Computerworld has not been able to confirm that the errant driver is, as HP claims, added by XP SP3 to AMD-based PCs. If that is, in fact, the case, the endless rebooting is Microsoft's fault, not HP's.

Is the intelppm.sys driver problem the only AMD-specific reboot issue? Not according to Johansson and other users, who have also reported shutdown error messages claiming that the PC's BIOS is "not fully ACPI compliant."

Users who have seen this message say that their PCs are running one specific motherboard -- an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe -- equipped with an AMD processor. Those same users claim that inserting a USB flash drive or connecting another USB-based storage device before booting solves the problem.

Are some Intel-powered PCs experiencing endless reboots? Yes, say users.

Johansson noted that some users had seen error messages that indicate their crashes are video driver-related. Both ATI and nVidia drivers may be involved, Johansson said.

How can I stop the endless reboots? To break the chain, you may first need to halt the automatic restarts. Press the F8 key when you see the black Windows XP screen and then select "Disable automatic restart on system failure"

Now, try to get into Safe Mode by pressing F8 at the next reboot. You may need to press F8 repeatedly. Once in Safe Mode, follow the steps Microsoft lists in this support document to disable the intelppm.sys driver if you suspect that's the problem.

If that doesn't work, Johansson suggests trying the more advanced Recovery Console, which can be run from the XP install CD if it hasn't previously been added to the PC. For detailed directions on installing and using the Recovery Console, check out this Microsoft support document. Again, disable the intelppm.sys driver.

If your PC is not an HP or Compaq with an AMD processor, your best bet -- in lieu of anything official from Microsoft -- is to read through Johansson's post for possible solutions.

Isn't there an easier way? We're not sure, but you can try to offload the heavy lifting to Microsoft by using the free tech support it's offering for any install or upgrade problems related to XP SP3.

Although Microsoft normally refers users who obtained XP as part of a new PC to the computer manufacturer or reseller when problems pop up, it will provide free-of-charge XP SP3 install support until April 14, 2009. You can contact Microsoft by phone, e-mail or online chat. (E-mail and chat are available only in the U.S. and Canada.)

Details can be found here.

What if I just want to give up on XP SP3 and revert to something that works? No problem, as long as you can regain control of the PC.

Assuming you can stop the endless reboot spiral, you can ditch SP3 and return to (presumably) SP2 by opening "Add or Remove Programs" from Control Panel, checking the "Show Updates" box, then scrolling to the bottom of the listing. Select "Windows XP Service Pack 3" and click the Remove button.

The PC will reboot (again!), but after that, the machine should return to its pre-SP3 state.

Microsoft spells that out for you in this recently-updated support document, which also walks you through winding back to SP2 using System Restore or the Recovery Console.

This is what Microsoft Update Product Team Blog says about the "continuous reboot loops" occuring to some customers installing XP SP3:

We'd like to provide more information and address reports you may have heard about  "continuous reboot loops" occurring upon the update to Windows XP SP3. 

After investigation, we’ve determined this problem occurs on AMD-based machines with Windows XP images that were originally captured by an OEM on an Intel-based machine.   The problem is a registry value, present on images created w/ Intel processors, that causes a driver (intelppm.sys) to load at boot.  When intelppm.sys attempts to load on an AMD-based system upon the install of SP3, it causes a blue screen and the continuous reboot.  We’re planning to add a filter to prevent Windows Update from offering SP3 to affected systems and are investigating a fix. Any customers affected by this issue should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for assistance. More information is available in KB88372 and here.

On a related note, we've heard a few questions about SP3’s distribution.  To clarify our earlier post, SP3 is currently available as a High Priority update on the Windows Update website.  This means that if you go to WU and do an express or custom install - you should see SP3 listed.  We’re planning to begin automatic distribution (via AU) of SP3 sometime in early summer.

Hope this is helpful,

 -MU Team

http://blogs.technet.com/

So if one is facing such a problem on his AMD m/c then try this: This was posted by one such user who faced problem when he replaced his intel mobo with AMD based. mobo. Posted  at Bink byshinomen.

Connected the hard drive to another computer and deleted the intelppm.sys file from the c:\windows\system32\drivers\ folder and also removed the intelppm reference in the registry HKLM\system\currentcontrolset\services\intelppm. Search the registry for intelppm and delete anything that is found.

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