Can't restart. Re-start circle(?) just goes round and round endlessly

I've also deleted all large files on the root of the system drive

Given that you've chosen to show system and hidden files (which are hidden to prevent people from accidentally making a mess of things by deleting things they should not)- which files did you delete?

Did this problem start after you deleted various files? How long have you had this problem?

In your situation this is what I'd do:

a. Check your disk(s) - 3rd party program e.g. Crystal Diskinfo (free)
b. Run
chkdsk c: /scan
from an admin prompt

If ok
- Consider either an in-place upgrade repair install or restoring a previously created disk image.
(The routine and regular use of 3rd party disk imaging - which lets you get back all by yourself to a previously good state - is endlessy recommended here).

Guys, I'm appreciating your time and help.

I was hoping for a quickie solution, but I guess it's not meant to be.
@dalchina, I deleted two large files. Those involved in paging and hibernation. That didn't work. Re-start was still a problem. I re-created paging and rebooted but that didn't work too.

So I decided to do additional troubleshooting. Safebooting worked. Re-start was normal. I was able to re-start with no problems. Next, I did a diagnostic startup (using msconfig, see below) and that worked too. So I guess it's a driver issue of some sort?? But now the question is which driver?? (see my start-up items below. I should note that these start-ups are not new and worked for at least a year without changes or problems).



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EDIT: I am in the San Francisco, California timezone. I need to go to sleep. Looking forward to additional suggestions.

P.S. I use Macrium for disk imaging, but it's several days old and would rather use it only as a last resort since I don't want to lose any work. Besides, I'm pretty sure, my images contain the same unresolved issue.

So, how much more time and effort are you going to throw at this ... let me assure you, the troubleshooting suggestions will go on for ages, web page after web page.

2 things are the most likely common, a borked OS or a borked drive. Best test ...
- back up your personal data
- swap out the drive for a new blank drive (you'll always have the existing drive to stick back in if you need it)
- do a clean install of W10
- test : shutdown, boot up, restart, shutdown, boot up, restart ...

Depending on the result, decide what direction you want to take.

Troubleshooting and problem solving are all well and good, and there's often a sense of achievement if the technical solution is found. Even more so, a great deal of satisfaction at having won the techno me vs it contest

But was it worth the time and effort if the above quicker, simpler (and often considered lazier) solution works?

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Thank you for your reply.

Also ensure Fast Startup (which only affects a cold boot, not restart) is disabled just to get that out of the way.

Now, following your last post, where it seems startups somehow have an effect..

If you wish to pursue that line by selectively disabling startups in normal mode, get a copy of Autoruns (free from MS).
This (run as admin) shows you ALL startups from every source- check boxes to disable.
Do not disable MS ones- they are hidden by default.

Startups are in sections, from registry to scheduled tasks, including drivers.

Thus, having first created a System Restore point to give you a way to get back to 'now' if needed, selectively disable startups in groups and see if there's any effect. Work backwards to identify any culprits.

It's got to be something obscure- so look for those first.

Note: I've can't recall hearing of startups preventing restarts before.

@idgat. Thank you for your suggestion. But despite the good and best practice advice with regards to a clean install, I'd like to avoid that as much as possible. The current Windows installation was originally installed at least 5-7 years ago and has survived several hardware and software upgrades through disk cloning, and unfortunately, I've lost track of changes I've made to the original installation.

Re-installing all the software and re-configurations will probably take more time than trying to resolve the problem. On the system drive C: I probably have almost 1 TB of programs installed (my data is in other drives).

- - - Updated - - -

dalchina said:

Now, following your last post, where it seems startups somehow have an effect..

If you wish to pursue that line by selectively disabling startups in normal mode, get a copy of Autoruns (free from MS).
This (run as admin) shows you ALL startups from every source- check boxes to disable.
Do not disable MS ones- they are hidden by default.

Startups are in sections, from registry to scheduled tasks, including drivers.

There are 6 executables in the program and there are no instructions on which executable to run. Which one should I run?

I wanna do a little quick pop-in real quick.

Honestly, I understand that it's one of my worst nightmares to ever re-install Windows and re-configure settings for my personalization. That is one method I would always have as the last possible case resort.

Remember the image from your Event Viewer? Event ID 51 has something to do with the PageFile. Your computer is either trying to create a PageFile while it restarts, or it's looking for a PageFile, or something to do with the PageFile.
event id 51 - Search

I would try this: Restart the computer, and just let it sit there! Give it a maximum of 15 minutes. If the circle is still spinning, then we can think of something else. BUT if the computer restarts within 15 minutes, then look back at C:\ and see if the PageFile got created or if the Hibernate file got created. That's what I would try.
When you restart, look at the computer's "busy LED" light. Does it turn on and stay on?

Notice earlier in my picture how my Explorer window is customized? When I did that, it caused my Windows to have an issue with the Hibernate/PageFile being created when I restart the computer. I have NO CLUE how any of that makes a connection, but I think you are experiencing something similar to what my computer experiences, if I try Hibernating it. (That's why now I disabled Hibernate & the PageFile).

pepanee said:

I wanna do a little quick pop-in real quick.

Honestly, I understand that it's one of my worst nightmares to ever re-install Windows and re-configure settings for my personalization. That is one method I would always have as the last possible case resort.

Remember the image from your Event Viewer? Event ID 51 has something to do with the PageFile. Your computer is either trying to create a PageFile while it restarts, or it's looking for a PageFile, or something to do with the PageFile.
event id 51 - Search

I would try this: Restart the computer, and just let it sit there! Give it a maximum of 15 minutes. If the circle is still spinning, then we can think of something else. BUT if the computer restarts within 15 minutes, then look back at C:\ and see if the PageFile got created or if the Hibernate file got created. That's what I would try.
When you restart, look at the computer's "busy LED" light. Does it turn on and stay on?

Notice earlier in my picture how my Explorer window is customized? When I did that, it caused my Windows to have an issue with the Hibernate/PageFile being created when I restart the computer. I have NO CLUE how any of that makes a connection, but I think you are experiencing something similar to what my computer experiences, if I try Hibernating it. (That's why now I disabled Hibernate & the PageFile).

Will do. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll leave it at that state when I go to sleep tonight. (It's Monday,11:20 am now in my timezone).

But before I do that, I'll disable both Pagefile and Hibernation first.

bofhlusr said:

There are 6 executables in the program and there are no instructions on which executable to run. Which one should I run?

It depends on your processor
autoruns64a.exe is for ARM
On an Intel / AMD processor, use autoruns.exe (32-bit version) or autoruns64.exe (64-bit version).

Autorunsc is the command-line version of Autoruns.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sy...loads/autoruns

bofhlusr said:

Will do. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll leave it at that state when I go to sleep tonight. (It's Monday,11:20 am now in my timezone).

But before I do that, I'll disable both Pagefile and Hibernation first.

Okay, that "test & trial" idea could, and hopefully will, help us figure out the exact issue your computer is experiencing.
Also, you're in the same state as me; same time zone =)

Your post shows you live in California too. I live near the Capital of CA.