Fix Computer Restart Loop

Solution

 How To Fix Windows 7 Restart Loop Problem 

In the meantime, if you’ve already installed the Windows 7 KB3033929 update and are now stuck in that endless restart loop there are ways to get out of it. While some users have reported that after a couple of days the loops did stop for those still experiencing problems, there are a couple options available for fixing the restart loop.



 Use System Repair/Restore Options 1. Restart Computer
2. As soon as screen powers on, Press F8 continuously until you get to the “Advanced Boot Options” screen
3. Use the arrows keys to select “Repair your computer,” then press Enter.

To begin repairing the Windows 7 update reboot problem, restart your computer and press F8 continuously to enter Advanced Start Options and select "Repair Your Computer." Microsoft 

4. A popup screen should appear. Select “Use Recovery Tools That Can Help Fix Problems Starting Windows,” then click next.

Select “Use Recovery Tools That Can Help Fix Problems Starting Windows,” then click "Next," to proceed to recovery options Microsoft

5. A new popup screen appears. Here select “System Restore.” There you can choose from different recovery points to help return your system to normal.
6. Once your system has been recovered, you will want to go into your update files, and select all but the MS Update 3033929 so that the problem doesn’t occur again.

Solution

 Computer stuck on restart loop 

Mesage displayed "preparing to configure windows. Do not restart your computer" before rebooting
This issue could occur if the updates are not installed or configured properly.
What is the exact blue screen error message?
Do you recall which were the updates that were recently installed on your computer after which this issue triggered?

Unplug all your removable media from the computer, such as removable disks (Blu-ray disks, DVDs, CDs), memory cards (CompactFlash card, Secure Digital card, Memory Stick), and USB flash drives. These removable media may cause this issue during the restart of Windows.

As you have mentioned that your computer is in restart loop, I would suggest you to disable automatic restart and check if you get any error message. Refer to the following link:
Starts Windows in an advanced troubleshooting mode intended for IT professionals and system administrators.
Disable automatic restart on system failure
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode#1TC=windows-7

As you have already perform startup repair, I would suggest you to follow a few more steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Please check if you are able boot your computer in Safe mode. If you are able to boot then please go ahead and un-install the updates which were installed recently after which came across this issue. Refer to the following link to boot your computer in Safe mode:
Start your computer in safe mode
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-computer-safe-mode#start-computer-safe-mode=windows-7

If able to boot, un-install the update that were installed recently. Refer to the following link:
Remove an update
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/remove-update#1TC=windows-7

Step 2: Once you remove the update, try to boot the computer in normal mode and check. If able to boot the computer, I would suggest you to try to install the pending updates in clean boot and check. A clean boot helps eliminate software conflicts. Here is the link for your reference to perform clean boot.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135
Note: Please go through the section: How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot of the KB article to boot the computer in normal startup after fixing the issue.

Solution

 Endless repair computer loop 

Easy Recovery Essentials is guaranteed to fix the “endless repair computer loop” error automatically using its built-in Automated Repair option. EasyRE is currently available for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and can be downloaded and created on any PC.
1. Download Easy Recovery Essentials. Make sure to note your Windows version (XP, Vista, 7 or 8) before you download EasyRE. This guide can help you identify what version of Windows you have installed.
2. Burn the image with ActiveISO.
3. Boot up your PC from the Easy Recovery Essentials CD or USB you created.
4. Once EasyRE is running, choose the “Automated Repair” option and click "continue".

Choose “Automated Repair” in Easy Recovery Essentials

5. After EasyRE scans your computer’s drives, identify and select the drive letter for your Windows installation from the list, and then click on the "Automated Repair" button to begin.

Choose the drive associated with the Windows installation you’re trying to repair.

6. Easy Recovery Essentials will start analyzing the selected drive for problems. EasyRE will test for and attempt to automatically correct errors with the disk, partition, bootsector, filesystem, bootloader, and registry. No intervention is required, as EasyRE’s repair is fully automated:

Easy Recovery Essentials searches for errors and makes corrections to the selected Windows installation.

7. Once the process is complete, EasyRE will report its findings. Click on the "Restart" button to reboot your PC and test the changes.
8. The “endless repair computer loop” error should now be fixed as your PC begins to load:

 Windows, booting up successfully.

You can download Easy Recovery Essentials from here.

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Solution

 Windows Vista and 7 Update Reboot Loop Fix 

Symptom: You have an update that is causing Windows Vista or Windows 7 to get stuck in an infinite reboot loop. The problem usually manifests as a "Stage 3 of 3: 0% complete..." followed by a reboot which boots to the same exact message, not allowing you to get to your account login or desktop at all. It's a pain and it doesn't stop, even in Safe Mode or trying Last Known Good Configuration at the advanced boot menu.

