Vista can only boot in safe mode...

After getting rid of a rootkit with Hitman Pro, Vista will shutdown & reboot when it gets to the log in screen. I can hit F8 & can boot into any of the safe mode choices.
I have tried start up repair (no problems found), I've tried system restore to several different restore points, I've tried chkdsk & nothing.
I wanted to try a repair install, like you used to be able to do in XP, but hear you can only do that by way of an inplace upgrade, but it won't work in safe mode!
I really don't want to wipe & re-install - any other suggestions or options?
Thanks!

 

Greetings, mikey117, and welcome to MajorGeeks...

Try this: boot into Safe Mode and run msconfig. Open the 'Startup' tab and disable all non-Microsoft related items. Use common sense here: if something looks like it's vital, leave it alone - but if it's obviously unnecessary disable it. For example: antivirus software is not necessary for to run Windows but you'll want to disconnect from the internet if you do disable your protection.

Apply the changes, ok out and reboot into Normal mode. If a normal boot is then successful then you can selectively re-enable the Startup items until you find the culprit. If not then it's a pretty good indicator that something is amiss Windows-wise.