Windows - boot up problem - SV650.org

14-06-06, 07:44 AM

A friend of mine turned her PC off at the mains before Windows had completed shutting down, and now it won't go again. It starts up OK, runs all the health checks OK, gets to the bit in XP where the little bar is moving across the screen, hesitates, and then reboots

I assume that something has been corrupted on the hard disk

Is there an easy way to repair this, or am I going to have to attach the drive to my pc & copy off all her files before installing windows afresh

thanks for any help

fizzwheel · 14-06-06, 07:49 AM

You could try booting off of the XP CD and then letting the install routine run. It'll find her orginal XP installation and ask you if you want to repair it.

Backing everything up before you start is a good idea though.

14-06-06, 08:21 AM

Does it work in Safe mode?

Press F8 before you reach that windows screen.

Could be a driver issue. Or overheating CPU (perhaps the fan is broke?)

14-06-06, 08:36 AM

Well it sounds like your MBR is OK as its making to the lovely OS loading bar, so I would try booting into safemode and having a look.
Was there any updates installed before that last 'turn off' as they could be the root reason why it did not reboot.
If you don't want to spend to much time farting about with it you can just install windows over the top. You'll look most of your setting, but along as you pick the install path it will leave all the data alone.
Hope you back up though.

14-06-06, 08:53 AM

Done the F8 Safe mode - no joy, just reboots

If I repair the installation how much will I loose ?

fizzwheel · 14-06-06, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Toad

Done the F8 Safe mode - no joy, just reboots

If I repair the installation how much will I loose ?

Normally I used to find that I didnt loose anything if I repaired the installation. What however you might find you need to do if the repair is succesful is to re-install all your applications again.

Often though the repair didnt work and I ended up formating the thing and starting again.

Personally if you have the time and you have got the data off of the machine that you want / need to keep. I would just format it and start again.

14-06-06, 09:34 AM

Sounds like a virus, re-booting, but you said it only happened after she turned it off to quick.

Have you tried going into BIOS and setting everything to default first?
Hit DEL key on start up, should get you in.
Find the return to default settings mode and ok, then re-boot, see if that makes a difference.

If not you may need to reboot with a BOOT Disk and go into DOS Mode.
You could use old DOS commands to back up files, but very labourious!

Ie.
c:\copy *.* a: - and all that, but that really is last thing if you need to save files.
(Copying to CD doesn't work in DOS mode, floppy only)
After that you may have to fdisk it and reformat...

14-06-06, 09:53 AM

cheers guys

yep, I have checked the BIOS and made sure everything is set to the defaults

hmm, I hadn't thought that it could be a virus - the machine was running AVG so it should have been protected, but I know her kids do download things

I would normally remove the hard disk & copy all the files off it before tinkering with it, however it's one of those glass case PCs - I built it for her last year -

Akasa

In order to remove the hard disk I need to completely dismantle the damn thing, which I'd rather not do. I'll have a hunt for a long EIDE cable and see if I can link it to my main machine - failing that I'll cannibalise a USB hard drive & use the components from that so I can use a longer cable

Or then again, I'll just pop in a spare hard disk, install a fresh copy of XP and configure the old drive as a slave & copy the files off that way

Oh dear, too many ways to kill a cat

14-06-06, 10:28 AM

It could also be a hardware fault... thus causing the machine to reboot on the bootup.
Have you tried taking everything out to the minumum and booting.
I would look at memory to as the system boot it could be loading the memory, finding a fault on it and then crashing with a reboot.
The are a few freeware memory tools you could use to check it out if you boot from floppy of something.
Lot of the linux Live CD's come with a memory checker if you can find one or build one to a CD from a another PC.
Also if you can run linux from the Live CD it would tell you that your hardware is fine and the problem as windows related. It will also give you access to you disks to move data about.

14-06-06, 10:30 AM

I think this is the rescue CD I use..

http://www.sysresccd.org/Download

There are lots of other out there... very handy for testing hardware...

