Several restarts during startup followed by normal operation
Several restarts during startup followed by normal operation
Hello everyone, I recently powered on my PC after about a year and the long downtime was because of a corrupted HDD. I restored everything using the Hirens boot CD, then updated the partition table and everything worked smoothly with all data intact. After that, I reinstalled Windows, but faced a recurring issue: the computer would attempt to boot into a specific screen before shutting down and restarting again, usually 1-2 times before reaching the login screen. Once resolved, it functioned perfectly. Later, after installing the newest drivers, my brother played a game and the GPU fans spiked to maximum while the display cut out. I shut it off quickly and tried to power it back on, but the motherboard diagnostic for VGA output lit up red. I think the GPU might have failed and is likely dead. I was disappointed, so I replaced the 10-year-old GT 610 GPU to test if it would boot. Fortunately, it did. Now I’m performing a low-level formatting of the HDD, suspecting malware might be involved. This was my first build, and despite not being new, it’s close to my heart. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!
I was surprised to see suggestions about PSU issues and several other problems, but I chose malware thinking it might have caused the corruption. When I first booted with both Windows PE and Ubuntu on a pendrive, the system didn’t restart as expected. After installing a full Windows version, the problem continued to appear.
None of the signs point to malware. Back in the day, malware aimed only to disrupt you enough to demand payment or flood you with ads, steal data, etc.—things that need a functional system. If you received a GPU warning and fixed it, why would you be low-level formatting the drive? That doesn’t make sense. Does it restart every time or just after you reinstall Windows? Many boards do this whenever changes occur.
the restarting issue persisted even after replacing my graphics card. i thought a drive format might be the problem, so i opted for low-level formatting. the system functions properly once it completes the start-up, shutdown, and restart cycles a few times. afterward, everything runs smoothly.
Checked the Event Viewer logs, focusing on the Windows Logs/System section. This could pinpoint the source more accurately instead of relying on assumptions.
I also attempted that. The moment the GPU stopped working, the Event Viewer displayed a kernel event ID of 41 indicating an unexpected power loss. When it went through the restart process, it simply reported that Windows Recovery failed.
It seems your motherboard's CMOS battery is depleted. This tiny power source maintains stored system data while the computer isn't powered on. If the PC has been off for an extended time, the battery probably ran down. Each restart helps the board recognize hardware and run memory checks to preserve information. Swapping in a new CMOS cell should resolve the problem. After installation, it should function normally again. A CR2032 button cell battery is commonly available for around a dollar or two at the store.
I’ll swap out the battery. I also verified the real-time clock is functioning properly. Does that suggest the CMOS battery is in good shape? I’ll go ahead and replace it, though I still hope for a better solution. Also, since it hasn’t been connected to the internet yet, it isn’t syncing from the cloud.
It’s comparable to a challenge you encountered earlier before I encouraged you to attempt this. 1. Remove the RAM and wipe it down with a tissue to eliminate any debris. Repeat the same for the slots. 2. Update the BIOS on your motherboard. After that, uninstall the GPU driver, visit the official site for your GPU, and download the newest driver.