Maybe Windows 7 hangs on startup, forcing you to look at “Starting Windows” for an hour. You’re forced to restart manually, only to watch it freeze at the same place again. Or maybe your Windows 10 computer restarts automatically sometime after it begins to load, causing what’s called a “reboot loop.” Sometimes your computer might even stop at a point where you can move your mouse around but nothing happens. Windows might seem like it’s still trying to start but, eventually, you have to manually reboot your computer, only to see the same behavior again!
How to Fix Stopping, Freezing, and Reboot Issues During Windows Startup
Many things go on in the background when Windows is starting up. Sometimes things don’t work exactly as they should, especially after Windows has installed updates or there were other major changes to the operating system the last time it was up and running. A restart might be all Windows needs to get back on track. That’s right–don’t do anything in Safe Mode, just get in and restart. Like you read in the first idea above, sometimes updates or other things get hung up. If a forced, total restart doesn’t work, try it from Safe Mode. This works more often than you’d think. This will return many important settings to the states they were in the last time Windows started successfully, hopefully solving this problem and allowing you back into Windows. CMOS batteries are very inexpensive and one that is no longer keeping a charge can certainly be the cause of Windows freezing, stopping, or rebooting during startup. Try reseating the following hardware and then see if Windows will boot properly:
Reseat all internal data and power cables Reseat the memory modules Reseat any expansion cards
If your system memory is failing, your computer may power on but then freeze, stop, or reboot continuously at some point during Windows startup. Replace the memory in your computer if the memory test shows any kind of problem. Replace your power supply if your tests show a problem with it. Don’t have a spare hard drive data cable? You can pick one up at any electronics store or you could borrow the one that another drive is using, like your optical drive, assuming, of course, that’s it’s the same type of cable. Newer drives use SATA cables and older drives use PATA cables. Replace your hard drive if your tests show an issue. After replacing the hard drive, you’ll need to reinstall Windows. If your hard drive passes your test, then it’s physically fine, so the cause of the problem must be with Windows, in which case the next step will solve the problem.