14-06-06, 07:44 AM	#1
Mr Toad Guest Posts: n/a	Windows - boot up problem A friend of mine turned her PC off at the mains before Windows had completed shutting down, and now it won't go again. It starts up OK, runs all the health checks OK, gets to the bit in XP where the little bar is moving across the screen, hesitates, and then reboots I assume that something has been corrupted on the hard disk Is there an easy way to repair this, or am I going to have to attach the drive to my pc & copy off all her files before installing windows afresh thanks for any help

14-06-06, 07:49 AM	#2
fizzwheel Super Moderator Mega Poster Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Somerset Posts: 3,614	You could try booting off of the XP CD and then letting the install routine run. It'll find her orginal XP installation and ask you if you want to repair it. Backing everything up before you start is a good idea though. __________________ Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over. K5 GSXR 750 Anniversary Edition

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14-06-06, 08:21 AM	#3
mysteryjimbo Guest Posts: n/a	Does it work in Safe mode? Press F8 before you reach that windows screen. Could be a driver issue. Or overheating CPU (perhaps the fan is broke?)

14-06-06, 08:36 AM	#4
Grinch Guest Posts: n/a	Well it sounds like your MBR is OK as its making to the lovely OS loading bar, so I would try booting into safemode and having a look. Was there any updates installed before that last 'turn off' as they could be the root reason why it did not reboot. If you don't want to spend to much time farting about with it you can just install windows over the top. You'll look most of your setting, but along as you pick the install path it will leave all the data alone. Hope you back up though.

14-06-06, 08:53 AM	#5
Mr Toad Guest Posts: n/a	Done the F8 Safe mode - no joy, just reboots If I repair the installation how much will I loose ?

14-06-06, 09:34 AM	#7
kciN Guest Posts: n/a	Sounds like a virus, re-booting, but you said it only happened after she turned it off to quick. Have you tried going into BIOS and setting everything to default first? Hit DEL key on start up, should get you in. Find the return to default settings mode and ok, then re-boot, see if that makes a difference. If not you may need to reboot with a BOOT Disk and go into DOS Mode. You could use old DOS commands to back up files, but very labourious! Ie. c:\copy .* a:* - and all that, but that really is last thing if you need to save files. (Copying to CD doesn't work in DOS mode, floppy only) After that you may have to fdisk it and reformat...

14-06-06, 09:53 AM	#8
Mr Toad Guest Posts: n/a	cheers guys yep, I have checked the BIOS and made sure everything is set to the defaults hmm, I hadn't thought that it could be a virus - the machine was running AVG so it should have been protected, but I know her kids do download things I would normally remove the hard disk & copy all the files off it before tinkering with it, however it's one of those glass case PCs - I built it for her last year - Akasa In order to remove the hard disk I need to completely dismantle the damn thing, which I'd rather not do. I'll have a hunt for a long EIDE cable and see if I can link it to my main machine - failing that I'll cannibalise a USB hard drive & use the components from that so I can use a longer cable Or then again, I'll just pop in a spare hard disk, install a fresh copy of XP and configure the old drive as a slave & copy the files off that way Oh dear, too many ways to kill a cat

14-06-06, 10:28 AM	#9
Grinch Guest Posts: n/a	It could also be a hardware fault... thus causing the machine to reboot on the bootup. Have you tried taking everything out to the minumum and booting. I would look at memory to as the system boot it could be loading the memory, finding a fault on it and then crashing with a reboot. The are a few freeware memory tools you could use to check it out if you boot from floppy of something. Lot of the linux Live CD's come with a memory checker if you can find one or build one to a CD from a another PC. Also if you can run linux from the Live CD it would tell you that your hardware is fine and the problem as windows related. It will also give you access to you disks to move data about.

14-06-06, 10:30 AM	#10
Grinch Guest Posts: n/a	I think this is the rescue CD I use.. http://www.sysresccd.org/Download There are lots of other out there... very handy for testing hardware...