro on PC will only boot into Safe Mode?

[speckytecky]

Updated a bunch of XP Pro workstations this afternoon in a classroom and one came back up after a restart looping to the Ctrl Alt Delete logon box.

After a few attempts to get it back to normal I tried Safe Mode and it booted OK into that, did the disk check thing and rebooted and attempted a network logon and it started to go into it OK but then looped back again. Am I right in thinking this could be something to do with a Video Driver, if so how to cure the problem please?

[kmount]

What exactly did you update?

[Michael]

Am I right in thinking this could be something to do with a Video Driver

Windows can fail to start correctly due to a driver or badly written software typically. You're on the right tracks. When you get into Safe Mode can you look at the event logs?

[elsiegee40]

Tried System Restore one of them yet?

[mac_shinobi]

remove the update in safe mode and try normal mode

If thats fine then try and re apply the update - if its still the same then may be easier just to re image and re apply the update.

[speckytecky]

What exactly did you update?

Just the normal Windows update on recommended. Worked fine on the machines each side of the 1 that failed.

[speckytecky]

Windows can fail to start correctly due to a driver or badly written software typically. You're on the right tracks. When you get into Safe Mode can you look at the event logs?

Thanks Michael,

Job to do next time I'm at that school.

[mac_shinobi]

Just the normal Windows update on recommended. Worked fine on the machines each side of the 1 that failed.

If you stop the windows update service ( in the services console ) and then go into the windows or system32 directory there is a software distribution folder, if you rename that and restart the windows update service it should create a blank fresh one and you should be able to re do the update that way assuming you removed the old one first.

[speckytecky]

If you stop the windows update service ( in the services console ) and then go into the windows or system32 directory there is a software distribution folder, if you rename that and restart the windows update service it should create a blank fresh one and you should be able to re do the update that way assuming you removed the old one first.

I find that the strange thing is the identical update on same make / spec computers each side worked fine?

[elsiegee40]

I find that the strange thing is the identical update on same make / spec computers each side worked fine?

Yes, but... no, not really...

I'm afraid there could easily be something slightly different about apparently identical machines. Virus/spyware infection for example.

You could always take an image of a good machine and try applying it to the dud one.