HELP! My Computer Hates Me! :(

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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 1:36 pm

I had been getting a blue screens now and then when starting up WindowsXP(home ed.) Usually, I could just reboot and get Windows to come up.. When I shut down (powered off, not standby), I would sometimes get an error message. Unfortunately, I never wrote it down.. I usually just OK'd it because I was in a hurry.

Well..... Now, Windows won't start at all.. After the blue screen flashes for a split second, the screen immediately goes black and the pushing the power button immediately works (as opposed to starting a shutdown sequence in Windows)..

The only reason I'm able to be typing this right now is because I happen to have Linux installed on here, as well.. The problem is, all my baiting had been done on Windows.. I either need to find a way to get to those files with Linux, or find out which file in Windows is corrupted so I can replace it.. I am not willing to reformat and I don't want to crack this beast open to swap hard drives.. What a pain in the ass...

Can anyone clue me in to one of the following?

1. How do I get to the baiting files with Linux? (Mandriva One distro with Gnome 2.16.0)
2. What files in WinblowsXP Special Ed. (XP home edition) are responsible for getting the damn program to start up?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Evil or Very Mad

419Eater is my life Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 344

have you tried safe mode and/or command prompt? I think it's F8 during bootup (if i remember correctly)

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:27 pm

^^^ Couldn't remember how to get into safe mode.. i'll try that, thanks!

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:29 pm

the ntfs volume is probably already mounted (if not look here), you need to have a look in /mnt to find it, then simply copy all the files to somewhere safe.

Master Baiter Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 144

My sister had a similiar problem about not being able to get windows to start/blue screens, but you can access files and docs through safe mode.

Your copy of XP is genuine, right? And have done anything unusual lately or installed a new piece of hardware?

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 14 Jul 2007 Posts: 6

ok.......
heres ya only option if safe mode donrt work....(sorry about any spelling)

ya need ya xp cd
pop it in and boot from it when asked (if not asked ya need to set ya bios to boot from cd first)

let it run up to the first option screen

then select repair

the screen should load to DOS.. command prompt (black screen white writing)

it will say select defalut keyboard...this is not important

next...press 1 and then hit enter ...by pressing one you are selcting C/ drive

then type fixboot ..press enter

thats it reboot ur pc if that dont work its restore time Wink

Wannabe Baiter Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 86

Before you format, try this:
First try booting up in safe mode. If that works go into your command prompt (go to Start ----> Run ----> cmd ---> cd C:<---<might not be needed>)
Type CHKDSK C:

If you cannot boot into Windows (in safe mode), do the following:
</insert Windows XP cd>
Restart computer
Let the CD load
Hit R for repair
Use chkdsk -- at the command prompt type: chkdsk C: (or whatever drive your XP is installed on)
still not working?
Okay go back to the Windows CD command prompt.
Type fixboot
Still not working?
Go back to the command prompt.
Type fixmbr
Still not working?
Ugh... yeah... re-install Windows XP (your files should still be there if you don't reformat and just install XP over your corrupted XP)
Still not working?
re-format, and lose all your files.
Still not working?
Throw your PC out the window.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 14 Jul 2007 Posts: 6

ffs theres always one Rolling Eyes

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 5:42 pm

/\/\/\ Looks like there's two.

419weasel wrote:

I am not willing to reformat

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:06 pm

419weasel wrote:

My Computer Hates Me!

I'm sure your computer loves you.

Microsoft on the other hand ... Evil or Very Mad

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

Which is only slightly less irritating than the question you get from people: "Well, you did back up your hard drive, right?" Do you have a friend and/or the ability to try rebooting from an external drive? That way you might be able to save your data.

Best of luck.

--J.D.

Wannabe Baiter Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 86

Boo! Apple sucks!

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

^^^^^You must have a virus.

[We will consider the next 487 pages of "Mac vs. PC" as "read."--Ed.]

@9weasel Anyways, I will ask a few PC gurus to see if they have any suggestions.

And . . . they are all saying "it would be nice if he knew what the error message was"--yeah, I know--but also are warning you maybe getting a HD failure. So . . . to reiterate the obvious, if you can find a way to boot and back up, do so.

--J.D.

[Edited to clarify and add new useless information.--Ed.]

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:44 am

Quote:

After the blue screen flashes for a split second, the screen immediately goes black and the pushing the power button immediately works

I had the same problem twice on two different computers. A cold boot would cause a blue screen but a hot reboot just after it would boot fine. It happened at home and a few weeks later it happened at work. I told the IT people and they didn't believe me until they took the drive in and checked it. I saved myself a lot of work by catching it in time.

The hard drive is beginning to fail. Back everything up - now.

Chuck Norris Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 1369

[delurk]I agree with the two Doctors, and actually had the same thing happen to me last year that you describe. I started getting sudden blue screens, which would shut the computer down and I would have to restart. It would restart normally, but I took no chances and backed up my data. This continued for several days, and then within about a week or so, got a blue screen, went to restart the computer, and then, instead of starting normally, it went to the blue screen, and then it went black. I could get it to go no further than this.

I tried doing what was described previously by other posters-- nothing doing. Then tried booting in Safe Mode, and after that from the Windows XP disk. Still nothing. It was a HD failure, as I suspected. I am glad I backed up my data when I did because I was able to retrieve nothing from the old HD. So if you have not done so yet and are able to, just want to re-enforce DrWho's advice: stop what you are doing and back up your data immediately.[/delurk]

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 2:59 pm

WOW!

I'm powerful enough to bring someone out of [lurk mode]! Mr. Green

Thanks for your input here.

Let me be the first one welcome you to 419eater.

Read the stickies while you are lurking.. They come in handy Wink

@ everybody
And as for reloading windows, etc, etc.. It's not working.. But I DID find a partition I forgot about so I will be able to install windows on that Smile

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 5:30 pm

Back up... Had to use that partition I found, so nothing has been deleted. Very Happy

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

BACK . . . UP . . . YOUR . . . DATA!

--J.D.

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:17 pm

Quote:

I DID find a partition I forgot about so I will be able to install windows on that

Wouldn't do much good when the drive fails.

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:23 pm

If it's just a software problem there's always a solution - as outlined by people above. However, one must always remember that hard drives are about the most archaic things left in our computers - with needles and rotating disks and the like. A hard drive starts to die the moment you put it in your computer and get it running for the first time, kind of like a car really.

Fortunately they're pretty cheap to replace, but as people have mentioned earlier start copying all your stuff somewhere else safe. I personally wouldn't bother repairing Windows or anything else like that - just buy a new hard drive and start over, before shifting all your stuff back onto it. The last thing you want is to spend a day reinstalling windows only to find that 2 weeks later the hard drive dies for good.

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