Question : why am I stuck in a reboot cycle

Hi EE. I have just tried to install Alchohol 120 on my Vista pc and during the install the pc started to reboot. I get to the desktop screen
then it reboots again. I tried safe mode but the same thing happens. Is there a way to force safe mode. I usually turn off the reboot tab in the system/system properties/startup & recovery but forgot. I can boot with Suse 9.1 & Knoppix 3.8 & Xp pro live. This pc is an Intel
X6800 Extreme, 4 gigs ram, Intel Badaxe d975xbx2, xfx 7950 x2 video etc. Ican use the run key to get to regedit but not msconfig. I used Knoppix for and hour without a reboot. Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks  Ed

Answer : why am I stuck in a reboot cycle

Have you tried inserting your Vista installation DVD and running Startup Repair, as detailed on this page:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial148.html
How to automatically repair Windows Vista using Startup Repair

What is Startup Repair?  This Microsoft page has a great deal more information about that:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/5c59f8c1-b0d1-4f1a-af55-74f3922f3f351033.mspx
Windows Help and How-To:  Startup Repair: frequently asked questions

Startup Repair is designed to detect operating system startup problems and troubleshoot any found and correct them with little user interaction.  It can repair problems such as:

- missing or corrupt drivers
- missing or corrupt system files
- missing or corrupt boot configuration settings
- corrupt registry settings
- corrupt disk metadata (master boot record, partition table, or boot sector.)

When the Startup Repair Tool has taken control, it analyzes startup log files for clues about the source of the problem and launches diagnostic tests to determine the cause. If it determines the cause of the failure, it attempts to fix the problem automatically. After successfully repairing the problem, it will reboot the system, and notify the user of the repairs, filing a detailed report in the Windows Vista event log.

If the Startup Repair Tool can identify the cause of the problem, but can't repair the problem by itself, it will provide access to a set of tools that you can use to manually troubleshoot the problem further.  One of these is the Bootrec tool described below.

If the Startup Repair Tool cannot identify or repair the problem, it will roll back the system to the last configuration that was known to work (Last Known Good Configuration.) Again it will add detailed information about the problem to the Windows Vista event log.