Computer problem

[Scott & Lai 12]

My desktop won't boot When I turn it on, it goes to the screen where you can choose boot options (Normally, Last Working Configuration, Safe Mode, etc.); none of the optons work. Whichever one I try, the computer tries to boot, then goes back to the boot options. Can anyone help me? I have a lot of data on the HD that I need, but haven't had a chance to back up...yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I should have been backing it up all along, hindsight is 20/20...

[Dan J 277]

My desktop won't boot When I turn it on, it goes to the screen where you can choose boot options (Normally, Last Working Configuration, Safe Mode, etc.); none of the optons work. Whichever one I try, the computer tries to boot, then goes back to the boot options. Can anyone help me? I have a lot of data on the HD that I need, but haven't had a chance to back up...yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I should have been backing it up all along, hindsight is 20/20...

You can take a windows cd and try repair mode. But that will only fix an issue with corruption that has occurred with windows. If you go into safe mode, does it stop at a particular file?

To get your data you have a couple of options.

1. Connect your hard drive to another computer. Either directly or with a hard drive enclosure.

2. Use a Linux Live CD.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hey Scott, sorry to hear that.

Put your Windows CD in the drive and then when you restart the computer, hold down the 'C' key. That should force a CD boot.

If that works, do a System Restore at a date when you know it was working (say 3 days ago). A System Restore will not erase your hard drive, but you might lose anything you've added in the last few days.

I recently had to do this for my laptop...after getting a nasty virus.

I'm now running both Ad-Aware and Avira (both free versions)...and avoiding using bit Torrent.

[Heracles 417]

Repair disk is the way to go.

Hopefully you are using Vista, which contrary to the rhetoric about it, does an excellent job repairing boot errors.

[NickD 202]

Feel the OP is just looking for sympathy with their computer problem, if they really wanted help, would specify the make and model number of their computer and the OS they are using.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Feel the OP is just looking for sympathy with their computer problem, if they really wanted help, would specify the make and model number of their computer and the OS they are using.

No, sympathy alone won't help...

It's a Gateway GT4016 running XP.

[aidan80 9]

Feel the OP is just looking for sympathy with their computer problem, if they really wanted help, would specify the make and model number of their computer and the OS they are using.

No, sympathy alone won't help...

It's a Gateway GT4016 running XP.

The others are hitting the nail on the head, repair the installation and you should be able to boot again. If you suspect malware did the damage I’d highly recommend as has been suggested using a linux live CD. My advice would be to scan and secure your files before attempting the repair.

Try Bitdefender, download and burn to a CD. Start up your Gateway with it, assuming your internet is connected via Ethernet the CD should install drivers for your NIC and you’ll be able to download the latest definitions for the virus database. Bitdefender is based on Knoppix and should be able to access your NTFS partition. Once you’ve updated, scan the system. Connect a removable hard drive/flash drive and copy over your files. After this is done if worst came to worst and the repair failed for whatever reason use your recovery disk to re-image the machine back to factory defaults.

Guide on using Bitdefender

Download Bitdefender - 260MB ISO file

Good luck!

[aidan80 9]

Feel the OP is just looking for sympathy with their computer problem, if they really wanted help, would specify the make and model number of their computer and the OS they are using.

Thats a bit harsh is it not? Chances are just going by market share they are running Windows and more than likley still on XP. Brand and type of computer is irrelevant at this point as it's a boot issue. Sympathy wont get rid of the issues and all the sympathy in the world won't make it better nor does unproductive comments.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Worst comes to worst is to remove the HD, put it in an external enclosure, buy another HD and install it inside your machine, do a system recovery with your factory software, plug in the external enclosure, move all the your video files and music and pictures onto your new HD.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Feel the OP is just looking for sympathy with their computer problem, if they really wanted help, would specify the make and model number of their computer and the OS they are using.

No, sympathy alone won't help...

It's a Gateway GT4016 running XP.

Since you are running XP, if you have a 3.5 drive installed, and still have your 98 startup disk, you can get the CD drive up long enough to load from the XP CD.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Any news?

[yogib37 3]

HI Scott,

I am sure some are good suggestions here. I suggest that you get a Data TRANSFER TOOL. it has a IDE, STATA and a Notebook hd conector to fit your hard drive on it. you hoook it up to which one your hard drive is have a usb cable and hooks to that with a AC Power cord for power.

you computer will reconize it as other volume just click on it copy the file you need. But you may need to get a new Hard drive to put into your system and install the OS First.

so I hope that helps you.

Do you hear any clicking on your hard drive?

You can also do a chkdsk /c: -r command if you can boot to a dos promnt

Take care

Yogi

Edited November 14, 2009 by yogib37

[Scott & Lai 12]

I tried booting with my XP disc. Selected the repair option. The setp-up started, then asked which installation I wanted to use. Only one was listed, H:\MiniNT, so I selected that. I got a DOS prompt with H:\MiniNT, but nothing else happens. What does it want me to do?

If I try using the setup XP option instead of the repair option, will that cause me to lose my data?

[NickD 202]

Feel the OP is just looking for sympathy with their computer problem, if they really wanted help, would specify the make and model number of their computer and the OS they are using.

Thats a bit harsh is it not? Chances are just going by market share they are running Windows and more than likley still on XP. Brand and type of computer is irrelevant at this point as it's a boot issue. Sympathy wont get rid of the issues and all the sympathy in the world won't make it better nor does unproductive comments.

Your reply isn't worth ####### either, but nice to know the make, model, and OS on the computer so you do not have to guess.

Really liked Win98SE with DOS commands so you can retrieve data, and MS does a hell of job with file organization since Win98SE, lost all DOS commands, and they want you to store all of your data on the root drive, the drive that hackers love to screw up. I never store any data on the root drive and always add one or two extra HD's to the system for backup purposes. Not only that, but have several other computers on a LAN that also contain valueable data such as tax returns and a rather long immigration file. HD's can also fail at any time, with great look with an identical HD, can switch the PCB, but if the drive motor or head stepping motor die, you are dead meat. With a great deal of skill and special tools, can pull the glass disks out of an unworking drive and install them in a working drive to get your data back. But so much easier to make backups.

Seen computers with Win2000 and up that were so messed up, the recovery disks would not work, and as usual all the key data files, your files, are in the root drive. But you need tools to make these repairs, and a key tools is an extra computer with the same OS on it as the failed one. Remove the HD from the fail computer, generally prefer mounting it using an external USB adapter, and can use Windows Explorer to find that data and move it to a 3rd clean drive. A freeware program is also available at http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file_recov....htm?language=1 to help an inexperience person do this.

But just like anything else, if you can't do it yourself, can always hire a professional, if the HD is failed, may cost as much as a thousand bucks to recover data off a harddrive, but with no guarantees, as some bugs can destroy that information as well. It's not easy to take apart an HD either, a lot easier to glue then to unglue.

Make backup, and partition your harddrives, wife's notebook has an external USB drive attached to it, and has a program for her to make backups, otherwise you have all of your eggs in one basket. Not wise.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I tried booting with my XP disc. Selected the repair option. The setp-up started, then asked which installation I wanted to use. Only one was listed, H:\MiniNT, so I selected that. I got a DOS prompt with H:\MiniNT, but nothing else happens. What does it want me to do?

If I try using the setup XP option instead of the repair option, will that cause me to lose my data?

H:\MiniNT sounds like a recovery partition. When your in the DOS prompt try to switch to C by typing "C:" Then trying running a check disk by typing "chkdsk /p". Once it runs and finishes (it make take awhile depending on your hardrive) try rebooting into windows as normal.

Let me know how that goes.