Vista - Brand New Computer Continually Reboots

Hi:

I hope someone can help.

My new laptop arrived this afternoon. I turned it on, it was working fine. I'm using Vista Home Premium. I installed CA Anti-virus software and after the installation my computer restarted. Since then, I haven't been able to get to the desktop. I get the BSOD with an arrow. After about 30 seconds displaying the BSOD, it automatically reboots and repeats the cycle continuously. I've tried F8 upon restart and chose last known configuration but I get the same BSOD. I also tried to get into safe mode but after choosing the option it goes back to the BSOD.

I'm new to Vista and in all my years have never seen anything like this. I used my brand new computer for all of 10 minutes before this happened. I'm so pissed off.

I've tried CA tech support and calling Tiger Direct (where I bought the computer) but no help.

How can I get into the computer to fix the problem? I'm wondering if it was the virus software or the DVD drive? It was the first time I'd ever used the drive.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you
Cheryl.

Return it back to the shop and claim your warranty. Seriosly.
The new computer must not reboot and BSOD.
And don't take excuses like:
"It's common for Microsoft OS's"
"Go to Antivirus manufacturer"
"Go to driver manufacturer"
etc

In fact return it and say it just stop working. There's no need to explain
anything, they must be qualified enough to troubleshoot the problem. Demand
that they give you another computer or a refund.

BTW, I suspect it's hardware. Most likely:
- motherboard
- memory stick
- processor

Sometimes, the problem might be in connections. In that case disassembling
and reassembling the computer may help. But this is not something you should
do yourself on a new computer.



"mason204" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:0206560ddb95091c4475e6c543299fd8@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

Not that it can't be hardware, but I actually have seen antivirus software
cause this problem many times before. Here's a few quick things that I'd
try before returning the computer and antivirus software:

System Restore - While booting your computer, keep pressing the F8 key. You
want to hit it after your computer POST's, but before you see the Windows
loading screen. Once there, choose the option to Repair Your Computer and
try running System Restore to before you installed CA.

Safe Mode - By pressing F8 during boot you may also get the choice to boot
into Safe Mode. If you can boot into Safe Mode (a stripped down version of
Windows for diagnostic purposes) then try removing CA from there.

Factory Restore - Finally, if there's nothing important on the computer, you
may also see an option for Factory Restore under the Repair Your Computer
menu. This will wipe all data (including CA) from the drive and restore it
to how you first got it.

Good luck!

- Henson

"mason204" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:0206560ddb95091c4475e6c543299fd8@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

A new computer should not be doing this. Restore it to factory condition,
if the problem persists return it for warranty repair or replacement.

"mason204" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:0206560ddb95091c4475e6c543299fd8@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

"mason204" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:0206560ddb95091c4475e6c543299fd8@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

The new computer likely came with a 30-90 day trial of an antivirus program
already installed. You did uninstall this trial program before you installed
CA Antivirus - right. You do not want 2 antivirus programs running with
active real time scanning activated. You likely caused the problems you are
experiencing.

At this point, restore the computer to out-of the-box condition and start
again. Your instructions will tell you how to do this.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience

"mason204" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:0206560ddb95091c4475e6c543299fd8@xxxxxx-gateway.com...Did you install CA from a CD, maybe an older incompatible version?

As you admit that, for the first few minutes, the computer worked well
enough, the manufacturer will expect you to do a full destructive restore
back to factory settings. You can then uninstall any trial version of a
virus application which may exist, and follow up with an installation of the
free version of Avira Anti-Vir or something similar. The main consideration
is that whatever you install should be compatible..

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

Thanks everyone.

I just returned the computer. Seeing as it was brand new I figured it just wasn't worth my time to try and "troubleshoot it". When you buy something it should arrive in "working condition". It doesn't bode well for a computer's future when it goes "belly up" within 10 minutes of turning it on.

When I turned the computer on initially, I did see an "ad" asking me if I'd like to try Norton free for 30 days. I declined the offer, of course. I also checked the system tray to see what was running before I installed the anti-virus software. There was no virus program running at the time so I assumed saying "no" to the 30-day trial meant "no".

When the computer restarted and I pressed F8, there was no option to "repair" or reset the computer to "factory restore". It appeared as though Vista was pre-installed as I had no Vista DVD even though I did get the "official" shrinkwrapped authorization information. As I couldn't even get into safe mode to troubleshoot, I figured I'd just "ditch it".

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Cheryl.