Here's the short version for people who know how to get to the tools to do this and if running System Restore from the install DVD fails to work: DELETE the files \Windows\WinSxS\cleanup.xml AND (if present) \Windows\WinSxS\pending.xml and the infinite update reboot loop will be fixed.

There are two ways to get to the files you need to delete. The easiest way is to boot your Windows installation DVD, and at the "Install Now" button, click the link at the bottom-left that says "Repair your computer," open a command prompt, and type:
del C:\Windows\WinSxS\cleanup.xml
del C:\Windows\WinSxS\pending.xml

The other way is to download a live Linux distribution such as the Tritech Service System (which, unlike Vista or 7's DVD, can be booted from a USB flash drive for computers with no CD/DVD drive such as netbooks), open a command prompt, mount the filesystem, and remove the files. Assuming your Windows installation is the first partition on the first hard drive, the following commands in rxvt or in a console in the Tritech Service System should work:
mount.ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
rm /mnt/sda1/Windows/*/cleanup.xml /mnt/sda1/Windows/*/pending.xml
umount /mnt/sda1
reboot -f

Either way you get it done, this solution will stop the update engine's reboot loop and let you get back into your computer. You may have to do some additional fixes or manual updates if you encounter problems, but at least your login screen and/or desktop should be accessible! It's a very annoying problem and I've noticed that Google searches for things like "vista stage 3 of 3 reboot" generally only provide info about how to run System Restore from a Vista DVD. Unfortunately, if there's a problem with an update, sometimes System Restore does not work and fails with obscure errors, so this info is vital.

It may be your last chance to avoid giving up and reinstalling Windows, and we always like avoiding reinstalls!

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Solution

 How To Fix A Windows 7 Infinite Reboot Loop 

Booting Into the System Recovery Options Screen
First you will need to boot your computer into the System Recovery Options screen. This is usually done with the installation DVD, which should be inserted into the optical drive. When the computer boots, Press any key to boot from CD or DVD as requested, select your language preference and then click Repair your computer. A list of installed operating systems should be displayed – select Windows 7 and click Next.

The System Recovery Options screen will appear. Select the first option, Use recovery tools that can help fix problems with Windows, and then select Startup Repair.

(If your computer has a pre-installed recovery partition, the process is a little difference. In this case, boot to the Advanced Boot Options screen, select Repair your computer and tap Enter. Next, select the keyboard language type, then your username and password before selecting Startup Repair in the System Recovery Options screen.)

With Startup Repair selected, Windows will attempt to automate the repair; this might work – otherwise, further action will be required.

Preparing Windows 7 Recovery
If the Startup Repair option fails, you will receive a message reading Windows cannot repair this computer automatically. At the bottom of the message, click View advanced options for system recovery and support to return to System Recovery Options, and instead click Command Prompt.

The black command line interface will open with X:\ selected by default; this is the Windows internal RAM disk that is used by System Repair. You will need to navigate to your Windows system drive, which will by default be on the C: drive.

To open this, type C: and press Enter. Type DIR and press Enter to check that you are in the right drive – the contents listed should include the Program Files, Users and Windows folders.

You will then need to change directory. Enter CD \windows\system32\config and then DIR to check that the correct files and folders are listed:

• RegBack
• DEFAULT
• SAM
• SECURITY
• SOFTWARE
• SYSTEM

With access to the correct directory and the required folders present, enter MD mybackup to create a backup folder. Enter copy *.* mybackup to copy everything to this location, agreeing to the overwrite warnings when they appear.

The RegBack folder stores automatic Windows registry backups. To check if these can be used in restoring your system, enter CD RegBack and then DIR to view the contents. In the folder, you should have the following:

• DEFAULT, SAM and SECURITY files, each around 262,000 bytes
• SOFTWARE file, around 26,000,000 bytes
• SYSTEM file, around 9,900,000 bytes

Note that these figures are approximate, but recognise that if any of these files display a size of zero bytes then you will have to resort to another method of restoring Windows 7.

Running the Windows 7 Recovery
With your RegBack folder containing the data you need to restore Windows 7 and rescue it from the reboot loop, you will be able to copy the contents and use them to get the operating system back up and running again.

Begin by entering copy *.* .. – note the two trailing dots. These indicate that the contents should be pasted to the level above – the Config folder. Agree to all prompts concerning whether you want to overwrite files, and once the process has completed enter exit to close the command prompt.

On the System Recovery Options screen, click Restart to reboot your PC – if everything has gone as it should, Windows 7 should now start correctly!