PC remains locked in a startup cycle after replacing the CPU cooler.
PC remains locked in a startup cycle after replacing the CPU cooler.
Today I moved from the basic AMD box cooler to the MSI MAG Coreliquid 240R. While swapping, I took out the GPU for easier access. After finishing, the system restarted to Windows normally, but the CPU temperature was throttling. I verified all connections and re-placed the block to ensure good contact. Once the PC powered on, it got stuck in a loop—first showing the motherboard brand screen, then displaying “preparing automatic repair.” After a brief pause, it restarted again. When I entered BIOS and checked boot options, my hard drive was listed as option #1 with the Windows Boot Manager name plus the HDD model. This was odd since my SSD (M.2 NVMe) wasn’t showing up as a boot choice. I removed the HDD and left only the SSD; it appeared as an option. However, when I booted from it, I saw a prompt asking to reboot and select the correct device. I attempted to create a Windows installation USB to reach the Advanced Startup menu and opened Command Prompt for an SFC scan. After booting from the USB, the Windows logo appeared with the loading circle, but the PC kept restarting endlessly. This situation is confusing—I’m not sure what’s going on. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
It might be that your MBR is damaged, requiring a command prompt with commands like bootrec /fixmbr and bootrec /rebuildbcd. If you can't access the recovery mode, check your BIOS settings and turn off Secureboot if available—it could resolve the boot issue. Once the boot loop is resolved, consider performing a clean install of Windows. Edited February 22, 2023 by WackySpace