Boot loop problems (yet again)

[Mr.Moose]

Hello people, you may have seen a thread I made a while back in which I was having boot loop problems after overclocking my CPU. A CMOS clear solved that problem and now have run into another boot loop problem, and it isn't due to overclocking. (Prior to this happening the CPU was at 100% stock settings). The only thing that has changed has been the addition of a new GPU (A GTX 560). So, I took out the 560 and attempted to boot yet again. It shuts down (Z68 board so I was using integrated on that attempt). The thing is, each time it reboots it gets past the BIOS screen and goes to a black screen which usually displayed "Loading Operating System" with a blinking "_" (underscore). Now it just displays the blinking underscore and then reboots. This makes me think the hard drive may have just quit on me? Maybe it detects it but somehow the information is damaged/destroyed?

I'm not too sure...

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this, and help me out!

I'm stressing out like CRAZY

Thanks again!

EDIT: Also, I reset my CMOS after taking out the graphics card and testing again.

 

[johnb35]

I would start by testing the hdd that your os is installed on, what brand of drive is it? If it comes up good, you may just need to reinstall windows.

 

[Mr.Moose]

I would start by testing the hdd that your os is installed on, what brand of drive is it? If it comes up good, you may just need to reinstall windows.

It's an old Toshiba drive (plan on upgrading to an SSD soon). And also, I agree that it's a hard drive problem. I unplugged the SATA power/data cables and turned on the computer and it stayed on which leads me to believe that that no major hardware is damaged and that it is in fact a hard drive problem. I hope it is!

Thanks for your help!

 

[Darren]

You could try downloading linux to a disc then boot from that by telling your BIOS to boot from your disc drive. That will basically tell you if it's a hard drive problem.