Desktop stuck in a perpetual restarting loop.

[Xno Kappa]

My desktop for some random reason doesn't go to Windows anymore. It continues to cycle through the Vaio screen, the Windows Error Recovery screen, and then some blue screen which seems to be loading a few things. It runs on Vista. I don't have any installation discs either, halp, what do I do? Any option I choose on the recovery screen just keeps going through the cycle.

[Isiolia]

On the recovery screen, are you able to roll back to an earlier date with system restore?

Sounds like you're getting a BSOD on startup, which usually means a system file or driver is borked.

Have you tried going to Safe Mode at all either?

[Xno Kappa]

Safe Mode is a no go. Unfortunately, the desktop is rather new and I bought it for my wife so I never saved the system to be able to roll back to an earlier date. I also recently bought the Windows 7 installation disc, I tried to see if I can just use that to upgrade right off the bat and say to hell with the current OS but it's not letting me do that either. Anyway I can just use the new Windows 7 disc I have to reinstall over everything?

[Xno Kappa]

Okay, I'm on the Windows 7 installation screen. It won't let me choose the option Upgrade but it says I can install a new copy of Windows using Custom. It has (advanced) in parenthesis so should I go ahead and try this on my own?

[Yabby]

You won't be able to use the upgrade opinion unless you booted the disk while in your other OS, so yes if you have everything you want off the HD. Even if you don't when you upgrade it should stick all your files in the folder called windows.old on the C drive.

[Isiolia]

Do you not have any data that you need on the system?

The other consideration is whether or not the system is having problems due to a faulty hard drive.

[Xno Kappa]

Don't really care for the data that's on the system since my wife mostly used it for school work. Everything I want is on my own laptop. So using the Custom installation option and installing it into Disk 0 Partition 2, Disk 0 Partition is showing up as (reserved), should install everything just fine? Everything should be stupid simple afterwards?

EDIT:

Even if you don't when you upgrade it should stick all your files in the folder called windows.old on the C drive.

Sorry, didn't see this before. I think I should be fine now, it's installing Windows right now and said it was going to put all the old stuff in that exact folder. Thanks for the help guys.